In theory, it all sounds great. Spend a few hundred dollars on a gimbal to create cinematic films with a Hollywood-style flair. My experience has been a bit different.

If you are not familiar with gimbals, the device is basically a stabilizer for your camera when shooting video. Perhaps not a great explanation but you get the idea. Prices start under $200 for a unit that can accommodate anything from your smartphone to a lightweight mirrorless camera.

I have been researching gimbals for about the last month. Perhaps like a second marriage, seeking the triumph of hope over experience. Having owned 2 different gimbals previously I have found them to be challenging to set up with poor or limited instructions. My last purchase was returned within a few days as the unit was defective out of the box. I should have known there would be problems when the quick start booklet started with Step 3. Not a joke.

A few of my observations;

You will need to balance the gimbal for it work correctly with your camera. This is a tedious process at best and you will likely need a YouTube video for reference. If you change cameras you will need to balance again. If you change the lens on the camera, balance again. If using a zoom lens the balance will be slightly off when zooming in or out.

Each gimbal is rated for a maximum weight capacity; camera plus lens. When approaching that weight capacity, the motors may struggle which creates shaky video. Oddly enough, the gimbal may be rated for a minimum weight capacity also. If your camera or smartphone is too light a counter-weight may need to be added?

When researching a specific gimbal be sure to check the camera compatibility list. The list may include a good number of cameras however, there are 2 things to consider. The chart may show that your camera will work for physical size or weight restrictions. The other consideration is a connection that allows control of camera functions. While your camera may be physically compatible there is a good chance that may be all. Perhaps a good chance that no camera functions are available through the gimbal?

Mobile apps provided by the manufacturers are extremely bad. This is just the connection between their gimbal and their own app, not even considering your specific camera. Some functions may not be available or the app may not connect at all. With no software connection, you would be locked out of many calibration settings at the very least. The gimbal may work on some very basic panning functions but not much more.

Seems the standard operation of these units is using a joystick-type control. We have all seen these designs on many devices. Some combination of: "While holding button A, click button B two times to enter mode 7" (while hopping on one foot). Perhaps a more expensive gimbal may provide some visual clue via a tiny LED screen?

Personally, I would not pay much attention to the standard revues on YouTube. If I were to summarize those gimbal opinions it seems to come down to; “Not perfect, but the best house in a bad neighborhood”. My preference is to read customer reviews on Amazon. Perhaps you could dismiss some of those bad reviews as “operator error”. But this may still speak to the overall complexity regarding the use of the device.

Perhaps you were lucky enough that your specific camera worked completely well with the gimbal and mobile app? Perhaps, all the camera and gimbal functions can be controlled as designed? Now there is the skill or learning curve involved with creating the video. Perhaps this last step would be the easy part?

Having said all that, I would still like to shoot some amazing “B Roll” for my occasional videos. I still have a small gimbal for my smartphone which I can use with my Samsung S9 to capture short 4K clips. Of course, the camera and the gimbal don’t connect but some basic functions are still operational via the gimbal control stick.

If you made it to the end of my post and still hoping for a career in films, many gimbals are available costing around $100 which may work well enough with your smartphone. Most late model phones have a camera capable of some great shots and perhaps featuring a lens for wide-angle also. Not a bad way to start, however, please be advised of the observations above.

Caveat Emptor!