Camera/Phone Stabilizer Experiences (I purchased a GoPro - Karma Grip Stabilizer)

After the short battery life Gen 3 GoPro I bought a Gen 5 prior to cruising the eastern route last year. The images and video while snorkeling and at the beach were great, lots of fun editing them into a quick segment for our library and then the camera went in the bag and I didn't touch it.

With the new iPhone upgrade and the cool video assembly tool I realized I like shooting and editing video more than the days of camcorders, so I got the camera out and did some online research. The next day I bought a Karma Grip. What a good idea! Now we have videos of everything that moves for the first two weeks of ownership, I even took it to a car museum in San Marcos, Texas and loved the flexibility of switching between stills and video.

I'm hooked. So before I spend the $$ on the DJI grip for the iPhone please tell me your experiences using both, what are your learning curves, tips and what you'd do or purchase different.

See you at sea.

.

I just brought my DJI Osmo Mobile 2 to an overseas trip. It kept acting up. Sometimes it wouldn't turn on, sometimes it would act crazy and spin around or beep. Photos I take while using the DJI app disappear into the nether, but the videos are there. Maybe I got a bad one, but so far, it's acting like an unfinished product.

I just brought my DJI Osmo Mobile 2 to an overseas trip. It kept acting up. Sometimes it wouldn't turn on, sometimes it would act crazy and spin around or beep. Photos I take while using the DJI app disappear into the nether, but the videos are there. Maybe I got a bad one, but so far, it's acting like an unfinished product.

Your review is what I’ve been reading all along. The brand Best Buy sells is calling me.

.

I own 4 different 3-axis gimbals.

I started with the Lanparte HHG-01. It was one of the original 3-axis iPhone/GoPro gimbals on the market and I paid $350 for it. But it's large and heavy with very few features compared to the more recent offerings. It has the tendency to go haywire if you tilt the gimbal beyond a certain range.

Next I got the Z1 Smooth C. This is very lightweight and has buttons for panning vertically. It's a nice barebones gimbal.

Next I bought the Zhiyun Smooth Q. This one features a smartphone app that allows you to adjust a variety of settings and has a smart follow mode where you can select a subject and have the gimbal track it.

The problem with all of the above is that they are not easy to transport inside a camera bag due to the three axis gimbal arm design. They end up being quite "tall" and cumbersome with the way that the arms are dangling. Most come with pouches or carrying cases that I don't want to haul around with me on excursions separate from my camera bag. Just having to take the gimbal out of the bag, mount and balance the phone, and turn the gimbal on just to capture a brief video clip is tedious especially if you are using a different camera for stills.

So just yesterday I got a Snoppa M1. This is a vastly different design from pretty much all of the other gimbals on the market. It folds up to be very compact, has an optional app with many of the advanced features, has a smart standby mode, and will fit easily in most camera bags. Plus it's super cheap at under $100. The reviews on YouTube seem very favorable too.

Here is a photo of the above from left to right:

I just purchased the FeiyuTech G5 v2 and cant wait to give it a try! Would love to see some of the videos from your most recent purchase!