Gimbal and accessory maker Zhiyun Tech—a major competitor to DJI in that space—has just unveiled the Zhiyun SMOOTH-X: a foldable 2-axis smartphone gimbal that packs a lot of useful features into a palm-sized unit that’ll cost you just 60 bucks.
The Smooth X is a lightweight competitor to more expensive alternatives like the DJI Osmo Mobile 3, which offers 3 axes of stabilization, but costs more than twice as much.
With the Smooth X, you get a 2-axis gimbal (roll and pan) with native Bluetooth control of iOS and Android devices, a built in 260mm telescoping extension, and the ability to quickly switch between landscape and portrait shooting at the press of a button. If you use the ZY Cami app, you also get intelligent gesture controls to trigger photo and video recording, intelligent subject tracking, video editing features, and more.
Here’s a quick video intro that shows some of these features in action:
And some… quirky commercials for the new gimbal as well:
In addition to the one lost axis of stabilization, the diminutive gimbal only comes with one other major trade-off that we could find: battery life. While bigger and heavier options like the Osmo Mobile 3 claim up to 15.5 hours of battery life, the Smooth X is rated for up to 5.5 hours max, and 4 hours of “standard” use. If those are trade-offs you can live with, this tiny, functional, and (best of all) affordable smartphone gimbal might be worth a try.
To learn more about the Zhyiun Smooth X, head over to the Zhyiun Tech website. The gimbal is available to order online starting today, in either white or gray, at the aforementioned MSRP of $60.