Zhiyun Z1-Evolution 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer

CONCLUSION: Great gimbal, solid, good app, may not work with lighter action cameras THE STORY: I've spent over a month buying, testing and researching an annoying problem I've had with the Rider M. Basically, lighter action cameras *may* suffer from quite audible noise with this gimbal and possibly with other similar gimbals. The long story is that I have two action cameras - the Gitup Git2 and the (real) SJCAM4000. Both great cameras the same size as a GoPro Hero 3/4. I was looking forward to getting some smooth shots using the Rider M. Smooth shots is what I got, but accompanying any sound (such as family talking) was an electronic whirr that couldn't be ignored. It was much too loud and "surely can't be right?" It wasn't just barely-there. It was ruining any audio. I pored over Youtube looking for reviews that had normal audio (not music or wind noise) to compare, and asked extensively on the internet for other user's experiences. I made example videos. I sent one gimbal back and bought another. I also contacted Zhiyun support in China, who, while trying to be helpful, don't have the best English and couldn't offer anything more than "the gimbal does make some noise." But how much is normal? Most Rider M users I could track down said theirs was silent or almost silent, and certainly didn't make the noise both of mine did. On the other hand, some Youtube videos did exhibit the same noise I had. I was very frustrated after a few weeks. A local person to me kindly allowed me to shoot a video with his real GoPro and the difference was telling, despite the fact the microphone on the GoPro sits right up against one of the motors. Videos taken with the GoPro had almost no motor noise. Hurrah! From what I can tell, real GoPro cameras are about 80 grammes in weight. My Git2 and SJCAM are about 60 grammes. I believe now that the lighter weight and difference in weight distribution of these cameras caused the motors to work harder to balance it. The difference in noise to the ear was not great, but the GoPro picked up almost no motor noise at all. The metal body of the GoPro perhaps also restricts any electrical interference from the motors that the plastic body of the Git2 and SJCAM do not. This last bit is a hunch and maybe be partly incorrect as the noise was almost entirely removed if I used an external microphone placed away from the gimbal. REVIEW OF THE PRODUCT ------------------------------------------------ At present, if you want a wearable gimbal, you've got two main choices: the Feiyu WG or the Zhiyun Rider M. I decided against the Feiyu WG (though £60 cheaper!) because: * the Feiyu cannot turn around and face directly backwards - it can only go 160 degrees either way of forward * reports of internal wires pulling out and needing dismantling and repair (I believe this has been fixed in later production runs, but there's no way to find out if the one you're buying is a later run) * reports of vibration causing the roll axis to tilt over * you need a very lightweight AV cable if you want to pass video to a monitor from the camera so as not to affect the gimbal The benefits I see in the Rider M are: - about 270 degrees and about 400 degrees panning left and right - AV can be passed through the body of the gimbal with two included cables - can face the rear (useful when attached to a car to record behind without having to stop and re-position the gimbal) Downsides to the Rider M: - only one tripod 1/4" mounting point on the bottom of the gimbal - the GoPro tripod adaptor does not screw onto the gimbal with two hex screws like the Feiyu, but is a tri-pointed wheel nut that is tightened by hand (you can use a screw driver, but the adaptor can still twist and undo if not really tight) - it's 4cm higher than the Feiyu which is quite a bit when you're strapping it to the front of your head, and thus it surely is more 'top-heavy' than the Feiyu Turning to face backwards can be achieved in the iphone/android app by using the panning buttons or pressing the REAR button, which quickly pans round to face backwards. You can also press the metal mode button on the gimbal 3 times and it will turn around. The gimbal seems well-made, is of metal construction and doesn't appear to suffer the tilting caused by vibration that the Feiyu does. The footage is very smooth, with only the up and down motion of walking not completely smoothed. This is the case for all 3 axis gimbals as there is no dampening built in for that - only pitch, roll and panning (yaw). You can get over this by walking smoothly and letting your arms act as a damper. The app is great - easy to connect via bluetooth, you can update your firmware directly with it (no need for computers or leads), you can change movement settings (so you can make it move more quickly or slowly to suit) and you can calibrate the gimbal with easy to follow steps with diagrams.

Fantastic product. Two sets of rechargeable batteries included, connector for standard GoPro fitting. Can be controlled be mobile software or remote (which I bought separately). Gives good stable shots and can be fixed to countless fittings. Quality build, well worth every penny. Great packaging. Note: listing is incorrect, does NOT come with a storage pouch.