Accessories
Best Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizers (2020)
These are the best smartphone gimbals to help stabilize your video for professional-looking results. If you like to film videos with your phone, you’ve probably considered a gimbal for your iPhone or Android.
For those wondering, a gimbal is an electronic handheld device that mechanically stabilizes your phone to help you shoot smooth Hollywood-style footage just like your favorite vlogger. A gimbal eliminates the need for an expensive dolly or crazy tripods while recording videos with your mobile device. They are especially helpful during moving shots, so here are your best options.
- Best Phone Gimbal For Beginners: DJI Osmo Mobile 3
- Best Overall Value: Zhiyun Smooth 4
- Best For Pros: Freefly Movi
- Best Budget Gimbal: Hohem Gimbal iSteady
- Best All-in-one: DJI Osmo Pocket
DJI Osmo Mobile 3
The most popular gimbal is probably the entire DJI Osmo lineup, and the newest DJI Osmo 3 is hands-down one of the best gimbals you can buy. It’s what we recommend for beginners. The Osmo 3 is compact, user-friendly, and the entire system is very plug-and-play so you can spend more time filming and less time with setup. DJI’s simple yet sophisticated user interface combined with a great design makes it easy to turn it on, snap-in, and start shooting.
Zhiyun Smooth 4
If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck or the best overall value you’ll want to heavily consider the Zhiyun Smooth 4 gimbal. It has a crazy amount of features yet it’s not too difficult to use on the fly, making it perfect for beginners, pros, or a long-time vlogger looking to up their game. When you see the long list of features and the small price tag, you’ll want to buy it, turn it on, and get right to filming. It might not be as user-friendly as the Osmo 3, but you’ll love all the features available considering they’re the same price.
Freefly Movi Cinema Robot
If you’re really serious about mobile video and can afford it, the Freefly Movi will take your videos and cinema to the next level, simply because it’s packed with big-screen technology. And while we don’t recommend something this expensive or capable for a vlogger, someone looking to do more advanced cinematography will love it.
Besides being an excellent video stabilizer, you also get to take advantage of a bunch of awesome features with the companion app, Movi App. It does “cinematic robot” tricks and moves, which will give your content something unique. You get a lot for the price, but some of the controls and features might be unnecessary and overboard for the average user. Just keep that in mind and know what you want or need.
Hohem Gimbal iSteady
If you’re on a budget grab the Hohem iSteady. It’s one of the best gimbals for under $100 and will be more than enough for most mobile videographers. And while the companion app and zoom features might not be as polished as the Osmo 3 or others on this list, it doesn’t lack in features considering the price tag. We love the fact that you can get a 3-axis gimbal in 2020 for under $100.
The iSteady is lightweight, easy to hold, and has 12-hour battery life. And yes, it works with Android too, even though the name hints at iPhone users. You’ve probably never heard of Hohem, but thanks to a nice feature set and being an affordable gimbal it’s one of the best-selling options on Amazon and around the web.
DJI Osmo Pocket (All-in-one)
Last but not least, we wanted to recommend the DJI Osmo pocket for anyone that wants to get into vlogging, video, or record their adventures. If you don’t have the latest fancy iPhone 11 Pro Max yet want excellent stabilized video, the DJI Osmo Pocket is an all-in-one. It’s a gimbal with the camera built-in. It’s an excellent alternative to the GoPro Hero 7 and has everything you’ll need to get started.
The DJI Osmo Pocket is tiny and easily fits into any pocket, even on skinny jeans. The video stabilization is just as good as the Smooth 4, yet it has a bunch of neat features and autonomous modes. It’s also super easy to use with just two buttons: Power on, and start/stop for video recording. So, take it on your next adventure and get some super-smooth, stable, beautiful 4k videos without your phone.
Then, stay tuned as we’ll constantly look for better or more affordable gimbals for iPhone and Android and update this list as we see fit.
