I generally don’t take much video – compared to taking photos I find it boring and laborious. Even though there’s a big red record button on my camera I just forget to press it.

After returning from a big trip last year I realised I had no video. Literally nothing at all. A year later I’m regretting that and decided I should take more. I’m not talking about making movies here, just simple home documentary videos.

One of my dislikes about home video is shakiness and so when I came across the Zhiyun gimbal it spiked my interest. After a few months of indecision I decided to get one for a vacation.

It should be noted this is a gimbal for a mobile phone, and not for a DSLR. My iPhone takes 4k video of a sufficient quality for my needs, and the gimbal itself is small and packable.

I’ve been really happy with the results. Splicing together a video from non-gimbal and gimbal footage shows such a big difference. Video is smooth and, dare I say it, cinematic. I’ve found myself watching recordings in much the same way you get sucked into watching YouTube.

It doesn’t completely eliminate vibrations, of course. Walking results in a gentle but very watchable sway.

Caveats? Sometimes you need to fight the gimbal to get it pointing in the right direction, and sometimes it can bounce between two points if you happen to keep moving between whatever threshold triggers a pan.

Overall though it’s a huge improvement for my home video and I’m sure I’ll be recording much more.

Now to figure out an easier way to edit it all together. Also maybe something for better audio.