Shooting stabilized video with a cheap gimbal Feiyu Tech Vimble 2
Today I bring you something a little bit different. Many people are recording their cars with various success. I have always liked making videos, although I am terribly lazy to record anything. But I got offered this gimbal to try out and review, so here it is.
I think that most of you know what a gimbal is and what are the advantages of using one. For those who don't, lets say it is a kind of an advanced selfie stick (there are models for phones, action cameras or even DSLR) with a gyro and servo motors, which keeps the recording device stable and dramatically reduces shakiness of your video. It is especially useful when recording RC cars and running behind them, because such footage would be otherwise VERY shaky.
Feiyu Tech Vimble 2 is then with a price just over 100USD one of the cheapest gimbals on the market.
What you will get for your money? Is it usable and worth buying?
In a practical carrying case you will find the gimbal itself, a mini foldable tripod, hand strap and an instruction manual.
No charger is included, but Vimble 2 can be charged via standard micro USB connector. IPhone users be aware.
The battery life is shorter than at the competition (around 5 hours), but for me personally it is still completely sufficient.
No charger is included, but Vimble 2 can be charged via standard micro USB connector. IPhone users be aware.
The battery life is shorter than at the competition (around 5 hours), but for me personally it is still completely sufficient.
On the stick you will find a set of buttons, which are described in the manual, so I will not go into much detail here. However the single biggest drawback of the gimbal for me is located right here.
It is the shutter button, which should trigger a photo by a short press and a video by a long press. That is while using the dedicated Feiyu Tech camera application, though, which is quite rubbish and I rather stick with the standard camera application of my S9+. But in the standard app, the shutter button works differently. Short press for a photo, but long press for a burst of photos. No way to trigger a video, which hurts me every time I use it.
You can check this video to see a raw, uncut video filmed using Vimble 2. As you can see the stabilization is working quite well.
On the other hand, the motion behavior is quite wanky while panning from side to side. A lot of times it refuses to turn and then it jumps to the direction quickly. It is not a problem when you do a dynamic video with a lot of cuts, but for uncut videos like this, it is quite noticeable.
Very useful feature of the gimbal is an extendable stick. It makes life so much easier not having to reach out everywhere, although while running behind RC cars, you must still be bent over. The gimal stupidly rotates downwards when you hold it under a too steep angle towards the ground, which is a shame.
A combination of extended stick and a tripod allows you to just put it on the ground as a stationary camera too. No need to bring an extra tripod with you, which is a nice bonus.
It is the shutter button, which should trigger a photo by a short press and a video by a long press. That is while using the dedicated Feiyu Tech camera application, though, which is quite rubbish and I rather stick with the standard camera application of my S9+. But in the standard app, the shutter button works differently. Short press for a photo, but long press for a burst of photos. No way to trigger a video, which hurts me every time I use it.
You can check this video to see a raw, uncut video filmed using Vimble 2. As you can see the stabilization is working quite well.
On the other hand, the motion behavior is quite wanky while panning from side to side. A lot of times it refuses to turn and then it jumps to the direction quickly. It is not a problem when you do a dynamic video with a lot of cuts, but for uncut videos like this, it is quite noticeable.
Very useful feature of the gimbal is an extendable stick. It makes life so much easier not having to reach out everywhere, although while running behind RC cars, you must still be bent over. The gimal stupidly rotates downwards when you hold it under a too steep angle towards the ground, which is a shame.
A combination of extended stick and a tripod allows you to just put it on the ground as a stationary camera too. No need to bring an extra tripod with you, which is a nice bonus.
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