By Liyo Kikon
Are you a vlogger? or planning to start your own vlog (Video Log) and upload to social media? or maybe you just enjoy taking videos on your phone. Which ever the case may be, if you are a mobile videographer, then you definitely noticed that taking videos on your phone can be real pain in the back since it is extremely difficult to take stable shots, especially while walking or simply panning around to get that perfect scene. And this is where Smartphone Stabilizers or Gimbals come to the rescue. More and more companies have joined in to create these amazing devices which can radically bring up your game in smartphone videography.If you are unaware of what a camera gimbal is, let me give you a quick highlight. A camera gimbal is an electronically controlled camera stabilizer. It uses motors along with sensors to align the camera so that even if you are shaking the camera as you walk, the footage in the camera will appear smooth. The use of gimbals have been popularised recently through their use in high end drones. Vloggers have been using huge gimbals in the past to stabilize DSLRs and other pro cameras, but since modern smartphone cameras can produce high quality images, it is only logical that companies have started to produce gimbals for smartphones. Now, remember that gimbals stabilize the camera physically, whereas most smartphones stabilize their footage digitally and once you try using a gimbal, you will surely see a vast difference in video quality between the two. There are a lot of smartphone gimbals available today and they can be quite expensive and obviously you can’t buy them here in Nagaland, but you can certainly order it online. Like most gadgets, the expensive ones will give you better result and they will have advanced features embedded in them. But there is no rule which says that the most expensive one will make your video better because everyone knows that the content is the most important bit when it comes to videos, especially in the case of vlogging. Although, one can’t argue the fact that having the proper gear will certainly help to polish your videos and make them ‘feel’ professional.
If you are looking to blow some cash and get the best one on the market, then the obvious choice would be the DJI Osmo Mobile. The DJI Osmo Mobile is considered as the little brother of the DJI Osmo. Unlike the standard Osmo, which comes with its own camera (the same one used in drones), the Osmo Mobile is built specifically for smartphones and since this Gimbal is made by the king of consumer drones, you can be assured that this gimbal will give you the best quality money can buy. The Osmo Mobile connects to your smartphone via bluetooth and you can control your phone camera like a professional camera, with dedicated buttons for the Shutter and Record, as well as manual ISO, Shutter and White Balance settings. On the center of the device where you thumb rests, there is a small joystick which can be used to pan and tilt or you can even set it so that the gimbal can only move in specific direction. The push mode can change the direction of the gimbal directly using your hand. There is even a software feature for the Osmo which will track subjects or objects as you move around. Say for example, if you are walking around with the camera pointed at your face and you want the camera to always track your face, then you simply draw an area using the Osmo applicaiton and it will track your face automatically. This is especially helpful for shots where you walk around and you don’t want to keep checking every second if your face is in focus or not. The DJI Osmo Mobile is available for around Rs. 25,000 on almost all online stores.
Those Chinese gimbals! Yup! There are a lot of smartphone gimbals made by companies in China and although one might argue that most of them are comparatively cheap and will not produce the desired result, you might be surprised to find that they are actually quite sturdy and they work as they should. Since the primary function of a gimbal is to stabilize your footage, using a Chinese gimbal isn’t such a bad idea since they work! And its not simply about bing able to stabilize the footage, these Chinese-made gimbals come with a ton of features such as pan/tilt, ability to start recording, take pictures and so on. Most of these gimbals will start around Rs. 10,000 and goes all the way up to Rs. 50,000. Some of the models are : Feiyu SPG Live, Zhiyun Smooth-II, JJ-1 2-Axis Handheld Brushless Gimbal, AIbird Uoplay.
