Capture Pocket & Vmate Pocket Camera Gimbal plus LUMI MARK II - Crowdfunding Now

Capture Pocket, Vmate Pocket Camera Gimbal and LUMI MARK II – Crowdfunding Now

First there was the Removu K1 4K pocket camera gimbal. Then there was the DJI Osmo Pocket 4K pocket camera gimbal. Now we have the Capture Pocket 4K pocket camera gimbal and the Vmate 4K pocket camera gimbal.

The last 2 are currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo and both look pretty similar to the previous iterations. But is there anything new to get excited about? Let’s look and compare both devices and see if there’s advances over the DJI Osmo Pocket.

Of course, both devices are at the crowdfunding stage, so they’re boxed up and ready to ship directly to Amazon and AliExpress as soon as the campaign is over approaching production stage and need your support to make it over the line *wink wink*.

Capture Pocket

The Capture Pocket is a device created by FUNSNAP, who are based in Barcelona in Spain. I’m kidding, of course they’re located in Shenzhen, China.

By the way, did you know that Shenzhen was once a small border city with 30,000 inhabitants? But in 1979, it was placed by China’s government into their “special economic zone”, where more free market-oriented economic policies enabled foreign investment to turn the city into an technological and industrial powerhouse.

That momentous decision led to a city of about 13 million inhabitants and the creation of a “tiny gimbal-stabilized camera captures silky smooth 4K footage, no matter how you twist or turn it”.

FUNSNAP open with “Smartphones have become the most popular creative tool on the planet”, (well said) “but they do not produce the best quality videos, especially when you’re on the move.” (oh… oh FUNSNAP I beg to differ). Well, that’s not a good start is it? They’re not going to capture my pocket with that kind of attitude…

What makes the Capture Pocket so special?

The device will come with a 3-axis gimbal mount, a Sony IMX378 sensor and can shoot 4K at 60fps. There’s voice control, WiFi and a port for external microphones. Design-wise, it looks almost identical to the DJI Osmo Pocket.

FUNSNAP say the Capture Pocket “allows slow-motion video up to 8 times capturing rate”. The device’s AI supports voice command for taking photos, videos, and selfies.

One difference between the Capture Pocket and the DJI Osmo Pocket is the touchscreen size. The Capture Pocket’s is bigger.

The Capture Pocket can clip directly onto your phone too, allowing you to use your smartphone screen for monitoring. FUNSNAP say the device shoots in the H.265/H.264 codec. This is their first Kickstarter so if it sounds interesting, check it out.

Vmate

The Vmate is created by Snoppa, the company who brought us the Snoppa Atom foldable gimbal. They’re on IndieGoGo with their pocket 3 axis gimbal camera and in fact this is their 4th campaign. Remember the Snoppa M1? Me neither, but hunting back through their previous campaigns I found this old 3 axis gimbal from 2017.

Isn’t this actually quite a cool design? It’s compact and would have no ‘gimbal in frame when using a wide angle lens’ issue. I guess the design just didn’t work as well as the one we are now familiar with.

Looking at the comments and reviews, it seems the bracket holding the phone to the gimbal had a habit of cracking and Snoppa weren’t too helpful, but that doesn’t seem reason enough to abandon this design entirely. Anyway…

Back to the Vmate…

The Vmate is a “handheld compact high-performance 4k smart camera integrated with a micro 3-axis stabilizing system”. This gimbaled camera… yes, yes that’s what I’m gonna call these things… can also clip to your smartphone, like the Capture Pocket.

On their IndieGoGo page they run through some “gimbal vs XX stabilization” comparisons, which I have to say are ridiculous. For a start, they’re displayed using jerky animated gifs, hardly the best format to illustrate smoothness.

Second, they seem to basically match the gimbal footage to some jerky footage, probably just handheld video without any stabilization at all. One has a little image of a GoPro in the corner and, as we know, recent GoPros have great stabilization. Finally there’s a still image comparing a crisp shot to one with a little motion blur.

Uhm… I guess their campaign is aimed at folks who are easily impressed by comparison clips and images. Anyway, the Vmate has similar specs to the Capture Pocket…

• Video up to 4k@60 fps;
• 8X slow-motion video (1080@240fps);
• 12-megapixel stills.

In addition, the Vmate can rotate by 90˚ allowing you to switch between landscape and portrait orientation  easily. Like the Capture Pocket the Vmate has a built-in WiFi. Combined with Snoppa’s dedicated app, your phone can then be used for a wireless preview and some features like Broadcaster Mode.

Aside from the built-in mic system, you can use any Bluetooth microphone as an audio source. For example, Apple Airpods or other TWS earbuds.

“It won’t make you tired during your journey.” Snoppa Vmate Promo Video Robot Voice Artist

Well, walking around with my hand in the air the whole time will surely make me tired during my journey. Shouldn’t they supply arm supports as accessories? And you can check the comments on the video to find their customer support calls people “dude”. Listen, dude, I’m from Norf London so you can call just call me (V)mate.

See what I did there?

You can find their campaign here.

LUMI MARK II

The LUMI MARK II is one of those mini-tripod-face-tracking things for your smartphone. Essentially, these kind of devices are designed for vloggers who don’t have the luxury to employ a camera operator. Instead, a device like the Lumi Mark II will keep the camera aimed in the right direction using face tracking software.

The device will also track objects, if you set it to do so. Folding the legs together will turn the device LUMI MARK II into a short selfie stick.  Meanwhile, the accompanying app allows you to live stream your video while maintaining the object tracking function.

But you’re not limited to smartphones. The LUMI MARK II will support cameras up to 2kg, while you can use the remote to pan the camera.

In this image above, the LUMI MARK II is mounted on top of a tripod using the 1/4″ screw. I guess you could call this device a 1 axis gimbal?

If this sounds like a device you might be interested in, check out their campaign here.

Eager to learn more?
Join our weekly newsletter featuring inspiring stories, no-budget filmmaking tips and comprehensive equipment reviews to help you turn your film projects into reality!