How Much Weight Can Your Smartphone Gimbal Carry?
The smartphone 3 axis gimbal has become a primary kit item for filmmakers, vloggers and mobile journalists looking to get smooth video from their mobile device. They’re small, lightweight and simple to use: just power up, mount your phone and hit record. You can even add an anamorphic lens to get those videos looking even more cinematic.
But has your gimbal started to struggle? One thing us smartphone filmmakers often forget is these 3 axis gimbals have a maximum payload. So – if you are mounting a smartphone, plus a lens and case – you might find you are putting too much stress on your gimbal’s motors. If you add a counterweight, that adds more to your total payload.
Smartphone gimbals are generally low cost and very effective. But we shouldn’t expect too much – there’s a limit to how much we can ask them to do for us. And if you want your gimbal to last, then it might be worth taking a look at how much it can carry and what you are mounting onto it.
In general, most smartphone gimbals can carry a payload from about 200 – 300 grams (7 – 10 ounces). The main weight you’ll be adding to your payload is the smartphone itself.
How heavy is your payload?
An iPhone XS weighs 177 grams, iPhone XS Max 208 grams, HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro weighs 189 grams and a Samsung S10+ weighs 175g.
Now, the popular Zhiyun Smooth 4 has a max payload of 210 grams, so if you mount a iPhone XS Max you will only have 2 grams left before hitting your maximum.
The Moment 58mm Telephoto weighs 73.1 grams. The Moment case for the iPhone XS Max weighs 53.3 grams. That’s a total of phone + lens + case = 334 grams.
Gimbals by Max Payload
Here’s a list of the most popular smartphone gimbals going by max payload.
- Zhiyun Crane M3 – no Max Payload
- Zhiyun Weebill S – 3 kilos
- FeiyuTech G6 Max – 1.2 kilos
- Zhiyun Crane M2S – 998 grams
- MOZA Mini P – 900 Grams
- Feiyu Tech G6 Plus – 800 grams
- Zhiyun CRANE-M2 – 720 grams
- Hohem iSteady Multi – 400 grams
- Snoppa Atom – 310 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth 5 – 300 grams
- Moza Mini-Mi – 300 grams
- Moza Mini MX – 280 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth Q3 – 280 grams
- Hohem iSteady V2 AI – 280 Grams
- Hohem iSteady X2 – 280 grams
- Hohem iSteady X – 280 grams
- Hohem iSteady – 280 grams
- Freevision VILTA-M Pro – 275 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth X2 – 260 grams
- MOZA MINI-S – 260 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth Q2 – 260 grams
- Gimpro One – 260 grams
- Vlog Pocket 2 – 250 grams
- Vlog Pocket – 240 grams
- DJI Osmo Mobile 2 – 240 grams
- DJI OM 5 – 230 ± 60 g
- DJI OM 4 – 230 ± 60 g
- PowerVision S1 – 220 ± 60 g
- EVO SHIFT – 220 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth 4 – 210 grams
- Feiyutech Vimble 2 – 210 grams
- Feiyutech Vimble 2s – 210 grams
- Freevision Vilta M – 208 grams
- Cinepeer C11 – 200 grams
- Zhiyun Smooth X – 200 ± 35 g
- DJI Osmo Mobile 3 – 200 ± 30g
- Zhiyun Smooth Q – 200 grams
At the top of the list is the new gimbal from Zhiyun designed for smartphones, mirrorless and DSLR cameras. The gimbal has by far the highest max payload, which is understandable considering it is designed to be used with bigger cameras. It’s also over double the cost of the other gimbals.
Interesting to note that some of the less fashionable gimbals such as the Hohem and the Gimpro have quite high max payloads. Meanwhile, the popular Smooth 4 and Smooth Q score poorly.
I’m not a gimbal engineer so I don’t know how important or accurate these specifications are. However, if we are going to be loading more than just the smartphone onto the gimbal, we might be advised to pay more attention to this aspect in the future. If you are going to use your gimbal more than a few times a year, this might have an effect on the wear of the motors.
For serious gimbal users, that Crane-M2 is looking like an attractive option. Plus if you use other cameras as well, this might give you more options.
Update
On the Freevision Vilta M Amazon page it says: “No need for counterweights if total weight is less than 208g” which suggests that the max payload refers to unbalanced setups only. In which case, we can take the maximum weight to be something of a guide, rather than a strict line which must not be crossed.
This is probably a good way to approach gimbal use and selection. But still, I’m guessing we would all choose more motor power than less, if the option is there.
Smartphone Video – Beginner to Advanced
If you want to know more about smartphone filmmaking, my book Smartphone Videography – Beginners to Advanced is now available to download for members on Patreon. The book is 170 pages long and covers essential smartphone filmmaking topics:
Things like how to get the perfect exposure, when to use manual control, which codecs to use, HDR, how to use frame rates, lenses, shot types, stabilisation and much more. There’s also my Exploring the Film Look Guide as well as Smartphone Colour Grading.
Members can also access all 5 episodes of our smartphone shot Silent Eye series, with accompanying screenplays and making of podcasts. There’s other materials too and I will be adding more in the future.
If you want to join me there, follow this link.
Thanks for the breakdown. It’s mind boggling that these main manufactures cannot make a smartphone only gimbal that can hold the weight and more importantly size of the iPhone XS Max + Moment case. They all expect you to use a smaller phone without its case. Who wants to take the case off every time? And they just don’t make the mount wide enough to wrap around a max or plus phone. Then most of the gimbals are designed in a way that the back of the phone hits the motors when Donna low angle shots, except the Atom but that can’t handle the weight. I have tried almost everyone on the list. The only one that works is the Movi Cinema Robot but it gets super heavy to hold. The Crane M2 takes forever to balance. It’s a major pain cause it’s not made for a smartphone. It’s so frustrating
Also for someone that uses FilmicPro the only options that are compatible now are Smooth 4, Osmo 3 and Movi. The Smooth 4 is great for having the handheld focus wheel but other than that it just doesn’t perform that well. Forget the Osmo 3 in terms of weight and like I said above the Movi get a really heavy and also acts weird sometimes with the counterweights
Thanks for the comment, Brendan. It seems no gimbals is perfect. I still use my old original Smooth Q, with a Samsung S9 and a Moondog Labs anamorphic. I guess that’s over the max payload. But I only use it sporadically for specific shots, otherwise I stabilize in post or use inbuilt OIS.
Ughhhh…I JUST bought this gimbal and it does NOT allow the width of my note 20 ultra WITH the otterbox on it. This IS an issue. I really am going to have to remove the damn case every time I use the gimbal huh ? Dayummmnn.
Which gimbal?
This is an excellent article. It answered my exact question regarding the lens and and case weights vs max capacity of the various gimbals. Based on my research, the excess weight is a major issue with these type of units. This article will help me temper my expectations and make an informed decision. Thanks for taking the time to research it.
What happens when payload weight is higher than the maximum weight limit of gimbal