The Best Smartphone Grips, Gimbals & Stabilizers 2019

The Best Smartphone Grips, Gimbals & Stabilizers

Have you ever tried to shoot video with your phone, only to find it spoiled by wobbly or shaky footage? Maybe you want to shoot smooth video footage with your iPhone but you found the inbuilt OIS or EOS isn’t enough. Smartphone cameras are getting better and better, but shooting video while holding the phone directly in your hands can be awkward and tricky.

Well, do not despair – an affordable grip or gimbal can make a huge difference. By adding one or more of these simple, lightweight devices to your kit back you are taking the first step to create professional-level cinematography.

Yes, cinematography might sound like a grand word for videos shot on your little smartphone. But actually you will be using the same kit used by a couple of top American filmmakers: Sean Baker and Oscar-Winning director Steven Soderbergh. If you hadn’t yet heard the news, Sean Baker shot an entire feature film with 2 iPhone 5s phones, an extra lens and $100 gimbal.

That film (Tangerine) was selected for Sundance, a major film festival which gets upwards of 14,000 submissions per year.

Soderbergh is a major Hollywood director whose credits include hits such as Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Ocean’s 11. He won an Oscar for Best Director for Traffic. Recently, Soderbergh has directed 2 feature films using an iPhone – Unsane (which took $14m at the box office) and High Flying Bird which is now on Netflix.

Here’s a Soderbergh using a DJI Osmo Gimbal with an iPhone 7+.

Read on for our comprehensive list of handheld smartphone grips and stabilizers. From handy pistol grips up to sophisticated 3 axis gimbals that can turn you and your iPhone into a one-person cinema crane.

What are the best gimbals and grips out there?

Firstly, we need to look at the different types of grip and gimbal. Even something as simple as a $15 pistol-grip will help you shoot less shaky videos. They also don’t require batteries or charging, which helps if you really want to keep your shooting style stripped down. Once you add moving parts to your stablizing device, things get a little more complicated (and just a little more costly).

The Pistol Grip

The pistol grip is simply a handle with a clamp to mount your phone securely. As you can see from the picture above, depending on the model, other devices such as mics and lights can be mounted to the pistol grip too.

Ztylus Pistol Grip KIT

This pistol grip will fit most smartphones. It will give you some extra stability but will not remove handheld shakes from your images or videos. The grip is sturdy and comfortable. It also allows you to mount some extra kit like mics, lenses and lights.

You can also mount this grip to a tripod using the 1/4″-20 tripod mount.

Check Price of Ztylus Pistol Grip on Amazon

For something similar and perhaps a few dollars less check out the…

iGadgitz

This smartphone grip has the same 2-in-1 grip to tripod feature. You can also mount a mic or light to the top of the clamp.

Check Price of iGadgitz on Amazon

Fantaseal Pistol Grip

The Fantaseal Pistol Grip smartphone grip has less features but is a more sturdy creature.

With this grip the handle fits nicely into your hand. There’s also a strap (because nobody likes dropping their phone). The clamp is also stronger so your phone will be more securely in place. The clamp can also be mounted to a regular tripod, should you require that option. Added to that, the hand strap can be removed revealing a 1/4 inch thread so that the entire grip can be mounted to a tripod. Or you can mount other items to the base of the grip, such as a light, microphone or action camera like GoPro.

Check Price of Fantaseal Pistol Grip on Amazon

Counterweight Stabilizer

Steadicam Smoothee

While Soderbergh is using a DJI Osmo to shoot motion pictures, back in 2013-2014 Sean Baker was shooting Tangerine using a Steadicam Smoothee.

There’s no motor involved. Instead the stabilizer works by using a combination of pistol grip with an iPhone mounted to the top. Meanwhile, the curved arm hangs down resting on a ball pivot. So the arm swings around as you move, keeping the smartphone level.

As an example, check out this promo for an EasyCam stabilizer. You can see that it works pretty well until you have to turn a corner at which point the camera keeps turning even when you have stopped.

Now, there are some advantages and disadvantages using one of these – compared to a motorised 3 axis gimbal. One disadvantage is they can be tricky to use and require some practice to master. This is because you have no real control over the motion of the arm. For example, when panning left or right, there’s no real way to stop the camera from continuing to pan when you want it to.

The advantages are: 1) they require no batteries or charging 2) these days they are cheaper than the 3 axis gimbals (the Smoothee is still it’s old price) 3) you can grab the arm with your free hand to turn the stabilizer from a pivot to a simple grip in second. You can see Sean Baker doing that here:

Back in 2015, this was one of your best options for creating the Steadicam look with a smartphone. Since then, the introduction of the motorised 3 axis gimbal has changed the game. However, there is a still a use for these simple stabilisers.

Check out Steadicam Smoothee on Amazon

Here’s our MoMo Pick:

The Movo Photo VS01

For a good deal less cost than the Steadicam Smoothee, the Movo Photo VS01 stabilizer is our choice in this category. GoPro and Smartphone clamps included. For the cost, this is a well build stabilizer. As I say, it does take some practice to master. I think the footage you get when using one of these is a little different to using a motorised gimbal – it has more of a “floaty” feel.

Check ou Movo Photo VS01 on Amazon

Motorised 3 Axis Gimbal Stabilisers

Now to the main course. By far the most popular smartphone gimbals are the motorised ones. The ones Steven Soderbergh used to shoot his last 2 features. In his case, he used the DJI Osmo Mobile 1.

The last 2 years have really seen the explosion of these devices. They are generally around the same price and essentially do the same thing – keep your smartphone level and moving in as smooth a motion as possible.

These gimbals usually come with downloadable apps which can help set up the gimbal and give you options to remotely control the camera and gimbal. For that reason, different gimbals suit different phones depending whether you have iPhone or Android.

There are a few major players in the 3-Axis gimbal market and these are big sellers.

Zhiyun Smooth 4

The Zhiyun Smooth 4 is currently one of the top smartphone gimbals you can buy. And since they have partnered with the top camera app FiLMiC Pro they have nudged ahead of the other leaders in the smartphone gimbal market.

“The official APP for Smooth 4 is called ZY play. But Filmic Pro has best in class support for Smooth 4, you can use Filmic Pro as an alternative to ZY play.” Zhiyun

Apart from.. y’know.. stabilizing your smartphone very effectively, the Smooth 4 has a number of extra features. An integrated control panel gives you focus pull & zoom capability.

• Control panel: Smooth 4 is designed with a slider on its control panel (and a trigger button on its back) to switch between different gimbal modes. This reduces the need to touch the screen, helps users control both the stabilizer and camera. “Vertigo Shot” “POV Orbital Shot” “Roll-angle Time Lapse” buttons included.
• Focus Pull & Zoom: Apart from zoom, the handwheel becomes a focus puller so you can achieve focus changes in real time.
• PhoneGo Mode: Responds to movement without delay.
• Time Lapse: Freestyle timelapse, Timelapse, Motionlapse, Hyperlapse and Slow-motion.
• Object Tracking: Tracks objects including but not limited to human faces.
• Battery: Can run for 12 hours in a row. Battery indicator indicates current charge. Can be charged by portable power source and the phone can be charged by the stabilizer via USB port on tilt axis.

Check Price of Zhiyun Smooth 4 on Amazon

If you want a run through of all the features check out this excellent tutorial.

DJI Osmo Mobile 2

The DJI Osmo Mobile 2 is lighter and cheaper than its predecessor (as used by Soderbergh in the shooting of Unsane). The DJI Osmo 2 is more stripped down than the Zhiyun Smooth 4, with few controls. Some buttons have 2 functions, like the power / mode-switching button. The Osmo 2 has a dedicated record button and a thumb pad for smooth pans. Plus a zoom switch on the side of the gimbal wand.

Both the Zhiyun Smooth 4 and the Osmo 2 come equipped a universal 1/4″-20 mount on the bottom (as above: for mounting tripod etc). But the Smooth 4 also provides a detachable base – convenient when shooting motion timelapse videos.

“qualifies as the best-value iPhone accessory on the market at the moment.” 9to5mac

When charging, the Osmo Mobile 2 uses a Micro USB port as well as a USB Type A port to charge your smartphone (the Smooth 4 utilizes only a USB-C port).

Comparing the two, the Smooth 4 gimbal has a greater range of motion than the Osmo Mobile 2. The Smooth 4 also keeps the camera very still while the gimbal body is moved.  So, while the Smooth 4 is more stable, the DJI’s app for the Osmo Mobile 2 probably has the edge on the Zhiyun’s. The Osmo Mobile 2 app has object tracking, a simple interface and great video preview quality and just more straightforward to use.

Having said that, to counter the Smooth 4’s poor app performance there is the option to use (purchase necessary) FiLMiC Pro’s app instead. But guess what – you can also use FiLMiC Pro with the DJI Osmo 2.

So there’s really not too much in it between these two top smartphone gimbals. So really it comes down to your personal preference. DJI’s simpler gimbal or the extra features and slightly better stability of the Smooth 4.

Check Price of DJI Osmo 2 on Amazon

Anyway, here’s another excellent walk through of the Osmo Mobile 2’s features.

NEW Gimbals from DJI & Zhiyun

Must Read: DJI Osmo Mobile 3 vs Zhiyun Smooth Q2

Other Gimbals

Although these are the 2 currently most popular gimbals out there, there are a number of others to consider. Either to save a few $ or you just want to try out the different features on offer.

Zhiyun Smooth Q

The original Zhiyun Smooth Q gimbal was one of the first to make gimbals very affordable. I bought one and then bought a 2nd – I wanted a back up as I was shooting a short film and didn’t want to get stung by a gimbal breakdown in the middle of the shoot.

Now, there are shipping for even less than that. I still use mine, don’t really have any problems with them and have yet not felt the need to upgrade.

Check Price of Zhiyun Smooth Q on Amazon

MOZA Mini-MI

Aside from regular stabilization, the Moza Mini-MI is easy to use and has 8 different shooting modes.

“By employing inductive charging technology and magnetic coils in the phone holder base, the Mini-Mi lets you charge your mobile phone wirelessly simply by setting it on the gimbal. By using the dial wheel located on the hand-grip you can smoothly zoom in without touching your smartphone. To focus control, use the MOZA App and it under the camera settings menu. Features independent control system for each axis; Roll, Yaw, and Pitch. These axes can be controlled individually by 8 follow modes, giving you the same professional functionality that comes from MOZA’s advance control technology.” MOZA

Added to that, the Moza Genie app allows you to control speed these modes operate at.

Check Price of Moza Mini Mi on Amazon

Freevision VILTA

Another option that does essentially the same thing and at a few dollars less. There are a couple of extra features however:

“VILTA M uses the same algorithm as VILTA, which applies the most advanced efficient motor control algorithm and servo control algorithms in the industry. This allows Gimbal to respond in high speed scenarios with high control precision, achieving an image stability exponentially higher than competitive products. 17 hours battery capacity is enough to meet your needs when travelling. Via a type-c adaptor, VILTA M can charge the phone while using. It adopts intelligent battery management system, making VILTA M safer and battery life longer. Rubber coating handle design, all aim at providing you incredibly comfortable grab feel.” Freevision VILTA

Check Price of Freevision VILTA on Amazon

Check out the full video review by Scott Dumas below. He demonstrates the “POV mode”, which looks really useful. The gimbal will smoothly follow all your hand movements.

Check out our extensive Freefly Movi article.

More on smartphone gimbals.

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