In this video review, we are taking a closer look at the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 ultra compact smartphone gimbal. This new gimbal started out as a Kickstarter campaign and was released in mid October. One of its main selling points is its compact and portable size. In the past gimbals tended to be quite large and bulky and for the most part very inconvenient to pack and carry around for the day especially if you only plan to use it randomly throughout the day. This led to many people just not using them very often as they were not worth the hassle. But today gimbals are getting smaller and smarter allowing you to create some pretty stunning content that is both stable and artistic.
One thing I have noticed with gimbals as prices have dramatically decreased is that the overall build quality has also decreased as companies use cheaper materials to help keep manufacturing costs down. However I must say in my opinion the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 has one of the nicest build qualities in smartphone gimbals in this price category, it definitely does not look cheap. It looks like just as much detail has been put into the design of this gimbal as has been put into the functionality and performance. If you are familiar with the Crane M2, it has a similar look and feel. Zhiyun is quickly becoming one of my favorite gimbal manufacturers because of all the detail they put into both performance, design and build quality.
The Zhiyun Smooth Q2 is capable of carrying a payload of 260 grams so it can handle most of today’s large smartphones. I have tested it with both an iPhone XS Max and iPhone 11 Pro Max and it could handle the weight and large size with no issues what so ever. Balancing is a little different than most gimbals but it is fast and easy to do. You don’t have to spend a lot of time fiddling with it to get it to balance correctly. Once balanced you can remove the phone mounting carriage easily if you need to take a call, you can then remount it when done without having to re-balance the phone saving you time.
The Zhiyun Smooth Q2 is fully compatible with the Zhiyun Play app and all the features that it offers. However, you can use any camera app of your choice including the stock camera app on the iPhone. One nice feature of the Smooth Q2 is the ability to pair the gimbal with the Bluetooth on your phone and use the shutter/record button in the stock camera app, this is a nice feature for those who do not wish to use the Zhiyun Play app. The Smooth Q2 has a removable battery that can be replaced if it loses potency over time or you just want to carry some extra power with you. The Smooth Q2 also features a MicroUSB port on the gimbal arm that allows you to plug in your smartphone to charge it while it is mounted. However one of my favorite things about the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 is the fact that you can easily mount a small microphone to it such as the Rode VideoMic Me-L enabling you to have nice audio when using it to vlog, not all other smartphone gimbals can do this with such ease.
Now one precaution you do have to take is when you are using a larger phone and the gimbal is powered off, the screen of your phone could come into contact with the gimbal handle causing scratches or even cracks if contact is hard enough. All in all its a really nice gimbal, it’s small and compact and can fit into a camera bag without taking up much room, you can even shove it in your pocket in between sessions.
Zhiyun Smooth Q2: https://amzn.to/2E9eLeB
