The best DSLR and mirrorless camera gimbals don't just stabilize your camera to cut out the jitters, they control and smooth out deliberate camera movements to bring super-smooth panning and tracking shots. They are especially effective for 'run and gun' style filming, where both you and the camera are physically following your subject.
Most mirrorless cameras now come with in-body stabilization systems (IBIS), but these systems can only compensate for camera wobbles in a limited way, and even with 'active' digital stabilization, they can't match the smoothness of a gimbal.
Gimbals use gyroscopic sensors and motorized pan, tilt, and roll axes. They offer different shooting modes for Pan Follow movements where the camera stays level, Follow modes where the camera can tilt up and down and POV modes where you can create deliberate roll effects too. Even as an amateur filmmaker, you'll instantly notice the difference in your footage when shooting with a gimbal.
Gimbals come in different sizes, weights, and payload capacities. We have a separate guide to the best smartphone gimbals, which are the smallest and lightest, but this guide is for heavier-duty gimbals capable of supporting the best DSLRs, the best mirrorless cameras, and, in some cases, the best cinema cameras.
Every gimbal has to be 'balanced' for the camera and lens combination you're using so that its weight is centered over the axes of movement and the gimbal motors are not overloaded. Even with balancing, you need to make sure that your camera kit's weight is within the gimbal's payload capacity in order for it to carry out its full range of movement.
Gareth Bevan
Gareth is the Reviews Editor at Digital Camera World, and the person in charge of approving all the latest camera-related tech. With years of experience as a photographer and videographer, shooting for some household names, he has learned a thing or two about working with cameras and the photography industry. Outside of this, expect to find him cycling around London, or deep in a Netflix binge.
The Scorp 2 provides an affordable way to get your mirrorless camera to make professional moves. The built-in AI sensor makes it stand out from the gimbal crowd!
DJI RS 4 gimbal effortlessly handles up to 3kg payload, with easy balancing and automatic arm locking, but may encounter roll arm slipping during long shoots.
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Best premium gimbal
(Image credit: George Cairns / Digital Camera World)
If you want a gimbal that can cope with your larger camera setup, from DSLRs and mirrorless all the way to small cine camera setups, then look no further than the Zhiyun Crane 4. This polished design includes a sling grip and a wrist rest, to make even heavy cameras feel comfortable and balanced as you shoot. Motor warning lights on each of the three axes help you find the balance for your camera quickly after you mount it. There’s also a comprehensive smartphone app to provide you with remote control options.
Compatibility: Mirrorless and DSLR cameras weighing up to 2.5kg
Stabilization: 3-axis
Weight: 1.7kg
Dimensions: 25 x 15.2 x 30.6 cm
Battery life (approx): 13 hours
Reasons to buy
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Built-in AI sensor
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Bluetooth connectivity
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Controllable via smartphone
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Tactile control knob
Reasons to avoid
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Couldn’t Bluetooth connect to camera (but fine with smartphone)
If you shoot on a mirrorless camera system such as the Sony A7RV then you won’t need to pay a premium price for a heavy DSLR lifting stabilizer such as the DJI RS 4 Pro. The Feiyu Scorp 2 can effortlessly carry a payload of up to 2.5 Kg (and our Sony A7RV and lens only weighed in at 1.5 Kg when we tested the Scorp 2.) The Scorp 2 also has an ace up its sleeve in relation to tracking a subject. The DJI Ronin-SC needs a smartphone app to make that gimbal track your moves. The Scorp 2 has a built-in AI tracker that makes the gimbal tilt and pan to follow your every move after you make an ‘OK’ gesture. When you’ve finished recording stick your thumbs horizontally together to stop the AI tracking feature. This should be an attractive feature for YouTube self-shooters who want to add some camera moves to their ‘talking head’ performances.
As with most other gimbals in this guide, the Scorp 2 is supported by a smartphone app - in this instance the Feiyu Scorp app. This enables you to change shooting modes or calibrate the 3-axis motors from the comfort of your smartphone’s display (rather than fiddling with the gimbal’s smaller 1.3” OLED touchscreen.) One fun feature of the app is the ability to sync it to your smartphone’s gyroscope so that you can pan and tilt the gimbal remotely via Bluetooth. This behaves just like the DJI Ronin App’s Force Mode when using it to control the RS 4 Pro. Personally I’d file this type of remote control under ‘gimmick’ as it’s hard to get smooth and steady pans and tilts when waving your smartphone about like Harry Potter with his wand.
Balancing a heavy DSLR and lens payload is one of the most challenging jobs when it comes to using a stabilizer, but DJI’s RS 4 Pro has a few tricks up its sleeve to take the boredom out of balancing.
A handy knob on the tilt axis enables you to balance your camera with ease and precision. The new RS 4 Pro’s tilt axis also features a Teflon coating, which makes it easier to reposition when you’re trying to balance a heavy payload. The roll axis has dual sliding bearings that enable you to make adjustments comfortably while balancing a DSLR.
Unlike some competing gimbals, this one locks and unlocks the axes automatically, so you don’t get frustrating error messages when you forget to manually unlock on of the three axes.
If you own a mirrorless camera and a selection of lenses then you’ll need to be confident that you buy a gimbal that is capable of panning, tilting and even rolling a heavy payload. The DJI RS 4 can do so effortlessly up to a payload of 3kg - though we only tested it with a Sony A7 III mirrorless camera with a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 Di III lens that weighed in at 1.4 Kg.
Some gimbals can be a challenge to balance as you have to apply force to slide each axis arm back and forth until your payload is balanced. The Teflon coating on the RS 4’s three alloy axis arms enables you to slide them more easily, plus the tilt axis arm has a fine-tuning knob that makes it even easier to move the arm into a perfectly balanced position.
Another issue many gimbals have is that the 3 axis arms need to be unlocked when the gimbal is operating. It’s very easy to forget to unlock one of the arms, causing the gimbal to power down or shake. The RS 4’s 2nd generation locking system ensures that all arms are locked (for transport) or unlocked for action automatically. This is a very welcome design feature. We did encounter an issue with the roll arm slowly slipping during a long shoot and becoming unbalanced, but it was a quick and easy matter to re-balance it.
Touch screen registers a lot of accidental touches
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No black option
The Crane-M 3S is a compelling choice if you are a vlogger or content creator who wants an effective but affordable way to generate more professional-looking footage. This gimbal is light, but still capable of balancing small-or-medium-sized mirrorless camera and lens combinations.
A set of intuitive controls offers plenty of buttons and dials, plus a small touchscreen for settings. We think it’s a great first gimbal to try if you’ve never used one before. You’ll find you can easily capture smooth footage that’s a noticeable step up from shooting handheld, which shakes and jitters are inevitable. We did find that one-handed operation became a bit of a strain after a while, though.
Baseplate was lose in initial setup (until corrected)
Weighing only a couple of pounds (just over a kilo) and providing plenty of handling options, the Weebill 3S is a delight to use. We particularly like the way you can rotate the sling grip to be closer to the grip handle so that you have a comfortable two-handed grip, ideal for heavier loads or longer shots. We tested the gimbal with both a Sony A7 III and a Canon 650D DSLR, both with standard zoom lenses; neither setup gave any indication of straining the gimbal motors, and we got some delightly smooth footage.
When it comes to accessories like gimbals, we do as much testing as possible in the field. We commission experienced reviewers who have used these products before and know exactly what to look for and where any weak points might be. For gimbals specifically, we look at stability, ease of setup, smoothness of operation and portability. We test how smoothly the camera moves, how securely it is held and whether there are any design niggles that prevent it from working as it should, like different parts knocking into each other when the camera is moved to certain positions.
Gareth is a photographer based in London, working as a freelance photographer and videographer for the past several years, having the privilege to shoot for some household names. With work focusing on fashion, portrait and lifestyle content creation, he has developed a range of skills covering everything from editorial shoots to social media videos. Outside of work, he has a personal passion for travel and nature photography, with a devotion to sustainability and environmental causes.
