The Smooth 4 works very well, but it’s got one minor flaw and one MAJOR design flaw. Note - I use it with an Apple iPhone X, so my comments are from that perspective.
The minor one is the ZY Play software. It’s got several bugs and some of the features don’t work as well as they should. That said, bugs can be fixed and apparently Zhiyun is integrating their hardware with Filmic Pro which appears to be very good software. Nevertheless, ZY Play still works well enough enough to produce results.
The reason for two stars is the MAJOR design flaw - with a larger phone, especially in a case and with accessories, it can NOT be balanced. Neither Zhiyun nor any other manufacturer have developed a good counter weight system for the Smooth 4.
A smart phone with a stabilizer is a great, portable solution for on the go videos. But it has work! It has to be balanced with a large smart phone like an iPhone X or larger. It has to be balanced with a charging cable attached. It has to be balanced WITH a case on the phone. It has to balanced with attachment lenses. (I desperately needed my wide-angle lens attached yesterday.)
Why is balancing important? It may work out of balance, but it will suddenly, randomly flip and go “wonky”. More important, is that it overheats - the motors get hot after extended use. MOST important is that it cannot be used with attachment lenses.
Zhiyun needs to design and build a good, flexible counterweight system that will balance the Smooth 4 in multiple configurations... With and without a case. Or charging cable. Or attachment lenses. Without these enhancements, the phone + Smooth 4 is a modest combo for making simple. videos. WITH these enhancements, the phone/Smooth 4 combo has the potential to make seriously nice, high quality, very creative videos from a portable package.
When a good counterweight system is available for the Smooth 4, I’l update my review.
Regards,
Dan.
P.s.Charging your phone from the Smooth 4 a potentially AWESOME feature. If it can be balanced!
P.p.s The ability to quickly snap the Zhiyun into a locked standby mode is an excellent feature. However all of the hack counterbalance solutions on the web make that impossible.
UPDATE 4/9/2019
Changed rating to 4 stars. Adding “EACHSHOT Universal Counterweights” fixed the balance problem. I bought another weight set, but they didn’t work well. Search for “EACHSHOT Universal Counterweight” on Amazon.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Product Description
Advanced Features:
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Focus Pull & Zoom Capability
The more professional and delicated handwheel is built in Smooth 4, bringing you the unprecedented experience of smooth operation. You can zoom in or out as you want to take close-up shots.By pressing the FN switch button, the handwheel is configured into a focus puller, helping you achieve high-precision focus changes in real time to create creative shots. |
PhoneGo Mode for Instant Scene
Like a high-end sports car, Smooth 4 can enter PhoneGo mode and release the potential of motors in a flash. It can respond to every delicate movement without delay without the need to worry about losing any shots.What's better is that amazing scene transition can be achieved in your footage without post-processing. |
Filmmaking MakingZhiyun Smooth 4 turns your mobile phone into a professional filmmaking camera, helping you create stable and smooth footage with just your phone. The design of integrated control panel can reduce the need to touch the screen, and help users control both the stabilizer and mobile camera directly with hot-key buttons. Get one now to create your own Hollywood movies with just phones! |
More Features:
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
Object TrackingSmooth 4 can produce smooth footage and also track objects including but not limited to human faces with much higher precision. You can frame the object you want to track on the screen, and the stabilizer can do the rest. Shooting has never been so easy, but now we have Smooth 4! |
Time Lapse Expert
Smooth 4 supports all kinds of advanced shooting techniques. It can realize features such as Timelapse, moving time lapse, Freestyle time lapse , Hyperlapse, Motionlapse, |
Control Panel DesignSmooth 4 is designed with a slider on its control panel and a trigger button on its back, to easily recognize and switch between different gimbal modes. |
Two-way ChargingSmooth 4 can run for 12 hours in a row. The stabilizer can be charged by portable power source and the phone can be charged by the stabilizer via USB port on tilt axis. |
New Control Panel Design
Hot Keys Design for Instant Controls:
Zhiyun Smooth 4 turns your mobile phone into a professional filmmaking camera, helping you create cinematic and expressive footage with just your phone. Its unique control panel saves you the trouble of touching the screen multiple times and helps you take film-level footage.
Easy Mode Transition:
Smooth 4 adopts the latest concept with slider switching stabilizer modes. With it, you do not need to memorize all operation modes.
Push slider up or down to enter PF or L mode. By pressing "PhoneGo" button or "Following" button to enter specified mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth 4 | Universal CounterWeight | with Counterweight | with Adapter Ring | Microphone Mount | Vlogging Kit | |
| Function | Handheld Gimbal | Enable to hold attachments like phone lens | Universal Counterweight Included | Microphone Mount Included | Enable Smooth 4 to attach Microphone | Microphone+Tripod+Phone Holder+Led Light |
Customer Questions & Answers
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2018
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2018
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2018
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2018
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
emilgeorge4321
Glorious paper weight for Android owners
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Glorious paper weight for Android owners
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018
Android phone users!! Stay away.... I heard it works as it supposed to on iOS device but as you may have heard already, OMG it's a night mare on Android. App simply force closes when you try to just open some menu items or do some tasks. S9 plus barely fits in and had tough time with case on. I think this is a poorly designed gimbal.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018
Images in this review
Vitor
Beware Android users. Dont buy it if you want ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2018Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Jane B.
Not great with Samsung Galaxy S7
Reviewed in Australia on December 15, 2018Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Not great with Samsung Galaxy S7
Reviewed in Australia on December 15, 2018
I have really given this gimbal a good workout to ascertain if it is worth the money and time. With the Galaxy S7, it works intermittently. Just when I thought all was good, it suddenly goes all over the shop and will not correct itself.Reviewed in Australia on December 15, 2018
A number of people have left reviews on Youtube to say it has issues and I do wish I had not wasted the money on it. With an iPhone, it might be a different story. For me, it's a time consuming and frustrating gadget that is going to be tossed to an op-shop (charity shop) I expect.
Images in this review
Gazman
Soooo many options great price
Reviewed in Australia on August 20, 2019Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Steve Roberts
FAULTY PRODUCT
Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2020Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
