NEW: Zhiyun CRANE-M2 Gimbal

Announcing the Zhiyun CRANE-M2 3-Axis Gimbal. Most of us smartphone filmmakers are aware of Zhiyun gimbals. Their Smooth range of stabilizers are one of the most popular.

Their Crane range of stabilizers are aimed more at DSLR shooters, but the new Crane-M2 is more compact and designed for smartphones too.

The Crame-M2 weighs 1.1 lbs (500g) and carries compact cameras, light mirrorless cameras, smartphones and action cameras weighing up to 1.58 lbs (720g).

NOTE: an extra mounting clamp is required for mobile phones or action cameras.

This new Zhiyun Crane is small and lightweight and while it can be used with DSLRs and mirrorless, the maximum payload of 720g won’t hold most mirrorless cameras. Even Sony a6400 is going to be close to that weight limit with a lens added.

Zhiyun vs DJI

The 2 most popular smartphone gimbals have been the Zhiyun Smooth 4 and the DJI Osmo Mobile 2. And now the Zhiyun Crane-M2 announcement comes less than a week after DJI revealed the lightest new addition to their Ronin lineup.

In terms of price, the new Zhiyun is a good deal more than their ‘small camera only’ gimbals. But for that you get something a bit sturdier built whilst remaining compact.

However, the M2 isn’t aimed to compete with the Ronin-SC. While the Ronin is meant for mirrorless ILCs like the Canon EOS R or Sony a7 cameras, the Crane-M2 is targeted at smaller devices.

Smooth 4 vs Crane-M2

The design of the Zhiyun Crane-M2 puts it between the popular smartphone gimbals and the heavy duty DSLR gimbals. Even though smartphones are very light, when you start adding conversion lenses, rigs or the bigger smartphones the weight can go over the Smooth 4’s max payload.

A Zhiyun Smooth 4 has a max payload of 210g, while a Samsung S10+ weighs 175g (an iPhone Xs weighs 177g). Now consider the Moment 58mm Telephoto weighs 73.1g, the lens and S10+ together would make a payload well over the Smooth 4’s maximum. And that doesn’t include the Moment mounting case.

(So, if you’re wondering why your Smooth 4 keeps breaking down or struggling to function, this might be a reason).

Now, the Crane-M2 can handle up to 720g, which is plenty enough to cover phone + lens + case and more.

On the other hand, the Smooth 4 battery lasts for up to 12 hours opposed to the Crane-M2 battery which will last up to 7 hours (although on the Crane M2’s Amazon page it says 6 hours).

In terms of gimbal length, the Crane-M2 is smaller (267 mm) than the Smooth 4 (328 mm).

5 Unique Things about the ZHIYUN Crane-M2

Zhiyun have released a video pinpointing 5 features unique to the Crane-M2.

Able to mount a variety of cameras Compact design Revolutionary design (locking pin & quick release) Creative modes Ultimate vlogging

I wouldn’t say there are too many features here we haven’t seen already in other gimbals. There’s a useful pin to lock the gimbal into a fixed position and the quick release mechanism offers more spontaneous usage.

Clearly the gimbal is being aimed at vloggers and travel video shooters.

Modes

Pan Follow

Follow

Lock

POV mode allows 360° synchronous movement on all three axes

allows 360° synchronous movement on all three axes Vortex mode allows 360° barrel shots in all dimensions

allows 360° barrel shots in all dimensions Go mode captures every fast movement

captures every fast movement Selfie mode quickly turns the camera 180° to face you

There’s an OLED display that will show the gimbal mode, Bluetooth & connection status, battery level and various other parameters.

Wireless control

CRANE-M2’s Wi-fi and Bluetooth features allow wireless camera control through the gimbal handle and Zhiyun’s ZY PLAY app. Zhiyun provide a list of supported cameras:

Sony

ILCE- 5100/6000/6300/6400/6500

DSC- RXO/RXOM2/RX100M4/RX100M5/RX100M6/WX500/HX90/HX99

Panasonic

DMC-GX85/ZS110GK/LX10GK, GF10KGK

DC- GX9KGK/GX9GK/GF9KGK/GF9XGK/ZS70GK/ZS220GK/LX100M2GK

Canon M50

GoPro HERO 5/6/7

Mobile Phone: Most popular mobile phone on the market.

A note on max payload

From the above list, taking one example, I found that the Sony A6300 weighs around 790 grams including lens. Which is 70 grams over the max payload of the gimbal.

The smaller cameras like the Sony RX100 will be fine. But for larger cameras, you might need to check the total weight of the camera plus lens before you think about using it with the Crane-M2.

A great gimbal for smartphones and action cameras

All in all, this appears to be a great gimbal for serious smartphone filmmakers. It’s a good deal more expensive than their Smooth 4 (and other competing smartphone gimbals) but looks like a device designed to cope with more demanding use.

Due to the gimbals low max payload there’s probably less scope for it to be used for DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. Presumably, they wanted to design a more sturdy and compact smartphone gimbal, but felt the price tag would require them to attract some DSLR and mirrorless users too. If you’re looking to use one with one of the smaller DSLR or mirrorless cameras then you should be fine, but it might be worth checking.

Check the Price of Zhiyun Crane-M2 on Amazon

Zhiyun have produced a short film to demonstrate the power of their new gimbal. Check it out below.

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