hohem iSteady V2 Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphone, 3-Axis Phone Gimbal w/Independent AI Tracking Sensor & Fill Light, Foldable Gimbal Vlogging Stabilizer for iPhone Android YouTube TikTok Live Video

To be honest, I had a bit of buyer's remorse after the initial set up.The gimbal wouldn't activate itself correctly. I would get the beep error and it would shut off. I thought maybe it was a battery issue but it was having a hard time orienting itself even though I centered the phone in the middle as it said in the setup guide.2nd time, same error so I let it charge just in case the indicator was giving a false full charge signal. 3rd time same error but I gently flicked my phone and it calibrated and started working correctly.So heads up if you're planning to use this with a 12 pro max or another phone around the same weight class or a lighter phone with lens and other attachments. One review video used a 12 pro max in a case with an attached lens and had good results so keep that in mind. The official payload rating is 280g.I haven't played around with the native app so watch some reviews about how to use it or guides are available within the Hohem app itself.What I do like is being able to use my own photo and video apps while the gimbal is still working.One warning is make sure to check for everything that comes with the box. I happened to not notice the wrist strap because of how light it is and how well they tucked it into the compartment where the gimbal bag was placed in. I actually threw it in the recycling bin without realizing it and fortunately recovered it after watching a review video.Another thing that was really nice of Hohem was the USB cable they provided. Out of the box, it seems like any other USB A to C cable so I tossed it with my other cables. It wasn't until I watched a review video that I learned it's actually a C to C cable with a USB A adapter already attached. I like not having to sacrifice my current stock of C to C cables and I only have one C to A adapter so it's nice to have another spare.This gimbal comes with it's own tripod attachable by threaded mount. Toss the tripod and you can attach the gimbal to your own gear.

December 2021 UPDATE: So I have now used this a handful of times. For reference I don't need to do a lot of steady videoing (not being a YouTuber type). Few things that I think are now worthy of an update to my previous review.Settings don't stay applied from use to use. So changing to Professional Mode including Grid, Resolution and other settings have to be applied each off/on, which is frustrating and surely could just be cached settings in the App?I used it recently to record my niece doing a school presentation as homework. We recorded several videos, but once we were done, where are my videos'? They are not in my phone (iPhone 11Pro Max) photos and videos. But in my iPhone settings the Hohem App is now 10gb - there are the videos listed there, but all I can do from the Phone>General>settings is delete them. The videos do not show in the usual "thumbnail" Photos/Videos on the App, they are not in my photos, and I have trawled through the App menus to see if I have missed something, nope. They have sort of vanished from access. I just recorded a new video to test - that's transferred to my phone photos... So that inconsistency makes the product a little less appealing to use.Tracking is a bit mediocre. Its fine but not great most of the time, as long as you stand still. Focus points are hard to keep consistent. Basically this is a "stage it and then record it" product that makes your videos slightly less wobbly than handheld - but often a little less accurate on retaining the target of the video.I will keep trying to use this, but in my humble opinion this is a 3-star gimmick to play around with with young humans, not for anything too serious.July 2021: I like the product texture. It’s a soft rubber feel. The product also feels quite sturdy. Unlike a selfie stick the entire unit is motorized, so when the power is off this is just limp.Using the product and the app definitely takes some practice. There are several modes, understanding which is relevant for what you are attempting to video requires a certain amount of trail and error. I’m yet to perfect it, but it’s fun finding out how to improve. The vendor contacted me offering a $30 Amazon gift card for a 5-star review. I feel this is probably a slightly higher rating than I would give it at this time as I am still learning how to best use it. I will edit this review if it doesn’t live up to expectations in due course.

So I ended up returning this gimbal. It is quite amazing, however! Using the AI tracking with my phone's native camera app was great! BUT, if I wanted to do any other kind of shooting I either had to use their app or put my phone in the gimbal backwards and try to control my native camera with the gimbal in the way while using the gimbal's AI. Literally within 10 minutes of use I knew that I had to return this.I ended up getting a DJI om4. I have to use dji's app to use tracking, but I can use my S21 Ultra's native app if I'm not tracking. Aside from that, dji's app is pretty good anyway. I actually found it much better than the app with this gimbal.As far as build quality, the DJI felt much more premium in my hand. The isteady v2 had a very cheap plastic feel to it. It is much lighter, but at the expense of a premium feel.I shoot a lot outdoors, so I had to go with DJI. But if i was just going to be vlogging, I'd choose this over the DJI.