Zhiyun Easy 5S evaluation: Giant and totally charged

• Design
• Efficiency
• Software program and options
• Verdict

Smartphones are dramatically enhancing their digital picture stabilisation with every technology, as such, exterior stabilisers are not the need they as soon as have been, no less than for informal customers.

Nonetheless, when you’re extra severe about your smartphone filmmaking, a gimbal can actually elevate the smoothness to the subsequent stage, in addition to supply helpful further options.

Zhiyun is aware of this, and as a substitute of concentrating on the mass market, has come out with one thing that is aimed squarely at prosumer-level content material creation, the Easy 5S.

It is a smartphone gimbal that appears prefer it means enterprise, it is massive, weighty and coated with tactile guide controls – making it the polar reverse of DJI’s tiny and light-weight Osmo Mobile 6.

So, how does this device carry out? We have been placing it to the take a look at to seek out out if such a hefty smartphone gimbal is sensible in 2023.

Design

• Dimensions: 311 x 168 x 52 mm, 625 grams
• Constructed-in fill gentle, elective magnetic lights

First issues first, it is a very giant gimbal, to the purpose the place it is about the identical measurement as a few of Zhiyun’s mirrorless digicam gimbals. It would not fold right down to a smaller measurement, both, so it isn’t essentially the most moveable possibility for travellers.

This design works to its benefit in some regards, although. It has a particularly snug grip, for starters, and the bigger controls make it simpler to regulate with precision.

The load can also be a bonus relating to stability, because it’s simpler to maintain your arms and arms regular when gripping one thing with a bit extra heft to it. After all, this additionally signifies that you will really feel this gimbal weighing down your backpack.

We’re testing the white model, which has a reasonably daring look, with contrasting black accents that remind us of a stormtrooper from Star Wars. We’re very keen on the design, however when you want one thing extra refined, it is also obtainable with an expert darkish gray end.

A brand new function for this mannequin is the addition of a fill gentle, located on the rear of the smartphone clamp. This has an adjustable brightness, managed by a wheel on the entrance of the gimbal, and it will get surprisingly shiny. It is a heck of quite a bit brighter than the LED unit in your cellphone, and it additionally has a lot better diffusion, so shadows aren’t fairly as harsh.

The drawback of this design is that it solely works with the rear digicam. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to add further magnetic lights that clip onto the highest and backside of the clamp, and they are often positioned backwards for selfie capturing – or to complement the primary gentle with further lumens.

You get considered one of these magnetic lights when you go for the combo pack, which additionally comes with a pleasant carrying case, or they are often bought on their very own for about $30 every.

One factor that is value noting with these lights, is that the built-in fill gentle will all the time be lively once they’re in use. The dimming controls are common, so regardless of which approach they’re oriented, all connected lights will shine on the identical brightness.

Efficiency

• Max payload: 280 grams
• 360-degree panning, 259-degree roll, 209-degree tilt

The design of the Easy 5S signifies that it wants balancing earlier than use, and when you’ve got a bigger cellphone, you will probably must redo this each time you unlock the arms. That is because of the approach that the arms fold into one another, if you have to prolong previous the two.5 marker, then the horizontal arm will hit the pan motor, so you will want to slip it again to a shorter setting.

Fortunately, balancing is a reasonably painless course of, you solely really want to fiddle with a single adjustment level, somewhat than the three-point system discovered on some skilled mirrorless gimbals.

Upon getting the stability level found out, it is merely a case of remembering the place it wants locking on the numbered slider, after which you’ll set it up pretty shortly every time you employ it.

What’s extra of a ache, is that you simply additionally must rebalance when switching from horizontal to vertical recording. That is one thing that may be carried out with a few button faucets on competing gimbals, and right here it is way more of an concerned course of.

Nonetheless, whereas that is all a little bit of faff, particularly in comparison with clip-and-go options just like the DJI Osmo Mobile 6, it could actually yield higher outcomes. That is very true when you’ve got an unusually weighted cellphone, just like the top-heavy Vivo X90 Pro that we examined with, or when you like to make use of clip-on lens adapters.

We discovered that we acquired considerably smoother outcomes with the Easy 5S, and we suspect that a number of that is right down to the balancing. The DJI possibility affords mainly no changes, so the motors need to work a lot tougher to maintain issues secure – though there’s quite a bit to be mentioned for its comfort.

One other issue that helps out quite a bit is the big selection of movement on all axes. This implies that you would be able to go from excessive to low angles seamlessly and easily, whereas gimbals with a extra restricted vary are likely to hit their limiter, leading to a pointy judder in your footage.

The pan axis can spin infinitely, which makes the “vortex” mode work particularly nicely. And whereas it isn’t a function that we have a tendency to make use of fairly often, its implementation right here might be the most effective we have seen on any smartphone gimbal. It additionally signifies that topic monitoring is way more versatile, however extra on that later.

Software program and options

• 2 hours PD quick charging, as much as 24 hours runtime
• ZY Cami and StaCam for iOS and Android

The Zhiyun Easy 5S’s battery seemingly lasts eternally, we have had our pattern unit for some time now, it is solely been charged as soon as, and it is exhibiting no indicators of needing a top-up.

Zhiyun says you’ll be able to count on as much as 24 hours of runtime on a cost, and when you think about that almost all steady photographs are a couple of minutes at most, these 24 hours go a really good distance. This mammoth runtime might additionally make it a sensible choice for movement timelapses over prolonged intervals – if that is your type of factor.

When it comes time to cost, it is carried out so by way of a USB-C port on the deal with, which is roofed by a rubber bung. The Easy 5S utilises fast-charging USB-C PD tech, which signifies that with the suitable charger, it will go from flat to full in round 2 hours.

There’s additionally a USB-C output discovered close to the cellphone clamp, which you should use to cost your cellphone from the gimbal’s battery. Nonetheless, the design of the clamp signifies that it is troublesome to take action. You may want a right-angled USB-C/Lightning cable, and then you definately’ll need to hope that it would not make your cellphone stick out too far to stability correctly. That is undoubtedly a function that may very well be improved.

Zhiyun has two separate apps that work with the Easy 5S. There’s ZY Cami, which is a general-purpose app that is aimed on the mass market, and StaCam, which is a extra skilled providing, permitting entry to extra guide controls and superior options.

We are able to see the logic right here, Zhiyun needs to maintain ZY Cami accessible and easy for the typical consumer, whereas nonetheless making extra skilled instruments obtainable in StaCam. The best way that it is carried out is fairly clumsy and unintuitive, although.

To us, it makes extra sense to have a single skilled app for the Easy 5S. Nothing else about this gimbal is focused towards the typical client, so why would the app must be?

What’s extra irritating is that a number of the superior options like the flexibility to make use of LUTs and focus peaking are locked behind a paywall. You may want Zhiyun’s Prime+ subscription to entry them which can price you a further $24.99 / £22.49 per yr, or $2.49/ £2.29 monthly.

You additionally need to exit the StaCam app and go to the ZY Cami app with a purpose to subscribe to options which can be solely obtainable in StaCam, which is bizarre. There is a free trial to Zhiyun Prime included within the field, however to not Prime+, so it is all horrendously complicated and pointless – particularly since we do not suppose that these options ought to price further.

Rant apart, the apps do their respective jobs fairly nicely and do not require any of the sideloading malarkey that DJI requires on Android units. In them, you will discover the entire standard gimbal options like the flexibility to document movement timelapses, hyperlapses, panoramas and the like, in addition to complete beautification options, if that floats your boat.

One of the vital app options, in our view, is topic monitoring. That is current within the ZY Cami app, however not StaCam (for some purpose). It really works nicely with human topics, nevertheless it’s not fairly on par with DJI’s system and is extra undoubtedly extra simply confused when there is a lack of distinction.

Verdict

The Zhiyun Easy 5S is a distinct segment product that is designed for severe filmmaking with a smartphone. It forgoes comfort and portability in favour of high quality and tactility.

In some ways, it achieves what it units out to, the {hardware} is superb, the steadiness is prime notch and the compatibility is unparalleled.

The software program is a particular ache level although, it is complicated and it needs extra of your hard-earned money. That mentioned, each function that we would have liked was obtainable without spending a dime, and the vast majority of the time we are likely to shoot with the cellphone’s native digicam app for the optimum high quality anyway.

The Easy 5S additionally works with Filmic Professional, when you use that, however this wasn’t one thing we have been in a position to take a look at.

Should you’re trying to take your smartphone filmmaking to the subsequent stage, and do not thoughts carrying round some cumbersome tools to take action, then we predict the Zhiyun Easy 5S is a superb possibility.