Tag Archives: Gimbal

"The DJI OM 4 is beginner-friendly, but includes some advanced camera movements."

• Easy to use

• Fast magnetic attachment

• Pre-programmed movements in stories

• Good stabilization

• Advanced app tools

• Some modes are hidden

• Follow mode does not use the full pan range

Gimbals mix stabilization with cinematic camera movement, but the combination often creates a system geared toward experienced users. However, this is not the case with the DJI OM 4. With the three-axis gimbal, which requires little balancing, even inexperienced users can work – literally or figuratively – in just a few short tutorial videos.

The DJI OM 4 was developed by a company known for its drones. In story mode, the OM 4 even adds cinematic camera movements with just a few taps of the finger, while modes such as dynamic zoom imitate advanced dolly zoom techniques. Gesture control with tracking even opens the gimbal for vloggers.

The DJI OM 4 offers the ideal mix of beginner-friendly features and advanced movie effects – but it's not quite perfect. As a photographer – not a videographer – I took out DJI's latest gimbal to see how re-friendly it is.

Technical data and features

The DJI OM 4 is a three-axis motorized smartphone gimbal that includes some improvements over the previous version, including a more powerful motor. It's compatible with any phone less than 3.3 inches wide and 10.23 ounces with an app for iOS and Android. (I tested the OM 4 with an iPhone 11 Pro).

The gimbal offers a good range of motion between approximately 333 degrees and 343 degrees on each of the three axes. The gimbal stops panning once it reaches the front of the gimbal handle, and it has a tilt range from the sky to the ground.

Hillary K. Grigonis / Digital Trends

The gimbal not only stabilizes videos, but also offers various modes to support creative recordings. Tracking mode follows a person or animal and can be activated when gesture control is activated by raising your hand with the palm of your hand towards the camera. Sport mode is designed to use the gimbal while it is active.

One of my favorite aspects of the gimbal is the different modes that make it easy to add professional looking camera movement. In Inception mode, the camera is rotated with the joystick instead of panning or tilting. Dynamic zoom or dolly zoom enlarges or reduces the subject, but keeps it in the same position and changes the background instead. Hyperlapses and time-lapse are included, as are panoramas, including the option to clone yourself into a photo.

design

The DJI OM 4 uses two different mounting options – a thin metal plate that stays permanently attached to the device, or a detachable smartphone clamp. According to DJI, the plate is faster and does not need to be rebalanced, but should not be used for a fall. I used the clamp option.

The spring-loaded clamp was impressively able to grip and balance my iPhone 11 Pro with its case. However, the clamp needs to be perfectly aligned to keep the horizon straight. I had to regularly nudge one side of the clamp to keep the phone perfectly balanced. The app also provides an option to rebalance the gimbal for phones that are tilted to one side despite being correctly oriented, and will likely be required to use accessories such as auxiliary lenses.

Hillary K. Grigonis / Digital Trends

Once the clamp or plate is in place, mounting the smartphone on the gimbal is as easy as aligning the two points on each magnet. I occasionally had to adjust the position of the clamp once it was installed to achieve perfect balance.

The handle offers an ergonomic design, with which almost every control is easily accessible. On the front there is the joystick for redirecting the gimbal, a record button and a mode button that switch between video and still images as well as from vertical to horizontal. Near the tip of the thumb, there is a zoom switch on the side of the handle. I could barely reach this knob without adjusting my whole hand, and users with small hands may not quite like this button position.

On the back is the trigger to lock the gimbal in one direction. Two taps on the shutter button re-center the gimbal, while three taps on the front facing camera toggle in the DJI app.

Once captured, the upper arm of the gimbal folds down on itself, shortening the overall height of the gimbal. At roughly 6.5 inches tall, the only bag it fits will fit oversized coat packages or cargo pants, but only add about 14 ounces to a bag. The gimbal also comes with an optional folding tripod base on which the gimbal can be used on a tabletop.

The DJI app: a cameraman in your hands

The controls of the gimbal were still transferred to the native camera app of the iPhone. However, the best features of the gimbal are contained in the DJI Mimo app. From in-app tutorials to automating camera tricks, the app is impressively well built and easy to use. Initial setup of the app was easy and didn't have the headache that some Bluetooth devices cause when they first connect.

For the most part, the app helps beginners get started quickly. Mimo starts with a built-in tutorial that walked me through the various controls and shortcuts. Then, if I inevitably forgot exactly where those controls were, I could turn to the tutorial section for a quick refresher.

However, the main part of the app is the camera mode. Many of the options and controls feel like using the basic camera app on my iPhone, including a mode slider under the record button and the same tap to focus and slide to adjust the exposure.

Story mode was my favorite part of the entire app – and I very rarely share social media stories. The feature uses the gimbal to create various motion effects that I wouldn't otherwise capture, and then merges it all into an edited, easily shareable clip of music. It's both a great way to create highlight clips for easy sharing and put together professional-looking video effects without knowing how to record or edit them.

With the story shortcut in camera mode, you can record and edit a video at the same time. In this mode, the app and gimbal work together to automatically create short, edited videos with motion effects based on the template you selected. For example, the gimbal can create a 360-degree video glitch, add tilt effects, or create motion blur between cuts with rapid gimbal movement.

Hillary K. Grigonis / Digital Trends

The app counts down to the start of the recording and then automatically moves the gimbal to achieve the effect. The process is repeated for each clip in the template. Some templates use camera tricks, while others just add music, text, and filters. The custom template option allows you to adjust the camera movement (unfortunately not factors like the length of the clip). Stories can be saved as drafts so that you can record the clips at different times of the day.

By accessing the stories from the home page, instead of using camera mode, pre-recorded videos are edited with templates that include clip transitions, music, filters and text. Although the camera effects are not added for you, this is the mode you want to use if you are taking a one-time shot because the shooting mode will count down and stop after a few seconds based on the number of template you select.

My only complaint about the app is that I wish Stories could do even more, including longer videos and custom clip lengths. When using Stories in Selfie mode, some movements are also reversed in ways that don't always make sense, e.g. For example, if you tilt the camera down instead of up when using the front camera.

user friendliness

As a photographer, rather than a videographer, I can count the number of gimbals I've tried on one hand. However, the OM 4 was easy to jump in and use right away. At the same time, thanks to the integrated tutorials and the various modes of the app, the OM 4 offers more advanced camera tricks that almost anyone can use to take photos.

I was ready to use the basic controls after just a few minutes of playing. The gimbal stabilization is excellent – I've used the OM 4 inline skating and even jogging backwards with excellent results.

The OM 4's ability to follow a subject in front of the camera is good, if not perfect. If a single topic remains in front of the gimbal, e.g. B. for vlogging or creating tutorial videos, the performance of the gimbal is excellent. However, the gimbal has problems following people who move to the side of the gimbal long before the swing limit is reached. When tracking people, the gimbal sometimes switched another person and followed her.

Hillary K. Grigonis / Digital Trends

That's not to say that a little practice and time with the gimbal won't be beneficial. The gimbal has several shortcuts to the same button and I had to take pictures with it a few times to remember them all. One click of the mode button changes the mode from photo to video, two clicks from vertical to horizontal and three switches to standby mode.

With a few tutorials, I was up and shooting with a little practice. However, access to the advanced modes required a lot of patience because they are not organized in a single location. Many of the advanced recording modes are in camera mode in the mode dial at the bottom of the screen. For example, to activate Inception mode and rotate the camera, you need to go to Settings and change the Follow mode.

Hillary K. Grigonis / Digital Trends

Others aren't even a labeled button or even part of the original in-app tutorials. When you switch to underride mode for low-angle shots, the gimbal turns upside down. The low-settlement mode, which was called up by holding the trigger and tilting the gimbal forward, didn't work for me. I couldn't adjust the angle of the smartphone to accommodate anything other than the ground.

The OM 4 was also not very tripod-friendly for third parties. While I had no issues with the included tripod, I encountered some challenges when using a full-height tripod. In story mode, some of the automated movements jolted the camera, a strange bug that didn't repeat itself when used on the included tripod. Tightening the tripod screw helped but didn't fix the problem. The patterned ribs on the underside of the gimbal also tore off the handle on the mounting plate of my tripod.

Our opinion

The DJI OM 4 is not just a smartphone gimbal – it is a tool that will add cinematic movement even for beginners. The well-designed app, simple mounting system, variety of shooting modes, and portable design make the gimbal simple and modern at the same time, a combination that is nearly impossible.

Although the DJI OM is 4 eons before the gimbals the company created a few years ago, it's not perfect. The modes could be more organized and some of the more advanced features require some digging. I couldn't get the low-angle shooting modes to work well, the follow mode didn't use the full pan range, and the OM 4 didn't play well with a third-party tripod.

Is there a better alternative?

Smartphone gimbals are becoming more common – and there is a bit of competition. However, none seems to be as beginner-friendly as the balanced design and intuitive app of the OM 4. The Zhiyun Smooth 4 is a bit cheaper, but has advanced controls. Advanced users will like the focus dial, as well as the other physical and app-based controls, but beginners can be more intimidated by the extras.

How long it will take?

The DJI OM 4 has already asked us to download a firmware update, a good sign that the OM 4 will continue to experience new improvements via software. Aside from major glitches, the OM 4 should last a few years thanks to these updates, a solid design, and a mounting system compatible with a wide variety of smartphones.

Should you buy it?

If you've never tried a gimbal but want to eliminate the shaking of your videos and add cinematic camera movements in a few simple steps, buy the DJI OM 4. The OM 4 is incredibly beginner-friendly and unbalanced. In-app tutorials and automated camera movements with stories.

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