The All New Zhiyun Crane M is not another ordinary camera stabilizer equipment, but one of the best in class camera stabilizer that helps you to click crystal clear pictures and take amazing videos. Say goodbye to all those shaky pictures and videos. Handy and tiny cameras have become the most favored ones among professional photographers and photo enthusiasts, but the big question which device to use to stabilize it to achieve best quality pictures. A wildlife photographer may wait several hours to capture that once in a lifetime picture and just imagine if the picture is shaken, all the hours spent waiting goes a bitter waste.
Design
Zhiyun is renowned for producing some of the best-in-class products and Zhiyun Crane M is no exception to that fact. It is completely made up of solid aluminum and hence you can’t find any plastic on the gimbal except for the buttons on one side. You need to use a standard 1/4 screw to start the gimbal and it just takes less than a minute to mount your camera on the gimbal. One of the best features of the Crane M is the ability to mount any camera on top and hence you don’t need to carry more than one gimbal to shoot with your smartphone or any other camera.
Even though it is a bit heavier than the Smooth-C gimbal, it comes with a solid build and is completely worth for every penny spent on the gimbal. It can certainly compete with some of the best high end gimbals in the market. It also comes with a solid shell case that you won’t find in gimbals at this price range. Overall the design is simple and sleek but solid
Features
- Comes with 2 3600 mAH lithium batteries to provide a maximum of 12 hours running time.
- Also comes equipped with three 32 bit MCUs to enable the Crane M to respond quickly and precisely
- You can rotate the gimbal in a 360° unlimited rotation separately in 3 axes in locking mode.
- Inversion and handheld shooting modes are also available
- Mount your camera within a minute with this tool-less mounting system and complete the balance adjustment
- Supports all kind of smart phones including IPhone, Samsung, HUAWEI, Vivo, Oppo etc.
- All button are present on one side for easier handling and controlling of the gimbal
- Comes with APP and Bluetooth connectivity
- Anti-slide slot is provided to prevent axis sliding
Usability
The Zhiyun Crane M is pretty much simple to use and easy to handle, similar to the Zhiyun Smooth-C. When you become familiar with the three axis, then it is extremely simple to handle the gimbal and take stunning pictures and videos. Let’s look at the three different axis terms below:
Roll Axis: It is used to move the camera from left to right on the gimbal platform or the rotation around the front-to-back axis.
Pitch Axis: It is used to move the camera from front to back on the gimbal platform or the rotation around the side-to-side axis.
Yaw Axis: It is used to move the camera from side to side on the gimbal platform or the rotation around the vertical axis.
The default mode in the gimbal is the pan following mode that is most regularly used by many photographers. But once you hit the mode button, it enters into a locking mode to enable taking tilt shots or smooth pan shots. Go to pan and pitch following mode by hitting the mode button twice and gimbal follows the direction where the camera is pointed to.
No matter how much quick you turn the gimbal, you always get a clear and perfect shot. Enter the selfie mode by hitting the mode button thrice. If you are looking for taking some casual shots, then the Zhiyun Crane M can easily replace your tripod.
Performance
The Zhiyun crane M is a versatile gimbal and can support cameras that weight between 125g to 650g, which enables you to use even small camcorders, smartphones and even point and shoot cameras and action cams mounted on top of the gimbal.
Eventhough many prefer a joystick, the app still does a great job in controlling it. With just a lesser price, it just feels to be using a premium product with its superior performance.
Battery Life
The Zhiyun Crane M gimbal comes equipped with 2 3600mAh batteries that can help you use the gimbal for a maximum of 12 hours, which is great for any gimbal. But this also depends on the type of camera and the kind of lens you use as take for example using a mirrorless camera might give you only 11 hours of battery life. So when compared to other gimbals, the overall battery life looks good.
It also comes with a dedicated USB charger to have your gimbal completely charged in just a few hours. It also has a micro USB port to charge them directly. The nice thing about the Zhiyun Crane M is that it comes with a couple of batteries, so you can shoot for longer hours.
Image Quality
Zhiyun always does an excellent job in handling the camera perfectly and reducing the shakiness to a great extent. You get a stunning footage even when using the gimbal to take pictures or videos while you are walking or running. You can use any kind of camera or a smartphone and still the video is always smooth.
Conclusion
The Zhiyun Crane M is arguably one of the best gimbal is pretty much simple to setup and use. Every footage captured with the gimbal is perfect, smooth and steady all the time. It is comparatively small when compared to other gimbals in the market which also makes the perfect for carrying around wherever you go. When you look into all the aspects in terms of performance, design, features, build quality and picture quality, we can definitely say that the Zhiyun Crane M is great camera stabilizer perfect for small cameras.
