Zhiyun Z1-Smooth-C 3 Axis Smart Phone Gimbal Test w Moondog Labs Anamorphic iPhone Lens

• • 16 Comments

There is a plethora of hand held gimbals for Smart Phones today, but just in case you were looking at the Zhiyun Z1-Smooth-C, I just happened to have one sent over and here's a video overview and test using the iPhone 6s.

The Zhiyun Z1-Smooth-C gimbal is easy to calibrate through a computer system, or without a PC. The trick is to remember the sequence of positions you need to flip through, and finding a level surface to do this. But once you're calibrated it should be fine.

I can't confirm this, but by looking at the build and how it feels, I don't believe this has any encoders. This is something all gimbals are starting to introduce, and possibly because this uses it's own software it may not be supported yet.

The Zhiyun Smooth is a pretty straight forward system to get up and running, and it's nice that it does fold completely flat for travel. It can support smartphones with screens as large as 7" inches, which includes the iPhone 6 Plus. You can find the product available (here).

zhiyun-tech smooth gimbal smartphone iphone
find-price-button Zhiyun Smooth-C 3 Axis Smart Phone Gimbal

And just in case you're interested in the Moondog Labs Anamorpic Lens for iPhones, you can find below.

moondog labs anamorphic lens adapte iphone 6 s
find-price-button Moondog Labs 1.33x Anamorphic Lens Adapter for iPhone

Related Articles You May Like:

16 thoughts on “Zhiyun Z1-Smooth-C 3 Axis Smart Phone Gimbal Test w Moondog Labs Anamorphic iPhone Lens”

  1. Ben

    Hi Emm,

    Thanks so much for your videos, they're really in-depth and helpful. One thing I'm having trouble figuring out online is the battery life of these iPhone gimbals; have you noticed a big difference between models?
    In general I'm trying to decide between:
    The CAME-Action2 (which you mention above as your favorite?)
    The Feiyu Tech G4 Pro for iPhone
    The Zhiyun Z1 Smooth-Smooth
    The Lanparte HHG-01

    Thanks again!

  3. Gabe

    Hey Emm,

    You mentioned there were a lot of gimbals out for the iPhone. Which do you use? I know you liked the lanparte. Any others?

    Thx,
    G

  6. Emm

     Post author

    @nate - I think they might offer a GoPro adapter, but honestly you might be better off with a dedicated Gopro gimbal if you are just shooting with GoPro.

  8. Izhar Ashdot

    Hey Emm, thanks for the great video.
    Do you think the Z1 would support an iPhone 6S Plus with the Moondog Anamorphic?
    Izhar

  10. OldCorpse

    OT - btw. a whole movie got shot on an iPhone 5 and the Moondog Labs lens; it's called "Tangerine" and had very good reviews. I saw it and it looked good - I don't have an iPhone so I can't say how much of that was due to the lens, but the director gave a lot of praise to it in an interview, fwiw.

  13. Dennis

    Hi Emm
    Can you suggest a gimbal that could work with both the iPhone and a GoPro Hero 4.
    Thank you

  14. Emm

     Post author

    @Dragos - In order for a gimbal to work at it's best, it's about finding good balance on the frame. If you can add some additional weights in the right places so that the motors don't have to work very hard then it should work okay. Think of a Jib (crane). When you add a camera to the front, it gets pretty heavy to lift from the rear. But when you add the proper amount of counterweight to the back, the camera then feels weightless and can be moved easily with one finger.

    When you throw something on a gimbal it will work best if it is balanced perfectly. My example wasn't perfectly balanced and that may have caused some of the up down motion seen in the samples. Here's a good example of balancing a gimbal with extra weights.

Comments are closed.