Feiyu Tech is a company that specializes in making mounts for GoPros, phones, and cameras. After 10 years of releasing quality products, Feiyu Tech has a good reputation in the prosumer category. The Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal is a stabilizing accessory for GoPro cameras. A gimbal separates itself from other stabilization mounts like shock mounts and stabilizing grips, by rotating along an axis. You’ve probably watched a movie scene where the camera sweeps down from the sky, focusing on a point while maintaining an impossibly smooth transition. If you wondered how they did it, the answer is they used a gimbal.
The Specifics
Starting with the handle, the G4 Gimbal has a single LED button embedded within thumbs reach. The LED light in the handle will flash when pressed, indicating which mode the gimbal is in. The G4 is rated for 4 hours of use while using the included rechargeable batteries, and comes packaged with four total batteries — two for backup. A battery level indicator lets you know when you should prepare to pop in the spares. When you get home you can plug the G4 directly into a charger using an included mini-USB cable. Also included are two different sets of screws, one for holding the naked camera, and another for fastening the GoPro with accessories added on. The bottom of the handle is threaded, allowing you to add an extension for getting nice aerial shots.
Usability
Yes, the G4 looks like a glorified selfie stick. Yes one of the modes, accessible by a button press, flips the camera around to make selfies extra easy. Don’t limit yourself by thinking of this device as a gimmick.
The G4 isn’t for taking group photos of the family at get-togethers, but when you’re cruising down the sidewalk and you want to capture the scenery, it does the trick. If you do want to attach the threaded handle to a tripod for family photos, an optional remote control gives you control over the four operating modes.
If your GoPro starts running low on battery, you can plug the GoPro into the Feiyu G4 to get a little extra charge for the GoPro. You may not be extending your dying GoPro’s life by much, but the option doesn’t hurt. Up above, we mentioned the four operating modes.
Shooting Modes
If you’ve already started browsing the Feiyu Tech website, you might have noticed that it only mentions three modes. The additional position may be the result of a software update (who knows), but we can’t complain about added ways to capture a shot.
Heading follow mode is a great option for filming panoramic scenes, as it allows the camera to pan left and right, but prevents vertical movement. Heading and pitch follow mode allows the camera to glide from left to right, up and down.
The brushless motor allows the cameras ultra-smooth vertical movements to be locked in at any angle while retaining the ability to pan horizontally. With lock mode, you can point the camera in a direction and keep it there. If you’re filming a quick interview, you won’t have to worry about accidental hand movements affecting the scene.
Finally, pressing the LED button three times inverts the camera. Inverting the camera allows you to film yourself, or hold the gimbal upside down and film shots low to the ground.
Promo Video
This is the Feiyu Tech promotional video from their youtube channel.
The Good
Feiyu Tech’s G4 Gimbal is a great choice for anyone looking to spruce up their video work. A four-hour battery life already outlasts the GoPro, so throwing in two additional batteries goes above and beyond.
The G4’s brushless motor system makes every movement glassy, and it will reflect in your scenes. Jerky movements and quick pans are polished without the need for complicated post-production techniques. After filming with the G4 you’re left with satisfying source material which you can turn into a polished work.
The Bad
To be frank, there isn’t too much to mention here, but we can scrounge up a few things.
First, the MSRP isn’t cheap; while it premiered at $375, the Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal is currently sitting around $190. Quick up and down movements seem to confuse the G4 as it tries to compensate for what may be an unexpected upside down shift.
Feiyu is a Chinese company, and it seems like some things didn’t make clearly through the translation process. The camera is intuitive to operate (press a button and it goes), but installing software and drivers can be a bit of a pain.
Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal – The Bottom Line
If you’re in the market for a gimbal, or if you’ve been scratching your head looking for a neat trick to upgrade your YouTube content, this is it. The price of the Feiyu Tech G4 handheld gimbal should be considered a positive investment.
Once you manage to get the drivers installed and updated, you’ll be left with a stabilizer that helps you make the transition from amateur home videos to glossy pro-looking spectacles. It also works great as a selfie stick at family get-togethers.
Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal for GoProNot sure what any you should be looking for? Read our Gimbal Buyer’s Guide to get the lowdown. Or check out our round up of best GoPro gimbals on the market.
It works, for keeping a phone steady. That’s all. Nothing else.
The app is able to connect to the gimbal about 50% of the time. There is no control over the pairing process (which is probably why it doesn’t work). If you manage to convince the app to connect to the gimbal, you can take photos. That’s all. Oh, you can START recording video, but you can’ stop it without killing the app, which means you have to go through the whole getting-the-gimbal-to-connect-to-the-app song and dance again.
The other functions Feiyu SAY it can do? Nah, forget it. In order to get any of them to work, on top of the whole getting-the-gimbal-to-connect-to-the-app song and dance routine, you’ll have to navigate through a twisty maze of badly translated menus to even get a shot at trying any of them. And then the gimbal will drop out right on the menu of interest and tell you something informative and useful like “Is the read parameter error, is it try again try?”
The PC app is equally as useless. Don’t bother trying to update the firmware to fix any of these complete fuckups, because it only stays connected to the USB port long enough to prepare the firmware update, then it disconnects again. No bug-fix firmware for you!
Get a DJI Osmo, you’ll save yourself a bunch of blood vessels and the waste of your time and money you’ll endure when you smash this miserable heap of shit into a thousand pieces and go find something that actually works. PS: Feiyu, you owe me $160.
Hi L1ttl3J1m, sounds like you have had some trouble with the app. I’ll add a bit to the review, mentioning that the software isn’t that reliable.
I agree that updating the firmware on the older series of Feiyu gimbals was tricky, and the software and manuals were very badly translated. I think the software was very much bottom of the list of Feiyu’s priorities.
The new line of gimbals like the Feiyu WG2 and the Feiyu G5 are much easier to use, and the software seems to connect more reliably.
The DJI Osmo is a great gimbal, but if you are looking for a smartphone gimbal, then I would recommend the EVO Shift, (or Zhiyun Smooth-Q as it’s named outside of the US).
On the plus side, you say the gimbal keeps your camera steady, so at least that’s working well!