The Feiyu-Tech WG2 is a 3-axis gimbal stabilizer without the standard handle but is rather a wearable and mountable model. Building on the very successful Feiyu Tech WG, it tries to overcome some of the bad points of the previous model.
It directly supports the GoPro HERO5 Black action camera as well as a variety of other cameras of similar shape and size, including the HERO4/HERO3+/HERO3 without a BacPac LCD, the YI Technology 4K/4K+, and select SJCAM and AEE models. It also supports the GoPro HERO Session via an included adapter. A knob with a sliding arm and leveling system on the mounting platform allows you to quickly balance whatever camera you use.
It appears Feiyu is competing directly with Zhiyun with their product line. In this case it is the next stage in the battle, pitched directly against the Zhiyun-Tech Rider-M.
It has one killer feature that no other stand-alone wearable gimbals have managed. It’s waterproof. (The Removu S1 is waterproof, but is not stand-alone.)
In the box
The WG2 comes with a selection of mounting brackets to fit different cameras
Not much to see here. In the box you get a neoprene pouch for storing the gimbal, power cables and the manuals and warantee info. But, as an introductory offer, FeiyuTech are including a mini tripod with the package, to tempt you in to buying.
It’s great to see Feiyu including a selection of brackets for attaching different cameras to the gimbal. They obviously realised that some people don’t use GoPro cameras!
Unboxing video from Feiyu
Size
You can see in this unboxing shot that the body of the gimbal is quite small, compare this to the original WG and you can see where they have cut down the size. Removing the button from the front of the gimbal makes a big difference to how big it looks.
The old Feiyu WG
The new WG2 without the front button.
Mounting Options
On the bottom and on the backside of Feiyu WG2 is a standard 1/4″ photo tripod screw. So you can either use a variety of mounts also in combination with a GoPro mount adapter.
My favourite possibility is attaching the gimbal to a selfie stick and use the gimbal pole mounted. This results in even smoother footage as the camera is more isolated from the movement of your body. Effectively giving 5-axis stabilization.
Obviously, as the name states the gimbal can also be worn on the body. The Feiyu-Tech WG2 weighs only 0.6 lb without a camera and can be used mounted/worn on a helmet, chest support, handlebars, selfie stick, desktop tripod, and most other supports. Using the 1/4″-20 threaded mounting hole on the bottom and one on the rear, it can flexibly be attached in standard, vertical, and inverted orientation.
Standard 1/4 inch tripod mounts are useful for taking advantage of the new timelapse mode
Performance
The WG2 is built with three brushless motors and an algorithm that’s especially optimized for wearable operation. The algorithm, which calculates the rotation angle, is designed with improved anti-jamming capability for high-frequency jitter and high-speed motion scenarios.
It provides impressive torque in all three brushless motors to resist all shakes in action.
The WG2 has motors that allow full 360 degree movement
An upgrade over the original WG, the Feiyu-Tech WG2 offers unlimited 360° pan rotation, unlimited 360° tilt rotation, and 70° roll angle rotation.
The WG2 is produced by in CNC machined aluminium. The CNC precision process ensures high standard resistance to impact and provide uncompromised performance.
Battery Life
An LED on the front confirms the selected mode and also indicates battery status. The WG2 operates on a built-in 1500mAh battery that runs for approximately 2.5 hours and is rechargeable in about 2 hours. This is very similar to the original Feiyu Tech WG. Considering, the smaller body of the WG2 this is quite respectable.
To make the gimbal waterproof, Feiyu have changed from the swappable battery found in the FeiyuTech WG, and and intsead are using a built-in battery. For some people this could defintely be a disadvantage. If you are away from a power source all day, and need to use the gimbal for an extended period of time then you will be out of luck. In the previous model you could make sure you had a couple more spare batteries in your pack.
No removable batteries in the Feiyu WG2
Usability
A single button on the front turns the gimbal on and off and also toggles between modes. That’s it!
The gimbal comes with the standard shooting modes, common on most handheld stabilizers. “Full”, “Follow” and “Lock”.
In “Full” mode the camera aligns where ever you point it. “Follow” mode means that the the gimbal is locked in the pan axis. It will stabilize tilting the camera up and down but will always point in the same direction.
Auto-rotation
Another new feature to this gimbal, one of the selectable modes of operation is an auto-rotation mode that allows you to assign a pre-set travel route with a start and end point and a constant speed. This mode can be used for automated standard video capture as well as effective time-lapse photography.
Smartphone App
The WG2 also comes with a free-to-download Feiyu ON app available on Apple App Store and Android Play. The app allows for remote control operation of the gimbal, adjusting settings, and firmware updates. An optional Feiyu remote control (model # WGWR) is also supported.
Highlights
Excellent Waterproof Tech
The Feiyu-Tech WG2 has been rated IP67-Level Waterproof. It’s modest waterproofing. In real terms this means that it can stay submerged under 3ft (0.75m) of water for approximately 10 minutes with no trouble at all. So that means you aren’t going ot be taking it scuba diving, but using it snorkeling, on a rainy day, surfing and so on, should be no trouble.
In addition to waterproof, the integrated sealed structure is also applicable to different harsh environments such as sandy, dusty etc.
Using this gimbal in combination with a waterproof GoPro Session or GoPro Hero 5, is the perfect set up. No point in having a waterproof gimbal if your camera isn’t.
Camera Compatibility
Unlike the original WG, The WG2 comes with exchange mount for Gopro 4/5/ Session cameras, you can replace the mount with hand, no need any tools. This is great, as the previous model only allowed GoPro 3/4/4+ and didn’t fit the GoPro 5 at all.
The Feiyu WG2 supports a few different action cameras, which is great news.
Key Features
- Wearable and mountable 3-axis gimbal stabilizer
- Supports GoPro HERO5 Black and similarly-sized cameras (see Specifications)
- Supports GoPro HERO Session via included adapter
- Optimized algorithm for wearable operation
- Unlimited 360° pan and tilt rotation, 70° roll angle rotation
- Auto-rotation mode with assignable travel route for video capture and time-lapse photography
- 2.5-hour built-in 1500mAh battery
- Includes Feiyu ON app for iOS and Android
- Waterproof gimbal to depths of 3 ft for approximately 10 minutes, and 1.5 ft thereafter
- Splashproof – can be used in rainy weather, wet activities, and more
- Folds away into compact splashproof carrying case
Feiyu-Tech WG2: The Bottom Line
The WG2 is a welcome upgrade to the excellent WG. The waterproofing will let you rest easy when taking the gimbal out in the rain, mud or snow. It’s smaller than the original WG and that’s a great improvement. Wearing the gimbal mounted to a helmet should be much less of a problem than before.
If you are in the market for a wearable gimbal, then this is the one to buy.
Current Price on Amazon US:
Current Price on Amazon UK:
Don’t think this is right for you? Read our other reviews, and checkout our list of 2017’s top gimbals.
Can it be used and charging at the same time?
Hi Kym,
The Feiyu WG2 charges through a micro USB port, that has to be coverred and sealed for the gimbal to remain waterproof. Although you should be able to have it switched on and plugged in at the same time, It would mean that you lose any waterproof benefits.
If you are thinking about having power for long timelapse shots, as long as you make sure the gimbal is charged before you start shooting, the battery should last. The timelapse mode takes much less power than normal operation, so the battery lasts a lot longer. Although I’ve not tried it, it should be possible to set the gimbal for an 8 hour panning shot.
Hope that helped!
Tim
Hi, my question is what happens when the battery finish is Recharge life
As you know each rechargeable battery has a certain life time after which the charging is not effective
What happens then if the battery is set, do you need to buy a new device? or we can replace the battery ?
Thanks in advance
Zvika Sonis
Hi Zvika,
Feiyu don’t provide any information about battery charge cycles. My assumption would be the battery will last an average of 300-500 charge cycles, which doesn’t sound a lot, but would be about a years worth of use if you were using it every day. If you are only using it a few days a month, then the battery should last a very long time.
The case is sealed with screws, undoing them will invalidate the warranty. But you should be able to get in to the case to have a look if you are determined. This is a new product so there are no aftermarket batteries at the moment, but I can imagine in a year or so when it’s been on the market for a while you’ll be able to buy an aftermarket battery replacement, like you can for various smartphones without replaceable batteries.
As I mentioned in the review, I’m not sure FeiyuTech made the best choice to seal the battery. I haven’t run out of charge filming yet, so i haven’t had a problem, but filming for a whole day could defintely be an issue.
Thanks for reading!
Tim
Hi Tim
Thanks for reply ,
I do not think the use will be more than a few hours a month, in that case as you say
There will be no problem.
Best regards
Dear Tim,
Is it possible or not if we power Feiyu WG2 on (operating) and charging as the same moment (Of course, to make sure it avoid the humid environment)
Thanks,
Binh, Dang Xuan
Hi Binh, as I mentioned before to Kym, it should be possible to charge the Feiyu WG2 via a USB charging cable and have it operating at the same time. This will however stop the gimbal from being waterproof.
If it’s important that you can use the gimbal whilst being powered, maybe try a gimbal with a longer battery life? Have you considered buying a gimbal with replacable batteries, such as the [easyazon_link identifier="B0188LINR4" locale="US" tag="shopsmartguru-20"]FeiyuTech G5[/easyazon_link]?
Thanks Tim
Hi,guys i am wondering is anyone is having problems with power issues like gimbal not switching on or switching off suddenly without reasson.?Battery is full in that instanse.When connected to power bank again is ok.It looks like it needed restart.That is very weird and annoyin issue i am having.If it works then no problems at all.It does what it should i am really happy.Only that weird issue with power loss.
Hi Vaidas, generally, I haven’t read about many problems with the WG2. Certainly, I had no problems with mine while I was testing and reviewing it. I have read about one or two problems where the gimbal has been submerged underwater too long and the gimbal stops working in a way similar to you describe. Even though the gimbal is marketed as waterproof, it is really only water resistant, and shouldn’t be underwater for a long amount of time.
If your problems do not go away, I would get in touch with Feiyu support directly. The email address is [email protected] or you can find an international phone number near the bottom of the feiyu service page.
I had a problem with a the original Feiyu WG once, and had to send the gimbal back to China. It took a while but was returned working perfectly.
I hope you fix the problem soon!
Thank’s a lot for info.It is gonna be a pain to contact them my android even not opening properly that paige.Thank’s anyway:)
hello,
I just want to be sure about the hero 4 with waterproof case, do you think it s not possible to adapt something i have a 3d print at home, but before buy the WG2 i want to be sure about the weight. if i rade well the weight with the case will be too high for the gimbal or he can carry heavier.
Regards
Hi Denis,
I don’t think that it’s possible to use the WG2 with a GoPro 4 inside it’s case. I have seen a case hack to use the GoPro 4 inside a case with the original Feiyu WG you can see a video of it on youtube. That seems to work ok.
In the specs for the WG2. It says the maximum payload is 130 grams. So, if you really want to try to hack the GoPro case, weigh the GoPro 4 inside its case, and see if it is less than 130 grams. If it is you should be ok.
Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of wearable gimbals that allows you to use a GoPro 4 inside a case, and there aren’t likely to be anymore, since all new GoPro’s don’t require a case. The only wearable gimbal that I know of is the Removu S1. This gimbal has an optional GoPro 4 waterproof housing. You can buy the REMOVU S1 with the waterproof housing in a bundle here. This would be a good alternative to the WG2.
I’ve used my GoPro 4 without a case in a few different gimbals while I was snowboarding, I’ve dropped it in the snow, dusted it off and I haven’t had a problem. I guess it depends what you want to do with it. Taking it kayaking probably wouldn’t work!
I hope that helps, thanks for reading,
Tim Nicholls
Hello Tim,
Thanks for your answer, i will do stand up paddle race with my gopro and the gimbal, then i have a risk to put all in the water…
I will try to see with my hero 4 and the case or i will buy a hero 5 session i think.
Regards.
Denis
Hello Tim,
Thanks for your review. I’ve recently purchased the WG2 and tried it out with my GoPro Hero4 when snowboarding in Austria. I was surprised to see that despite a fully charged battery, the device started blinking with 3 red lights (indication of low battery) just within 1-2 minutes after I turned it on. I could record only 3-5 min of video, then the device shutdown. Tried to turn it back on, it operated for another 1-2 min and shutdown again. After a few such cycles the working time decreased to 10-30 sec.
I reached out to the official Feiyu’s support, they replied that the reason is just the low outside temperature (it was between -5 to 0 deg. Celcius in my case). Essentially this means that WG2 cannot be used for skiing/snowboarding in most cases. Quite disappointing, since this was my primary aim when purchasing the device 🙂
Have you tried using it for skiing/snowboarding? How long did the battery work?
Regards,
Yuri
Hi Yuri,
Sorry you’ve had a bad experience with your WG2 Gimbal. I have to say that I haven’t noticed any problems with the cold when I’ve been using my WG2 whilst snowboarding.
One of the drawbacks with having built-in batteries is that you can’t change the battery whilst you are out filming. For me that’s quite a big drawback, although this is offset by the waterproofness.
If you went inside a warm building for a bit for a rest while you were snowboarding, did the battery recover when you warmed up or did it stay flat? Did you have the same problem while you were at home before you went snowboarding? My feeling is that you have a bad battery, and it would be worth reaching out to Feiyu again to try to get them to replace the gimbal.
I hope you get to fix the problem.
Thanks for reading, Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I tried warming up the device by staying in a warm building for ~45 min. Unfortunately this didn’t help: once exposed to cold in the fresh air (-5 – 0 deg. Celcius) the gimbal started shutting down again within 1-2 minutes after being turned on.
Feiyu’s support was not helpful at all: essentially they are saying that the gimbal is not suitable for winter sports. Here is what they replied: “The low temperate will influence the battery’s performance and make it work not that well,so if possible, I suggest you can do some warm protection to the battery part”.
Regards,
Yuri
in respect to the battery life I have a small power bank velcrowed to my chest harness when mtb, ing. while climbing back to the top of the trail I simply plug in both the gimbal and my gopro and top up the battery life , when I get to the top just disconnect the usb cords and put them in your pocket. I have never ran out of charge evan when out all day. hope this is some help to people.
Thanks for the tip Daz, sounds like a good idea!
I caution everyone on the waterproof ability. I took it on a trip to Mexico and used it for no more than 2 minutes in fresh water less than a foot deep and now I think it’s toast. It filled with water that I had to try and shake out , rice to absorb and even a vacuum to help. So far it doesn’t power on or connect at all. Contacted support and so far have not been helpful at all. Not impressed with this. Be warned around water. Go figure on a waterproof gimbal
Sorry to hear your troubles Cory, that’s a bummer, but a good warning to others, thanks!
The WG2 is specified as IP67 waterproof, although it’s marketed as ‘Waterproof’, that has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
IP stands for “Ingress Protection”, and the two numbers represent dust, and water protection respectively. So a 6 for dust protection is “Protected from total dust ingress.”. And a 7 for water protection means “Protected from immersion between 15 centimeters and 1 meter in depth.” Also a 7 rating guarantees protection for up to 30 minutes. These results are in Lab conditions though, so it’s probably less in real life.
I’d say you were unlucky for your Feiyu WG2 to break from the way you used it, but it leaves enough room for Feiyu to not cover it under waranttee.
Incidently, the iPhone 7 has the same IP67 rating. I’m not sure how long that would last if you tried to use it for underwater photography.
Thanks for reading,
Tim
I’ve heard this will work with the Garmin Virb Ultra 30. I know the EVO works with it, but I was leaning toward Feiyu for water resistance.
However the Virb Ultra 30 requires it’s own case to remain waterproof.
Garmin Virb Ultra 30 Size (HxWxD)
Bare Camera: 43.1 x 57.5 x 20.4mm
In Waterproof Housing: 57.7 x 79.0 x 33.5mm
I’m assuming this will *not* fit with the waterproof case unless I modify or possibly drill a hole into the virb’s case for the WG2 mounting screws?
Otherwise if there is no chance of this combo being waterproof I might go with the Evo and not be stuck with non-replaceable batteries.
Thanks!
Hi Zach,
I don’t own and haven’t used a Garmin Virb Ultra, but I’m pretty sure that it won’t fit in a waterproof housing. Mostly these wearable gimbals only fit the naked camera. You mihgt be able to mod a waterproof case but I haven’t seen it done before.
Cheers!
Hi,
Good review, thanks.
One question: can I use my iphone charger to cahrge the WG2?
Thanks
Hi Rui, the WG2 uses a micro USB connection for charging. So you can’t use the iPhone cable, as an iPhone cable uses a lightning connector. The WG2 comes with the required charging cable though, so if you buy it you can use that.
You can connect a micro USB cable in to the iPhone power adapter, and that would charge the WG2 just fine.
Hope that helps.
Hi Tim, thank you for your help.
My thoughts exactly. But the seller have a strange answer, so after reading your excellent review I’ve decided to ask.
Thanks again.
Best regards