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Product Description
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Smooth Zoom at FingertipsInstant zoom,Smooth Zoom at Fingertips : A single push of the slider on side of the handle, you can zoom in/out to capture smooth footage at a distance. |
Control via WIFI & BluetoothAdopting a WiFi-and-Bluetooth control module, CRANE-M2 allows you to control your camera wirelessly through the gimbal handle. Once paired via ZY Play, your camera and the gimbal will automatically pair again when turned on. |
Full-Range POVBreak through the limits of traditional 45? POV Full-Range POV allows 360°synchronous movement on all three axes of the gimbal, offering an immersive experience like never before. |
Vortex modeVortex mode will make your video more dynamic and interesting.Even more, with Vortex mode, some visual effects can be achieved without complicated post-processing. |
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Intuitive OLED DisplayThe intuitive OLED display will show the gimbal mode, Bluetooth & WIFI status, battery level and various gimbal parameters. |
Tiny Body. Great PowerCRANE-M2 features an impressive runtime of up to 8 hours to keep you powered throughout your adventures. Besides charging your phone, CRANE-M2 can also be charged with a power bank. |
Expanded FunctionalityWith one 1/4 threaded hole at bottom and another one on the side, CRANE-M2 can be mounted to various filmmaking rigs to open up more creative possibilities for you. |
ZY PLAY for More Advanced FunctionsExclusively designed for ZHIYUN products, ZY PLAY opens up a new world of filmmaking for you. Besides remote control on camera and gimbal, advanced functions including timelapse, panorama and slow motion can be realized easily on ZY PLAY. |
Packing List
1 X CRANE-M2
1 X Carrying Case
1 X USB 3.0 to Type-C Cable
1 X Hand Strap
1 X Tripod
1 X 1/4 Camera Mount Strew
1 X Phone Holder
1 X Quick Release Plate
1 X Quick Start Guide
1 X Extension Rod
What makes a good product? Is it user-friendliness or bold innovations?
Live. Create. Anywhere
CRANE-M2 is an integration of both. Featuring a unique locking pin and latch design, scale mark and memory lock as well as a whole new quick release system, CRANE-M2 is super user-friendly; With unprecedented all-in-one design, CRANE-M2 offers great compatibility to multiple devices, such as compact cameras, light mirrorless cameras, smartphones, and action cameras; 6 operating modes are offered by CRANE-M2 to empower filmmakers and to meet their needs in every specific situations.
- Operating voltage: 9.8V ~12.6V / Operating current: 200mA ~ 3000mA
- Charging voltage: 4.7V ~ 5.5V / Charging current: 500mA ~ 2000mA
- Tilt Mechanical Range: 310° / Roll Mechanical range: 324°
- Mechanical range: 360° unlimited rotation / Tilt Adjustable angle: -45°~ 260°
- Roll Adjustable angle: -70° ~ 70° (Switch from landscape mode to portrait mode with a 40° angle)
- Adjustable pan angle: -180° ~ 180° /Operating temperatures: -10℃ ~ 45℃
- Capacity of the battery: 1100mAh / Battery life: 6h Charging time: 2h
- Valid payload: 130g ~ 720g / Bluetooth: 4.2 Wi-Fi: 2.4G
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Josh Levinson
Versatile and quick to set up - great option for casual filmmakers
Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2019
Josh Levinson
Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2019
➠ I love that this comes with the phone mount - I had to buy this separately for my other gimbal.
➠ It also comes with a mini tripod that you can attach to the standard 1/4" tripod screw at the bottom of the gimbal. It’s a very plasticky tripod, and doesn’t feel super sturdy; but it opens and closes very smoothly, and feels good enough for this particular gimbal (combined with any phone / camera that you might use with this gimbal). It's very useful for resting the gimbal on a flat surface without having to take the phone / camera off, and is critical for balancing. It also effectively extends the gimbal handle by a few inches, making it easier to grip it with two hands.
➠ Includes a selfie stick-style extension pole that allows you to get much more reach - for example, if you wanted to get the camera above a crowd of people. If you use it completely retracted, it would also extend the handle of the gimbal quite a bit, making it much easier to hold with two hands. It’s again fairly plasticky, but seems sturdy enough for the intended purpose (maybe be careful if using it fully extended, though).
➠ Comes with a decent little storage case. Honestly, it’s not the best one I’ve seen, but it’s good to have nonetheless. My main issues are that there are no handles on the case and the outside of the case is very... utilitarian (it is not “finished” and doesn’t look that good). But still glad they included it, as it’s a good place to store the gimbal when not in use, or carry it when travelling.
DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY (4.5 / 5):
➠ Compared to the other gimbals I’ve used, the handle of the Crane M2 feels very plasticky. I certainly wouldn’t want to drop this gimbal. That said, it feels well put together, and the use of plastic does make the gimbal lighter. Also, the arms and joints seem to be made of metal, and that’s where higher grade materials matter most.
➠ I love how small and lightweight this gimbal is - much smaller and lighter than the other gimbal I have. The form factor is excellent, with everything fitting together really well and efficiently, but without it feeling cramped or compromised. It’s just so easy to hold, and for long periods of time!
➠ I love how this gimbal packs down - it’s really quite ingenious. The arms shorten and then lock into place, which makes it easy to transport or put in the case. There’s also a lever that locks the rotation axis into place, to prevent it from swinging around - this makes it much easier to pack the gimbal into a backpack, for example, without using the storage case (to help cut down on the amount of space it takes up). The beautiful thing, though, is how easily it unpacks when you want to use it again. All you have to do is unlock the arms, extend the roll axis arm, attach the phone / camera, and you’re good to go. Because it has a very cleverly designed screw that marks the exact position of the roll arm, the only part that needs to be balanced each time is the mounting plate (and depending on your specific setup, you may not even need to balance that part). There are only two little catches: (1) when you do need to balance the phone on the mounting plate, it is quite a pain (because phones are so thin, their center of gravity is within a very narrow range, and so you need to have it in *exactly* the right position; it might not be so tricky with a thicker camera), and (2) you may have to slightly adjust the arms if you don’t mount the phone / camera in exactly the same position as you had it when balanced previously (I can get it right most of the time, but once in awhile I need to readjust things slightly). Despite these catches, this is a vast improvement over any other gimbal I’ve used, which is really a pain in the butt to set up and balance every time you want to use it. Another advantage of this clever system is that you can keep the phone / camera attached to the gimbal when you pack it down (at least in many cases).
➠ The camera controls on the Crane M2 are extremely useful so you don’t have to touch the phone / camera when changing settings or when starting / stopping recording. That said, the phone camera app has some limitations (more on this below).
➠ The quick release design is very convenient, making it so you don't have to screw the camera on/off the mounting plate each time.
➠ The joystick is great for moving the camera into exactly the right position. You can also move it into place by adjusting the arms manually (with your hands), which is useful for large, quick adjustments.
➠ There is a standard 1/4” tripod mount on the side of the gimbal for you to attach a microphone, etc.
PERFORMANCE (4 / 5):
➠ The primary purpose of a gimbal is to provide smooth, cinematic footage. The Crane M2, for the most part, does a very good job at doing that, even with a phone. BUT… it doesn’t work miracles - like any gimbal, you need to practice a fair bit before you can consistently get smooth footage, especially when trying more complex moves. But with lots of practice, you can definitely get some great cinematic footage out of this gimbal.
➠ The range of modes the Crane M2 offers is very good. You’ve got the modes you’d typically find on most gimbals (lock, pan-follow, follow), plus a POV mode and vortex mode. I personally use the typical ones the most; but the POV mode can give you some interesting footage - for example when you move forward and rotate the camera about the roll axis at the same time.
➠ I love that you can hold the gimbal upside down - this makes it easy to get the camera really close to the ground, for some different perspectives.
➠ The motors are very quiet - they’re basically silent.
➠ When running with the gimbal in flashlight mode (where you hold it so the handle is parallel to the ground, with the camera sticking out off the tip in front of you), the footage is fairly shaky (this happened most of the times I used it in this way). But this is a challenging scenario, probably for any gimbal.
➠ When moving the gimbal from an upside-down position, with the camera very low to the ground, and then raising it gradually to an upright position, with the camera at a high angle, wobble can often be seen in the footage (see attached video). But by being very careful when raising the gimbal, I was able to get rid of the wobble at least sometimes. Again, to be fair, this is a bit of a challenging scenario.
THE APP (4 / 5):
➠ The app is very nice - better than some other similar apps I’ve seen. The user interface is well designed, and the app offers full control of both the gimbal and the phone / camera (if compatible).
➠ The ability to fine tune the gimbal movements is extremely useful - probably critical - for getting exactly the right movements and smoothness in your footage.
➠ One little issue with the app is that everytime you want to make an adjustment to the gimbal movement settings, you have to save those adjustments in a new settings profile - you can’t just overwrite an existing one. This wouldn’t be so bad if you could delete profiles, but you can’t - so you end up with lots of profiles piling up, most of which you’ll never use. The ability to overwrite and/or delete existing profiles should be added.
➠ The app also has a camera mode built into it, which is intended to be used instead of the phone’s main camera app. Using this app is the only way you can control the camera on the phone. This mode works okay, but (1) it isn’t as smooth, responsive and feature-rich as the default Samsung camera app on my phone, and (2) it doesn’t allow me to shoot video at 60 fps. While the latter is not Zhiyun’s fault (third party apps aren’t allowed to access 60 fps capabilities on Samsung phones), this is a key feature for me and will prevent me from shooting video using the Zhiyun app.
BATTERY (5 / 5):
➠ The Crane M2 does not have a user-replaceable battery - you just charge the gimbal by plugging it directly into a USB port / charger (there is a USB-C port on the gimbal for charging). The advantage of this is that it’s very convenient - no need to remove batteries to charge, no need for a separate charger. There are a couple of disadvantages, however: (1) You can’t have a backup set of batteries to immediately swap in when one set has run out - you have to wait to recharge the gimbal. This could be a significant disadvantage if you shoot for very long periods of time consecutively. (2) When you have replaceable batteries, when one set starts to lose charging capacity (as happens with all batteries), you can just toss those ones and use a new set. You obviously can’t do that with this gimbal, which means that when the batteries go caput, so does the gimbal (they probably won’t die completely for a very long time, but as with all batteries, their capacity will certainly decrease over time).
➠ Battery life is very good. I haven't timed it, but it lasts a long time. It would definitely last multiple shoots, unless you have a *really* long shoot. For my needs, it’s more than long enough. I’ve used it for several hours since I got it, and it’s still showing half a charge left!
➠ I also haven’t timed how long it takes to fully charge the gimbal, but it seems like a typical / reasonable amount of time for a device like this (a couple of hours).
OVERALL IMPRESSION (5 / 5): Despite some relatively minor issues, this is a great, versatile gimbal that will suit the needs of many casual filmmakers. I also have a larger gimbal for my dSLR, which I use for more serious filmmaking purposes; but I find the Crane M2 awesome for shooting simple stuff, like footage of my 2 year old. It allows me to quickly and easily get cinematic footage of my son with just my phone, without having to bring out the big guns (which isn’t feasible or worth it in most situations). It has its limitations in terms of how fancy you can get with it (i.e. complex movements, running with the gimbal in certain positions), but overall I really enjoy using it, and like the results I get from it.
Images in this review
drumm1n
Ideal travel gimbal for Sony A6xxx. With improved ZY Play app it would be 5 stars!
Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2019Elemenope
Incredible - Do not get the Moza Mini P. Get this!!
Reviewed in Canada on April 14, 2021Taty
It was good until it didn t perform well anymore, after no more than 10 times of usage
Reviewed in Canada on September 1, 2022