Looking for a gimbal that is capable of stabilizing a mirrorless camera, phone or action camera without taking up too much space in your pocket? Zhiyun’s newly announced Crane-M2 S carries the unique features of larger than M3, which includes a charging light, USB-C fast charging, and a built-in display, for the Crane-M2’s more compact form factor. Want to see what makes this gimbal such a powerful machine?
Come for just $269, Crane Zhiyun M2-S is a really affordable option for stabilizing cameras given the size and weight of a mirrorless body with compact prime and zoom. While the camera’s full compatibility information available from ZhiyunI found that it has the ability to help a7C with a wide range of primes and up to 28-70mm lenses. Meanwhile, it’s still small enough at just 549 grams to fit when using a compact camera, action camera, or iPhone.
Using the gimbal in conjunction with a phone or action camera makes the built-in lighting option especially relevant. Instead of having to set up a separate light, the gimbal allows you to get up to 1000 lumens of brightness from a small sparkler built into the gimbal. It has a CRI of 90+ and a color temperature of 5500K, so I would expect light quality to be good, although a small source can be a bit harsh if not softened.
On the back of the gimbal is a .66-inch screen that provides battery readings, as well as indicators for the gimbal’s mode. It supports many options, like track rotation, lock, POV, spin and others, allowing you to create moves with ease. Powering all these features is a battery the same size as the Crane M3, with a capacity of 1150mAh, rated for more than 10 hours of use. While I suspect that using the built-in lights could make this drop faster, it’s still a pretty great run time. If you need to recharge, the USB-C PD provides 12 watts of power for a full charge in less than 2 hours (and it’s great to see new devices using USB-C).
Overall, the gimbal looks like a great option for creating contemporary content with small devices. If you are shooting with a small lens on a mirrorless body, this gimbal is a really affordable choice for excellent stabilization, along with the latest features. If you haven’t started filming on a mirrorless body yet, this gimbal will still stand out to you. Similar in size to a phone-only gimbal, this gimbal offers more features, as well as the opportunity to grow with your device. I personally got a phone-only gimbal a while ago, but it was nearly useless by the latest increase in size and weight in phones. On the other hand, this won’t have that problem, thanks to the much higher weight.
The Zhiyun Crane-M2 S is currently $269, while the Crane-M2 S Combo, with an extra backpack, is priced at $349.
