Review: Zhiyun Smooth Q

Review: Zhiyun Smooth Q

The Zhiyun-Tech Smooth-Q is an affordable gimbal stabilizer to capture smooth handheld footage with your smartphone. If you take a lot of videos on your smartphone, the Smooth-Q helps eliminate those Blair Witch moments.

It can handle phones that weigh up to 220g – so iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge / S8 Plus are all suitable for use. Balancing is done with one button controlling the roll axis. The Smooth-Q can also switch quickly between horizontal and vertical mode.

The Smooth-Q’s interface features a power, and function button, 4-way joystick, and a zoom control switch. The joystick is pressure sensitive so you can control the speed of movement.Pan axis allows 360° unlimited rotation, tilt axis moves -135° to +185° and roll axis allows +/-30° movement. There’s also the option to pair it with the ZY Play App for better control and features. In the app, you can enable object or face tracking, and the Smooth Q will attempt to follow the object of interest automatically.

The Zhiyun Smooth Q packs an impressive 26650mAH battery which offers a solid 12 hour battery life on a full charge, a more than decent run time for your full day photo / video shoots. It can also function as a built in power bank, so you can charge your phone while shooting.

Zhiyun Smooth Q Range of Motion

Key features:

  1. Easily switches between vertical & horizontal shooting modes
  2. 5th generation Honeycomb processor makes the gimbal more powerful
  3. Torque Range is 40% wider (two times wider than DJI Osmo mobile)
  4. 12 hours operating time with a built-in battery
  5. Charges mobile while shooting via the USB port

Specifications

  • Dimension: 118105285mm
  • Charging Current: 1500mA
  • Controllable Range:
  • Pan: 360°
  • Roll: ±30°
  • Tilt: +185° -135°
  • Operating Time: 12 hours
  • Operating Temperature: -10° to 45°C
  • Valid Payload: 75g-220g
  • Net Weight: 450g (Without Batteries & Smartphone)
  • Package Weight: 760g

Package Contents

  • 1 x Zhiyun Smooth-Q Mobile Gimbal (Battery Included)
  • 1 x Micro USB Charging Cable
  • 1 x Protective Hardcase
  • 1 x Product Manual

The manual is in Chinese, so figuring it out was a bit of a challenge. Sliding the phone into the Smooth-Q is really rather straight forward though. Just that there’s a lock / knob to adjust for horizontal or vertical mount. Once done, press the ON button and the Smooth Q will electronically stabilise the phone.

Sample Footage from Zhiyun Smooth Q

Thoughts

I never used a Gimbal before, but the Smooth Q was really easy to use. Overall I think the Smooth Q does a good job. The Zhiyun Smooth Q is distributed in Singapore by NuPhoto Pte Ltd, and will be available at $199 – a similar pricing to Amazon. It will be available at Lazada (pre-orders available now) from 1 May, comes in 4 colours and 1 year warranty. It’s easy to use, has a decent battery life, and allows you to take better videos. I could still see some shake in the footage but it was a big improvement as compared to without a stabiliser.