Review on Zhiyun Crane M2 Official - Handheld 3-Axis Gimbal Stabilizer for Mirrorless Camera, Gopro, and Smartphone with Grip Tripod by Ryan Nguyen

I am just starting out in the world of photography and videography. I have an a6000 with a kit lens. I travel and eat, so having a lot of complex gear is a problem for me when I'm backpacking a lot. I tried to choose between Crane M and Crane M2. I'm very glad I chose the Crane M2 and here's why! Crane M2 Pros: A brand new product, so lots of support and better software! The thing is light and small! Great for long term storage and easy to pack away for all travel needs! The build quality is great, it feels very sturdy and durable which I love! Blocking motors is a HUGE plus! I don't worry about putting it in my backpack knowing it will stay in place and not twist in bad directions. It's also very easy to use! The first balancing took less than 5 minutes and the quick release positions allow me to rebalance in less than 30 seconds. Another important thing when I'm traveling and don't have the opportunity to play around with big gear for those quick shots. This device requires no batteries, so you don't have to fiddle with extra batteries or chargers either. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to take upside down shots with this gimbal as it's smaller, but it's amazing that I can do it with the lens that came with it! such a big surprise! The ability to switch between smartphones and cameras was a huge plus as I get my media on both and it only takes 5 minutes to rebalance for other hardware. Cons of the M2: Brand new so not a long history to build a track record of. So we'll see how time goes by with that. Battery life 7 hours. This can be a disadvantage without the battery pack as it has a shorter battery life and there is no way to hot swap them out. But you can charge it while using it on battery, so overall it's worth it! The mechanisms are placed closer to each other, which limits the maximum dimensions of the cameras you can install. 720g max is a bit low but even if it would hold heavy cameras I would just recommend more gimbals. will connect your camera, stabilizer and smartphone as soon as they are powered on. With the Song A6000, however, you cannot control the camera wirelessly with the gimbal in video mode. It sucks as it's mostly used for video, but it's NOT a gimbal bug. It's the Sony camera's fault, I just have to buy a cable to connect it and everything will be fine. So it's not that important either. In the end I am very happy with my purchase as it does everything I need and is great for travel and storage. I had never used a stabilizer before and felt comfortable getting great shots within hours of using it. I'll be posting a video review this week. I just want my a6000 to connect to it in video mode! I cannot control the zoom or start recording. My only complaints. Highly recommended for vloggers and travelers!