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

First, I use it for my iPhone 11 with an anamorphic lens attachment. I felt that my other gimbal couldn't handle the extra weight even with counterweights. That's why I bought CM2. This will be the basis of my evaluation. Two things keep me from being the perfect stabilizer. First, the ZY Play app. Camera for phone app is as simple as it gets. Motionlapse mode is terrible. You cannot specify where the camera should point. The built-in presets for this are weird, as they have weird starting points (which you can't assign either). Second, the Bluetooth connection is exclusive to the ZY Play app, meaning I can't use the stock camera app or Filmic Pro. to start and stop recording with the record button on the CM2. For a mid-range stabilizer, this is unacceptable. I understand that this stabilizer isn't just made for phones and should work with other types of cameras, but that's a big gap. I hope a firmware update can fix that. Despite this, I will continue to use this stabilizer. This design, with a pan motor located *behind* the camera, is suitable for ultra-wide and anamorphic attachments. Powerful motors ensure smooth footage as they are designed to handle heavier loads than my phone. The materials are of good quality and everything is well put together. Please note that if you use a lens mount on your phone, you still need a counterweight as it will be too heavy. The phone just won't balance without them. Speaking of balancing, it was easy to figure out, just take your time and adjust it in small increments. I love that you don't have to balance when unplugging your phone as long as you leave the phone holder attached to the mounting plate. It will also be good for my travels as the gimbal is small and fits well in my gear bag. I actually don't need a counterweight to balance my iPhone 11 with anamorphic lens and filter attachments. However, the downsides remain, so my assessment remains valid.