Review: Zhiyun Smooth Q2, the smallest gimbal on the market

In recent times, our mobile phones have become much more than mere devices for making and answering calls, all brands giving great importance to the photographic and video section. Therefore, if we want to go up another level, we must opt for a gimbal like the Zhiyun Smooth Q2, of which we are going to make the review below.

The first thing is that we understand what a gimbal is It is nothing more than a device that achieves physically stabilize our smart phone so that bumps or shakes are not noticeable (or as little as possible) when recording our videos.

These devices are even more effective if our smartphone has a good stabilizer, be it optical or electronic, making the videos very smooth in movement.

Another function of a gimbal, such as the Zhiyun Smooth Q2, is to allow hands-free photos or shots where we need a long exposure.

Smaller than its competition

Review: Zhiyun Smooth Q2, the smallest gimbal on the market

The first thing that caught our attention is the very small size that Zhiyun Tech has achieved for this gimbal. Unfolded, its dimensions are 204 x 102 x 41 mm with a weight of 381 grams.

Aluminum is the great protagonist in terms of materials with 90% of the Smooth Q2, leaving plastic for the control panel area and telephone holder.

The feeling in the hand is very good, with a high perception of resistance. The weight, which at first we thought would be less, it is nothing exaggerated to cause early fatigue when we use it.

In addition, its size helps to be able to take it anywhere without it being any kind of bother, unlike several of its competitors that are so large that it is almost impossible to store them comfortably.

The Zhiyun Smooth Q2 has a standard type screw mount to attach it to a tripod if necessary. Even so, we need our own support to be able to place it on a table, to give you an example.

In the control panel we have:

4 LEDs to indicate which operating mode the gimbal is in.
A 5-way joystick.
Record button.
Gimbal on/off button.

In addition, in the handle we have a USB Type C to charge the Smooth Q2.

In the upper part we have three articulated arms, in addition to the hook to place our mobile phone.

Most of the gimbals on the market have a clip to anchor the mobile phone, which becomes a nuisance if, for example, they call you while you are using it. This system forces us to have to remove the phone from the tab, which makes it quite tedious.

Zhiyun has created the “ quick release”, that is, in the Smooth Q2 you can leave the clip attached to the phone that said clamp can be separated from the gimbal if we need to use the mobile, to reposition it easily and quickly when we have finished.

The Smooth Q2 supports smartphones weighing up to 260 grams.

How to use the Zhiyun Smooth Q2

Most gimbals on the market ask for stabilization before operation, but in the case of the Smooth Q2, this does not happen.

We just put our smartphone in the corresponding tab and press the power button.

Once we have turned it on, we see how the LEDs that we mentioned before, located on the control panel, are activated to indicate the following operating modes:

Pan Tracking (PF): it can be rotated to the right or left, but the inclination remains fixed, although we can adjust it by means of of the joystick.
Lock (L): It always stays pointing at the same place no matter how much we move it.
Full Follow (F): All movements work in this mode, ie both left, right and tilt.
POV: is the same as “Full Tracking mode”, but adding the “roll roll” feature, ie it also tilts with the movement of the handle.
Vortex mode (Blinking POV LED): allows us to rotate the phone in circular mode using the joystick. You need to hold the gimbal like a flashlight.

We have other possibilities if we press the power button in different ways, such as:

Pressing once shows the battery level through the LEDs.
Pressing twice re-calibrates the motors. It is something very necessary if, for any reason, the gimbal has been decalibrated.
If you press three times the gimbal will go into selfie mode.

ZY Play, an app with a lot of room for improvement

In addition to everything we have told you, we can use the Smooth Q2's own camera application called ZY Play, which connects to the gimbal via Bluetooth 5.0and that has different modes.

One of them is “ Fast motion camera”, where we find different automated functions for the gimbal such as:

180 degree horizontal timelapse.
Vertical motion timelapse.
Horizontal and vertical motion timelapse.
POV Mode.
POV with focus mode.
Different types of Zoom Dolly (5 and 10 seconds 4.0 to 1.0 and from 1.0 to 4.0).

In addition, we have other modes:

Slow motion mode.
Video mode where you can record at 720p, 1080p and 4K, but only at 30 fps.
“Take Photo” mode.
Panorama mode.

Review: Zhiyun Smooth Q2, the smallest gimbal on the market alt=

We also have a button that allows our gimbal to follow objects. Without us having to do anything, the gimbal moves following the object that we have previously sent it.

This system could work better, since it is very dependent on the speed at which the object is moving.

We are missing some option such as adjusting the response of the gimbal movement through the joystick or a sport mode, something that other gimbal apps on the market have.

This ZY Play application has a lot to improve and, above all, offer more functions to get the most out of the gimbal.

Mean autonomy

The battery is 4,500 mAh and is charged via a USB Type-C port, located on the handle.

It is not a fixed battery and we can exchange it if there comes a time when it does not last as long as it should. You just have to unhook the bottom part of the gimbal to remove it.

Something that seemed like a brilliant idea to us is that the Smooth Q2 also works as if it were an external battery and by connecting the gimbal and a smartphone can be charged.

This battery moves in 12 and 16 hours of autonomy depending on the use we give to the gimbal.

The full charge of the Smooth Q2 takes approximately 2 hours connected to the mains.

Our experience

Our experience with the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 has been more than satisfactory at all times. Its movement is smooth and balanced, having a fairly short adaptation period if we compare it with others of its competition.

In addition, we have loved the fact that we don't have to calibrate it before using it, something that saves us time and comfort.

After testing several smartphones with the gimbal, the experience has remained positive 99% of the time, except in some (very isolated) case in which the phone's own stabilizer became “something crazy” by the effect of the gimbal itself.

This forced us to deactivate the stabilization system of the smartphone. Once this was done, the problem was solved and the results were again very good.

We understand that it is not a gadget that is necessary for most smartphone users, but for all those who want to have a more professional touch in their videos, buying a gimbal like the Smooth Q2 is practically essential.

The price of the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 stands at 129 euros. It's competitively priced as it's not that far off from similar cheaper models, but generally less feature-packed and most certainly bigger and bulkier.