If you have a GoPro, then you have one of the most versatile action cameras in the world. The kinds of photos and footage you can take are endless, and so are the accessories that help you take the best shots. From tripods to grips, you have hundreds of options to choose from.
At A Glance: Our Top 3 Picks for The Best GoPro Gimbal
But if you want silky smooth footage and breathtaking pans, then get yourself one of the best GoPro gimbals.
A gimbal is an accessory with pivoted support. This support allows your GoPro Hero to rotate on a single axis, keeping it upright and stationary even if you move around. It’s not only good for shaky hands. It’s great for those stable and level shots you see all over Youtube, capturing awesome movement and breathtaking scenes in one smooth movement.
As with any GoPro accessory, you’ll find lots of options out in the market of varying quality, features, and prices. However, not all gimbals are worth your money.
Check out the best GoPro Gimbal for the best footage.
Best Overall
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Best for Beginners
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Most Affordable
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The Feiyu G6 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal is an updated version of the already fantastic G5 with better stabilization and user-friendly features.
The Feiyu isn’t cheap, but it’s worth your money. It features a splash-proof body, excellent and smooth motion, and rotation, all packed in a durable and high-quality build. The torque motor is smooth and moves efficiently, and can be easily controlled with an accompanying app interface.
The body is ergonomic and easy to use. It has a small OLED screen to display mode and battery life. It also has a sliding arm with great placement so that the gimbal will never block your GoPro Hero screen. As with all 3-axis gimbals, you get a max tilting range of 360°, a max rolling range of 320°, and a max panning range of 360°.
It has a tilting speed of 2°/s – 75°/s and a panning speed of 3°/s – 150°/s. Even at the fastest speeds possible, the shaking and the vibrating are eliminated with this GoPro gimbal. You also don’t get the loud motor noises that you tend to get with other gimbals.
It’s equipped with a 5000mAh battery and gives you a 12-hour runtime. You can also use this battery to charge your action camera, but this cuts the gimbal’s battery life to 5 hours.
A great bonus with the Feiyu G6 is it’s compatible with a lot of action cameras. You can use any version of your GoPro, or even fit a DSLR camera into the mount. There are special mounts you can buy as well if you have an unusually shaped camera.
The EVO GP-PRO 3Axis GoPro Gimbal is a plug-and-play stabilizer made for your GoPro Hero and other cameras.
The most obvious feature is its CNC Aluminum build that immediately gives a very solid and very premium feel. It’s the same material used for aircraft which attests to how durable this gimbal is. The easy setup is also a great plus – no camera stabilizing settings and no software configurations are needed. The pivoting is controlled by a little joystick on the handle.
It takes a little getting used to, but it’s a great device to capture even the most last-minute movements and footage. This also allows you to “override” the gimbal settings if you need to capture any last-minute footage. There are four modes to choose from to capture any kind of footage you want.
It’s one of the most stable GoPro gimbals in the market and the device is really built for speed. It has an effective combined refresh rate of 4kHz allowing for ultra-fast reaction speeds and stable shots.
The GoPro gimbal is also equipped with a 3.5mm AV audio and video outlet port. This lets you connect to an external monitor and view your footage on a bigger screen. This can be very handy if you want to stream live images. It also has a built-in standard 1/4-20″ thread on the underside of the handle so you can mount the device on tripods or extendable reaches. This is probably one of the most versatile gimbals on the market.
There is very little to complain about with this gimbal other than its weight for its small size. Given its material, that’s very understandable and a small price to pay for a truly superb product.
The Hohem iSteady Pro 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal is a no-assembly device for the more advanced photographer without the heavy price.
This GoPro gimbal is not as easy to set up because of the options for manual controls, but those familiar with shooting with a gimbal should have no problem with this. A favorite feature is Object Tracking. You can set it to track a specific object and the action camera will follow its every movement.
Shooting nodes can also be set up manually to create timelapse photography. This combined with object tracking results in very unique special trail timelapse photography that not many gimbals are capable of.
This 3-axis gimbal also has a wider range than most gimbals. Its panning rate can do two rotations for a 640-degree pan. If you need more reach, there is a 1/4 inch extension screw-hole for attaching to a tripod that’s included in the package.
It runs with a dedicated app that functions as a remote, automatic stabilizer, and custom multi-motion parameters. It does have automatic parameter settings for certain action camera models so beginners don’t need to fuss around with the settings too much. The downside to this is the app has a tendency to crash, which sometimes causes the settings to reset.
The 4000mAh battery can run for 12 hours and also functions as a power bank for your GoPro Hero. This GoPro gimbal also comes with a tripod, which will be very useful for the timelapse setting.
The REMOVU S1 3-Axis Gimbal is great for outdoor settings and different environments.
This device is perfectly built for the outdoors. It has a rainproof design and is made mostly of aluminum. It also comes with a waterproof housing that will protect your GoPro Hero from the weather. This feature provides a wider range of shooting environments such as ski slopes, splash zones, and humid climates.
You can also detach the handle to mount the gimbal on anything you would normally mount a GoPro Hero on, including tripods and harnesses. It’s not completely waterproof as the motors won’t move properly when completely submerged in water. However, it’s one of the very few gimbals that is both water-resistant and rainproof.
Aside from handheld controls, it also comes with a wireless remote to modify settings and angles. The remote comes with a joystick and allows you to change to any shooting angle without having to detach your action camera. There are four stabilization modes that can easily be controlled via the handle or the wireless remote.
Early versions of this GoPro gimbal have users frustrated over the wild rotation of the device. However, recent firmware updates have eliminated this problem and the gimbal produces smooth footage with the 3-axis gimbal.
That being said, the noise from the motor can be a bit of a problem. While not always noticeable when in use, the camera tends to pick up the vibration of the gimbal stabilizer that produces the noise in the footage. Some calibrations on both the gimbal and the action camera can help minimize this, but music is almost always necessary to mask the noise.
The GoPro Karma Grip is a decent handheld stabilizer built by the GoPro manufacturers themselves.
The GoPro Karma Grip line hasn’t had the best reputation especially with the recall of the drones, but the handheld stabilizer is a pretty good buy if you’re into keeping brand lines consistent. Its stabilizing features are superb so it really doesn’t matter what activity you’re doing.
You’ll get cinema-quality footage with smooth transitions and level footage. The best part about this grip is it can be used as a handheld grip, attached to gear, or worn on your body. Much like the GoPro Hero itself, the GoPro Karma Grip built is made to capture different points of view on your adventure.
Another great feature of this gimbal for GoPro is how lightweight it is. At just over a pound, it’s easy to handle and less likely to shake. On the other hand, battery life isn’t great. It runs for around 2 hours. It’s good for one take, but if you’re on an all-day hike, you’ll need to recharge the grip via a USB connector several times.
In terms of panning, it’s not a 3-axis gimbal so panning and tilting and controls are limited. However, you still get some nifty features. On the handle, you can find buttons for starting and stopping your recordings, as well as buttons for power, changing shooting modes, and adding tags to your videos.
It may not be as extensive as the Feiyu G6, but these controls are still enough to create professional-looking footage. The camera will always point forward unless you tilt it above or below the horizon, which still ensures stable footage. The grip is also water-resistant.
The grip is also compatible with the Karma drone for highly stable drone footage.
Not all gimbals are compatible with all GoPro Heros. Most of the time, it’s limited to a specific range and will require the purchase of a separate adapter or mount for a different GoPro camera version. Make sure you purchase a gimbal that can hold your camera so you won’t have to purchase additional accessories.
Some gimbals are plug-and-play, other gimbals have manual calibrations. Depending on your level of expertise, either one has its perks. Beginners will do well with plug-and-play versions or those with easy calibrations. Professional videographers will find a lot more functionality and specific parameters with manual calibrations to capture the most perfect shots.
A 3-Axis gimbal can rotate, tilt, and pan at almost 360 degrees. This is the most ideal for taking the most varied kinds of footage. However, this may not be necessary all the time, especially for beginners. Sometimes, simple movements and great stabilization are enough for casual users with a GoPro Hero.
Gimbals are motorized devices and will need to be powered at all times. Battery life varies from 2 hours to 12 hours. Depending on how you will use it, consider how often and how long in between use you will need to charge the gimbal so your work doesn’t get interrupted.
The best gimbal by far is the Feiyu G6 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal. Despite its higher price, you get excellent performance from a device that’s also very easy to use. It’s ideal for beginners and professionals alike and will always produce smooth footage with minimal noise at almost every angle.
Beginners will do well with the EVO GP-PRO 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal. With its plug-and-play feature, there’s no need to fuss over calibrating cameras and guessing parameters.
The Hohem iSteady Pro 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal gives the most bang out of your buck. At an affordable price, this gimbal serves up some advanced movements, specific parameters, and unique features for you to capture awesome footage.