Zhiyun Smooth Q3: The Best Budget Gimbal for Instagram Reels and TikTok


It's lightweight, supports many popular phones, offers a rotatable fill light, and a modernized button layout to simplify usage.

With the release of the Zhiyun Smooth Q3, Zhiyun has instituted some heavy design changes from the Smooth Q2. As always, these are meant to streamline and better fit the current climate of smartphone video shooting. However, the question remains are these changes worth investing in, and are there any notable trade-offs.

For past users of the Smooth Q2, the Zhiyun Smooth Q3 has moved away from its predecessor's design. Rather than continue forward with the aluminum alloy build of the Q2, users are instead given a lighter-weight, two-tone matte plastic build. In terms of its body design, it felt like it took lessons from the Smooth XS while attempting to improve on what it did well.

With the Smooth Q3, there's a focus on grip ergonomics. Rather than deal with an unwieldy cylindrical grip, the formed plastic at the rear of the handle comfortably fits four fingers while leaving your thumb free for joystick and button operation. The contrast between light and dark gray also guides your eye to all the important buttons, USB-C port, and zoom rocker too.

For those after a travel-friendly gimbal, the Smooth Q3 design does allow for a quick, slidable pack-up. While not as pocket-friendly as the Smooth XS, it can still stick close. If you don't want to keep it on you, it also stows away easily for transport.

Zhiyun Smooth Q3 Technical Specifications

In terms of numbers, the Smooth Q3 offers improvements in two major gimbal areas: weight and payload. Thanks to its plastic body, it's managed to drop down to 340g from the 380g of the Smooth Q2 (without its battery inserted). The Smooth Q3 also boasts an improved max payload of 280g from the previous 260g. When in transit or stored folded up, the Smooth Q3 measures 45 x 154 x 180 mm. When fully expanded, the Smooth Q3 measures out at 90 x 127 x 279 mm.

Battery Life and Charging With the Zhiyun Smooth Q3

With the Smooth Q3's swap to an internal battery, how does it perform? In terms of operating time, it has a standard battery runtime of seven hours with a potential maximum of fifteen hours. Depending on the intensity of use and stress on the motors, it also may drain faster.

In one testing period, I ran the Smooth Q3 for seven hours in a split between mostly low-stress operations with bursts of higher intensity use. During the low-stress period, I just left the gimbal on with the pre-balanced Infinix Hot 10S. While I'd occasionally adjust the pan, it largely sat idle.

During the high-impact periods, I went outside to shoot for intervals of thirty minutes to an hour while utilizing the assorted features of the gimbal. Over the course of the seven-hour back-and-forth, the Smooth Q3 only dropped one single bar (so roughly 25% of its battery).

Once you do drain your internal battery, the Smooth Q3 charges via USB-C. While charging, the Smooth Q3's indicator lights light up in sequence to show its recharge progression. If you want to keep tabs on your battery life during stabilizer operation, you can also tap the power button to display the current charge.

With this all said, I did notice the Smooth Q3's battery could be finicky at times. If I left the Smooth Q3 powered off for two-to-three days with the battery charged, then it would sometimes not power on and act as if it were dead. I'd only be able to reawaken the battery after plugging it in to charge and waiting a short while.

However, if I was actively using the Smooth Q3 or at least turning it on daily then no problems of this nature occurred.

Should You Buy the Zhiyun Smooth Q3?

With all these things in mind, should you purchase the Smooth Q3?

If you’re after a lightweight, budget-friendly gimbal that can go with you then the Smooth Q3 is an excellent choice. However, bugs, frustrations, and some restrictions with the Smooth Q3 need to be weighed against the various improvements made. Many of these stem from optional ZY Cami app implementations, so you can opt out of those if desired. The zhiyun smooth Q3 price in Pakistan is 16,999 from khawajaphotos.pk, the Smooth Q3 is certainly good value.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Check if Your BOYA Mic is Real or Fake?

Image
Fake products are often a thing, We usually purchase things that seem very compromising to be an original one but you later realize it be a fake product later. This is very much accurate in context for the electronic gadgets we buy. So, If you want to check if your BOYA mic is real or fake , Stay tuned, We got you covered! In this post, we are going to see how to check whether a BOYA product you have purchased is original or a fake one. If we are done wasting time. Let’s just keep all the things aside and Let the tech begin! Process On the very front side of the box, we get to see the security code which was initially hidden by a layer of Silver Nitro Oxide. Always make sure that the scratch coating is not revealed and the security code is not visible. After scratching the layer, we could see the secret security code. In some of the units, the code is given on the backside of the box.  Check for your code and open up your favorite web browser. Once you open up the browser move onto bo
Read more

Different types of ring lights and their usage as per niches

Image
 Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you want the image to be more professional looking but the light is low or the shadows are too harsh? For such situations, you might want to use a ring light to get soft and even light throughout the subject. A ring light is a kind of flash or a continuous light source, however, it is designed as a circle that can either be connected to the camera focal point straightforwardly, similar to a focal point hood, or it very well may be utilized as an off-camera flash. It is a ring of little LED bulbs that are designed in a way to disturbed even light. In addition, they are made of warm, white bulbs that are designed to imitate daylight in an indoor setting. The ring light is used in many different settings and the following are some of the best suited for ring light situations. Portrait photography   Macro Photography   Food Photography   As a softbox  A key light   To expose details Portrait photography The most common use of ring light is
Read more

The best gimbals for your iPhone, GoPro, mirrorless camera or DSLR in 2022

Image
The best gimbals will ensure your footage looks smooth even when you're walking, running or making sudden movements. The best gimbals will help shoot professional-looking videos without any camera movement. Camera shake is an obvious sign you're an amateur and even if both your camera and lens have stabilization, you'll still see movement if you're shooting hand-held. If you're planning on walking or running while filming, you'll need a gimbal to ensure that your footage is as steady as can be. The best gimbals are mechanical stabilizers that use at least two but normally three axes of rotation to keep a camera steady. A gimbal compensates for unwanted movements such as shaky hands or little stumbles. Nowadays, gimbals are sophisticated bits of kit that are able to tell the difference between intentional and unintentional movements which allows the operator to be creative with shots. A good videographer will have thought about composition in filmmaking and a gim
Read more