I was sent the VLOG Pocket 2, a 3-axis gimbal made by FeiyuTech. Known for its small size, I wanted to see if the features and performance could compete with other more well known gimbals. As you probably know, gimbals provide electronic stability to smartphones to make your motions smooth and wobble-free.
It’s tiny
Upon opening the box, I immediately noticed its small folded footprint. This gimbal will certainly fit in your pocket and won’t be a burden to the traveling videographer. Weighing in at 272 grams, which is just over half a pound, it’s strong enough to manipulate a smartphone payload up to 250g.
While the grasping mechanism is strong, you may have to remove bulky phone cases. Once I removed my protective case, it easily held my iPhone and also my Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which is a rather large phone. I do think the Samsung is at the upper limits of what this gimbal can hold without the phone hitting the shaft during manipulation, but the weight was certainly no issue.
It comes with a soft carrying case and mini tripod.
It’s mighty
The construction of the VLOG Pocket 2 is adequate. While it may look delicate and won’t make your jaw drop with its looks, it is definitely sturdy and functional.
The included tripod base works better than the light construction would lead you to think. There are three clamps to unlock for use (tilt, pan and roll), and they provide secure locking when engaged. USB-C fast charging is complete in 1.5 hours. With an upper battery life of 9 hours, it’s perfect for a full day shoot.
Smooth operation
Once you power the unit and connect with your phone’s Bluetooth, the first thing you may notice, or rather won’t notice, is the quiet operation of the brushless motor. The unit works fine in portrait or landscape and while underslung. The simple controls are intuitive to use. There’s a power button, a joystick, photo and video capture buttons, a function button and a trigger.
Depending on how you tap the function button, you can easily switch working modes. Follow Mode is the default. Hitting the function button switches the unit into Pan Mode and then All Follow Mode. A single tap followed by a hold of the function button enables Fast Follow Mode, which reduces angle constraints.
Inception Mode involves using the joystick for axis rotation. Pressing and holding the trigger locks the position. Double-tapping the trigger repositions the gimbal. A triple tap switches your phone from rear to front camera.
One thing that is not at all smooth is the zoom functionality. Since it is very choppy, I don’t recommend using it during a shot, but rather to set your zoom before recording.
The app
The Feiyu ON app is actually pretty good. While it may not be as robust as some apps, it has a fresh UI design that houses a lot of settings. The in-app tutorial is easy to follow. As you can see in the images below, the app offers access to important phone camera settings, time settings, guides, filters, and many other options. Many of the filters are quite useful.
Like many other gimbals and apps, it offers time-lapse, slow motion, gesture control for selfie photo and video recording, and the dolly zoom feature. Shortcut keys can bring up the app menu on your phone so you can have one-handed operation for many tasks. Various panorama options are sure to delight the travel vlogger.
One of the most useful features is motion tracking, which is intuitive and works fairly well. While in the app, simply press on your screen and expand the box around the object to track. A green box will indicate the object being tracked. Pressing the red icon will stop tracking. While I had successful tracks on most occasions, there were times where a little “jumping” occurred while tracking a static object as I moved both my gimbal and my location.
Also note that you can directly control the native Android and iPhone smartphone cameras without using the app.
The verdict
The VLOG Pocket 2 delivers a hefty amount of features for the price point, so you certainly aren’t sacrificing a lot of functionality for a smaller footprint and monetary outlay. If compact size is of utmost importance to you, I recommend this item. It would certainly be a top choice for a beginner or amateur and can perform the work required by semi-professionals. The online video tutorials are concise and easy to follow, so you can be up and running in no time.
Having used both the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 and 4, I did not feel uncomfortable or underequipped using the VLOG Pocket 2 for travel video use. But I do recognize that a super user may be looking for a gimbal that “feels” sturdier, can hold larger phone cases, has a more robust app and comes from a company with more history in algorithm development.
That being said, for portable on-the-go use, the VLOG Pocket 2 is worth a look.
Feiyu VLOG Pocket 2 Handheld Gimbal
The VLOG Pocket 2 Handheld Gimbal from Feiyu stabilizes your smartphone in three axes. It is compact, lightweight at just over half a pound and folds for storage and travel. It features a quick toggle button to power the gimbal and change between lock and panning modes, and it allows you to quickly reset your smartphone in landscape or portrait mode.
