This is the new Zhiyun Crane 4, a gimbal that gets back to the basics
for this brand, which in my opinion, is a really good thing.
In this video, I'm going to be reviewing the symbol
from the perspective of a wedding filmmaker
and telling you if it's a good gimbal for you to purchase.
If you from weddings or documentaries or anything else where you need a.
Reliable camera stabilizer.
That you can run around with all day.
Before I get started, though, for the sake of ethics,
I want you to know this video is not paid or sponsored by June.
But they did send me this cable early so I could make this review.
Well, here's where we are in the world of June's gimbals.
Their cinematic universe.
Gimbal matic Universe.
Yes. Gimbal matic universe.
As it were shooting set the world on fire with their first gimbal the crane.
That thing was. Extremely lightweight and compact, but.
Could still hold a mirrorless camera lens.
And it was pretty darn cool.
Unfortunately, I was someone that filmed with a heavier camera set up
with a battery grip so I could not partake in using that gimbal.
But thankfully the crane too soon followed
and that cable had a significantly higher payload.
I still love that gimbal to this day.
Here's where we take a turn for the worse though, and into what
I like to call the Dark ages of June's gimbals.
Over the last few years, we've seen gimbals like the crane, three
crane, three S, crane, two s, and we will two,
all of which I've either had experience with or have reviewed.
And if I had to choose the common theme between all these gimbals, it would be
that they have an issue with weight.
In short, they are heavy, especially compared to their competition.
And if you are someone like me
that films weddings and prioritizes having a super lightweight gimbal
that you can use all day, a heavy gimbal is a recipe for backaches.
After 12 hours of filmmaking.
Thankfully, there is some light at the end of the tunnel
because you will essentially realize.
That a lot of their gimbals.
Were heavy and they began moving in the direction of lightness,
which should make you incredibly happy as a filmmaker.
I know it makes me happy.
Enter the Crane four, which comes in at a relatively light.
1006.
Hundred and 73 grams much, much lighter than the.
Crane three s which.
Weighed 2472 grams, or even the crane to which weighed 1877 grams.
In addition, from an ergonomic standpoint,
this feels like one of the most versatile gimbals that you and has made to date.
they got stuck on this thing with the crane three and three s
where they really wanted you to be able to use the gimbal in under slung mode.
So the gimbal added a ton of weight in mass to enable you to do that
whenever you want it.
Thankfully with the crane for under slung mode is now merely an option
where you can attach a back handle to the symbol
and use it this way while also being able to remove this back handle.
If you want the gimbal to be even lighter talking, more ergonomics
you and introduced a wrist rest
in their latest Weber model and I'm so glad to see it here as well.
It may sound a bit gimmicky to have a wrist rest,
but if you're holding a heavy gimbal, the majority of the weight from that
gimbal is going to be resting on your wrist.
This wrist rest actually makes a lot of sense on a larger gimbal
because the odds are that
you're going to be using heavier cameras and lenses with it.
It should make filming long wedding days even easier for you.
And as a plus, it's also removable if you don't want to use it.
Of course.
That said, as an alternative to wrist rest, I wouldn't.
Have minded
if you and had opted to use some lighter materials like carbon fiber to.
Make this gimbal lighter.
that also might have negated a need for a wrist rest as well, and
is one of the reasons why jazz is doing so well with many of their gimbals
because they're choosing to make them as light. As possible.
anyways, one of the other fancy
new features of this gimbal is the addition of balance lights.
You can put your camera on the gimbal and whenever you're balancing it
you'll see lights on the motors that shine red if it needs to be adjusted.
personally, I'm someone that usually sticks
to one camera and lens combo when filming, so these lights will be useful
for the initial.
Balance that.
I do, but then I'm not really going to need them anymore.
But if you are someone to.
Commonly find yourself swapping lenses all the time
when using your gimbal and rebalancing it, I can see these lights being.
Very useful at a glance.
There is.
One other light on this gimbal that we need to talk about though, and.
That is this rather large led light that Zhou and included on the front arm.
And has been experimenting with this.
With other gimbals and it's back again on the crane.
For where they include what is essentially a bi color LED
light on the front of the gimbal to help you light up whatever you're filming.
It even comes with this cute little squishy
rubber dome that you can put over the.
Light to soften it further.
Personally, I have zero use for this because I find that the.
Light is going to be too close to the camera,
which is going to result in something equivalent to early MTV,
where you have a light shining directly on your talents face.
And if you're filming weddings, for example, any time you put a.
Light on your camera.
That's going to be super distracting to anyone that you're filming
and they're going to be drawn to your camera like moths to a flame.
And at that point, it's really hard to get people to act natural.
People get weird when there's. A light.
On your camera, and even by moving the light a few inches off.
Your camera.
Onto the gimbal arm,
it's still going to be weird and people aren't going to like it.
That said, if you're someone that films this.
Way with a light on people's faces. I think you'll like it.
But it feels kind of like a gimmick to me and personally, I wouldn't have minded
if the gimbal was lighter instead of adding this feature.
Otherwise, as far as new features go, Zhu says this gimbal now offers
you more control if you connect your camera to your gimbal,
you can do things like change the shutter speed.
And white balance and. Start and stop recording.
Essentially, they're trying to make it even easier
for you to adjust the settings without you needing to touch your camera once.
It is balanced on. The gimbal.
If you're someone that puts your camera on a gimbal and leaves it
there all day, I think you're going to love this feature.
But if you're someone like me that constantly
find yourself putting your camera on your gimbal,
then taking it off because you want to film handheld,
any extra wires or connections to the gimbal are just going to get in the way.
This is why I don't typically find myself using any of these features.
But at the same time I don't want to.
Discount them if you want to use them.
So just know that these are possible.
And I tested them and they work.
now with the new features out of the way, I do feel like we have to answer
a rather basic question in this review, and that is, is this a good gimbal?
As in, is it good at doing gimbal things like.
Stabilizing your. Camera? And the answer is yes.
It is excellent that just like every other shoe and.
Gimbal that I've ever.
Used the crane for is going to give you smooth footage either
in a horizontal or a vertical orientation because it does support both of those.
It also gives you all the normal controls and features you expect from a gimbal.
So you get follow mode and pan tilt mode and POV mode, etc..
Battery life is also quite good as well.
Zhou and says.
The Crane four has a 12 hour battery life and in my testing
I believe that's pretty accurate and I wouldn't.
Expect you to have any issues getting through a full wedding day.
Keep in mind that unlike Julian's previous.
Gimbals though, this one does not have interchangeable battery.
So you will have to charge it before using it.
You can't swap out the handle to get new batteries or anything like that.
What you see. Is what you get here.
that said Xu and says the Crane four can recharge in one hour in 50 minutes.
Now before we talk.
Price for the symbol, I have one last complaint.
And this is minor, but it's annoying for me specifically.
And the reason it's annoying for me specifically.
Is that I am someone. That is left handed.
I know I'm an extreme minority on the earth,
but I really appreciate whenever things are built
in a way that left handed people can still use them.
And to be clear, I'm not saying that the Crane four is unusable
for left handed people, but if you look at the controls in the orientation,
this entire gimbal is essentially built for someone that's right handed.
If you hold it in your right hand, you have extremely.
Easy access to.
The record button.
The joystick. It's all right here.
Ready for your thumb to press it Now on the other hand, literally,
if you are left handed other than this button and dial
at the front of the gimbal,
you're going to have to do a really awkward reach move to get to this.
Joystick and try to not drop the gimbal.
It's a big pain. I wouldn't recommend it.
Thankfully, the wrist rest is swappable to the left side of the gimbal, which.
Is how I have it now.
but the detachable under sling gimbal arm on the other way had to be put on it.
A bit weirder of an angle
because the mounting point for it doesn't rotate 180 degrees.
So this is a weird issue, but if you are left handed like
me, I would probably avoid this gimbal and instead look for.
One that has all of the controls centered on the back
so you can access them more easily.
Anyways, talking. Price.
Now this is where
things get really interesting because you in has priced this gimbal
at 669 bucks for just the gimbal and tripod base and 749 for a combo
which comes with the sling handle and the wrist rest.
On the surface, this.
Pricing looks pretty comparable to a company like DJI.
What you need to remember, though, is that you
it is typically incredibly aggressive.
When it comes to putting their gimbals on sale and reducing their prices.
So definitely keep an eye out for a sale.
So should you buy it?
Well, I think the crane for is interesting.
It's great to see you.
And embracing lighter weight gimbals.
Again, as well as making things like this wrist, rest.
And undersung arms removable.
If you don't want to use them.
But that said, I also feel like they've crammed some features into this.
Symbol that aren't exactly necessary, like.
The LED light on the front, for example, and.
The balance lights.
That you may only use once
if you use the same camera lens combo every time they use the gimbal.
that said, if you're looking for a gimbal that can handle heavier weighted.
Cameras like a C 70 or an x six, etc..
Or you.
Find yourself constantly struggling with balancing your gimbal.
Every time that you use it.
I think that the Crane four will serve you really well,
especially if you can find it for a good price.
Just watch out if you're left handed.
Because the controls are going to be really, really awkward for you.
Speaking of awkward, if you don't want your colors to be awkward in your videos
and if you want cool colors instead, you need to check out my color presets.
Who is Matt Lutz?
These are going to make the colors in your videos
look amazing and I will link to them down below.
Oh, and.
While I am thinking about it, I will also link down below.
To a review of a more left handed friendly gimbal that I made.
If you want to check out that too.
Lastly, if you're a wedding filmmaker like me,
I'm sure you want to book more couples and film more weddings.
I would love to give you some tips for how to do that on YouTube.
I've put together a free guide called YouTube Tips for Wedding Filmmakers.
And this guy is going to walk you
through some of the most important things that I've learned that will help
you get more views, likes and bookings for your wedding films on YouTube.
This guide is completely free and you can download the link down below.
Thanks so much for watching.
Please like this video if you enjoyed it. Subscribe.
If you want to see more and have a great day.