What’s up everyone, Sagi here and welcome to another Tech Gear Talk. Today we’re going to take a look at a brand new and very impressive new gimbal – the Weebill-S. This gimbal is made by Zhiyun (I think it’s Gee-yu-win) – I’m not sure about the pronunciation so we’ll just stick with Weebill-S from now on. What I am sure about is whether or not I like it – so let’s get to that.
I’m going to talk about some of the features of the Weebill-S and show you some test footage to give you an idea of the type of shots you can expect in terms of stability. I’ve used a lot of gimbals, and I don’t believe that there is a one-size-fits-all when it comes to them. Each one of us uses a different camera body and lens combinations and, we’re going to have different requirements, not to mention wants, which is why I like to use different types of gimbals and try to help you decide which one would work for you. So if you’re interested in more information about gimbals, cameras, photography and cinematography, join the community by hitting that subscribe and notification buttons.
I want to start out by talking about what made me even consider the Weebill-S which is also called the Tiny Giant. For me, I wanted something that could handle both DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, with a variety of lenses. I wanted a gimbal that was not not heavy so that it wouldn’t add a ton of weight when I’m using heavier setups. I wanted a smaller gimbal that would be super portable so that I don’t have to worry about bringing along an extra case. I wanted flexibility in terms of handling and operation that would let me very quickly switch between different types of shots and still be comfortable while I’m shooting. I wanted it to work essentially right out of the box – I like having the ability to go into the app or the settings and make adjustments, but I wanted this gimbal to just work without forcing me to do that.
I wanted to be able to use my phone as a monitor because I use so many cameras and some of them do not have a fully articulating screen. I wanted an affordable gimbal that I can recommend to any of you if you’re using a similar setup. And finally, I wasn’t willing to compromise on performance when it came to stability and smoothness. So, does the Weebill-S deliver on these – well, yeah, it kinda does. .
Let’s take a closer look at the Weebill-S and I’m going to include some additional footage at the end of the video so that you can get all the info upfront and if you still want to see more visuals, they are there for you.
I even tried it with the brand new Canon 90D with a 24-70 f/2.8 and it easily balanced and the eye-piece wasn’t hitting the back motor so I had full range of motion and could easily get in vortex mode. So as far as being able to balance different cameras with a variety of lenses, I’m happy with what the Weebill S can do.
Looking at the size, again, it’s such a small gimbal when I consider the types of setup that it can handle. I really like this design, where the batteries are located on the back, so that we don’t need to have a very long handle. So when this breaks down, it’s a much more portable form factor which I can easily fit in my backpack and that’s great when I’m just walking around and shooting because I don’t have to bring a dedicated case just for the gimbal. It would have been nice if Zhiyun included a case, like with the Zhiyun Crane 3, so that when I’m already taking more gear, I could pack it away more securely. Instead it comes with these two polystyrene pieces which would only act as a case if you put them back in the box.
And that’s me being a little picky because I feel like I want it in concept, but then I don’t know if I would actually use it, rather than throwing it one of my bags, especially because you always have to bring everything all the way down to put them in the original carrying case.
The fact that the tripod legs can be connected at the bottom for when you want a longer handle to stack your hands in upright mode is great. I really like that if you tap the LV button twice, the buttons on the back are locked, so it doesn’t matter if you hit them while shooting. What’s even better about this design is the ability to remove the feet from the bottom at attach them at the back so that I get into a more horizontal setup. I could still shoot in underslung mode when I wanted to, which is great if I’m trying to quick change the elevation of a shot. But I really like this more compact setup for low shots and I felt that they were more stable and provided more control. They also allowed me to get into smaller areas and get angles that I wouldn’t be able to get in underslung mode.
So, I really like the versatility and the fact that I can quickly switch between how I handle the Weebill-S depending on the type of shot I’m trying to get. As far as how easy this gimbal was to use, I’m going to say that it was extremely easy. Right out of the box, I just balanced it and ran the autotune which senses the weight of the setup and automatically makes adjustments to the motor torque. I literally took it out of the box, charged the batteries, and started throwing different setups on, and shooting, and I never got that shakiness that you sometimes get when the motor is configured for a setup that is too heavy or too light. And of course I still had the flexibility, if I wanted to, of going into the app and making adjustments.
As far as balancing the Weebill-S, I love the fact that each axis can be locked so that you don’t have to worry about the camera flailing all over the place and you can very quickly make sure each one is balanced and start shooting. It’s also a great feature because you can lock all 3 of them with or without the camera being attached which is great for when you’re transporting or just walking around with it between locations.
There is also another interesting mode in the app which is called Motion Sync – this is similar to the Movi Pro mimic, or the DJI Force Mobile functionality. It was better than previous attempts by Zhiyun, but wasn’t quite up to par with some other implementations, so I didn’t find myself using it too much. I also know that I’m using a pre-release model and there have already been 2 firmware updates which have made a number of improvements – but I would want this coupled with the next feature I’m going to talk about, in order to take this feature to a whole new level.
Zhiyun designed this new TransMount Image Transmission Module which connects to the camera, and then uses wifi to send the video from the camera to my phone. So now I can have 1080p/30 almost real-time monitoring using my phone. I’m saying almost real-time because zero latency, but it’s pretty close. And for how I use it worked really well and I like that I don’t need another cable connecting my phone to the setup.
Ok, so I’m obviously impressed with the functionality and performance of the Weebill-S but let’s get to the price. I got this gimbal and have been using it for a few weeks, but this is a pre-release model which Zhiyun sent me to review – so big shoutout to Zhiyun. And if you’ve watched my videos, you know that I’m going to tell you exactly what I think about a product whether it’s sent to me, I’m borrowing it or bought it myself. I’m at a point where there isn’t really a lot of gear that I personally or professionally need, and I can essentially already borrow any piece of gear I want.
So when I accept a product for review, it’s because I’m genuinely interested in the performance of the product, it’s something that I think you guys might find value in, and it’s always with the understanding that I’m going to say whatever I want about it. So while I’m using it for the past few weeks, I didn’t know how much it was going to cost. And I was thinking, wow, I really like this gimbal but it’ll be interesting to see where they position it as far as pricing, because if it’s too expensive, it’s just not going to work for a lot of creators. I had it pegged at around $600 – $650 and I just found out last night that it’s going to sell for
For the performance I got, this would be a no-brainer for me and it’s definitely a gimbal that I’m going to get a lot of use out of. It’s light, it’s portable, it can handle the setups that I mostly use, it’s super easy to use, and even has the wireless functionality that I was hoping for. Remember that there is more footage coming at the end of this video, I’ll put links in the description to where you can get the Weebill-S and accessories. There are always holiday specials and discounts so the links will be updated with the lowest pricing.
If you end up ordering anything using those links, you can support the channel for free and help me create more content for you, so thank you in advance. I also started a new Patreon page and you’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the description so if you like the content I create, find value in it and want to show your support, head on over there and pick whatever level you’re comfortable with.
I really hope this video gave you a good overview of the Weebill-S, and I would love to hear what you think in the comments sections. Let me know, is this a gimbal that you want and would use, and regardless, I’m always curious about what your setup is now. If this video was helpful, please let me know by giving it a thumbs up, tweet it, share it, and if you haven’t yet, join the community by hitting the subscribe and notification buttons.
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You know what I always say, Buy it Nice or Buy it Twice,
Good luck and see you soon.
