For vloggers, aspiring filmmakers, and other content creators, today’s smartphones are more than up to the job of main video camera. Film director Danny Boyle is even using an iPhone 15 to shoot his upcoming zombie sequel 28 Years Later. To buff their footage to a truly professional sheen, however, even the most capable smartphones benefit from a helping hand. Boyle’s iPhone appears to be heavily modified with all sorts of add-ons such as multi-thousand-dollar cinema lenses.
But for those of us operating on a smaller budget, a mobile three-axis gimbal is the ideal smartphone accessory to take phone footage to the next level, by automatically stabilizing handheld footage and removing shakes and jitters far more effectively than any onboard image stabilization system. And after spending some time with it, I’m delighted to say that the Hohem iSteady M7 is the most advanced and feature-packed smartphone stabilizer I’ve ever used.
Photograph: Sam Kieldsen
A Big Gimbal For Big Phones
The iSteady M7’s chunky, utilitarian design and bold color scheme may not appeal to everyone, and it can’t fully fold down like the pocket-size Insta360 Flow or DJI Osmo Mobile (WIRED Recommends 8/10). It can be semi-folded into a flattened state for transport, whereupon it fits snugly in a hard carry case that comes with it, but it’s larger (13.2 x 6.2 x 2.2 inches when folded) and heavier (25.6 ounces including its mini tripod attachment) than most of the gimbals I’ve used.
The upside of that extra heft is its ability to carry and stabilize a bulkier payload. The iSteady M7’s large grip and powerful gimbal motor mean it can accommodate phones up to 17.6 ounces in weight and up to 0.49 inches thick, which means even folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 are compatible. It also means you can kit your phone out with accessories like cases or lens mods and still enjoy full stabilization. Most gimbals can only hold phones up to 10.5 ounces in weight.
Photograph: Sam Kieldsen
I found the stabilization itself to be flawless—and flexible. Some manual balancing of my iPhone 13 was required, but only via a simple slide along one axis, and once done the gimbal does the rest, automatically leveling the phone and then following my movements according to whichever of the preset modes I was using. Pan Follow keeps the gimbal locked along the tilt and pitch axes, Pan Tilt Follow keeps it locked only on the pitch axis and POV follows your movements on all three axes. There’s also a custom mode, where the user can pick the three axes they want movement on, and follow speed can also be adjusted manually.