THE NEW ZHIYUN CRANE M3; A GIMBAL FOR APS-C CAMERAS

When it comes to the gimbal market, there are two industry leaders whose names are unanimous with quality and on that list of two is Zhiyun Tech (and DJI but today isn’t their day in the spotlight). Being a Zhiyun user myself (I own the Zhiyun Smooth 4), I can attest to the quality of their stabilization systems and the company just introduced the newest addition to it family; the new Crane M3.

The Crane M series of gimbals was initially built for point and shoot cameras but with the M3, Zhiyun is extending the list of cameras that this gimbal can hold which is great because most gimbal companies are always gunning for full frame cameras and making gimbals that can carry weightier cameras but the down side of that is that the gimbal itself becomes heavy and for those who want a simple and light setup to go with their already light mirrorless APS-C cameras, the M3 avails them that option.

The gimbal comes in a rather bright, stand-out design which is different for the usual black design that all professional gimbals come in but that doesn’t hinder functionality as it can very comfortably handle most APS-C cameras and a couple full frame cameras like the Sony A7S III (as long as it’s paired with a decently light lens). The gimbal features built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality, a 1.22 inch full colored OLED touch screen, an eight hour battery life span when fully charged and a bi-color fill light feature for when you might be shooting in low light situations and need a light boost.

The Crane M3 comes in at $369 and is compatible with action cameras as well as smartphones. Below is a quick review by Gene Nagata of Potato Jet YouTube channel