Is it the best selfie stabilizer?

The smartphone stabilizer market isn’t as crowded as other sections of the tech industry. This means that the few names that do compete need to do more to stand out. The Feiyutech Vimble 2S has a very neat trick up its sleeve that makes it compete with the big-name smartphone gimbals from DJI and Zhiyun. We’ve been putting the Vimble 2S through its paces are ready to tell you our verdict. Find out more in this Feiyutech Vimble 2S review.

See also: The 5 best smartphone gimbals to spend your money on

What you need to know about the Feiyutech Vimble 2S

• Feiyutech Vimble 2S (VIMBLE-2S): $89/£89/€89

The Feiyutech Vimble 2S looks and feels much like other smartphone gimbals, but it can do a bit more. The arm can be extended to double as a selfie stick. This puts it against devices like the Moza Mini S and the Zhiyun Smooth XS (and the older Smooth X.)

The Vimble 2S costs $89 and offers 3-axis stabilization, covering tilt, roll, and pan. It has a 1,300mAh battery that should stay alive for 12 hours and charges in about two. The product weighs 428g and measures 118 x 111 x 317mm unfolded (it can be extended by up to 183mm.) Its max payload is rated at 150g and the mount supports devices measuring 85mm in width. It’s also available only in “midnight black”.

See also: These photography tips will help you take your photos to the next level

What’s good?

Having the ability to extend a smartphone gimbal totally changes the experience and opens up a plethora of possibilities. It makes recording yourself and taking selfies a breeze, and offers additional stability. Not to mention it makes it easier to capture certain angles and reach into hard-to-get areas. Three-axis stabilization is another plus, one the Zhiyun Smooth XS lacks (it only supports pan and tilt stabilization.)

Having the ability to extend a smartphone gimbal totally changes the experience and opens up a plethora of possibilities.

Image stabilization performed very well. Motors are fast and smooth. The ability to rotate 300 degrees in every direction offers plenty of freedom of movement.

While the design is not much to write home about, we have to admire the simplicity of the Feiyutech Vimble 2S. It has a joystick, a zoom rocker, a couple shortcuts, and a trigger button. That’s it! It’s a very simple device to operate and has nearly no learning curve. Competing devices can get a little convoluted with so many options.

One major plus with the application is the auto-connect feature. I have written extensively on how other gimbal apps only connect to the stabilizer manually. Feiyutech has finally included this missing capability. Simply launch the Feiyu ON app, wait for a few seconds, and it will automatically connect to the Feiyutech Vimble 2S.

I’m no fan of gimbal apps, especially the Zhiyun, DJI, and Moza ones. The Feiyu ON app has its issues, more on that later on, but at least it’s easy to understand. It also has surprisingly good tracking capabilities. You can drag your finger along any section of the screen to direct the app to follow an object. The dynamic feature could recognize the object when it left and returned into the frame. Other cool features in the app include gesture controls, filters, beauty mode, HDR shooting, a timer, panorama mode, light rail mode, and more.

The battery life performed well during our nine-hour test on a single charge. We’re sure it will be able to handle a whole work day of recording. However, we expect reduced durations if you’re charging your phone with it — another cool feature included.

Overall, there is much to like here, but nothing’s perfect!

What’s not so good?

As noted earlier, the app isn’t perfect. For starters, video quality is adversely affected. Movement seems jittery, as if there aren’t enough frames per second to keep content smooth. The jittery movement was not present while using the gimbal with a stock camera app. The zooming feature is also not great. It jumped in and out incrementally during testing, whereas rival devices offer smoother transitions.

With its 150g payload rating, this unit worked well with smaller devices like my wife’s Pixel 4a. However, you could feel the motors shaking and struggling as soon as I installed a larger device. Be sure to keep this in mind if you own a heavier phone.

While the design and build quality aren’t bad, they aren’t the best either. The comfortable grip has a rubberized texture. While this makes for an easier hold, it doesn’t feel as solid as others. The Feiyutech Vimble 2S is built better than the cheaply made Zhiyun Smooth X, for example, but Moza does a better job with its competing Mini S, which costs the same as the Feiyutech Vimble 2S.

Feiyutech Vimble 2S review: Should I buy it?

The Feiyutech Vimble 2S comes with great tracking, a relatively good app, excellent stabilization, and wide freedom of movement thanks to its 300-degree coverage in all directions. It’s fun to use, despite its downsides and serious competition.

The Feiyutech Vimble 2S is a unique smartphone gimbal with great tracking, excellent stabilization, and wide freedom of movement.

Personally, I prefer the Moza Mini S, which is the same price, and it has a better design and higher payload capacity. The Zhiyun Smooth XS is a much more affordable alternative to the Feiyutech Vimble 2S and the Moza Mini S, too.

With that said, the Feiyutech Vimble 2S is a really cool, expandable smartphone gimbal that offers something a little different than the rest of the pack.