I just finished watching Potato’s review of Zhiyun’s new $60 2-axis phone gimbal. I think it is neat, and it looks like it manages to fill an interesting niche. I don’t own this gimbal, but I do have two 3-axis phone gimbals and an Osmo Pocket. You should watch Potato Jet’s video, then I’ll tell you why I think this new gimbal is interesting.

My first gimbal was a Zhiyun Smooth 4. It is a fantastic and reasonably priced piece of hardware. I think I paid around $120 for it. Its huge size was actually an advantage on the occasions when I used it for vlogging. I was able to hold the phone way out in front of me so I could get a nice wide-angle view of myself.

In fact, it is nice for all the sorts of shots you’d want to get with the smoothness of a gimbal. The problem was the size. I never brought the Smooth 4 out with me.

Then I bought an Osmo Pocket, and it has been fantastic. Like the name suggests, the Osmo Pocket actually fits in my pocket. I’m so much more likely to have it with me, and that makes it an infinitely more useful tool for me than a phone gimbal.

The 2-axis Zhiyun Smooth X is still bigger than the Osmo Pocket, but not ridiculously so. Even when I carry my Osmo Pocket, I’m still carrying my phone, right? So how much worse would it be to carry a Smooth X?

I’m not going to buy a Smooth X. I’m much too happy with my Osmo Pocket. The Pocket is tiny, and I can take it out of my pocket, power it up, and be recording in less than 5 seconds. I don’t have to fart around with getting the phone into the gimbal or getting the Zhiyun app fired up and working.

I just realized I didn’t tell you what got me excited about this new Zhiyun Smooth X. It is that extending selfie stick. Holy potatoes! How handy would that be?!

I sometimes carry a little selfie stick tripod doodad when I take my Osmo Pocket. I can put it on a picnic table and get the Osmo Pocket up to about my eye level so I don’t look goofy when I talk to the camera. Having the extending tripod almost built right in to the gimbal would be super handy!

This is already a much longer post than I expected to write, but I should mention the other huge advantage of a phone gimbal over the DJI Osmo Pocket. The phone gimbal costs a lot less, and the camera gets an upgrade every time you get a new phone. You’ll be upgrading your phone every year or three anyway, right?!