Filming With Your Smartphone: Feiyutech Gimbals SPG Live And G4 Pro Tried

The SPG Live has 3-axis stabilization, which, depending on the selected mode, either adapts to the user's movements or rigidly aligns the smartphone in a predetermined direction - regardless of possible movements and rotations of the handle.

The smartphone can also be rotated and swiveled in any direction using the joystick integrated in the handle. Due to the special construction, 360 ° rotations in the vertical are also possible. This is not a matter of course in the world of compact gimbals.

FeiyuTech SPG Live

In addition to the switch-on and function button, there is also a shutter button in the handle that can be used to start and stop recording on a smartphone connected via Bluetooth. This means that you can not only control and align the gimbal with just one hand, but also start and stop the video recordings without changing your grip.

The SPG Live is powered by a replaceable 3000 mAh battery that lasts a good 8 hours, the SPG-Live is charged via micro USB.

The scope of delivery also includes an additional counterweight, which must be attached when the respective smartphone weighs a little more. For an iPhone 7, for example, the standard weight is enough. But if you clamp an iPhone 7 Plus, the heavy weight is a must. Speaking of clamping: The SPG Live supports smartphones with a width of up to 80 millimeters. Feiyutech does not state a maximum weight. However, our test showed that an iPhone 7 Plus is already scratching the upper limit of what the SPG Live can handle, both in terms of its dimensions and its weight of 188 grams.

Feiyutech also offers a companion app for the SPG Live, which can be used to make fine adjustments to the gimbal. Unfortunately, this app is not working at least under iOS 10.

The G4 Pro: smaller, but not worse

The Feiyutech G4 Pro is slightly smaller than the SPG Live. It also has 3-axis stabilization and can rotate 360 degrees vertically. At 4 hours, its battery life is only half of the SPG Live, but the G4 Pro comes with four batteries (two of which are required to operate the G4 Pro).

FeiyuTech G4 Pro

Apart from the battery life and the different dimensions, the two gimbals differ from each other only by the roll angle. That of the G4 Pro is 100 degrees and that of the SPG Live is 320 degrees. As a result, the SPG Live has more freedom of movement. Both gimbals are also equipped with a tripod thread.

Feiyutech charges 259 euros for the SPG Live, the G4 Pro costs 179 euros.

Conclusion

This means that the price-performance ratio of the G4 Pro is slightly better than that of the SPG Live. A little downside: Since the Companion app did not work in our test, misalignments cannot be compensated for. As a result, depending on the smartphone and the weight of the device, we had a few degrees of skew, which we initially accepted and later had to repair on the computer. Apart from that, both gimbals do their job well and the control via the integrated joysticks also resulted in smooth, smooth movements.

Of course, it takes a little practice to get soft, cinematic tracking shots - with a gimbal, like the two Feiyutech specimens we tested, there are highly professional-looking sectional images and pans that you create with your smartphone, but nothing stands in the way.