A Closer Look

Since this is supposed to be semi-professional filming equipment, we expect it to be durable and difficult to operate. It certainly looks sturdy and has enough buttons to make a user spend some time on figuring out every function. The minute we removed the Crane 2 from its case, we were impressed by its length and overall build quality. The Crane 2 is mostly made out of durable aluminum alloy, while the buttons and dials are made out of decent quality plastic. The integrated OLED screen provides useful data to the operator, which makes for a user-friendly gadget. ZHIYUN's gimbal has integrated a 32-bit x 3 high-end speed MCU parallel control technology, which reduces the design complexity. As such, higher performance is achieved while power consumption is restricted, which lengthens its operating life since the batteries won't deplete as quickly. Compared to the previous-generation Crane, called the Crane V2, which can confuse potential buyers, the new one has stronger motors and the OLED screen we already mentioned, and the anti-shaking feature for a more stable performance has also been improved.


If the need for calibration arises, the Crane 2 can be calibrated. A slight deviation of an angle should be enough to initiate the calibration procedure. A six-sided calibration can be conducted, but doing so isn't that easy since the instructions Zhiyun provides in their comprehensive instructions manual are not as straightforward as they could be.


The standard quick-release mounting plate by Manfrotto can be removed from the Crane 2, which means the camera can be used outside of the gimbal without removing the mounting plate itself.


The tripod tightens easily through the bottom of the handle should you want to add more length to the body. However, since the tripod is made out of aluminum alloy, it does not add much weight. The noise produced by the Crane 2 is minimal and hardly noticeable since the company has improved on this facet over earlier models.

The handle of the Crane 2 is bulky enough. The gimbal weighs over 1 kg (2.204lb), which means its overall weight will exceed 1.5 kg (3.30 lb) with just a light camera. As such, it will take both hands to hold the Crane 2. The gimbal comes in black with a matte-coated finish; however, the letters and numbers are white, while some details are red. Two Chinese logograms appear on the tilt axis motor, and the logo and company name have been put on the horizontal arm.


On the right side of the gimbal are two ports: a Micro USB port which is used for power input and upgrades and a DC 8.0 V power outlet which can be used for charging the cameras while using the gimbal. Do note, however, that not all camera models can be charged through the Crane 2. The ports are both covered with rubber bands.

Operation - Front buttons

The OLED display is a huge deal since it allows you to check on the gimbal's status and functions, and it also makes configuring some basic settings possible. The most interesting piece of information it displays is without a doubt the batteries' remaining charge, which is critical while shooting.

Both the joystick and dial on the gimbal's body are out of plastic and have multiple functions. The plastic dial under the joystick is for the menu. The menu is coded and consists of six options with additional settings, which means it will take some time to get used to. You will be taken to a menu depending on how you push the dial button, which may be slightly confusing at the beginning. One can modify or check out any of the displaying features by using the menu dial, and the joystick controls the camera's direction. Below the joystick are two buttons; one on the left, which is a multifunctional mode button, and one button on the right, which is the power on/off, record/stop video button, and photo shoot button. The mode button is used to adjust the gimbal's 3–axes motors.

Operation - Three Shooting Modes

There are three different options here. Pan Following mode (PF) is where the camera pans from left/right following the movement of the stabilizer while the tilt and roll axes are locked. However, a user can make use of the joystick to manually alter the tilt axis. In Lock mode (L), the three axes are locked, which locks the camera in on a direction you specify, though the tilt axis and pan axis can still be controlled manually by the joystick. The last is Following mode (F), in which the pans and tilts of the camera follow the movement of the stabilizer. In this mode, the joystick can be used to manually control the roll axis.

Operation - Follow Focus Dial

ZHIYUN has embedded a wheel into its latest gimbal stabilizer with which one can adjusting the gimbal's follow focus without messing with the camera or its lens (for the moment, this feature is only compatible with Canon's 5D cameras, though). What is real-time follow focus, though? To start with, follow focus is more of an ergonomic feature than a necessity while filming. Put simply, follow focus is a dial mechanism that helps an operator be more accurate and effective since this dial is optimally placed for more users. The plastic dial wheel on the handle is used to change the focus (in filming, this is dubbed "pulling" or "racking focus") without touching the camera mounted to the Crane 2. Usually, this feature comes in the form of a quite expensive additional accessory, so for the Crane 2 to have it pre-installed is definitely great. However, as we already mentioned, not all cameras support this feature, which is a bummer since this feature is the one ZHIYUN demonstrates the most. Hopefully, the follow-focus feature will become available for other camera models the Crane 2 supports as well.