Gimbal Hike (FeiyuTech G4 Pro vs DJI Osmo)

November 30, 2015 18 Comments

Blame it on El Nino, winter arrives late this year. In fact, we are just experiencing the cool weather of late autumn. Building insulation in Hong Kong isn’t as good as the northern cities’, so it may not be a bad thing for a warmer winter.

My perfect weather would be anything between 16-23°C. Sunny and cooling, this is the perfect season to test my two newly-bought handheld gimbals.

Newly launched in November 2015, the new Feiyutech G4 Pro received its debut listing in Apple Store. Couldn’t resist the “poisonous gadgetry temptation”, I got the G4 Pro at IFC Apple Store this afternoon.

I was a little disappointed the second I unboxed the G4 Pro. The box exterior looks decent but its interior looks rather bad. Compare with another Chinese brand, DJI, the FeiyuTech G4 Pro packaging looks far from being an international brand. It looks typically Chinese 3rd-class brand. The interior packing is dusty and looks raw. The second I took the gimbal in my hand, I spotted fine sketch-marks and oil stains on the metal handle. Even the brand is not evenly silk-screen printed on the product. I can’t believe Apple allows packaging of such poor standard to be listed in its store. Anyway, these are cosmetic flaws that will not impact the hardware performance.

The family and I randomly jumped on the next available ferry at Central (not really sure where it was heading until it arrived at its destination). We arrived at the Lamma Island. I put both DJI Osmo and the newly-bought FeiyuTech G4 Pro to the test. After a 2-hour hike around the island, here is my verdict of today’s experience.

PROs of FeiyuTech G4 Pro + iPhone 6 Plus
– Longer lasting battery (gimbal)
– Better photograph quality (phone)
– Better audio-recording (phone)
– Quicker setup and activation (no Wifi needed)
– Quicker switch-on speed (gimbal)
– Quicker colour and contrast balancing and correction (phone)
– Comes with a 2nd set of batteries
– Interchangeable weights for different handsets (5s, 6s, 6s plus)
– Durable and sturdy solid metal body (Osmo is mostly plastic)

CONs of FeiyuTech G4 Pro + iPhone 6 Plus
– Narrower camera angle 65° (phone) vs 94° (DJI Osmo)
– No locking of gimbal during off-mode, gimbal hitting the rod
– No bluetooth or connection to iPhone (for video/photo-taking)
– Loose grip on iPhone (not securely tight enough during running)
– Not as smooth as the Osmo (during the running test)

As a gimbal, FeiyuTech G4Pro fares very well. It is very reactive to my panning. There is hardly any tilt on the horizon (seen on the G4 Pro predecessor), everything is straight and balanced. The video and photo output relies 100% totally on the mobile device. Therefore, it can never be an apple to apple comparison. 

As a whole package (gimbal and camera), DJI Osmo fares slightly better than the FeiyuTech G4 Pro. It captures wider and smoother footages. (See video below: Jump to 4:07 of the video to see side-by-side video comparison of 2 videos of me chasing Elkan.) One of the things I love about the Osmo is how easy for me to take a photo or video. All the buttons are integrated on the handle, allowing one hand operation. For the G4 Pro, I need a second hand to press on the iPhone screen to select the video/photo mode. I also prefer the wide camera angle on the Osmo. That is why for over 70% of today’s hike, I switched to Osmo than using the G4 Pro.

My conclusion – the current handheld gimbal tech is far from perfection. Osmo did well in integrating the gimbal and the camera but its battery is bad (went dead in less than 45 minutes) and its native microphone performs worse than the iPhone (some of the audios you heard in the video came from the Rode VideoMicro Microphone I installed). The day when FeiyuTech G4Pro integrates its handle buttons to the iPhone camera settings, it will be a formidable rival to the DJI Osmo.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong Tagged with , ,

18 Responses to Gimbal Hike (FeiyuTech G4 Pro vs DJI Osmo)

  1. Vikas says:
    August 19, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Hi, so Osmo is out of my budget. On FeiyuTech website, two different models are listed as gimbals for smart-phones. G4 Pro and G4 Pplus – they both have similar specs, so it’s really hard me to pick one. I need to use a gimbal for iPhone to take shots for news stories.

    Reply
    • Wahbiang says:
      September 19, 2016 at 9:39 pm

      Hi Vikas,

      DJI just launched the new Osmo Mobile! I just bought it and it is fantastic! Go check it out!

      Reply
      • Jostin Dsa says:
        October 23, 2016 at 11:35 am

        WOW… Hows it ? I mean OSMO mobile is it better than G4 Pro ? I was wondering how quickly you can operate the camera ? like what you do with your phone with quick access ?

      • Wahbiang says:
        October 23, 2016 at 11:46 am

        Osmo Mobile is certainly way way better than G4 Pro. It is easier to grab on the handle and can operate right from the handle without touching the phone screen. It also comes with auto tracking of faces and I love the motion timelapse function. Do get the “stand” if you buy the Osmo Mobile.

      • Jostin Dsa says:
        October 23, 2016 at 11:52 am

        Thanks so much chief. I will definitely buy it this week or so. How’s the battery back up on osmo mobile chief ? I heard you saying DJI OSMO is not up to mark in terms of battery back up. Certainly I will buy the base. Are you asking me to buy the tripod kind of stand ? or just the base ?

      • Wahbiang says:
        October 23, 2016 at 12:15 pm

        The base comes with a hole for tripod mount. Cos without the base, you can’t mount the Osmo Mobile on any standard tripod. Also, the base is good for flat surface.

        DJI launched a higher capacity battery that last much longer than the original Osmo. As you will be using the phone’s battery for the camera, the original standard battery just needs to power the gimbal and it last more than 2 hours for me (compared using the same standard battery on the Osmo).

        The new higher captivity battery promises more than 4 hours of power for the Osmo Mobile. 🙂

  2. Jostin D Sa says:
    July 3, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Hi Wahbiyang
    Thanks so much for it putting such a detailed features and description.
    I have really been browsing through and little confused whether to go with OSMO or G4 pro. Could you please advise???

    Reply
    • Wahbiang says:
      July 3, 2016 at 6:14 pm

      My take is go with Osmo! It has wider camera angle and it is much easy to use. I bought my G4 Pro and I hardly use it now. Osmo is more handy with the wider angle. However, you need to get extra batteries and a better mic for Osmo.

      Checkout some of my vlogs using Osmo – https://youtu.be/61_4zb9K-c4

      Reply
      • Jostin Dsa says:
        October 25, 2016 at 10:55 am

        Sir,
        I have ordered the OSMO Mobile and I should get it by end of this week. I had to order the base separately, it seems not covered with original package. Also I am little concerned. Is there 60FPS recording available using the DJI GO app for the OSM Mobile ?

      • Wahbiang says:
        October 25, 2016 at 8:09 pm

        The FPS relies on your mobile phone camera. So if you are using a IPhone 6s, you can record 1080 in 60fps or 4K in 30fps. However, as far as I know, the GO App prevents you from doing so.

        Read: http://forum.dji.com/thread-63766-1-1.html

      • Jostin Dsa says:
        November 14, 2016 at 11:27 am

        Hi Wahbiang
        Hope you are well.
        I had used Freiyu g4 pro for a while and also DJI osmo but I think Osmo is not so user friendly to operate, specially quick hook up is not possible ? have you heard of the new stabilizer called SMOVE ? I heard they are good to release in December 2016?? I am not too sure how does it work.! Coz, when I asked them if this is 3axis gimbal, they replied saying it is a hybrid axis. Any idea chief What does it mean ?

        Thank you

  3. Ramy Mourad says:
    June 7, 2016 at 6:20 am

    very good review, thanks a lot

    does it work with other phones (samsung s6)

    Reply
  4. Pete says:
    May 18, 2016 at 5:44 am

    Hi Joe,

    I have one question about the osmo, can you attach it to a tripod or extension pole at all?

    Thanks,
    ete

    Reply
  5. brendan says:
    May 9, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    Hi ,

    Thanks for the reviews for Osmo and Feiyu g4 ..
    Can i ask few question ?

    1) How long the battery life for Osmo will last?
    2) If u choose one of the 2 ? Which will u choose?

    Its a nice video for comparison between the 2

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Wahbiang says:
      May 9, 2016 at 3:38 pm

      Hi,

      After using both, I will go for Osmo – it has its flaws as each battery only last about 20mins (running non stop) but the overall ease of usage is certainly more robust than Feiyutech.

      You need to have an external microphone for Osmo as it picks up audio and voices really badly.

      See more of my recent blogs (Dubai, Taiwan) in 2016, they are all shot using DJI Osmo.

      Joe Chua

      Reply

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