DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Is the Cheaper Gimbal We’ve All Wanted

Have you been itching to get your hands on a gimbal for your smartphone but haven’t been able to justify the cost? You’re in luck, because over at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 has burst onto the scene to “give consumers, professional videographers and photographers new tools to capture smooth, steady videos and stunning photos wherever they go.”

The original DJI Osmo Mobile, which is listed at $299 but currently selling at $199 online, really helped to jump start more mainstream interest in gimbal camera stabilizers, particularly for smartphones. It’s a cool tool that really helps to reduce jitters and shakes while shooting videos for YouTube. But some people found it was too expensive.

The Osmo Mobile 2 builds upon the success of the original, but at a lower price point and with more features. For starters, the second generation model now supports portrait orientation for all your Instagram and Snapchat stories. You also get longer 15-hour battery life, along with simpler controls and cinematic zoom for “a professional-looking story wherever you go.”

The three-axis gimbal cancels out movement in three directions and the SmoothTrack technology compensates for camera movement for the smoothest cinematic shot possible. The new zoom slider lets you control the zoom from the handle. The DJI Osmo Mobile 2 is set to retail for $129 and will be exclusively available for pre-order at Apple.com on January 23. After that, it’ll come to DJI authorized retailers and flagship stores in early February.

Along with the more consumer-centered Osmo Mobile 2, DJI also announced the more professionally-oriented Ronin-S. This single-handed stabilizer supports mirrorless cameras and DSLRs with the same three-axis gimbal technology as its smaller counterpart. The powerful high-torque motors mean you can use this with anything from the Canon 5D to the Sony Alpha systems, including compensation for zoom lens.

As expected, you get a series of dedicated control buttons for SmoothTrack settings and record/stop the camera, as well as the “high-precision joystick” to change the camera position from the handle. They haven’t announced pricing yet, but the DJI Ronin-S should ship in Q2.