Blog

Oct 14, 2024

Zhiyun Crane 4 Review: Easy Balancing With Improved Hold

Your changes have been saved Email is sent Email has already been sent Please verify your email address. You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics. The Zhiyun Crane 4 is a lighter gimbal

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Zhiyun Crane 4 is a lighter gimbal suited for both professional users and those looking to improve all of their shots. With further tweaks to simplify balancing and ensure comfortable use, the Crane 4 aims to offer a premium gimbal experience for mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

Let's take a closer look to see how the Crane 4 succeeds in a wide range of shooting scenarios.

The Zhiyun Crane 4 is a three-axis professional-tier gimbal that supports a variety of mirrorless and DSLR cameras to provide easily interchangeable landscape and portrait shots. On top of offering a variety of gimbal modes, the built-in 10W fill light and customizable hold positions allow you to get the ideal shots on demand. With strong motors and support for a variety of accessories, the Crane 4 offers a modifiable system for a wide array of users.

To support both professional and beginning users, the Crane 4 aims to strike a fine balance of usability and power with its lighter weight of around 3.69 lbs (1.67kg) without a tripod. It also features an extended operating time that reaches up to a maximum of twelve hours with a correctly balanced camera. As a bonus, you can also charge your camera from the Crane 4 itself.

When it comes time to recharge, the Crane 4 can return to full in as little as 1 hour and 50 minutes with a 15V PD fast charger For shorter shoots, the gimbal's battery capacity of 2600mAh can easily be stretched across several days with no discernable battery discharge between.

When you're ready to pack the Crane 4 for an away shoot or travel, the gimbal folds down to a compact form. Those traveling with the tripod and the combo package's sling grip and wrist rest accessories will have a little more to tuck away, but the Crane 4 can be easily transported in its included carrying case. A silicone protective sleeve also protects the axis arms between locations.

In terms of buttons and functions, the Crane 4 features a trigger button and front dial wheel that can be customized when your camera is connected. Zhiyun provides its own camera capability list alongside available functions, controls, and lenses that the included build plate supports.

At the back, a 1.22-inch color touchscreen allows you to access most settings and shooting features. To further keep everything in a finger's reach, the joystick, photo/video, and mode switch buttons are angled, which allows for a more natural press when holding the gimbal. On the downside, this design choice limits the color touchscreen size, so you may find it a little less smooth than the likes of working with the Weebill series.

With Zhiyun's gimbals, there's been a trend towards making the initial balancing procedure a more intuitive process. While this originally came with attractive design-based labeling of each of the three axes, the Crane 4 has taken this a step further. Zhiyun has included a balance indicator light that shines white or red based on the balance of each axis.

Rather than hearing a shut-down sound and your gimbal suddenly going limp, this red light provides an easy-to-see reference. If you're learning to balance your camera for the first time, this can greatly reduce backtracking since there's no need to guess which axis is the problem. Once everything is settled with the lights, you'll want to take a moment to perform an auto-calibration via the touchscreen to further fine-tune everything quickly.

The Crane 4 features improved motors alongside a longer arm and extended build plate to support full-frame cameras. This is ideal for the default landscape mode, but there are some limitations when swapping to portrait mode via the quick-release module. Certain camera and camera lens combinations will not be balanced when swapping to portrait mode, so you'll want to keep this in mind when purchasing the Crane 4.

As such, a Sony A7R3 balanced fine in portrait mode with the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM lens; it wouldn't balance properly with a Sony FE 50mm F2.5 GM lens. So, ideally, you'll want to double-check the compatibility list if you want to take advantage of the easily swappable horizontal and vertical lock structure for the quick-release system.

If you've opted to purchase the Crane 4 combo package, the additional wrist rest and sling grip provide additional ways to get a stable grip on the gimbal. For many, the two-handed approach with the sling grip rotated to the far left will provide the most comfortable feeling. Both the height of the handle and the position of the grip can be adjusted; the mechanisms should be familiar to anyone used to dealing with camera support accessories such as tripod mount extenders.

As a downside, the sling grip doesn't provide as much optimal comfort as the upgraded wrist rest, which has a more skin-friendly texture. A more comfortable padding would be ideal for longer sessions in tandem with the alternative sling mode.

For the sling mode, this offers a much more controlled way to get those lower-to-the-ground shots. While achievable with just the handle and an attached tripod, the sling grip greatly reduces the fatigue of such an endeavor. Plus, when you're done with the shot, it's a simple matter of readjusting the sling grip back to the two-handed position.

In both cases, the 1/4" screw hole on the grip opens up further customization options for those willing to create their own system.

Besides the two primary hand styles, the option to go one-handed with the Crane 4 turned around for a selfie shot is another option. As a lightweight gimbal, the Crane 4 makes this more feasible; it's easy to alternate between standard and selfie viewing with the trigger button as required.

While ergonomic features make a gimbal more appealing, you'll want stability that's suited for your camera foremost. To test the strength of the Crane 4, I opted to do small shoots in different locations and conditions.

As an extreme test, I opted to run up and down the steps of an isolated location at a steady pace to see how the Crane 4 held up. Especially with the lens support accessory, steady motion was conveyed while in the gimbal's Go mode.

For more typical usage, I chose a rocky beach with periodically uneven terrain to do a walk test. With the Sony A7R3 connected to the Crane 4, I opted to do a series of pans and lean-backs while also doing some subject recording with activity at the beachhead. Once more, the Crane 4 delivered incredibly smooth, seamless recording.

As always, you'll get improved results with practice to your gimbal walk, but the Crane 4 can greatly simplify most shots.

If you're a newcomer to gimbals, one of the most fundamental aspects beyond balancing is exploring how the different gimbal modes can work for you. You'll find similar modes here as on most gimbals: pan follow, follow, lock, point-of-view, go, and vortex; alongside a portrait mode for vertical shooting.

When you combine these different modes along with the option to mount your camera either vertically or horizontally, there's a plethora of different ways to take the shot. So if you're looking to replicate a very specific shooting style or get more experimental with vortex mode, there are even more options available for your camera.

The Zhiyun Crane 4 can be operated independently of any direct cable connection to your camera. However, if you're willing to get a deeper understanding of working with your camera's settings and check Zhiyun's camera compatibility list, you can see what custom functions can be handled once you're connected.

Depending on the camera, different functions can be tied to different cable connections, so you'll want to experiment with the options available to your camera to find which ones benefit you the most when off in the field or live at a shoot. For instance, I enjoyed experimenting with the electronic zoom with one cable connection; electronic focusing was only available with another.

Much of this functionality comes tied to the control wheel of the gimbal, so you'll want to see which works best as a shortcut option. When combined with the joystick, touchscreen, and buttons, it's entirely possible to avoid having to fuss with your camera itself once mounted.

If you do run into any issues, it's usually related to your camera not having a setting enabled that's required. While the Zhiyun website will provide general guidance here, you'll still need to delve into the settings occassionally.

With the Crane 4, Zhiyun has included a 10W fill light built into the gimbal, as well as a light diffuser accessory. So how well does this light perform?

The 10W fill light offers a color temperature range of 2700K-5500K. The brightness can also be adjusted between 10 and 100 with a potential maximum illumination of 3200 lux. Depending on the mood or setting you're trying to cultivate, there's a wide range of customization.

All of this is controlled via a small scroll wheel located next to the power button. After holding the wheel to turn the fill light on or off, you can tap it to swap between settings and scroll the wheel to adjust the values. It's a simple addition that slightly moves you away from the Crane 4's main control area; it's also isolated enough that you won't accidentally blind another party.

For remote control and fine-tuning, Zhiyun offers the ZY Play app. While some camera gimbal apps can prove quite glitchy, the ZY Play app doesn't get overly complicated. Beyond providing the ability to easily install a firmware update to the Crane 4, its controls and setting options are much more focused due to the simplified interface.

So if you're trying to set up the perfect shot without your hand on the Crane 4, the ZY Play app can offer some potential there. However, it's entirely optional and everything can also be done on the gimbal itself. If you can't decide, a quick exploration of the app doesn't take very long, so you're free to explore without a considerable time commitment.

As a more professional gimbal, the Crane 4 will benefit those with newer cameras and lenses the most who are looking to empower their devices further. As a result, the Crane 4 comes at a more premium price point to cover its array of comfort and usability features, especially if you purchase the combo package.

Even for non-professional users, if you're after incredibly smooth footage from a three-axis gimbal without a ton of weight attached, the strength of the Crane 4's motors should be considered.

As a return to a more premium gimbal entry in Zhiyun's Crane line-up, the Crane 4 offers various benefits if you invest the time to learn its intricacies. If you want a flexible camera accessory for both photo and video, the Crane 4 is worth considering, especially if you want to practice your shots more versus focusing on keeping your hands still.

The Zhiyun Crane 4 is a three-axis professional-tier gimbal that supports a variety of mirrorless and DSLR cameras to provide easily interchangeable landscape and portrait shots. On top of offering a variety of gimbal modes, the built-in 10W fill light and customizable hold positions allow you to get the ideal shots on demand. With strong motors and support for a variety of accessories, the Crane 4 offers a modifiable system for a wide array of users.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

This charging brick moves your power source from the wall to your desk.

Annual iPhone releases lack the excitement they once had.

If you really want an iPad, you likely won't be happy settling for a cheaper Android tablet.

I'd miss these benefits if I ever switched back to a traditional slab phone.

I always make sure to do these things when setting up a smart home device.

Don't bother with these; they're just not worth it.