GoPro Karma Grip Gimbal Review
GoPro Karma Grip Gimbal Review
GoPro attempted to determine a presence within the camera
drone market with the GoPro Karma drone. Unfortunately for them, however, this
venture was a touch of a failure and it had been eventually discontinued in
2018. However, the gimbal used on the drone lives on, now bundled with a hand
grip that leaves us with the gimbal we’ll be reviewing today—The GoPro Karma
Grip.
The GoPro Karma Grip has been on the marketplace for a
couple of years now and has long been considered one among the simplest gimbals
for the GoPro. Yet it’s still priced considerably above many more recent third
party GoPro gimbals which also do an incredible job of smoothing out footage.
So during this review I’ll definitely be watching it with a fresh pair of eyes
within the context of GoPro gimbals in 2019.
First Impressions
The Karma Grip comes with a pleasant semi-hard carry case
that contains the gimbal stabilizer attached to the hand grip, a mounting ring,
the GoPro harness and lastly a USB-C charging cable.
As you would possibly expect from a gimbal that's made by
GoPro themselves, attaching the GoPro to the stabilizer may be a breeze. The
included HERO harness means you merely need to unlock it, slot your GoPro in
then lock it again.
Compared to all or any the third party GoPro/action camera
gimbals I’ve used, the Karma Grip is big. It’s bigger in size and weight,
weighing around 580g with the GoPro attached. Some people have complained it’s
too bulky and heavy, but personally I liked having the ability to feel the load
in my hands. The rubberized grip itself is that the most ergonomic grip on a
gimbal I’ve ever tested, and people with larger hands will certainly appreciate
its thickness.
Compatibility
The Karma Grip is currently compatible with the HERO5 Black,
HERO6 Black and HERO7 Black out of the box. It’s also compatible with the HERO4
Black/Silver if you buy a HERO4 harness.
It is not compatible with non-GoPro action cameras, which
could be a problem if you’re considering going for a non-GoPro action camera
within the future. Third party gimbals offer compatibility with a way greater
range of action cameras, but that has its own downsides.
Controlling The Karma Grip
The Karma Grip may be a very simple piece of kit. GoPro have
deliberately kept features to a bare minimum so you'll pick it up and begin
recording immediately.
There are 4 buttons: a power/mode button, shutter button,
tilt lock button and highlight button. Pressing the highlight button will mark
some extent in your recording in order that it's easy to seek out within the
future. The opposite buttons are fairly self-explanatory.
One notable absence may be a joystick to electronically
control the pan and tilt. Many gimbals feature this, but the Karma Grip doesn’t.
Personally, I very rarely find myself using joysticks on other gimbals, since
using your hand is smoother and more fun. But there are definitely cases where
having a joystick would be useful.
For those that love selfies, there’s also no ability to flip
the GoPro backwards on the grip. So, if you would like to record your own face
you’ll need to hold the Grip the incorrect way round.
Shooting Modes
The Karma Grip features just two shooting modes.
In following mode the Karma stabilizer will follow movements
within the pan (left to right) and tilt (up and down) axes, albeit with footage
being captured smoothly.
In pan follow mode the Karma locks the lean axis, meaning
the horizon is kept level. You’ll set the horizon beforehand using the lean
lock button.
There is no locked mode that a lot of other gimbals feature.
A locked mode will keep the GoPro’s orientation fixed, meaning the camera
essentially stays fixed on an equivalent spot. The shortage of a locked mode is
somewhat disappointing, but not a dealbreaker.
Stabilization Performance
There’s no doubt that the stabilization performance is one
among the Karma Grip’s greatest strengths. Despite being an older GoPro gimbal,
numerous firmware updates over the years has given it the superb stabilization
it's today.
In comparison with the cheaper and really popular Feiyu Tech
G6, I found the Karma Grip to suffer from less micro jitter when zooming in on
footage. The Karma Grip’s superiority became even more noticeable when
recording faster paced action.
Audio was, however, a small issue. The Karma Grip has noisy
motors, almost like those within the Removu S1 which I previously complained
about having audible motor sounds.
Karma Grip as a Wearable Gimbal
Interestingly, the Karma Grip markets itself as a wearable
gimbal, meaning you'll have it attached to a chest mount, strap or say, a
bike’s handlebars. However, in practice I found it to be a but ideal wearable
gimbal setup.
The problem is that the grip itself contains the battery for
the gimbal. So while you'll separate the gimbal from its grip, it won’t work.
Therefore, if you would like to mount it anywhere, you've got to mount the
whole Karma Grip!
True wearable gimbals just like the Feiyu WG2X are far more
compact and don’t house their battery during a grip. They’re much better suited
to mounting on your body or elsewhere.
GoPro do realize this as a drag and suggest using the GoPro
Karma Grip Extension Cable which suggests you don’t need to keep the long and
hulking grip attached to the gimbal stabilizer. This, however, makes body
mounting setups incredibly expensive.
Battery Performance
Battery performance is definitely the amount one issue
raised by people when it involves the Karma Grip. Unlike newer and cheaper
gimbals which may last for over 10 hours, the Karma Grip will only last around
2 hours when shooting at 4K.
One of the explanations for its poor battery life is that
the GoPro Karma Grip will always be charging your GoPro when it’s attached. So
it’s not only powering the gimbal motors, but charging your GoPro battery which
consumes tons of power when recording at 4K.
Furthermore, charging it with a typical charger takes 6
hours. You’ll buy the expensive GoPro Supercharger to chop that right down to a
way more reasonable 2 hours. But your best bet is perhaps just to shop for a
3V, 5A fast charger which can be even as fast and far cheaper.
In any case, battery life is certainly a problem with the
Karma Grip. Tons of users don’t see it as an enormous issue and to be quite
honest 2 hours is enough in most cases. You’ll always buy a powerbank if you're
an important user. However, compared to the battery lifetime of other GoPro
gimbals out there, it's definitely disappointing.
Verdict and Rating
The GoPro Karma Grip remains one among the simplest GoPro
gimbals around. From a pure image stabilization standpoint, the various
firmware updates have made it the simplest on the market. It also feels great,
and quite possibly the simplest I’ve ever used, when filming. Its ergonomics
are on point and native integration with the GoPro bring a seamless user
experience.
However, it costs tons. Its battery life is significantly
shorter than its competition. Although it technically can act as a wearable
gimbal, using it as a wearable gimbal may be a cumbersome process. As a result,
it’s not perfect.
Pros
- Excellent Stabilization Performance
- Part of the GoPro Ecosystem
- Fantastic ergonomics
Cons
- Price
- Battery Life
- Rating: 4/5
The GoPro Karma Grip is currently one among our favourite
GoPro Gimbals.
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