MOZA Mini-MI Smartphone Gimbal Review

MOZA Mini-MI Smartphone Gimbal Review

Smartphone gimbals are getting cheaper and cheaper because of an outsized number of Chinese manufacturers competing for his or her piece of the cake. The superb DJI Osmo Mobile 2 and Zhiyun Smooth 4 are the foremost popular iPhone/Android 3-axis gimbals out there, but when one among my readers suggested I inspect the Moza Mini-MI i used to be immediately stunned by its features for a budget gimbal.

I have reviewed other budget (under $100) iPhone gimbals within the past, and therefore the conclusions have always been an equivalent. You’ll economize, but at the value of build quality and image stabilization quality. In other words, they’re inferior in almost every respect aside from cost.

But with the Moza Mini-MI, there are a couple of features that you simply simply don’t find on the other gimbal, including the costlier ones. On paper this really might be the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 killer, so let’s see how it clothed after I got my hands on one.

First Impressions

The Moza Mini-MI comes bundled with all the items you’d expect from a smartphone gimbal. A rather sleek semi-hard plastic case, Micro-USB charging cable and a mini tripod. As cheap as they'll be, I always appreciate when gimbal manufacturers include a mini tripod since they're useful for hands-free recording off a flat surface or acting as a sort of monopod when its legs are closed.

The gimbal itself is noticeably larger and heavier than other gimbals I’ve used. It weighs 543g with the battery, making it roughly 50g heavier than your average gimbal. The handle is thick and cozy to use, but those that are after a compact gimbal might find the Mini-MI a touch big.

I also noticed the gimbal packs a complete of three quarter-inch thread screws – quite the other gimbal I even have tested. There’s one at the gimbal head, one at the rear of the handle and another at its base. This suggests you’ll be ready to connect accessories like tripods or microphones during a sort of different configurations.

Build-quality wise, the Mini-MI doesn’t feel quite as solid because the Osmo Mobile 2 or Freevision Vilta-M. But, those are the simplest within the business when it involves build quality, so it wouldn’t be completely fair to draw comparisons given the worth difference.

Mounting your iPhone or Android device to the gimbal is completed in much an equivalent way as the other smartphone gimbal. Simply temporarily unlock the spring loaded clamp and squeeze your phone.

Compatibility

The Moza Mini-MI has powerful motors which provides it a powerful max payload of 300g. this suggests even the heaviest smartphones won’t be too heavy, and therefore the max supported width of 61-92mm means I can’t consider any phone that might be incompatible with the gimbal.

The Mini-MI’s killer feature, the wireless charging, uses the Qi wireless charging standard so are going to be compatible with almost any phone that supports wireless charging.

Features

For a budget gimbal, you wouldn’t expect the amount of features the Moza Mini-MI is packing. In fact, feature-wise, the gimbal has the likes of the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 beat.

Perhaps the most important feature is wireless charging. While other gimbals conveniently double up as power banks, you would like to use one among their USB ports alongside a charging cable.

With the Mini-MI, simply mounting your wireless charging capable smartphone will charge the phone. If you’re the type of person who often finds themselves short on power, you won’t find a more convenient way of charging your smartphone.

Another standout feature is that the Mini-MI’s impressive range of motion. The Mini-MI can pan 360° without issue, where other gimbals often come short. This is often great for those eager to do full pan shots.

Shooting Modes

Another win for the Mini-MI is its shooting modes. We typically expect a smartphone gimbal to possess locked (all axes locked), pan-following (tilt and roll axes locked) and following (only roll axis locked) modes.

However, the Mini-MI allows for far more granularity within the following mode by letting the user to independently lock each axis (pan, roll and tilt) allowing a complete of 8 combinations.

I will say that personally I didn't find myself taking advantage of this ability to independently lock and unlock each axis. In fact, I reckon most users won't either as few situations involve it, but it’s still nice to possess as an option.

In addition to those standard shooting modes, the Moza App also has some unique shooting modes. The primary is that the Sports mode which increases the motor speed, making it perfect for capturing fast footage. The second is selfie-mode, which flips the phone at the press of a button. Finally, there’s the ‘Inception Mode’, where the Mini-MI will perform a roll allowing some creative shots.

Performance

We’ve established that the Moza Mini-MI features a seriously extensive list of features, but ultimately a gimbal should be about effectively delivering that silky smooth, shake-free footage.

The Moza Mini-MI has good image stabilization performance, but not the simplest.

Performance wise, it's almost just like other budget gimbals just like the Hohem iSteady Mobile. It doesn’t do quite also because the costlier DJI Osmo Mobile 2 or Zhiyun Smooth 4. Here’s a video comparing its footage with the Osmo Mobile 2.

Battery Life

Despite being a rather bulky gimbal, the Moza Mini-MI only packs a 2100mAh battery that lasts 10 hours off a full charge. That’s never bad, but behind many other gimbals which have a 15+ hour battery life.

Verdict

Overall, the Moza Mini-MI may be a tremendous gimbal, especially for the worth. It definitely earns itself an area in my list of best gimbals for the iPhone. There’s even an argument that it's a far better overall gimbal than the Osmo Mobile 2 because of its generous number of features.

The wireless charging and range of motion are its key strengths, although it also boasts a high max payload and great flexibility in shooting modes.

However, despite all its strengths, the image stabilization performance and build quality are definitely that of a budget gimbal. Altogether honesty, the difference is extremely small, but as someone who judges a gimbal’s worth first and foremost on stabilization performance, I don’t think it might be fair to call it the simplest smartphone gimbal out there.

Rating: 4/5

Pros:

• Wireless Charging
• Price
• Range of motion
• Plenty of shooting modes

Cons:

• Budget build quality and image stabilization performance
• Moza App isn’t excellent