MOZA Mini-G review

Buying a gimbal can be tricky. There really are a lot of options in different price ranges and they all pretty much work, but as life has shown it all comes down to details. MOZA Mini-G is one of the top competitors out there and deservingly so. Let`s dig deep and see how this puppy performs.

MOZA Mini-G Features

This is what Gudsen sais about the gimbal on its website:

  • 360 rotation
  • Detachable
  • Wearable
  • Remote controlled
  • 8 hour battery life

With Gudsens slip-ring technology in each motor, the gimbal is able to rotate 360 degrees on the yaw, tilt, and roll axes with no limits, allowing you to capture 360 degree panoramic videos from an immersive wide-angle perspective.

The Mini-G is a portable, professional, handheld, and wearable gimbal that’s designed to capture action anywhere, at any time. With a detachable handgrip and wearable kit, it takes versatility to a new level. You can mount it on a bicycle or on-vehicle holder for spectacular extreme sports shots, or wear it on a helmet or anything else for an amazing perspective. The universal connection allows for unlimited possibilities!

MOZA Mini-G
MOZA Mini-G

The Mini-G adopts modular construction and tool-free design that allows the gimbal to detach from the handgrip and attach to the wearable kit quickly with the twist of the adapter ring. The creative quick release system gives you the flexibility to easily transform from handheld to wearable mode.

At the base of the handgrip is a 1/4″thread mount that makes the Mini-G perfect for use with tripods, sliders, cranes, or anything else with a universal connection, allowing for professional video production.

The MOZA Assistant app is all you need to connect, adjust, and control your video production. The built-in Bluetooth module in the gimbal offers wireless connection via your phone or tablet. The multi-functional software features calibration, tuning settings, wireless control of the gimbal movement, options for operation modes, and switching between shooting modes. It also enables you to create time-lapse and panoramic videos for advanced customization.

2600mAh.8 hrs Battery Life – The Mini-G gimbal is extremely power-efficient. with up to eight hours of battery life.

MOZA Mini-G first impressions.

The MOZA Mini-G gimbal comes in a white shiny cardboard box like a lot of its competition. I wonder why so many gimbals come in white packaging… Just a random thought. Anyway, inside the white outer box there is a really cool matte black, velvety box that hides the goods inside. When you lift the lid up you see the gimbal with all the accessories like the charging cable, battery charger, extra bracket, etc. It`s perfect to store the gimbal safely and have all the accessories stored and organized nicely.

MOZA Mini-G inside the box
MOZA Mini-G inside the box

The gimbal itself is all black and feels incredibly solid in the hand. The handgrip is covered with rubber to avoid any slipping in your hand. Unscrewing the bottom part revelas the battery tha you can take out and charge in the dedicated battery charger that is included in the box. This is a major advantage compared to Karma Grip and Feiyu Tech G5 also uses the same approach. Having a removable battery gives you the option to carry a spare in case you can`t afford to stop and pause to recharge the gimbal. You still have the option though since you have a mini USB port on the gimbal to charge it.

MOZA Mini-G has just two control mechanisms: a Power button and the joystick. It does actually have e third control: Zoom Switch, but apparently it has no function or at least i have no idea what o do with it. I assume this works if you use the gimbal with a smartphone?

If you know what to do with the Zoom Switch let me know in the comments below!

The MOZA Mini-G has two tripod mounts just like the Feiyu Tech G5 and this is what I really missed with the Redfox S1P gimbal that had none. One is at the bottom and the other one in front. The clamp has two screw positions for Hero4 and Hero5 so you can use both and the bracket and the base actually have a thin rubber layer on them so it helps to fix the GoPro firmly without worrying too much about plastic to metal pressure.

MOZA Mini-G
MOZA Mini-G

One thing that stands out and makes MOZA Mini-G a top contender is that it has 360 movement in ANY DIRECTION. The arcs on which the motors are attached are bigger than usual and that makes it possible to turn the gimbal in any direction 360 degrees. This is really cool and if this is something important to you then this gimbal is or you. The drawback of this is that it is lightly bigger but just a tad. If you look at MOZA Mini-G next to  Feiyu Tech G5 you can clearly see the size difference.

MOZA Mini-G vs Feiyu Tech G5
MOZA Mini-G vs Feiyu Tech G5
MOZA Mini-G vs Feiyu Tech G5 vs RedFox S1P
MOZA Mini-G vs Feiyu Tech G5 vs RedFox S1P

MOZA Mini-G – how it works

So let`s get to the most important stuff – does it work?

Short answer: YES. Works like a charm and it`s really easy to use.

Powering on and off is from the Power button, surprise, surprise… The button is located at the back and easily accessible with your thumb.

  • Triple Press: re-center the gimbal to its starting position
    Long Press: Turn on/off

The joystick obviously controls the movement of the camera so you can smoothly turn the camera in any way but it also works as a switch between different modes.

  • Control the gimbal movements: Up/down/left/right, Pan/Tilt.
  • Single press: Yaw-follow mode, tilt and roll are Locked.
  • Double press: Yaw-tilt follow mode, roll is Locked.
  • Long press: All-lock mode, tilt, yaw, and roll are locked.

You can tell wich mode you are in by the LED light blinking frequency:

  • Yaw-Follow Mode: Flash – long pause – flash-long pause
  • Yaw-Tilt Follow Mode: Double flash – pause – double flash – pause
  • All-lock Mode: Triple flash – short pause – triple flash – short pause
  • Low Battery Level: constant flashing
  • Firmware Upgrading: constant flashing

The controls are pretty easy and once you have played around with one gimbal you can work around any gimbals controls, so it`s all about just memorizing the three modes.

You can also control the gimbal from the MOZA Assistant app that connects to the gimbal via Bluetooth.

MOZA Mini-G app screenshots
MOZA Mini-G app screenshots

You can switch the gimbal on and off, re-center it and calibrate if it loses the perfect horizontal. You can also switch between different modes and control both the joystick and the follow speeds. YoOu can also adjust the Pitch, Roll and Yaw angles and use your smartphone as a remote. The app works brilliantly and connects really fast, once you are connected you can also check the gimbals battery status but I’m not sure if it`s really reliable because I have had readings that differ a lot within minutes, and not showing battery drain but instead showing more battery life. I connected the app for the screenshots above and the reading was 40% and just 3 minutes later it showed 60%.  A few minutes just standing still on the table (powered on and connected to the app) the battery percentage dropped to 20%. So that sucks a bit that you have no way of knowing how much battery life you have left.

MOZA Mini-G
MOZA Mini-G

MOZA Mini-G field tests.

The gimbal works, no question there! The movements are smooth, there are no jitters visible in the corners and if you don`t go full monkey-mode with it waving our arm around then the gimbal stays centered and basically works like a charm. Yes, if you start testing its limits and avoid all kinds of crazy moves it goes out of wack and yo need to re-center but that happens with every gimbal. At least with the ones I have tested.

The best result as always comes when holding it in flashlight mode – holding the grip horizontally (like holding a flashlight in front of you) because this way the up and down movements that occur when walking have the smallest impact on the image. You can also use it upside down with no issues if you need to and if you have a pole with a standard tripod mount on top you can use it as an extension to reach places where your arms fall short.

The videos look amazingly smooth and cinematic and once you have tried a gimbal you NEVER EVER want to watch a second of un-stabilised video footage.  As with every gimbal you can`t just rely on the gimbal – if you want the perfect outcome you need to walk like you have pooped you pants bending your knees and absorbing the impacts of your steps. Gimbals don`t eliminate up and down bouncing.

In terms of motor noise, it does a really good job and the motor noise is barely audible.

See how it compares to Feiyu Tech G5 and RedFox S1P

MOZA Mini-G
MOZA Mini-G

What I love about MOZA Mini-G

  • Impressive build quality
  • Rubberized hand grip
  • Two tripod mounts
  • Removable battery
  • Long battery life
  • 360 in EVERY direction
  • Works with Hero4 and thenew HERO5
  • Detachable grip
  • Wearable kit allows mounting on helmets, etc
  • Silent motors
  • Great app
  • Remote controlled

Neutrals

  • Manual is not that thorough
  • Larger than some of the competition
  • Pretty quiet motors

Things I don`t love

  • I really wish gimbal makers would start including a carry pouch with gimbals, this doesn`t have it

MOZA Mini-G Verdict

MOZA Mini-G
MOZA Mini-G

Great gimbal for sure! I love the fact that it has no limitations and is a true 360 gimbal. The assembly and the operations are super easy and fast to learn. It feels really solid and the build quality rght at the top with the best gimbals out here.Gudsen is known for its quality products and the MOZA Mini-G is definitely something they can be proud of. apart from a few glitches with the app and the battery readings and the somewhat lackluster manual, the MOZA Mini-G will definitely get top marks from me!

With the cost of 219 USD it is actually remarkably cheaper than Feiyu Tech G5 but in terms of video stabilization, they are right on par. The things that make the G5 better (more expensive) is the fact that the G5 is splashproof and has a carry pouch included.

Get it from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

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