RedFox S1P Gimbal Review

I have som mixed feelings about the RedFox S1P Gimbal- It`s a decent gimbal and it does the job but there is something missing…  Let`s dig deeper and see what this specimen is all about.

RedFox S1P gimbal overview

RedFox S1P gimbal
RedFox S1P gimbal

I have messed around with a few GoPro gimbals already and to be honest there is not that much difference when it comes to images stabilization. Don`t get me wrong – some are definitely better than others bot overall they pretty much all keep your footage stable. The difference is in the details. The build quality, the accessories, extra options, apps, etc.

RedFox S1P gimbal is pretty straightforward: the handle, the motors, and the mounting bracket. The handle is black and white and made of plastic.  It has special molding on the far side so your fingers have a better grip and keep the handle firm in your hand. The black plastic is also a bit more grippy when compared to the white parts that are very smooth and slippery. It`s not like it will slip out of your hands like wet soap but a rubberized coating would be nice.

The controls are conveniently under your thumb and the main power switch is located at the bottom of the gimbal. You can also find the USB charging port at the bottom. To power the device on you first need to make sure you have the GoPro securely attached to the gimbal and then just flick the switch and the gimbal powers on and centers the GoPro.

The mounting bracket is pretty simple and very easy to use. Feiyu Tech G5 has a bracket that has two small screws so it takes some time to mount or unmount (Moza Mini G by Gudsen for exampple uses similar screw system) but the RedFox S1P gimbal has a clip system that is so much faster. You plug your GoPro into the gimbal plug and just slip the cover bracket on, taking it off is as easy as pullig it off whil applying some pressure on the sides where the clip release system is. The clip also acts sort of like a bumper for the GoPro, protecting its sides in case you bump into hard objects.

The brackt I assume is camera specific, so if you have multiple GoPro cameras or if you plan to upgrade you need to consider that.

The clip-on bracket has holes in all the important places so you have full access to the buttons on top and on the side.

The RedFox S1P gimbal comes in a nice white box and looks really good! The inside has plastic molding to fit everything nicely and you get the gimbal, the manual and the charging cable that are all tucked away nicely. There is not pouch or carry case so you might want to invest in something to keep the device safe while you are traveling or moving around.

RedFox S1P gimbal control buttons

RedFox S1P gimbal front
RedFox S1P gimbal front

 

The gimbal is controlled by two buttons that are called button A and button B in the manual. Btw, the manual sucks and you can`t find a decent manual on Redfox homepage.

Here`s how you switch between different modes:

Single Tap button A: Pan mode

Double-click button A: Pan and Tilt mode

Long-press button A: Locking mode, pan roll and tilt are locked

Triple press button A: reset

Triple press button B: initiate 360

I already mentioned the manual sucks right? Well, it sucks balls because whoever translate it into English should be fired! Here`s a sample: Camera smoothly follows the pan and tilt motion of the handle Operation: Double-click button on the fas –  eeemmm, on fas what???

So on thing is missing right? The joystick that you can find on a lot of other gimbals is missing on the RedFox S1P gimbal but I don`t really mind that. I am completely honest when I tell you that I NEVER use the joystick when using my gimbals (only during testing). I find the joystick movements not that natural and I get a lot better feel and better shots when I control the gimbal with the hand movements. So the lack of the joystick for me is not something I would consider a minus but If you are used to using it then think twice before you buy this gimbal.

The cool thing I like about this is the constant GoPro charging- It pretty much eliminates the chance of a battery failure during a shoot that can cost you several minutes. When you run out of juice on your GoPro you need to first unmount the GoPro, then you need to look through your gear bag to find the replacement and then you need to put in the fresh battery and mount the GoPro back on the gimbal. This can take too much time and you can miss out on some cool shots. But with the RedFox S1P gimbal you are always connected to a power bank when the gimbal is turned on.

BUT, this comes with some drawbacks – you need to take the USB port cover off your GoPro when you mount it on the gimbal. Raise your hand if you have lost that small rubber cover at least once!! Another thing you need to consider is that since you will be charging your GoPro you will lose some gimbal runtime. The factory promises 12 hours of runtime (3000mAh) and if this is true then this is not an issue at all. 12 hours is pretty impressive so well done RedFox!

RedFox S1P gimbal – how it performs?

The learning curve was a bit steep on this one thanks to the sucky manual but once you figure things out it`s easy. The camera keeps the image pretty steady and the turns are smooth.

It has 360° pan axis, -55°~+55° roll axis and -160° ~+160° tilt axis.  If you don`t go nuts with the gimbal the angles are fine but when you need to hold it at sharp angles you start hitting the corners of the camera or the motor with the handle. And if you do it a lot it screws with the brain of the gimbal and you need to switch it on and off to reset. You can notice some jittering at the corners of the frame but overall it does a decent job.

The motor noise is not unbearable but you can still hear it. When compared to Feiyu Tech G5 you can really har it, but i used Hero4 and the Feiyu Tech G5 has a lot bigger audio issues when using the Hero5.

The App

You can access the manuals from the app, calibrate the gimbal and check the battery status and that`s pretty much it if you are a GoPro user. I expected to be able to control the gimbal from the app but again, who needs that function anyways.

RedFox S1P gimbal
RedFox S1P gimbal

I do have a huge beef with this gimbal though… It starts to sag on one side every now and then and this can piss you off really bad when this happens at the wrong time. I have seen this with other gimbals though so I definitely know this seems to be a universal problem with handheld gimbals so I`m not going to discard the gimbal just for that. But it can be annoying…

 

Check out the video review

 

What I love about RedFox S1P gimbal

  • Lightweight
  • Long battery life
  • Very easy to mount the camera
  • GoPro charging on the go

 

Neutrals

  • Made of plastic

Things I don`t love

  • Limited angles
  • The gimbal sags occasionally
  • No carry case or pouch

RedFox S1P gimbal – Final Verdict

 

PRICE: 230 USD

Get more info from redfoxuav.com

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