The Smallest Gimbal for Full Frame Cameras, APSC and Phones | ZHIYUN Crane M3 Review

Today, we're going to be talking about the ZHIYUN Crane M3, which came out near the end of 2021. It's still a fairly new gimbal, and it's ZHIYUN's newest gimbal. It is currently, as far as I know, the smallest gimbal in the market that can support full-frame mirrorless cameras. The really cool thing is that not only does it support full-frame mirrorless cameras, it can also support smaller cameras as well, APSC cameras, action cameras like the GoPro, or even phones. In the past, gimbals that were able to support full-frame cameras were not really able to support phones because phones were just too light. But this gimbal seems to be able to do it all, albeit with some caveats, especially when it comes to full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Before we get started, I'm super stoked to announce that I was part of ZHIYUN's Creators Club, their first ever creators club, featuring the ZHIYUN Crane M3. This is a brand new platform by ZHIYUN where they recruit creators of any size, no matter how small or how big your following is as long as you're able to show that you have some talent and some potential, and then you might get selected. I was selected as one of the ten people to create content, two videos to be exact, featuring the ZHIYUN M3. It's so cool that brands like ZHIYUN are partnering with smaller creators that don't have a large following and are able to give them a platform to showcase their work, so thank you, ZHIYUN.

The two videos I created are currently on their website in the Creators Club section, so if you want to check them out, I'll leave a link in the description here. I'll be showing you some of the footage that I was able to get using the ZHIYUN Crane M3 as well, creating some of these videos that I did for that Creators Club. With that, please be informed that this video is in no way sponsored by ZHIYUN. I will send this gimbal for free though, for that Creators Club thing, and all the thoughts in this video are my own.

If you're wondering whether the ZHIYUN Crane M3 can actually handle a full-frame mirrorless camera, I took this gimbal on a parkour shoot where I had to run around, go up ramps, and climb stuff. This gimbal handled really well with the Sony A7III paired with the Tamron 17-28 lens.

The ZHIYUN Crane M3 looks super sleek, and it has a white finish, which makes it very different from older ZHIYUN gimbals. Compared to the Weebill 2, the ZHIYUN's M3 is actually a lot tinier, and because of that, this gimbal is going to fit easily in any bag. The gimbal is also very lightweight at about 700 grams or 1.5 lbs. It makes it perfect for traveling or for shoots where you don't want to bring a ton of gear. The gimbal has a battery runtime of 8 hours, and it takes about 2 hours to charge via fast-charge. Just like other ZHIYUN gimbals, the battery is built in and you charge it via USB-C. Another cool and interesting feature that this gimbal has is that it has the ability to adapt a mic receiver, and if you get the Pro package, you get the shotgun mic that you can attach to this gimbal.

The ZHIYUN Crane M3 has a locking mechanism on all of its axes, so if you're not using the gimbal, you can easily just lock the axis, so the camera stays in place. Locking it also makes it very easy to carry around or in between scenes when you're carrying your gimbal.

The ZHIYUN Crane M3 comes with ZHIYUN's new quick release system, which you might have a love and hate relationship with. I've been using my photo plates on all of my gimbals, so that helped me to quickly go from gimbal to tripod without losing much time. The Weebill 2 also has a Manfrotto plate, which also made it really easy, but with this gimbal, you don't get that. Instead, you get a different sort of release system. You're able to get specific camera plates depending on the camera that you have, but I don't see that on ZHIYUN's website currently, so I'm not sure where they're at with that right now.

If you're using Manfrotto system or Arca-Swiss system, this might not really work with that, so it's something you have to adapt to. In my personal experience, I found that putting the plate back into the gimbal was a lot easier from the front of the ZHIYUN Crane M3 than from the back. That is when the screen is facing you. The way this quick release system works is that you simply pull the latch to the right to unlock, and press on the red latch to release. To insert the quick release plate back, you pull the latch to the right again to unlock it and insert the quick release plate back.

The ZHIYUN Crane M3 makes it very easy for you to control all of the settings with one hand. You have your joystick, your mode button, record button, your LED light button, as well as a trigger and a dial at the front of the gimbal. For all of these buttons to work, you will need to have a camera that is compatible with that. The M3 comes with a little touchscreen that lets you access all settings by tapping on the screen. You can do things such as calibrate your setup, check your balance, and access the different modes, which include Follow, Pan Follow, Lock, POV mode, Go mode, Portrait, and Vortex mode.

Another thing that I found interesting was the built in fill light on the ZHIYUN Crane M3, and it actually is a very powerful light. This is a dual color temperature fill light which oddly cannot be accessed by the menus. You have to go through the LED light dial on the side of the handle to access it. To turn it on, just hold the dial down for a few seconds until it turns on. After that, you can adjust the intensity of the light or the color temperature by pressing on the dial one more time. To turn it off, you just hold it for a few seconds again.

For my shoots last December 2021, I used the ZHIYUN Crane M3 with the Sony A7III, which is a full-frame camera with a zoom lens, a Tamron 17-28. I was actually surprised at how well this gimbal handled that setup. I was able to run with this gimbal. I was able to put this on a monopod and do a tracking shot as well. Without a stabilizer, the footage is actually quite stable. It's pretty good actually. It holds a full-frame on a full-frame lens, a 17-28 zoom lens. The good thing is that the ring doesn't extend out when I zoom in on this one, so it keeps the balance great on the gimbal.

Using the ZHIYUN Crane M3 with a zoom lens that is bigger or heavier might not produce desirable results, so I think it's best to keep it to prime lenses and lightweight zoom lenses if you want to use a zoom lens, The only thing is I had to get rid of the eyepiece because they would bump on the top of the motor on the side, so I had to take it off. I have a little bit more room there, but I still can't go fully down. I also put the Sony A7IV with the same lens on this gimbal, and the A7IV is pretty much the same body as the A7SIII.

The camera couldn't clear the motor in certain movements. This just means that you are restricted in certain movements with your gimbal with this setup, and you probably can't shoot in Vortex mode or Portrait mode with this camera and lens combination. So if you're using the A7IV or the A7SIII, it's probably best to use a lighter or smaller lens. Overall, my experience using the ZHIYUN Crane M3 with my Sony A7III in that parkour shot was excellent. I was able to get all the shots that I wanted. I even got a shot in POV mode which turned out really cool.

So is the ZHIYUN Crane M3 for you? I think this gimbal is perfect for you if you're currently shooting on an action camera on your phone or on an APSC camera, and you plan to upgrade to a full-frame camera in the near future. If you travel a lot or if you want to travel light, this is probably going to be the gimbal to go for. This gimbal can definitely handle professional jobs, but you would just be restricted in the type of lenses that you can use. For myself, I think this gimbal is going to be the one that comes out with me pretty much all the time for everyday stuff, YouTube stuff, and for most of the shoots. If I wanted to use a bigger setup, then I would just bring the Weebill 2.

If you're interested in the ZHIYUN Crane M3, it comes in a few packages: the Standard one, which doesn't include the phone mount or the bag, the Combo Kit that includes the bag and the phone mount, and the Pro Kit, which includes the shotgun mic. Also, let me know which gimbal you're currently using and if you would like to upgrade. If you're interested, I'll leave links to this gimbal as well. They are affiliate links, so if you end up buying from these links, I will be getting a small cut out of that at no extra cost to you. That's it for today's review guys. I hope you enjoyed it, learned something new. Subscribe if you haven't already, and I'll see you next time.