A gimbal is one of the easiest ways to polish your vlogs, making any footage you record appear professional-level smooth and stable. However, setting up your stabiliser isn’t as simple as slotting your camera in and hitting record.
That is, at least, the first time it isn’t. Once you’ve got your gimbal properly balanced and calibrated, you should be good to go every time you connect that same camera to your stabiliser.
The purpose of balancing a gimbal is to ensure that your camera remains level when rotated on any axis. Every DJI RS gimbal includes three axes – tilt, roll and pan – meaning this process can take a bit of time, especially if you haven’t done it before.
Keep reading to learn how to balance a DJI gimbal.
What you’ll need
- A DJI gimbal
- Your camera
The Short Version
- Mount your camera
- Adjust the tilt axis
- Adjust the roll axis
- Adjust the pan axis
How to balance a DJI gimbal
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Step
1Attach the quick release plate to your camera
To do this, you’ll need the 1.4” screw in the box. We’ll be using the DJI RS 4 Mini and Fujifilm X-T4 in this guide, but the steps will be similar if not the same for any DJI RS gimbal and supported camera.
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Step
2Slide the quick release plate onto the mounting plate
You’ll need to move the lever to the unlocked position and hold a button to slide it into place and push the lever back into the locked position when it’s in place.
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Step
3Power on the gimbal and unlock the tilt axis
Then rotate the tilt axis so that the camera lens is pointing upward to balance the vertical tilt. Tighten the mounting plate knob once you’re done.
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Step
4Adjust the tilt axis
You’ll also need to balance the depth of the tilt axis. To do this, unlock the lever on the mounting plate and move the camera back or forward on the mounting plate by twisting the knob to adjust its centre of gravity. Lock the lever again. Once the camera is steady when titled up or down by 45 degrees, lock the tilt axis.
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Step
5Unlock the roll axis
If the camera rotates to the left, move the camera to the right (and vice versa).
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Step
6Adjust the roll axis
Unlock the lever on the roll axis and move the roll axis arm to adjust the centre of gravity. Then, lock lever again and check if the camera is steady horizontally. When done, lock the roll axis.
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Step
7Unlock the pan axis
Hold the grip and tilt the gimbal forward before rotating the pan arm until parallel with you. If the camera lens rotates to the left, push the pan axis to the right (and vice versa).
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Step
8Adjust the roll axis
Unlock the lever on the pan axis and move the pan axis arm to adjust the center of gravity. Lock the lever again and check the camera is steady when you tilt the grip and rotate the pan. Once done, you can lock the pan axis and calibrate your gimbal.
Troubleshooting
To calibrate your DJI gimbal, use the touchscreen or mobile app to access the auto-calibration feature, press the gimbal on a level surface and tap Start.
You only need to balance your gimbal once if you’re using the same camera and lens combination. However, if you switch out the lens or add any accessories, you’ll need to rebalance your gimbal to factor in that weight change.
