FeiyuTech G6 Max 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal (Review)

One of the many things we run into every year at various shows surrounding technology is the topic of gimbals. There are a lot of companies competing in this area, yet only a handful of them have anything worth bragging about. For everything else, there are a lot of repeatables out there coming from the same source, but with a different logo.

The one we are going to focus on today is the G6 Max by FeiyuTech. This brand is one of the “handful” that is worth looking at. Mostly due to the two most important qualities in a product: performance, and a quality build (durable). They are known for some incredibly successful models, and this seems to be one of them. It is made to handle action cameras, smartphones, and small digital or mirrorless cameras.

Design

The first thing we could focus on with this gimbal is its construction. A fantastic durable construction that feels as though this is going to last you a long time. They opt for the same materials you’d expect to find in your (other) favorite high-end brands like DJI, Moza, and more. They even provide all the right lock features at each pivot point so that it can store the gimbal safely without spinning around or applying unneeded pressure to any joint.

When it comes to looks, it looks fantastic. Similar to some of the other models we have seen from FeiyuTech over the years. Between build quality, looks, and how it feels in the hand, we hadn’t even used it yet, and our expectations were starting to build.

It comes with both a regular camera mounting plate that can be used for both action cameras as well as small DLSR solutions (ie, the smaller mirrorless models), as well as a mount for smartphones. You also get a collection of cables so that you can keep your phone or camera charged while in use.

The side of the gimbal features threads for an accessory, like an external microphone if you have a small one you’d like to use (we find the larger shotgun mics to be a little bulky and awkward for the one-handed gimbals, so it’s best to stick to something like a Rode VidMic Pro, securely tucked into a low-profile shock mount.

You also have a power button that also acts as a menu key for pulling up additional options like “Inception Mode” (which can be seen in the unboxing video after the conclusion down below). Then you have a key for controlling video or taking snapshots when it is connected to the camera/phone. It can connect to various models via Bluetooth or WiFi in order to control these functions from the gimbal so that you are never reaching up to the camera for any of this.

The USB port (USB-C) on this side of the handle is used strictly for charging the gimbal with.

There is also USB-C port that is located close to the mount so that you can use one of these short cables (that it comes with) without worrying about anything getting tangled up (some more “affordable” gimbals can sometimes require you to run a longer cable to the handle, which you can guess the troubles this can lead to.

You have multiple controls on the gimbal (like you’d expect), including a trigger for your index finger which engages action/fast follow when you press it down. If you double-tap it, it resets everything and a triple tap enables selfie mode.

Then you have the multifunction knob on the side that controls things like tilt. It doesn’t spin freely, but instead has a nice fluid (and just tight enough) motion to it that you can engage it during use without transferring any shake to the camera.

Calibration is pretty straight forward if you have any experience with gimbals. It’s all about manually balancing the gimbal out in various ways. If you’ve done it before, it shouldn’t take long to figure it out or accomplish. If you are new to this, they do have a series of useful videos to watch on their site that walks you through most of it (they would have been best narrated to explain a few things in our opinion vs text here and there on the screen, but they go far enough to get you through it if you need the help). We find that balancing things out on this gimbal is quite user-friendly.

The only disadvantage is if you are using the foam container it comes with to store it in. In which case, you have to slide everything back to where it was in order to get it to fit. This would lead to a full re-balance every single time you use it. This is fine if you use it with multiple camera options as you’ll be doing this anyway, but not so much if you only care to use it with the same one every time. So you might look for an alternative way to store it in order to speed up setup time for each use thereafter your fist.

Performance

We decided to opt-out of using a fancy mirrorless camera and to go with an action camera instead. One that didn’t handle certain motions so well, allowing us to see any performance imperfections instantly (while still producing some great looking content resolution-wise).

At times, when it comes to getting your first bits of footage for gimbals like this, you find yourself out there for 20 minutes or more trying to get the best out of it. In this round, we got most we needed for our video below within the first three minutes, which was impressive. It looked great from the start. Finding inception modes was the only thing that required us to have to look anything up–resulting in an “oh…of course, we didn’t try hitting that button” (as mentioned, the power button is also a menu button).

So we ran back and forth and put some step into it, and then let off and gave it the good old “ninja walk”. Both times resulting in good video content unless you spin left or right with it in your hand quicker than “nice and slow”, where you then get a bit of shake (which is normal for all gimbals). To turn and move into different directions, it’s always good to balance your movements with the directional controls of the gimbal as well to “glide” right into your shot (it takes practice).

Everything turned out great for jumping right into things and not spending too much time to tinker with it all. We didn’t even connect it wirelessly to the camera yet during our sample shots. That came later, and although it didn’t work with the action cam, it did work with both a Canon and Panasonic camera we threw at it.

When using an actual camera (ie, mirrorless) with the gimbal, it is important to remember the weight limitation of the load capabilities. The gimbal can hold up to 2.65lbs and even this has stipulations. The weight should be as close to center as possible. Which means not using any lens beyond a simple short lens that doesn’t extend far past the body of the camera. Load limits are mostly about what is being applied to the center-point of the mount and not hanging off the side, and this is common for many gimbals.

We put it to a test by putting on a Panasonic GH5 body. It was a little awkward and the camera mounted backward in order to get it to fit on the mount (not usable this way, but it works for us as we are just testing weight and not trying to shoot anything). It took the weight just fine. However, as soon as we applied a 12-60mm Lens the gimbal couldn’t handle/balance it. This placed it just slightly over the weight limit, but now half of the weight is hanging off the front on top of it all. So if you plan to use anything beyond a small mirrorless camera where most of the weight is centered, you will want to buy into something like the AK2000S, which is made for normal DSLR setups and a greater maximum load.

Our Conclusion

The performance of this gimbal wound up being incredibly smooth and exactly where we expected it to, coming from a product by FeiyuTech. We have had a lot of good conversations with them at shows while demoing their products and have never walked away disappointed in what we experienced. If you are looking to for something that can handle a variety of devices (as long as they don’t get bigger than a small digital or mirrorless camera), then this is an excellent item to have in your collection. If you are looking for something to hold a full DSLR, then you would want something bigger. If all you need is something for a smartphone or action camera, you might want to go with something more simple and affordable depending on the budget. However, this is going to do it better than those affordable options, and offer more functions to enhance your experience with. It’s durable and functions wonderfully.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

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