The Best Gimbal For Canon 70d Cameras!
We are consistently seeing a number of Canon 70d owners reaching out about what gimbal stabilizer they should be investing in for their camera body. Now, there does seem to be a fair number of people trying to respond to this question on social media and photography or videography forums but from what we can see, they are offering the wrong advice and recommending gimbals designed for lighter mirrorless camera bodies.
The Canon 70d is a beast of a camera and needs a gimbal designed for heavier DSLR rigs. The canon 70d camera body alone comes in at 1.68 pounds with no accessories mounted to the body at all. Even if you use an entry-level video creator kit on the 70d the payload of your setup can be between four and five pounds.
Due to this, we have decided to publish our own post going over what we feel is the best gimbal for Canon 70d cameras on the market. We have actually decided to feature three gimbals and although our primary gimbal recommendation should be able to meet the needs of the majority of our readers, we also have two other gimbals that do have their niches in which they can be considered the best option.
Our comparison table below offers a quick and easy overview of the key features of our recommended gimbals and has a small breakdown just below it. The rest of the article is based on deep dives into each of our three recommended gimbal stabilizers going over exactly what they have to offer you and your Canon 70d.
Comparison Table
Last update on 2022-05-29 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our primary recommendation is the DJI Ronin S as it offers pretty much everything that you could ever want in a gimbal for your Canon 70d. It has a great load capacity, battery life, level of performance, and build quality with a level of image stabilization that is perfect for heavier DSLR cameras. Its price tag is fair for what you get from the gimbal in our opinion too. The versatility of the Ronin S also ensures that you are able to use it in pretty much any situation that you can think of and get the very best out of it.
Next up we have our recommendation for any heavy lifting, the Zhiyun Crane 3. At the time of writing, it has the largest load capacity of any handheld gimbal on the market and can support all Canon 70d setups that we can think of. It has a high price tag so we would only recommend that you go with the Crane 3 if the Ronin S is unable to support the weight of your camera rig.
Finally, we have our budget gimbal for Canon 70d cameras, the Moza Air 3 and although it is a great little gimbal, the Air 3 does have a more budget-friendly price tag with a level of performance to match. If you are doing any type of paid client work then we would recommend either of the gimbals above but if you are a vlogger or a hobbyist videographer then the Air 3 is a great more budget-friendly option.
The DJI Ronin S
Like we said, our primary recommended gimbal for Canon 70d cameras on the market right now is the DJI Ronin S that has held the top spot in the DSLR camera market since its release. It has also seen off a fair few competitors gimbals who have tried to knock it off the top spot too and in reality, it shows no sign of any other gimbal taking its place any time soon.
The gimbal was able to quickly establish a well deserved reputation within the community due to its performance, build quality, versatility, and ease of use all being excellent too. DJI has also released multiple firmware updates for the gimbal with more planned for the future to increase the number of camera units that it is able to provide its additional functionality for.
Performance And Functionality
Additionally, the gimbal has a listed battery life that comes in at around the twelve-hour mark but if you do use a heavy camera rig then we would expect you to be getting closer to the ten-hour mark per charge of the gimbals batteries. Ten hours is still a decent amount of time and should be plenty for anyone out there to capture the footage that they require before they get a chance to recharge the gimbal back to full.
If you are planning to be out and about for a while without the chance to recharge your gimbal after a long day of recording, there are some decent power banks on the market that can charge your gimbal on the go. We would recommend that you try to get your hands on a higher capacity power bank that has been predominantly designed for use with a laptop to ensure it has the juice to charge your gimbal batteries. When charging via a regular power outlet the gimbal will recharge back to full in around two hours helping you get back out capturing footage as quickly as possible.
You are also able to further enhance the performance of the gimbal with your Canon 70d by utilizing some of the many gimbal modes that the Ronin S offers too. The point of view mode and manual control mode both allow you to capture some beautiful natural looking video footage while having the full image stabilization potential of the gimbal and avoiding that robotic look that some other stabilizers can produce.
User Interface And Control System
When you couple the interface on the actual gimbal with the added functionality of the DJI smartphone app that we will cover in more detail below, you also have all the advanced controls and gimbal customization that an advanced, professional-level videographer will need and be able to put to good use.
The DJI Smartphone App
The design of the app is flawless and in our opinion, it is by far the easiest smartphone app to navigate out of all the gimbal brands. Additionally, it also syncs to your gimbal reliably without the hanging or random disconnects that some other brands apps can have. If you want to tweak the settings of your gimbal, you can quickly and easily do it in the app before pushing them to your live settings in the gimbal.
Build Quality And Design
The handle of the gimbal has also been designed to be as comfortable as possible and when coupled with the relatively lightweight of the gimbal, this ensures that it is comfortable to hold and use for long videography sessions. The Ronin S is also pretty robust and tough too so we have no doubt that it is going to survive any bumps or knocks coming its way during use or while in transit.
Our Verdict
It is easy to see why so many people leave so many possitive independent reviews of the gimbal. It has just been designed so well and as you would expect from DJI, it performs flawlessly. We have no doubt that the Ronin S will be able to help improve the image quality of the video footage that you are able to capture with it. Additionally, the image stabilization and high load capacity make it a great choice and well worth adding to your Canon 70d camera accessories.
The Zhiyun Crane 3
Next up, we have the Zhiyun Crane 3 that is an excellent quality gimbal but the price tag of it due to its extremely high load capacity and the tech required to support it means that the DJI Ronin S tends to be a better option unless your Canon 70d rig comes in heavier than what the Ronin S can support.
Now, some people may be wondering how a Canon 70d setup could ever come in at more than eight pounds of payload weight but it’s actually not that hard. Many videographers like to use camera cages and battery grips when recording and there are some pretty heavy lenses out there these days too. When you add in your microphone, video light, and any other accessories, in one of these heavier setups, you can easily be coming in over the eight pounds of payload weight and that’s where the Zhiyun Crane 3 comes in.
The Crane 3 has only been available for a few months at the time of writing but it has quickly managed to earn itself a well deserved reputation within the community that is growing with each passing month. This is largely due to its excellent performance and design that is perfect for any heavy DSLR camera rig that other gimbals may struggle with.
Performance And Functionality
The battery life is a bit of a let down coming in at only seven and a half hours but keep in mind, this is not a general-purpose gimbal stabilizer. The Crane 3 is a specialist gimbal designed for use with massive payloads that need as much power as possible to the motors to ensure that the gimbal is able to provide the user with the image stabilization that they need for their work.
That said, just like the Ronin S covered above, the Crane 3 can be topped up in your downtime during your sessions via a high capacity power bank. Additionally, it can be recharged back to full via a mains outlet in under four hours helping you top your gimbal up with juice and keep going as required.
As you would expect to come from Zhiyun, the Crane 3 also has all of the latest gimbal modes with all of the latest Zhiyun algorithms to help improve the performance of the gimbal when compared to previous versions of the Zhiyun range. Additionally, the Crane 3 uses totally overhauled gimbal motors to ensure that it is able to support the super heavy payloads that it has been designed to work with.
User Interface And Control System
Although most people do say that it is a little strange for them to get used to the control system on the Crane 3 being split between two hands, once they get used to it, they do tend to warm up to it and actually start to prefer the additional control and functionality of the great top controller on the gimbal.
Smartphone App
The majority of the connectivity issues that the app had previously had are gone and you can usually sync the app with your gimbal on the first try now. Additionally, once a connection has been made, the problems with the random disconnects seem to have also been fixed too making it less frustrating to use.
We would still like to see the navigation menu of the app overhauled to make it more streamlined and easier to use but overall, Zhiyun are definatley going in the right direction with their smartphone app.
Build Quality And Design
The handles and grips on the gimbal are also very comfortable so it is easy to hold the gimbal for long periods of time even though you are holding a pretty large amount of weight, especially if you have a heavy Canon 70d setup.
The build quality of the gimbal is excellent and Zhiyun have outdone themselves in our opinion. Although the gimbal is pretty heavy, you have to realize that the motors alone to support these payload weights are going to be heavy and then the two handle system also adds weight. We don’t think that there will be a lighter gimbal than the Crane 3 that is able to support over ten pounds of load capacity for some time yet as it takes time to develop the lightweight materials and smaller gimbal motors that are able to support the weight needed.
The Crane 3 is also very tough though and it also has multiple axis locks that allow you to lock the various axis of the gimbal in place for transit so thy don’t just randomly spin and potentially damage themselves. This is also a great feature for when you are just walking with the gimbal when it is powered down, especially with a heavyweight on it as it minimizes wear and tear when not powered by locking everything in place.
Our Verdict
The Zhiyun Crane 3 is an excellent gimbal and we have no doubt at all that it will help improve the image quality that you are able to capture with your Canon 70d. That said though, it is very expensive and provides almost identicle prformance to the DJI Ronin S while the Ronin S is almost half the price. Unless you know that your 70d setup is going to be around or over the eight pounds of payload weight limit, the Ronin S is probably the better option for you to go with.
The Moza Air 3
The final gimbal stabilizer that we will be featuring for use with your Canon 70d is the Moza Air 3 and like we mentioned back at the start of the article, this is our budget-friendly gimbal recommendation. If you are an entry-level or hobbyist videographer or if you are a vlogger then this will probably do the job for you. If you are professional-level videography with paying clients then we would highly recommend that you take the DJI Ronin S over the Air 3 to get the best image quality possible for your clients.
That said though, the Air 3 is a pretty decent bit of kit in all fairness and Moza have done a great job with it in our opinion. Additionally, it has also earned itself a well deserved reputation within the community due to its decent performance relative to its price tag. As we doubt this will be the option most of our readers will be taking, we are just going to skim over the section for the Moza Air 3 in the interests of saving your time.
Performance And Functionality
The battery life on the Air 3 is solid too coming in with a maximum battery life of around twelve hours but again, the more payload you take up, the more power the gimbal motors need to stabilize and the less battery life you will get. That said though, you can probably expect around ten hours of battery life each time you charge the gimbal with most Canon 70d rigs.
User Interface And Control System
Smartphone App
Build Quality And Design
Our Verdict
If you are on a tight budget, an entry-level videographer, or a vlogger, then the Moza Air 3 could make the perfect budget gimbal for your Canon 70d and be a valuable addition to your camera accessories. That said though if you are doing any kind of paid work or expect to be doing paid work in the future, the DJI Ronin S is the way to go in our opinion.
