The Best Gimbal For GH5 Cameras!

There is no doubt that the Panasonic GH5 is one of the most popular micro four third cameras on the market right now but for a mirrorless camera, it has a pretty heavyweight coming in at around the 1.6-pound mark with its battery and an SD card inserted into it. Due to this, it can be a bit of a pain ensuring that a gimbal designed for use with a mirrorless camera will be able to support the payload weight of your GH5 with all of your camera accessories mounted to it.

Due to this, we usually recommend that our readers take a gimbal designed for DSLR cameras to ensure that it can take the weight of your camera rig with ease. Now, in this article, we will be going over what we feel are the three best gimbals for GH5 cameras on the market right now and each of the gimbals has their own unique niche that we will cover in detail below. We have chosen two DSLR camera gimbals and one mirrorless camera gimbal that we feel will easily be able to support your camera rig with ease.

If you are short on time, our comparison table and short break down of each of the gimbals directly below it under this section offer a quick and easy overview of the three gimbals. If you want to know as much as possible and have the free time available then we will be doing a deep dive into each of the three gimbals and when we feel they are the optimal choice for your Lumix GH5 below the comparison table section.

Comparison Table

Last update on 2022-05-29 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

As you can see, the DJI Ronin S comes out on top as our primary gimbal recommendation for use with your GH5. Its larger load capacity ensures that it can easily support the weight of your GH5 and ensure that you are getting the absolute best image stabilization possible during use. In our opinion, it is a great general purpose handheld gimbal and is one of the best gimbals on the market at the time of writing.

When it comes to gimbals for the Panasonic GH5, a very close second place is the Zhiyun Crane Plus. In our opinion, the Crane Plus is the best gimbal from the mirrorless camera range on the market right now and it has a massive maximum load capacity compared to its low price tag serving as a nice budget-friendly option that can support the majority of GH5 setups. That said though, you will have to ensure that the total payload weight for your Lumix GH5 set up comes in under 5.5 pounds, ideally around 4.4 pounds or less for optimal performance.

The final gimbal that we are recommending to our readers for the GH5 is the Moza Air 2 that we still feel is a solid option if you are using a super heavy GH5 setup and you need that additional payload That said, we feel that the two gimbals covered above will be the best option for the vast majority of our readers as we would imagine very few of our readers will be using a GH5 setup that needs a nine-pound load capacity.

The DJI Ronin S

Kicking off with what we feel is the best gimbal for Panasonic GH5 cameras on the market right now, we have the DJI Ronin S that just keeps on going from strength to strength within the community due to its excellent performance and build quality. It quickly managed to earn itself an excellent reputation within the community after its release and it just keeps growing in popularity as time goes on.

In our opinion, the Ronin S is the perfect gimbal for DSLR cameras and heavy mirrorless cameras like the Panasonic Lumix GH5. It has a decent payload capacity that ensures it can handle the vast majority of GH5 setups while also providing the best image stabilization available at the time of writing for heavier setups to ensure that you get the best image quality possible during use.

Although the little brother of the Ronin S, the DJI Ronin SC is now on the market that has been specifically designed for use with mirrorless cameras, we feel that its 4.4 pound load capacity can cut it a little close for a large number of popular GH5 accessory setups so if you want to use the DJI brand, we would recommend the original Ronin S over the SC.

Performance And Functionality

The Ronin S is a total beast and can support a maximum load capacity of 7.94 pounds that should be plenty for the vast majority of Panasonic GH5 users out there. Even if you go to the 6.35-pound optimal performance load capacity limit, the Ronin S should be able to meet your needs without any issues. The GH5 also has a larger body than most other mirrorless cameras on the market meaning some of the older mirrorless camera gimbals may struggle to balance or provide a full range of motion helping to push the Ronin S even further ahead.

Now, when it comes to battery life, the Ronin S is able to provide anywhere between eight and twelve hours of battery life per full charge depending on how much of its battery life you are utilizing with your camera rig. Although the GH5 is a pretty heavy camera, we would imagine that you can safely expect around the ten hours of battery life market from the Ronin S with the vast majority of popular setups out there right now.

You are also able to use a few of the high capacity power banks to charge your gimbal while you are out and about away from a power socket but the effectiveness of this will depend on the capacity of the power bank that you choose to pick up. When plugged into a regular wall socket, the Ronin S can charge back to full from being totally empty in as little as two hours with two hours fifteen minutes being the average time.

The video footage above is probably our favorite example of cinematic style video footage captured using the DJI Ronin S and shows you exactly what it is able to capture for you and how it can help to improve the image quality you capture. You can see just how smooth the video footage provided by the 3 axis gimbal stabilizer is and its image stabilization is flawless and looks professional. The various gimbal modes on the Ronin S also make your job much easier and allow you to easily capture natural-looking video footage while your GH5 is mounted to your camera with minimal effort.

We really can’t fault DJI when it comes to the Ronin S and it is easy to see why it is such a popular gimbal stabilizer that has such a large customer base. Its performance really is flawless and we can understand why it is the king of the handheld gimbals.

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User Interface And Control System

The control system for the Ronin S is shown in the image above and as you can see, it is a very straight forward user interface that makes it very easy for anyone to pick the Ronin S up and get to grips with in very quickly. If this is your very first gimbal and you have no prior experience using a handheld gimbal stabilizer, the Ronin S is a great option due to its ease of use.

On this flip side of this though, we know that a number of people who own the GH5 will be experienced and may have previously used gimbals. The control system on the actual gimbal and the DJI smartphone app that we will cover more in the next section ensure that it can also perform well for professional-level videographers who need more control and customization of their gimbals too.

This best of both worlds approach where the Ronin S is suitable for an entry-level videographer as well as a professional level videographer has helped it grow its massive customer base over the years. Whereas some other gimbal brands have tried to meet the needs of both groups, DJI managed to meet the needs of both with one single system.

The DJI Smartphone App

The image above shows the main screen of the DJI smartphone app and it really is very easy to use. We know that there are some competing gimbal apps out there that are essentially useless but DJI has always prioritized the performance and functionality of their app to ensure that it offers their users the very best functionality available. The navigation menu on the app is also clean and very easy to use ensuring that you should easily be able to use it even if you aren’t used to using gimbal apps.

Build Quality And Design

The build quality of the Ronin S is outstanding and DJI have really done an excellent job putting the gimbal together and we really can’t fault them at all when it comes to the build quality of the gimbal. They have chosen materials that are both tough and able to take any bumps or knocks it will take. Additionally, the materials used in the construction of the gimbal are also lightweight making it easy to hold the Ronin S, even with a heavy camera like the GH5 mounted to it for longer video sessions.

Our Verdict

If you aren’t convinced that the DJI Ronin S is one of the best gimbals on the market right now then feel free to read a few of the independent reviews of the gimbal that have been posted for it from third part videographers. They show just how highly the community regards this gimbal and why it is such a dominant force right now.

We have no doubt that it will work very well with your GH5 and provide you with some excellent image stabilization to help improve your image quality via its excellent image stabilization. The Ronin S is also a great gimbal to pick up to future proof yourself against any future heavier camera purchases too as it should be able to meet their needs too. All in all, it really is an excellent bit of kit that is well worth adding to your Panasonic GH5 camera accessories.

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The Zhiyun Crane Plus

 

We feel that the Zhiyun Crane Plus is probably the second-best gimbal for Lumix GH5 cameras on the market right now as although it has been designed for use with mirrorless cameras, it has one of the largest load capacities out of the mirrorless camera gimbal range. This ensures that there is a good chance that the gimbal will be able to support the weight of the lightest and medium weight GH5 setups and provide you with the image stabilization that you want.

The Zhiyun Crane Plus has rightfully earned an excellent reputation within the community since its release and its popularity keeps increasing as more and more people choose to add the gimbal to their collection of camera accessories. The gimbal is also large enough to provide you with a full range of motion for your GH5 too and this is one thing that some of the other gimbals designed for mirrorless cameras can lack.

Performance And Functionality

The Crane Plus is able to provide you with a load capacity of 5.5 pounds but for optimal performance, we would recommend that you try to keep your camera payload below 4.4 pounds if possible. This leaves you with around 3.9 pounds of total load capacity and 2.8 pounds of ideal load capacity free once you deduce the 1.6-pound weight of your GH5 camera body. Depending on what you use your GH 5 for, this may not be enough load capacity to support the weight of the accessories that you want to use during your videography sessions and if this is the case, we would recommend you go with the DJI Ronin S covered above.

If the Crane Plus is able to support the payload weight of your Panasonic GH5 camera accessories then it is a great budget-friendly gimbal for your GH5. One thing that we would like to point out is that the Crane Plus has a listed maximum battery life of eighteen ours but with a heavier camera like the GH5, we would expect you to be getting better twelve and fifteen hours of battery for each full charge.

The Crane Plus can also be charged back to full from empty via a regular power outlet on the wall in only three hours minimizing your downtime and ensuring that you are able to get back out there and record your video footage as quickly as possible. Additionally, just like with the DJI Ronin S above, you are also able to charge the handheld gimbal on the go via a high capacity power bank too.

Just like we did for the Ronin S above, we also wanted to share some example cinematic video footage that has been captured using the Zhiyun Crane Plus to show you exactly what the 3 axis gimbal is able to offer your Panasonic GH5. As you can see in the clips above if your camera payload is light enough for the Crane Plus to support, it can provide you with some excellent image stabilization, especially for its price point in the market. The footage is smooth and very stable and we have no doubt that it can help to improve your image quality for your videography sessions.

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User Interface And Control System

You can see the main interface panel for the Crane Plus in the image above and as you can see, it uses a very similar control system to the DJI gimbal ensuring that both entry-level and professional level videographers are able to get the most out of the gimbal. The control system for the Crane Plus has basically been developed over the last ten years by Zhiyun by improving on the system that their previous gimbals used over time from the feedback that they received from the community.

The Zhiyun Smartphone App

Altough the image above shows the Zhiyun app when it is working, it does have a number of issues but with each update that Zhiyun release, their app is becoming better and better. Most of the connectivity issues with getting the initial sync between the app and the gimbal have been fixed now. There are still a few issues with the app randomly dropping its connection though as well as a confusing user interface that could do with cleaning up to make it easier to use.

Build Quality And Design

Just like the control system for the Crane Plus, its design has evolved over the years with each subsequent release of a new Zhiyun improving on the weaker aspects of the previous generation of gimbal. This has made the Zhiyun gimbal range evolve over time into one of the best-designed gimbal stabilizers on the market right now and when it comes to gimbal design, we feel that only DJI can really compare with the majority of other brands essentially just reverse-engineering the Zhiyun and DJI flagship gimbals.

When it comes to build quality, the Crane Plus is solid and ticks all the boxes you would want for a small, lightweight gimbal. It is also surprisingly robust for its size so if you are going to be traveling around a whole bunch then it’s nice to have the peace of mind that your gimbal can take any bumps during transit.

Our Verdict

As we mentioned at the start of this section of the article, provided that the total payload weight of your GH5 setup can be mounted to the Crane then it can be an excellent little gimbal for you and serves as a great budget-friendly addition to your GH5 camera accessories. If you would like to know more about the Crane Plus then we have a dedicated review of the gimbal online that goes into much more detail than we were able to for this article.

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The Moza Air 2

 

The final gimbal that we will be covered in our article going over what we feel are the best gimbals for the GH5 is the Moza Air 2 that has the highest load capacity of all of the handheld gimbals that we have featured in this article. Now, as we said back at the start of the article, chances are that even if you do choose to use a heavy  battery grip and a camera cage with your GH5 as well as all the other popular camera accessories on the market right now, you still won’t exceed the load capacity of the DJI Ronin S but just on the off chance you do, the Air 2 should be able to meet your needs.

It is a solid little gimbal that has earned a decent reputation within the community since its release but due to both of the gimbals covered above being better options for a GH5 unless you need the additional payload support, we will just be skimming over this section as quickly as possible as we doubt many of our readers will actually use the Air 2 for a GH5.

Performance And Functionality

Like we said, the Air 2 supports a massive load capacity of nine pounds that should be plenty for even the heaviest camera set up that you are able to think of. In addition to this, due to it having been designed for work with heavier camera rigs, it is also able to support your with between twelve and sixteen hours of battery life from a single full charge. The air 2 also recharges back to full in around four hours from a regular power outlet.

User Interface And Control System

Although the control system on the Air 2 looks a little different to the gimbals featured above, it is actually based around the exact same concept but it just uses a more visible joystick and LCD panel. In all honesty, we actually prefer to use the joystick system on the Air 2 as you can physically feel the movement during use so you know that you are actually getting something done when you press it.

The Moza Smartphone App

In our opinion, Moza has the second-best smartphone app on the market right now behind the DJI app and you can see it in the image above. In all honesty, though, the majority of other gimbal brands are having major problems with their smartphone apps right now making it pretty easy for the DJI and Moza apps to stand out from what the competition is offering. It is easy to use, easy to navigate and offers a fair bit of customization for you too.

Build Quality And Design

The gimbal is based around the standard 3 axis handheld gimbal design just like the two gimbals covered above. That said, the Air 2 is actually from the previous generation of Moza gimbals so is a generation behind the two gimbals covered above. Although the Moza Air 3 is now on the market, it has a lower payload capacity than the Air 2 so we still prefer the Air 2 over the Air 3 as a heavy lifting gimbal.

Due to this though, the technology on the Air 2 is a little older and heavier and you can definatley feel the weight of the gimbal during use. If you know that you will be having to use your GH5 for long videography sessions, this could end up being a problem for you as we would expect your arm to start aching pretty quickly.

Our Verdict

Like we said, just a quick overview of the Air 2 as we doubt many of our readers will need its higher load capacity. Due to this, we would take either the DJI Ronin S or the Zhiyun Crane Plus over the Air 2 as we feel they will make better additions to your Panasonic GH5 camera accessories.

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