The Best Gimbal For Sony A5100 Cameras!

For today’s article, we are going to be going over what we feel is the best gimbal for Sony a5100 cameras currently available on the market. The Sony a5100 is a popular mirrorless camera that has a pretty large userbase made up from both photographers and videographers and we see a number of owners of the a5100 reaching out about gimbal options so we wanted to publish this post.

We hope that our article will help any of our readers who own an a5100 as we have seen a fair bit of confusion about what gimbal should be used with the camera due to it being around 0.62 pounds. Although you could use the Feiyutech G6 like we have seen people recommend on social media, that gimbal is designed for use with point and shoot cameras and only has a load capacity of 1.76 pounds making it pretty restrictive when it comes to camera accessories.

The featured gimbals below are all actually designed for use with mirrorless cameras and have appropriate load capacities so you are able to use heaver camera accessories with your a5100 during use. Additionally, all three gimbals are newer than the Feiyutech G6, don’t cost that much more, and will offer your a5100 much better performance.

As usual, you will find our comparison table below that offers some insights into the core features of each of our recommended gimbals for your Sony a5100. Just below the table is a very short breakdown of each gimbal and why it has been chosen and then below that you will find our in-depth coverage of each of the three gimbal stabilizers and why we feel that they are great options for your a5100.

Comparison Table

Last update on 2024-02-05 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

First up we have the Zhiyun Weebill Lab that we absolutely love and it is quickly establishing itself as the king of the mirrorless camera gimbals replacing the Zhiyun Crane Plus that used to hold the title. Now, the Weebill Lab does have a unique design that can take a little getting used to and there are a few videographers out there who prefer the regular, more traditional style of handheld gimbal.

And that’s where our second gimbal recommendation for your a5100 comes in, the Zhiyun Crane Plus offers a very similar level of performance to the Weebill Lab above but it has the traditional design. Although we do feel that the Weebill Lab is a better option than the Crane Plus, if you do prefer the regular gimbal design, the Crane Plus is a close second.

Our third gimbal recommendation for the a5100 is the DJI Ronin SC and although this really is an excellent gimbal stabilizer that does have a large user base, we feel it is overpriced considering what you actually get. Both of the Zhiyun gimbals above offer very similar levels of performance while also being cheaper and offering you a larger load capacity for your camera.

The Zhiyun Weebill Lab

So lets get into our gimbal deep dives kicking off with our primary recommendation, the Zhiyun Weebill Lab that just keeps going from strength to strength within the community after its release a few months back. Its excellent performance, great image stabilization, lightweight and small size have made it a massive hit with any videographer who has to travel around a whole bunch.

This has lead to the gimbal quickly earning an excellent reputation for itself within the community with both videographers and vloggers. If the last few months since the gimbal was released onto the market are anything to go by then we can only see the Zhiyun Weebill Lab going from strength to strength and maintaining its position as the best gimbal for Sony a5100 cameras.

Performance And Functionality

The Zhiyun Weebill Lab is able to support a maximum load capacity of 6.6 pounds so it can easily support the weight of your Sony a5100 with pretty much any number of accessories that you can think of. This includes heaver lenses, external microphones, battery grips, and camera cages so we are confident that you will be able to use any setup you want with your camera.

When it comes to battery life, the Weebill Lab can provide you with a maximum of ten hours per full charge, as the Sony a5100 is such a lightweight camera, you might actually be able to get a little more than just ten hours per charge depending on your setup. You are also able to jack a USB power bank into the gimbal to help you charge it while out and about allowing you to extend the battery life as much as required.

When the gimbal does run empty and you charge it from a mains power outlet back to full in around three hours. This helps to ensure that you are able to minimize any potential downtime in your recording by being able to quickly and easily charge it back to full.

The clips in the cinematic video above were recorded using the Zhiyun Weebill Lab and showcase just what the 3 axis gimbal can actually do for you. We feel that it does a great job of showing off exactly what you can expect with regards to performance and the level of image stabilization that the gimbal is able to provide for you.

The Weebill Lab also comes with all of the standard Zhiyun gimbal modes as well as their new vortex mode that essentially gets your camera to do a barrel roll while mounted to the gimbal. Although it doesn’t sound like much, it can actually be used to add some interesting clips into your videos. In addition to the new vortex mode, the Weebill Lab also has a totally overhauled stabilization algorithm as well as new gimbal motors.

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User Interface And Control System

Now, as our regular readers will probably know, we were hoping for a touchscreen interface on the Weebill Lab but Zhiyun have chosen to stick with their standard joystick system although it has been overhauled. The new smartphone updates to the Zhiyun app also allow you to get some increased functionality out of the gimbal and with the Zhiyun smartphone mount seen in the image above, you can mount your phone to the gimbal for the added functionality.

The LCD panel on the system is clear and easy to read, even in low light and the joystick is responsive to touch. It is also very responsive if you are out recording in wet or cold conditions too and stays responsive when your thumb ends up getting cold or wet. The same goes for the main control buttons on the gimbal handle too ensuring that you are always able to quickly and easily adjust its performance as required.

The Smartphone App

The Zhiyun smartphone app has come on leaps and bounds over the last few months with Zhiyun transforming it from what was essentially a sorry state to its current state. We are pleased that Zhiyun are putting some attention into their app as it was definatley lagging behind what the DJI app is able to offer.

Zhiyun have fixed the majority of the issues that the app did have, the majority of the connectivity issues have been fixed and the app is in a good place right now. As seen in the section above, if you do choose to purchase the smartphone app you can mount your device to the side of the gimbal for increased functionality, it works particularly well with the intelligent object tracking technology on the gimbal too.

Build Quality And Design

The Zhiyun Weebill Lab has a brand new lightweight, small, and compact design after Zhiyun took a bunch of constructive feedback from the travel videography and vlogging communities. The market has been desperate for a compact travel gimbal that performs as well as the Weebill Lab does while being able to support the weight of mirrorless cameras and light DSLRs.

When it comes to the build quality, this great little handheld gimbal is second to none. It is as tough and robust as you would expect from a gimbal that has been designed to be used by the travel videography and vlogging community and is able to take plenty of bumps. Additionally, the gimbal also has a number of manual locks on it that allow you to lock each of the axis in place to prevent them from randomly spinning when not in use.

When it comes to build quality, we really can’t fault Zhiyun and feel that they have done an excellent job with the Weebill Lab and we can definatley see why it is such a popular option.

Our Verdict

It should be obvious why we chose the Weebill Lab as our primary gimbal for the Sony a5100 but there are a bunch of indepndent, third-party reviews for the gimbal online left by other videographers that offer an excellent insight into its performance. We have no doubt that the gimb al will b able to help improve your image quality and make a valuable addition to your camera accessoris.

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The Zhiyun Crane Plus

Next up we have the Zhiyun Crane Plus that used to be our go-to gimbal recommendation for any mirrorless camera but since the Zhiyun Weebill Lab has been released, the Crane Plus has been demoted to a close second. That said, it is a still a great gimbal stabilizer but its biggest selling point now is that it offers some excellent performance for its price while keeping the traditional handheld gimbal style.

The Crane Plus has been available on the market for some time now and has been growing its excellent reputation with the videography community steadily since it was released onto the market. If you are looking for the best battery life possible for your Sony a5100 gimbal then the Crane Plus also sticks out ahead of the other two gimbals that we have featured. So, even though overall we feel that the Weebill Lab is the better gimbal overall, for specific situations, the Crane Plus could be considered better depending on what you need or want out of your gimbal.

Performance And Functionality

Now, the Crane Plus does have a lower maximum load capacity when compared to the Weebill Lab but in all honesty, when it comes to the Sony a5100, it is so lightweight that we doubt that you will be needed all of the available load capacity anyway. The Crane Plus also has a large amount of the same technology in it as the Weebill Lab due to the two handheld gimbals being released within less than twelve months of each other.

When it comes to battery life, you can expect up to a maximum of eighteen hours out of the gimbal for every full charge. Due to the lightweight of the vast majority of Sony a5100 camera setups when it comes to vlogging and videography, we are confident in saying that you should get pretty close to the eighteen-hour mark when it comes to battery life too.

When you are out of battery, you are able to recharge the Crane Plus back to full in around three hours to have you back out capturing video footage as quickly as possible if need. Additionally, just like the Weebill Lab above, you can also pick up a high capacity power bank to top up the gimbal on the go as required.

The video above is our favorite footage captured with the Crane Plus and shows exactly what it can provide for you and your a5100. You can see the standard of the image stabilization that the 3 axis gimbal design is able to provide for you, additionally, it can do wonders for your image quality too and help you get the best possible footage.

As we mentioned earlier, the Crane Plus has a bunch of the same tech in it as the Weebill Lab, in fact, the only mode not on the Crane Plus is the Vortex Mode. Everything else comes with the Crane Plus with the exact same coding so the point of view mode on both gimbals is exactly the same.

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User Interface And Control System

As you can see in the image above, the interface system on the Crane Plus is similar to the older generation of Zhiyun gimbals and has been designed with two goals in mind. To be as user-friendly and easy to use as possible so if someone brand new to using gimbals purchases it, they are able to get the most out of it right out the box. The second goal was to offer a professional level videographer everything they could want out of a gimbal too.

In all fairness to Zhiyun, we do feel that they have done a solid job with the control system and we feel they have managed to offer the functionality that both entry-level and professional level videographers require. In our opinion, Zhiyun did a good job on the control system for the Crane Plus and we feel that our readers will easily be able to get used to it.

The Smartphone App

With both the Weebill Lab and the Crane Plus both being from the Zhiyun range, they both use the same smartphone app so everything that we said for the Weebill Lab applies to the Crane Plus too and theres not much else we can say.

Build Quality And Design

As we mentioned back at the start of the article, the Crane Plus remains popular within the community as it has a more traditional handheld gimbal stabilizer design that people are used to. It is the default recommendation for us when we see people say that they don’t want to try the Weebill Lab due to its new design. If you have ever used any other 3 axis handheld gimbals other than the Crane 3, you will be familiar with the design of the Crane Plus.

The build quality of the gimbal is solid and it is pretty tough as well as lightweight for its size and the load capacity and battery life that it is able to offer you. That said though, the Zhiyun Weebill Lab is much lighter and smaller so if you know that you will have to be traveling around with your kit, we would take the Weebill Lab any day.

Our Verdict

The Crane Plus can be a solid gimbal and it is a close second when it comes to gimbals for your Sony a5100. It can make a great addition to your a5100 accessories and there are plenty of third party reviews online that you are able to read if you want to see what independent Crane Plus users are saying about the gimbal.

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The DJI Ronin SC

The final gimbal that we decided to feature for the Sony a5100 is the DJI Ronin SC and although this is a great bit of kit we just feel that at the time of writing at least, it is too overpriced what you actually get for your money. Both of the Zhiyun gimbals are cheaper by around $100 while also offering a heavier maximum load capacity, the same level of performance, and similar or better battery life too.

We just see no reason to pickup the Ronin SC over either of the Zhiyun Weebill Lab or the Zhiyun Crane Plus unless the DJI gimbal gets a large price reduction. That said though, there are a number of people who love the gimbal and it has a great reputation amongst videographers that just keeps on growing.

As we would recommend either of the other two gimbals covered above over this one, we will just be quickly skimming over this section to save our readers time.

Performance And Functionality

The Ronin SC is able to support a maximum load capacity of only 4.4 pounds and although this is easily able to support the weight of your Sony a5100 as well as the majority of different camera accessories combinations that we are able to think of, it does not offer much in the way of future-proofing yourself like the other two gimbals do with their higher load capacities.

You may want to upgrade to a heavier mirrorless camera or DSLR in the future and the Ronin SC may not be able to provide you with the load capacity that you require for your new camera rig where are there is a good chance that either of the Zhiyun options could.

When it comes to the battery life of the gimbal, the SC can provide you with up to eleven hours of battery life and with your Sony a5100 being so lightweight, there is a good chance that you will actually be getting pretty close to the eleven-hour mark with each charge. The gimbal can be recharged back to full in only two and a half hours once empty too letting you get back out there to capture your video footage quickly.

The video above does a great job of showing you exactly what this new offering from DJI is able to provide you when it comes to image stabilization. As you can see, it really is a great bit of kit and it can provide you with some excellent performance but at this price point in the market, we just feel that the Zhiyun are a better buy.

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User Interface And Control System

The user interface on the SC is very similar to the one its big brother, the DJI Ronin S uses for the DSLR camera market. DJI has made a few tweaks to the Ronin SC system though to help improve its performance when your hands are cold making it easier for you to control the gimbal as required in colder locations.

The Smartphone App

The DJI smartphone app is still second to none and we feel they definatley have the best app going at the time of writing. If the last few months are anything to go by, we really hope that Zhiyun keep updating their app and get it up to the standard of the DJI one as it can be a valuable bit of kit.

The DJI app for the Ronin SC is seamless and very easy to navigate. You can quickly and easily pair it up with your gimbal and tweak any settings within seconds to ensure the performance of your gimbal changes to meet your needs as required.

Build Quality And Design

Coming from DJI, you can probably guess that the design and build quality of the gimbal is absolutely outstanding and we really can’t fault DJI when it comes to this. The gimbal is tough and lightweight as well as comfortable to hold due to the design of its handle too. The Ronin SC is also about two thirds the size of the Ronin S making it much easier to pack due to the less space it requires.

Our Verdict

Like we said, in our opinion, the Zhiyun Weebill Lab or the Zhiyun Crane Plus are better additions to your Sony a5100 camera accessories at the time of writing in our opinion. Now only are they cheaper but they have the same level of performance as the Ronin SC while also having a larger load capacity limit too.

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