The Ultimate Evo SS Gimbal Review!

So if you are one of our regular readers you will know that we are massive fans of the Evo SS gimbal and it is our go-to recommended wearable gimbal for anyone wanting to pick up a solid source of image stabilization for their action camera. It has an excellent build quality, offers some great performance, is extremely easy to use, and at the time of writing, is around $100 cheaper than the second-best wearable gimbal on the market, the Zhiyun Rider M. In addition to this, since its release onto the market, the Evo SS gimbal has managed to build up a pretty solid reputation within the community that is steadily growing.

If you are a part of the extreme or action sports community and are looking for a robust wearable gimbal to capture your sport with the best image quality possible without having to break the bank, the Evo SS is an excellent choice. Although the gimbal stabilizer has been specifically designed for use with the GoPro action camera range, there are plenty of cheap GoPro alternative action cameras on the market that essentially duplicate the GoPro design. Due to this, there are a number of cheaper action cameras that will fit in the Evo SS mounting grip but for optimal image quality, we would always recommend that you use a GoPro with the gimbal.

One thing that we would like to point out at the start of the article is that the Evo SS did have some major problems on launch and some of the earlier reviews of the gimbal were negative due to the issues it had. Thankfully though, Evo was quick to identify the cause of the vibrations on the gimbal and push out a free firmware update to correct the problem. If you do choose to purchase the Evo SS we would highly recommend that you update the firmware on the gimbal to the latest version as soon as possible for the best performance possible.

Performance And Functionality

Moving on to the performance and functionality of the gimbal, as the Evo SS is a wearable gimbal that has been specifically designed to be as small, lightweight, and compact as possible to ensure you get optimal performance out of it. Due to this, the maximum load capacity of the gimbal is 0.31 pounds but although this may seem a little low, it is more than enough to support the weight of even the heaviest of GoPro action cameras currently on the market. This ensures that no matter what version of the GoPro camera range you own, the Evo SS is easily able to support its weight and provide you with butter-smooth image stabilization during use.

Another solid feature of the gimbal that has a direct effect on its performance is the five-hour maximum battery life too. The majority of compeating wearable gimbals on the market right now usually only have a battery life of three hours or less per charge of their batteries. Evo have managed to add on another two hours to the average without having to add any additional size or weight to the actual gimbal unit. In addition to this, you are also able to charge the Evo SS back to full in as little as only two hours minimizing any potential downtime.

As we would expect many of the people who read this to be from the action sport side of things rather than the videography side of things, we just want to mention how the additional two hours or battery life may not sound like much but it really does help. You are able to keep recording your video footage while you are out doing your action sport of choice without running out of battery and potentially missing the best parts.

A tip that we have seen people implement but have not tried ourselves yet is to pack a USB power bank in your backpack while you head out for your sport. Then when you are taking a break or having some food you top up the Evo SS using the USB power bank to help extend the battery life indefinitely. If you know that you will be out on a session for hours at a time then this can be a nice little thing to try to help ensure that both your GoPro and gimbal have the juice required to keep going for as long as you need.

The video above has a fair amount of video footage in it that was recorded using the Evo SS and a GoPro action camera. All of the point of view footage in the clip was captured using the combination and as you can see, it really is a solid action camera accessory that can provide you with some great image quality without the need to break the bank. If you are trying to build up a social media or YouTube following with your videos then image quality is one of the most important factors to help keep your views and get them to follow or subscribe to you. The smooth image stabilization that the Evo SS is able to provide for you can really help to give your video footage that edge over the competing content creators out there.

The 3 axis gimbal system used on the Evo SS also ensures that it is as quick and easy to use as possible. We know that the vast majority of our people reading this article will likley be purchasing their very first gimbal and have zero experience in the area. Thankfully, Evo have ensured that the SS is as easy to use as possible and that it is essentially a plug and play gimbal that you can take out of the box and get using within minutes.

The balancing algorithm on the gimbal as well as the gimbal motors are also excellent, especially when you consider that the SS is around $100 cheaper than the next best gimbal at the time of writing. The default shipping config on the SS will also be able to meet the requirements of the vast majority of people and provide you with some great image stabilization right out the box, even over rough terrain without the need to spend hours customizing the gimbals configuration.

All in all, Evo have done an excellent job when it comes to delivering the best possible performance in their gimbal for the lowest possible price tag. They really have set the bar for the competition and to date, no compeating gimbal brand has managed to beat the Evo SS in our opinion.

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User Interface And Control System

Now, like we keep saying, there really isn’t much in the way of a control interface when it comes to wearable gimbals like there is on their handheld counterparts. One of the main features of any modern wearable gimbal is that it is small and adding a fancy interface adds unwanted size and weight. Thankfully though, the Evo system is very easy to use and the standard config for the gimbal stabilizer that comes shipped with it is solid and should be exactly what the majority of people need without having to customize the config.

If you are considering purchasing your very first wearable gimbal and have no prior experience with gimbals then the Evo SS is a great option. Its system is so easy that anyone should be able to get the gimbal working within minutes of taking it out of the package. This ensures that you don’t have to waste your time learning how to optimize the gimbal for your sport of choice and can just get right out there and do what you enjoy while capturing your adventures in the best possible image quality.

Smartphone App

Although the Evo smartphone app is a pretty solid gimbal accessory for the majority of their handheld gimbal line up, when it comes to the SS, the functionality that it is able to provide you drops off. Now, this is not a limitation of the app itself but just wearable gimbals in general. They tend to be designed to be able to do one job very well rather than provide functionality for a number of situations like a handheld gimbal. The app allows you to tweak a few key settings quickly and easily if needed but as we mentioned earlier in the article, the Evo SS is very easy to use and the standard config that the gimbal comes with when shipping should be able to get exactly what you want anyway.

At the end of the day, Evo has put together a solid little smartphone app but in reality, the majority of people who will be looking to use the Evo SS as a way to capture their adventures in extreme sports really don’t need it. It is more of an accessory for the professional level videographer using their handheld gimbals for videography jobs so if you want to, you can easily avoid downloading the app to your smartphone.

Build Quality And Design

We really do have to give it to Evo when it comes to the build quality of their SS gimbal. Now you have to keep in mind that the SS is around $100 cheaper than the second-best wearable gimbal on the market at the time of writing but it is without a doubt king when it comes to the build quality of the gimbal. Evo has done an excellent job of selecting tough materials that are also as lightweight as possible to ensure that they are able to produce a gimbal that is as lightweight and small as the SS is while also being one of the most robust wearable gimbals on the market right now.

As the majority of people who as a wearable gimbal to their collection of camera accessories usually pick the gimbal up to use it with an extreme sport, the robust nature of the Evo SS is an excellent feature of the gimbal. It ensures that you are able to use it and if, for whatever reason, the gimbal does end up taking a few bumps and knocks during use, it comes out the other side as strong as ever without damage. The vast majority of accessories that you use during extreme sports are likely to end up being knocks around during use no matter how careful you are so it is good to know that your SS gimbal won’t be breaking into pieces the first tumble you take.

Moving onto the actual design of the gimbal, there really is very little difference between all of the different wearable gimbals at the time of writing. The vast majority of the manufacturers producting gimbals like the Evo SS all use a very similar design as it is small and compact while offering some excellent performance capabilities while also being very easy to use. We doubt that this will change any time soon in all honesty and can expect the next few generations of wearable gimbals to all follow the same basic design.

FAQs

Question – Can you mount a Smartphone on the Evo SS?

Answer – Although there are some third-party accessories that do allow you to mount a smartphone to some wearable gimbals, we would not recommend this with the Evo SS. It has been specifically designed to work with action cameras that are either from the GoPro range or match their dimensions. Mounting a large smartphone to it would definatley restrict its range of motion and have a negative effect on the image quality that the gimbal is able to provide for you.

Question – What size mounting thread does the Evo SS use?

Answer – It comes with the industry-standard quarter-inch mounting thread ensuring that the gimbal stabilizer will mount to the majority of accessories for wearable gimbals such as helmet mounts, chest harnesses, and handlebar mounts.

Question – Is the Evo SS waterproof?

Answer – No, and at the time of writing, no wearable gimbals are waterproof. Although the Evo SS is advertised as splash-proof, we would not recommend that you use the gimbal in anything other than moderate rainfall and even then ensure that you dry it off as soon as possible.

Our Verdict

That brings our Evo SS gimbal review to a close and as we mentioned back at the start of the article, we are huge fans of this great little stabilizer. We have no doubt in our mind that it can make a great addition to your collection of action camera accessories and that it will also be able to provide you with some excellent image stabilization to improve you image quality. Additionally, due to the Evo SS being a very popular wearable gimbal, a large number of people who own it have also posted their own independent reviews of the gimbal online that you can read if you wish.

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