The Ultimate Moza Aircross vs Zhiyun Crane v2 Comparison!

Over the last few months, we have noticed a consistent number of people reaching out about a dedicated Moza Aircross vs Zhiyun Crane v2 comparison article so we have decided to make this the focus of today’s article. Although both of these gimbals are a few years old now and starting to show their age when compared to their newer, more modern counterparts, they are still solid budget-friendly options due to their price reductions as their successors hit the market.

The Zhiyun Crane v2 is probably the most popular and widespread gimbal stabilizer in the world due to Zhiyun being quick to capitalize on the trend of YouTubers adding handheld gimbal stabilizers to their vlogging setups a few years back. This, in turn, resulted in thousands of vloggers giving Zhiyun free publicity on their channels when talking about their setup and helped them cement their position at the top of the gimbal market.

Over the years, the Crane v2 has grown one of the largest customer bases going and has managed to earn itself an excellent reputation within the community. As Zhiyun has released a number of other gimbals into the mirrorless camera weight class since then, the Crane v2 has received a number of price reductions over the years making it a great budget-friendly gimbal.

That said, Zhiyun has literally just released their new mirrorless camera and lightweight DSLR weight class gimbal flagship, the Zhiyun Weebill S and it is probably the best gimbal to have ever been made to date. It is an absolutely outstanding piece of kit and if you have the budget available and want the best possible image stabilization, it is the obvious option.

Now, although the Moza Aircross is not as well known as the Zhiyun gimbal range, Moza is a solid brand and can definatley hold their own when it comes to the gimbal market. The Aircross range has been a solid hit with the videography and vlogging community and has managed to earn itself a decent reputation since its release.

Around six weeks back the Moza Aircross 2 was released onto the market and although it updates a bunch of the key features on the original Aircross, we just feel that it is massively overpriced for what you are getting. On top of that, the Zhiyun Weebill S absolutely blows it out the water without much of a challenge too meaning that it looks like Zhiyun will keep their title of being the dominant gimbal brand in the mirrorless camera space for the next few years.

Comparison Table

Last update on 2023-11-17 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The comparison table above shows the key specs for the Zhiyun Crane v2, Moza Aircross, and Zhiyun Weebill S. We decided to add the Weebill S into the table to show the difference in specs available across the different generations of gimbal and it is the obvious winner.

Now if we focus on just the Crane v2 and the Aircross, they do look pretty similar to each other when compared on paper. That said though, the differences really do become apparent when you actually look at the level of image stabilization provided by each gimbal and the Crane v2 managed to edge out ahead of the Aircross by a fair amount.

Performance And Functionality

As we mentioned above, on paper both the Zhiyun Crane v2 and the Moza Aircross are very similar handheld gimbal stabilizers. They both have a very similar maximum load capacity with the Crane v2 being able to support camera payloads of up to 3.94 pounds and the Aircross being able to support up to 3.9 pounds. This is plenty for both of the gimbals to be able to support the vast majority of point and shoot and mirrorless camera setups with a fair bit of load capacity spare.

Another area where both of the gimbals are the same is in the maximum battery life with both gimbals being able to provide up to twelve hours of power with each full charge. This should be plenty for most people to capture all of the footage that they need with their cameras between charging opportunities. Although there are gimbals like the Zhiyun Crane Plus that is a similar price point to the Crane v2 that can provide up to eighteen hours of battery with each full charge if you do need more power.

Another thing that is becoming more and more popular to extend the maximum battery life duration of gimbals is that people will carry a USB power bank with them during their sessions. Provided you ensure you get a high output power bank you are able to use it to top up your gimbal on the go in your breaks. If you do need to be getting more than the twelve hours of juice from the Zhiyun Crane v2 or Moza Aircross between charges this could definatley be something to look into.

The final area of performance that both of the gimbals are similar in is their recharge times with the Crane v2 taking around four hours to recharge and the Aircross taking around five hours to recharge. This is from a regular wall based power outlet though and recharging times when charging via a USB power bank will depend on the power banks output as there are a number of different outputs available.

The video footage shown in the clips above has all been recorded using the Zhiyun Crane v2 and offers a great, realistic representation of the performance that you are able to expect when using the 3 axis gimbal with your camera rig. As you can see from the clips, the Crane V2 is able to provide some excellent butter-smooth image stabilization for its price point in the market.

As Zhiyun has been one of the dominant brands in the gimbal space for almost a decade, they have always done their best to innovate and improve on every new release of their gimbal. With the performance and functionality always being high on their list of priorities for their gimbals, their products are usually leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Although the gimbal motors and sensors in the Crane v2 are starting to show their age when compared to the latest releases such as the Zhiyun Weebill S, the system in the V2 can still hold its own against what some of the competing brands are knocking out in their latest releases.

The clips in the video above were all recorded using the Moza Aircross and do an excellent job of showing off what the gimbal is able to provide for you when it comes to image stabilization. Although in the sample footage above both gimbals do seem to have a very similar level of real-world performance, in our opinion, the Crane V2 is much quicker at responsive to any movement and stabilizing it.

This is due to the Zhiyun sensors being well ahead of their time back when the V2 was initially released as well as Zhiyun probably having the best balancing algorithm available at the time too. In reality, when it comes to the balancing algorithm, even their system in their latest gimbals is the best on the market although DJI has managed to catch up with the algorithm used in their DJI Ronin SC.

So like we said back at the start of the article, both of the gimbals are pretty close to each other when it comes to their performance alough in our opinion, the Crane v2 does have an advantage due to its detection and correction speed being quicker. We feel that this is one of the reasons that the v2 has managed to earn itself so many glowing reviews from the community over the years since its release.

User Interface And Control System

Now, when it comes to the control interface for both the Zhiyun Crane v2 and Moza Aircross they are very simplistic by what is available on the latest gimbals. If you are a professional videographer doing paid client work then going with something like the Zhiyun Crane 3 or Zhiyun Weebill S will be a better option than both the v2 and Aircross due to the advanced customization that the offer.

That said though, the ease of use on both the v2 and Aircross can actually work to your advantage if you are an entry-level videographer or a vlogger. Both gimbals have a very simple interface that is very easy to learn meaning that there is no need to invest hours into learning how to use or customize the gimbal. We are confident that the vast majority of our readers will be able to learn the basics within minutes and pick the rest up as they go.

Both systems are based around the standard joystick system that is very popular on handheld gimbals due to being so easy. The joysticks on both of the units are also very responsive too allowing you to have maximum control over the motion of your camera when mounted when in manual mode. Due to this, when it comes to the control interface of the gimbals, we are going to have to tie them as nothing really sets them apart as better or worse than each other.

Smartphone App

Now, if we were publishing this article a few months back, we would have put the Moza smartphone app way out ahead of the Zhiyun one due to the simple fact that it actually works. That said though, the Zhiyun app was recently totally overhauled due to some of their latest gimbals needing their app for additional functionality. Zhiyun used this overhaul as a way to correct all of the problems with their app as well as improve the navigation menu it uses.

Due to this, we are going to tie both gimbals when it comes to their smartphone app as both offer very similar functionality with a nice easy to use app. The type of functionality that you are able to expect from the app includes some wireless remote control functionality as well as some quick and easy access to your gimbal settings to make tweaks. Now matter what gimbal you end up going for, at the time of writing at least, both of the associated smartphone apps are worth downloading.

Build Quality And Design

Two more areas where we have to tie the Zhiyun Crane v2 and Moza Aircross with each other is in their build quality and design. In reality, the vast majority of handheld gimbal stabilizers on the market right now follow a very similar design. The only real innovation in recent years is the Zhiyun Crane 3 and the Zhiyun Weebill Lab that have a two-handed and easy underslung approach to spice things up.

The Crane v2 and Aircross are both very similar when it comes to their basic design that we simply had to tie them togeather. This would be the same for gimbals from brands from DJI, Evo, and Feiyutech too as their simply is not much difference in the handheld gimbal space these days, especially back when the two featured gimbals were relased.

Additionally, the build quality of the gimbals is also very similar to each other too. For the time these gimbals were initially released onto the market, they were both considered to be very tough while also being a respectible weight. That said though, the robust nature of the gimbals still holds true to today but when it comes to their weight, they would both be considered on the heavy side.

Over the last five years or so a number of developments have been made in various materials used for the gimbal construction allowing units to be lighter while keeping the tough nature too. Something like the Zhiyun Weebill S is much lighter than both of these gimbals while also being much smaller too. This makes it a much better option if you are looking for a gimbal that you will be traveling with a whole bunch as it helps save on your baggage allowance.

Our Verdict

That brings our Moza Aircross vs Zhiyun Crane v2 comparison article to a close and as we have said, the gimbals look very similar on paper and are tied in a number of areas but we feel that the Zhiyun Crane v2 pulls out ahead when it comes to performance giving it the clear advantage. That said though, at the time of writing, the Moza Aircross is the cheaper gimbal offering a better budget friendly option offering an advantage when it comes to price.

If you do have the budget available and are looking for the best possible image stabilization for your mirrorless or lightweight DSLR camera then in our opinion, the Zhiyun Weebill S is the way to go. As we touched on earlier in the article, in our opinion, it is the best 3 axis gimbal stabilizer that has ever been made to date and blows the competition out the water.