Hohem iSteady 3 in 1 Multi gimbal review

What is in this blog

At the date of this blog post posting, the Hohem iSteady Muli 3 in 1 gimbal’s price is at roughly $149. So it goes without saying that this gimbal might be a perfect candidate for any blogger or vlogger looking for a way to stabilize their selfie and lifestyle photography video footage at a low price.

The cold hard specs of the iSteady Multi

Here are some of the important aspects to remember about the specifications of the Hohem iSteady Multi.

iSteady construction

Materials：ABS+PC+Aluminium Alloy

Weight: 530g (With included battery）

Max payload：400g

Trigger Button controls

Re-center

Sport Mode (Fast Following)

Slider: Zoom & Focus

Camera Control:

Take picture/ Start-Stop video/Zoom  

(Supports SONY camera series) with SONY Multi cable

Using the Hohem iSteady Multi

Balancing the gimbal

Balancing this gimbal is easy. Using the thumbscrews and the visual paper instruction manual, I was up and running quickly with my Sony ZV-1 point and shoot.

Gimbal control in standalone mode

You can control the iSteady Multi’s direction and angle positions using a universal thumb control lever on the handle. It works very well, and reaction time is good.  There is a button that allows you to switch between different follow modes depending on how many times you press it. You can confirm what mode you are in with the number of blinks the mode indicator displays. Working modes are:

• Pan Following (tilt and roll are both locked)
• Pan& Tilt Following (You can control left to right, and pan/tilt while roll is locked)
• All Locked (camera stays in whatever the orientation is)
• All Following (inception mode)
• Sport Mode (Fast Following)

The “trigger button” will bring the camera back to the center when you tap it twice. When you hold this button down, it allows your gimbal to go to sport mode, where you can track movement quicker than usual. However, I never found myself needing this mode for my blogging needs.

Using the iSteady multi with the Sony ZV-1 point-and-shoot camera

My first experience was to use this gimbal with the Sony ZV-1 with the Sony multi-cable attached. This cable allows you to control a Sony-compatible camera (see the list in specs) with the gimbal’s physical controls. For the Sony ZV-1, using zoom, take photo, and start and stop video recording worked flawlessly with the gimbal arm buttons.

Controlling the Hohem iSteady Multi with the utility software

I was also able to control all the control functions while in the Hohem iSteady mobile+ smartphone software for Android 5.0 and iPhone 9.0. When you establish an initial Bluetooth handshake, the software asks you to pick between point-and-shoot, action cam, or smartphone.

When I picked a point-and-shoot camera, the software offered a visual control interface that worked pretty well. It gave me the following choices:

• All Sony camera control parameters (Wide/Tele, photo shutter release, and record on and off)
• All gimbal parameters
• Calibration functions
• Firmware updates
• All lapse style functions (under the Motionlapse)

All in all, the iSteady Multi gimbal offers a whole lot of controls for the owners of small point-and-shoot cameras. Any blogger or Vlogger that owns a Sony RX100, Canon G7X, or a Lumix LX10 will be able to put together a more elaborate kit for their vlogging needs.

The Hohem iSteady Multi boots up quickly

Furthermore, when I did use the Hohem iSteady Multi out and about, I found it stable when I left it on the ground while doing other things. One click of the “on” button and it was up and running. For small camera users, you will find that all basic gimbal functions on this gimbal are a charm.

Using the iSteady Multi on an Android phone

The android Hohem gimbal app was pretty good. Setup using the base plate, balancing the phone, and app pairing were straightforward. Once you use a smartphone with this multi gimbal, a whole lot of features get unlocked. These features are

• Slow Motion
• Long exposure
• Subject tracking

Subject tracking with the Hohem iSteady

I am not a big fan of any of the smartphone app gadgets. I tested subject tracking with the smartphone mounted and was not impressed. Although the tracking features were quite impressive for a smartphone, they still were not flawless. So many different aspects of your track have to be perfect for everything to work out that it is just not worth the trouble.

Subject tracking is a challenging technique to handle with high-end equipment. For me, all this trouble is not worth the lost footage that you are bound to get using this smartphone function.

The camera app for the iSteady is just OK

With my Android LG G8, I also found that some of the zoom and focus functions were a bit choppy when using the Hohem camera software. I’ve seen better app implementations with other gimbals. I would have to say that this is one of the biggest cons of this gimbal package.

Utility apps are very good

All other non-camera app implementations like calibration, motion-lapse, and even panning functions were pretty good. You can use the Hohem Gimbal app to pan when filming yourself far away from the actual camera. 

You can use the pan app in a multi-user setup where one person holds the gimbal and the other person might control camera attitude.

For phone apps, my opinion is a bit skewed 

I believe strongly in the idea that 95% of people who get selling point extras like hyper-lapse and subject tracking, try them out and just give up on them after a while. Real-life applications are a bit different for the vlogger. I advise you to give yourself the time to try each feature out but do not waste time trying to make it work for you.

Therefore, If you want to get this gimbal for the slow motion, and tracking features I would advise you to look elsewhere.

Using the Hohem iSteady Multi with a GoPro

I mounted a GoPro Hero4 using the mounting bracket and the base plate supplied by the Hohem gimbal. It mounted and balanced well. The only problem is that the angle of the level axis arm is 90 degrees.

My experience has shown me that there is a real advantage to having the leveler axis arm at a 45-degree angle. If this arm is at 90 degrees, the GoPro camera knocks the gimbal when you are angling the camera down. Hence, you cannot use the gimbal at all angles of operation. The 90-degree arm also blocks the view of the LCD screen.

But, most importantly, the essential is there. The Hohem iSteady Multi does what it needs to do. It stabilizes the GoPro but does so with quite a bit of limitation in the movement opportunities.

The Pros

• Quick balancing
• Solid and practical
• Great one-stop solution
• Solid and wide tripod mount
• Lovely utility software for calibration, lapse functions, and even two operators
• Side 1/4 mount is a nice touch

The Cons

• Gimbal arm is right-angled (somewhat limits action cam mounting)
• Phone software is just Ok (basic camera functions are choppy)
• Manual and instructions could be better.
• Subject tracking and zoom functions on the phone camera app are not great
• The supplied mounting for GoPro gives the action cam a high center of gravity

Conclusion: Who is the Hohem iSteady Multi for?

I guess from the pros and cons listed above, you can come to a lot of conclusions on your own but here is what I believe. If you are a blogger or vlogger who needs steady footage and you have a point-and-shoot compact camera, this gimbal is a really good option for you. Paired together with a Smallrig low center of gravity mounting system, it is also excellent for those who have an action cam for their selfie video work.

For those people who rely on a phone to get their footage, there are a whole bunch of really cool and even cheaper offerings out there (The Zhiyun smooth comes to mind). The smartphone camera app implementation is OK but nothing extraordinary.

Therefore, this gimbal is a good choice for those not wanting to spend a great deal of money but needing a more in-depth application of their action camera or point-and-shoot camera selfie footage. For owners of both camera systems, it is a great gimbal.

Remember that the most important thing is to go out and get captivating footage. The Hohem iSteady Multi might just be the right gimbal for you.

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