Pilotfly H2 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Mirrorless and DSLR Cameras, - Bundle With Pilotfly 2-Hand Holder for H2 and T1 Camera Gimbals, Pilotfly RM-1 Wireless Remote Control

2019-06-07T12:17:19

I enjoyed shooting with this at first, but soon discovered that intermittent micro vibrations were ruining shots by causing image blur. To even access the SimpleBGC software (on a Mac) to tune the gimbal requires entering code into Terminal, and even after this complex setup, the controls are anything but simplified, and designed for an electronics engineer, not a cinematographer. I followed all the (sparse) guidance I could find online, and tried to call Germany for tech support. No help there. It's a shame, because I like the simple profile of the gimbal. But I'm afraid that, after wasting far too many hours trying to tune out the micro vibrations, it's going into the trash.

ADAM B.

2018-11-29T05:01:40

This gimbal is really cool but the instructions are lacking- correction- the instructions are non-existent. The website has very little information, and the app you are to install on a mac is so difficult to install that I wanted to pull out my hair. You have to go into terminal and be a coder just to figure it out. And the app is necessary because out of the box this thing BEEPS super loud every five seconds- not ideal for filming. Didn't work well with my DLSR but with my Panasonic LX10 it really is great. Just have to get used to using it with smooth motion and getting the balance right (which is trial and error). After much maintenance out of the box it works great but give yourself at least a week of experimenting/tinkering before you need to use it.

Lydia G.

2018-08-25T02:57:02

I have tried a couple gimbals now. This one and a competitor. Both easy enough to set up. Both seemed to be built well. How ever neither one behaved percisely nor consistently. Ill admit to having high expectations, but nothing more than is advertised by manufactures, or are not justified by price tag. In both examples my gear “seemed” too heavy. Even though payload is well within spec. I think improvements will come now that it seems to be a much more competitive market. Ill wait.

A K.

2017-10-21T06:34:12

Where to start, from the moment I 1st hooked it up it did not work correctly, getting help to resolve the issue is not easy also. Maybe its because I am in the USA and help is elsewhere. But I keep asking for a phone number to call for faster help and they keep ignoring the question and just want to try and help via email which will take forever. We are very busy and wished I would have got to it quicker to find this issue because I would have just returned it. In my opinion it is not worth it at all. Doing research there are tons of complaints I have found. I will just stick to my Ronin M that I have, just wanted something a little smaller. Oh well.

Mike P.

2017-08-10T09:04:19

I have used the H2 for six months now and just ordered a Zhiyun-Tech Crane v2 to replace it. My reasons are: -- The Zhiyun-Tech Crane v2 is $ less yet gets as good, or better reviews from real users. -- Almost all gimbal manufacturers use the same horrible third-party software to control their motors/gyros. (SimpleBCG) Zhiyun doesn't. This software GUI is mind numbing. -- My PilotFly H2 failed and is in Taiwan getting repaired for a month while I need a gimbal here to do my work.

DANIEL D.

2017-03-21T11:43:56

I'm not sure why other reviewers found it heavy. For a 3-axis stabilizer it worked decently well out of the box and even did a good job inverted. But I did experience the dreaded "lean to the left" mentioned elsewhere on the net. PROS: Well built. Factory settings will work well with a mirrorless body and smallish lens. Not so much for a heavy DSLR. Using inverted helps deal with your arm getting tired and actually is more stable. CONS: Why does a $ product rely on a third-party app that feels like it was written in MS-DOS to work well? The app is confusing unless you invest a LOT of time! My biggest beef is that once you spend the time to balance your camera you can't put the H2 back in the foam case without losing all your settings! It won't fit! So you end up starting all over again on your next session.

Daniel D.

2017-02-04T09:52:13

I have had a little time to play with the Pilotfly H2, and so far I love it! First off, nice minimalist packaging (no excessively sized manuals and such). Secondly, it's easy and simple enough to use you can start using it right out of the box. I hope it stands the test of time.

JEREMY R.

2016-12-05T07:43:50

to good for mirror-less cameras may think this is no. 1 but nikon d750 and 16-35 for dslr camera this one not to good

VIJAY P.

2016-10-03T10:08:51

I'm fairly new to video. I had tried using a fluid head to take real estate pictures but was unhappy with what I could achieve. Sliders looked promising but time consuming and limited in what they could do. The Pilotfly is simply limited by where I can reach. After experimenting for about 90 minutes, I was happy with how smooth motion was when using the Pilotfly. I put an Arca Swiss style clamp on it so I could easily remove my four-thirds dslr and reattach it without having to re-balance. Although I couldn't take it out of the box and immediately create video with smooth motion I was surprised how quickly good results could be achieved. It exceeded my expectations.

Jeff K.

2016-09-06T04:22:09

The pilot fly H2 works perfectly out the box. But for the love of god, don't plug it into your computer and hit "AUTO" under "Motor configuration". This is what drove my gimbal insane and started throwing my camera around. The SimpleBGC software that configures the gimbal stick is FAR from being simple. I couldn't figure out how to restore it back to out of the box conditions. Pilotfly has been admirable with their tech support, but fall short of a simple step by step process in restoring the pilotfly h2 back to it's out of box settings. After 8 hours of googling how to restore the gimbal, I eventually had to repack the gimbal for return. It was beyond my comprehension and tolerance.

Tan D.

2016-08-25T16:45:08

Over the past year I've worked with several gimbals and must say that this is by far the best. The single handle is convenient, effective, and a welcome relief from the heavier two-handed gimbals I've used (i.e. CAME-TV, DJI Ronin, etc.). That said, the included two-handed handle works well when I need that extra stability and for longer shoots. I'd also suggest purchasing the PilotFly remote which allows you to use the H2 for time lapses which for some reason isn't mentioned very often!

Jeffrey T.

2016-08-03T11:05:57

I am using with Sony a6300 and both SEL1018 f/4 and Sony SEL 35/1.8. Out of the box, no problems with the exception of some slight vibrations in some angles when inverted. I played with the software a bit. Slowed the RC pan and tilt way down and softened the start and stop a bit. Changed the Follow speeds of yaw and pitch as well along with softening the start and stop. REALLY HAPPY! At first glance, the software is intimidating, however, after watching a few YouTube vids, I am more comfortable with it. I would guess most people forget to immediately save all profiles before fiddling with the parameters. SAVE YOUR PROFILES the very first thing you do. Next, do a ACC Calibration. I used the display level on the a6300. My rig had about a 2 degree tilt. I calibrated and now my home position is perfectly level in the camera display. I downloaded the software profile for my camera and the 1018 lens. Frankly, I hated it. I moved back to my SAVED original profile and put a smile back on my face. I'm confident that I will get the small amount of vibration when inverted eliminated when I get a bit more time with the software. The vibration is not causing any video distortion. I can slightly feel it through the grip. I purchased the 2 hand holder as well. I like it but have a couple of concerns about it. 1. The wire from the joy stick to the battery is mostly exposed as is the connector to the joystick. Not liking this at all! Seems like an accident waiting to happen. I'll figure out a way to protect it better. 2. THe 2 hand holder does not come with a case. IIt does not fit into the H2 case well. With the exposed connector and wire, I'm afraid cramming it into the H2 case will damage it. A simple small case should have been included. 3. The area where it connects to the gimble does not have a protective cover when not connected. There are electronic prongs in here that are exposed. They can be damaged. A simple screw on cap solves that.

William M.

2016-07-22T13:58:01

I loved this product very much. It'll take some time to balance it at the beginning. You should make the notes for your 3 aixs position after been balanced. It's very easy to calibrate it with SimpleBGC software. The Bluetooth connection works very well with the PC or smartphone. Very stable video capture. It gives me a complete new way to shoot videos.

TriumphRainbow T.

2016-07-15T07:48:34

I bought the product because of the good reviews on Internet. Very easy to balance. Very easy to calibrate with SimpleBGC software. Bluetooth is very convenient. I used it with my Samsung NX1 ans 16-50mm lens. I loved the stable video took with the stabilizer. It gives me a hole new way to shoot videos.

Victor L.

2016-06-23T12:26:55

Heavy and complicated to balance, if you are a professional videographer that will take your time to film and time to set up shooting, I think it will do the job but if you’re going to be casual to use it try something more practical and less expense. I returned my the next day I got it.

EDMUND C.