Content creators and solo adventurers have long known that despite their smartphones’ 4K video recording capabilities, a smartphone gimbal goes a long way in producing those sweeping cinematic shots and jitter-free video footage. The Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is my pick of the gimbals I have seen over the years, but the principle remains the same – a gimbal stabilizes your phone across three axes, smoothing out the jerky movements when you walk, run or hike into the kind of footage that would have required movie cameras and a dolly setup a decade ago.
Out of the box, it’s remarkable how small the Flow 2 Pro, fitting easily into a jacket pocket or cargo pants, yet it manages to balance even the heaviest of smartphones via the magnetically attached clamp. Untwist the hinge and the Flow 2 Pro snaps into action, and the speed and ease with which it unfolds ensures you don’t miss any action. You can even set the Flow 2 Pro down on a table with the built-in tripod legs or pull out the telescoping handle which extends out to a maximum of 8.3 inches from the base, when you need to use it like a selfie stick.
Controlling the Flow 2 Pro happens via the joystick and the control ring around it, and the gimbal stabilizes across a few modes (with one or more axes fixed or free rolling). The degrees of freedom in which it operates could confuse the first-timer, and it’s a good thing the Insta360 app walks you through a detailed tutorial, guiding you through the various buttons and dials, as well as many of the gimbal features. Battery life is middling (10 hours) but you can use the gimbal as a power bank in a pinch.
Now, while you could use this with any Android phone and the companion app, there are inherent benefits to using the Flow 2 Pro with an iPhone, like the native support for Apple’s DockKit standard, which opens up native gimbal features across more than 200 camera apps on iOS, including the default Camera app. Footage captured on both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Pixel 9 Pro was smooth, but it was the subject tracking that impressed me to no end. Select a subject on the phone and the gimbal keeps the selection in frame, even if you move the phone and gimbal, following you around the room as you talk to the camera – perfect for shooting footage without having someone around to constantly frame you in the shot. Add to that gesture controls to activate recording from afar, and this is the most feature packed gimbal for anyone looking to shoot great content.
Rating:9/10
Price: Rs. 15,990