Zhiyun has made a name for itself with their line-up of gimbals. While we are looking at the Zhiyun Weebill 3 here today, their products cover several markets, with gimbals for larger professional applications such as DSLRs, to more compact cameras, as well as cell phones. On top of that, Zhiyun also provides several accessories to support videographers in their work to create smooth and impactful videos. While I do not fancy myself a videographer, taking a quick look at the Zhiyun Weebill 3, there is still lots to talk about.

Packaging and Contents

As with most Zhiyun products, the Weebill 3 ships in a full color, white cardboard box, with not much else besides an image of the device with a camera mounted on it from a forward and rear angle.


Inside you find a high quality foam box, which has been formed to fit the device perfectly. The box is sturdy enough to act as a permanent storage element for you to take along to the job site, but there is just no easy way to ensure it stays shut. Zhiyun could carve out little lines and use one or two straps to keep it shut for example.


There are two types of parts within the package: on one hand you will get the gimbal with all its structural elements in form of an handle extension that may also act as a stand, and two camera mounting bars. On the other hand, Zhiyun ships all the various cable combinations you could possibly need to connect your camera to the Weebill 3's USB-C port. Then there are also two audio wires, a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, camera support bracket and four color filters for the built-in LED light of the gimbal.


Zhiyun also offers additional accessories which could come in very handy as the unit along with a hefty DSLR could weigh quite a bit. We received the extendable sling grip which allows for downward hanging scenarios such as when filming low to the ground footage, and we received the wrist rest, which distributes the weight of the assembled system for easier operation in the usual upright manner. Zhiyun sells the Weebill 3 without these for $449 or with them and an additional backpack for $529.

A Closer Look

There is a lot going on in this fairly compact, 1130 g unit, so starting with the functionality on the base of the stem there is a power button which is positioned thoughtfully, so that you will not end up triggering it with your wrist or arm when holding the unit. On either side of that, there are mounting elements to attach the wrist rest or sling grip to. The base sports a PD 3.0 USB-C charging port, which allows you to fill the three 18650, 2600 mAh batteries as quickly as possible. Zhiyun advertises a charging time of only 2 hours, important, as the gimbal's power source is non-swappable.


There are also three high-quality, sliding locks so you are able to lock certain axis down or ensure the unit stays collapsed for transport.


Above that at the joint is where you will spend most of your time in action. There is a customizable control wheel underneath the trigger which can be set to adjust camera parameters, axis movement or even adjust focus or zoom without an external motor attachment for the lens to do so. To the right of this is a general menu button for the Weebill 3 itself, and a dial to adjust exposure or temperature of the image. With these controls on the right side, the Weebill 3 is somewhat geared towards right-handed operation as these are easily reached with your right thumb, but may be a bit hard to get to with your left one.


Zhiyun has also incorporated additional functionality into the upper part of the gimbal. The two most noteworthy are a 1000 Lux LED light with the ability to adjust its temperature between 2600-5400 K, as well as a built-in noise-canceling microphone. For the light, you will receive four magnetically attachable covers to light a dark scene with a bit of hue. On this side, you will also find a green USB-C port which is intended for remotes, a red microphone connector and a yellow USB-C interface port which will connect to your DSLR, so that the gimbal may control the cameras settings directly.


Just like other Zhiyun gimbals, the Weebill 3 comes with an OLED screen which allows you to toggle through various settings. What is available also depends on the DSLR you mount and connect to the unit. Zhiyun does provide a list of compatible devices on their website.


The settings menu allows adjustments and control of all aspects of the Weebill 3 straight from the device itself, which is good and expected, as the unit is certainly geared towards the professional end of the spectrum.

ZY Play App

As with their other gimbals, the Weebill 3 may be connected to the ZY Play App which offers phone based control of the unit along with ability to create presets, automatically build videos based on several scenes with templates, and upload them to a public online repository for sharing. Just to get into the app, you need to agree to three separate policies, which is a bit unusual. At least the privacy policy clearly lists the 3rd party APKs in use, which are all from well known providers such as Baidu and Google to name a few.


To connect to the gimbal, you first need to enable Bluetooth. Then you may connect to the device, and are told to activate it. Unfortunately, you are required to provide location details to do so. While it is understandable that Zhiyun needs to know what country you reside in, the better way forward would be to not ask for this access, but let the user enter it manually for the added level of data transparency. That said, the implemented registration process is extremely simple and straight forward, which is a definitive upside.


The main control interface to the gimbal is essentially the same as we have seen on the Zhiyun Crane 2S for example and represents a touch screen representation of all the physical buttons on the gimbal itself. On top of that, you can set motions easily to trigger when shooting a scene as well. Naturally, there are plenty of settings that may be adjusted in the app and are then stored on the gimbal itself, so you won't have to always use the application while on the move.


Once you have scenes recorded with the gimbal and available to your phone, you may use some of the provided presets to create a video clip of your own quickly and easily with the included templates. Simply pick the order in which to play the scenes and the algorithm will stitch it together with some transitions. This obviously does not provide a lot of creative control, but an easy way to put something together on-the-fly right on your mobile device.


The App also features a profile for you as a user which gives you an overview of your content as well as access to your registered devices and other information. There is a Message section to help you with your interactions with other users and shared content which is nice. There was a notification dot on the "Systems" entry under messages, but it turns out all of those are quite literally just promotional communication unfortunately, and as such do not relate to the service, infrastructure or device. Zhiyun should split that out, so that users can easily enable just the right type of notifications.

Use

Before we dive into the user experience of the gimbal, lets take a quick look at the accessories. The slip grip feels good and is easily extendable by loosening the tension ring. The wrist support is also extremely effective in redistributing the weight nicely so that you can shoot videos for extended periods of time in handheld mode. As you can see, the handle extension that ships with the Weebill 3 may also act as a sturdy stand for fixed position videos.


Installing the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is extremely quick and easy. Zhiyun incorporates a two piece rail system, with the base easily detachable from the main support rail. While the Weebill 3 still employs tension based locking levels, it also has a quick release button. This would allow you to quickly take your camera and mount it elsewhere without a big pause in the action. With larger DSLRs like this one, it is also important to ensure everything is as balanced as possible while still allowing for all degrees of motion.

Using the gimbal with the camera is quite the workout without the wrist pad, but as soon as that attachment is included in the setup, moving the unit around for an extended period becomes quite easy. The core function of the gimbal in keeping the camera level in the direction it is pointing works extremely well, with excellent vertical motion. Turning the camera left and right using the control wheel is fluid. The same can be said about the joystick to tilt the DSLR left or right. That said, having two different interfaces to achieve similar actions does take a little getting used to. Overall, even as a novice it is possible to shoot smooth video easily, but obviously framing and planning an attractive shot requires a videographer's eyes and experience.

Conclusion

As with all the Zhiyun gimbals, the Weebill 3 provides an extremely well built & functional user experience, with plenty of unique features that both give professionals an excellent base to work with, while also allowing novices to dive into the film making space of gimbals without costing an arm and a leg. Considering that the Weebill 3 is meant for large cameras, you ought to pick the Weebill 3 first and foremost if the weight & size requirement of your equipment demands it. Those with more compact cameras have plenty of other options from Zhiyun. Another reason to go for the Weebill 3 are the updated features and built-in functionality which you won't find on the other models. Overall, Zhiyun has really packed a lot into the gimbal that goes way beyond just smooth video. From the optional accessories, to the built in lighting and microphone, to the PD 3.0 quick charge and ability to actually charge your camera as well - all these things play really well together. With a price tag starting at $449, you obviously want to reflect if you really need all this feature density now, or in the future. But if that answer is yes, then that price tag is probably just a fraction of the cost/value of your actual camera gear. In fact, it is recommendable to go for the larger $529 kit, as the wrist rest and extendable grip give you even more possibility to use the Zhiyun Weebill 3 to create smooth and engrossing content.