It’s going to be impossible to do justice to this 4K gimbal video/still camera in one article. Although I’ve been using it for not quite a month, I haven’t even been able to explore all its capabilities…but I’m still working on it and still having a blast. There are so many features built into the Feiyu Pocket2, that it defies logic that a compact camera can do so much.
First of all, the gimbal is the heart of this camera, making it a breeze to take smooth video, when even the best image stabilization in other standard cameras won’t come close. As a matter of fact, even in bouncing boats, and on rocky roads, the horizon is always level.
See the video for car trips around Cleveland, boating on Lake Erie, filming the National Air Show from the water, as well as biking and hiking through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to see what I mean. Despite the various kinds of motion, the horizon is always level.
In addition, it does timelapse, motion timelapse, up to 9-frame panoramas, pr 180° panoramas, slow motion, streaming rates of 60 and 120FPS, follow mode, breakpoint shooting, and even AI face recognition and beauty modes.
Other features include:
- Ultra HD 4K@60FPS resolution, up to 120M Max. bit rate , easily create real 4k video.
- Sony1/2.3 inch CMOS,12million effective pixels, a single pixel up to1.55μm, powerful imaging unit.
- 4x Electronic zoom.
- Three-axis mechanical gimbal keeps footage extremely stable.
- 3.6 hours long battery life – recharge with USB-C connector.
- Micro high-torque mechanical anti-shake technology.
- Anti-distortion, and AI face recognition functions for more attractive videos.
- 1.3-inch touch screen, for a new level of clarity for videos.
- 5-way joystick.
- Built-in speakers.
- Magnetic body which can self-support itself
- Supports extended external microphones (with separate adapter – not included)
- 12 million pixels (4000×3000) for still images
- f2.0 large aperture 6-glass high-definition lens for a wider field of view while shooting 120° ultra wide-angle to 130° ultra wide-angle.
- Durable CNC technology casing with high-quality metal precision processing.
- Weighs only 4.4 oz (127g).
- Pocketable: can be held with one hand for easy selfie shooting.
- Takes high capacity Micro-SD cards for storage up to 512GB.
- Record video in MOV or MP4 formats
- Shoot JPG or JPG&DNG still images
- Switch to panorama mode by tiling the camera 90°
Then there’s also an app for your phone for even more control. With the Feiyu Camera App you can simultaneously watch video while shooting in real-time, control the camera, take pictures and video, record time-lapse, use remote sensing to control the lens, and more.
Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to watch the video by now, as I’d like to touch of some of my favorite qualities of this camera.
First of all, weighing in at just under five ounces, and only five inches long, it’s perfect to take along anywhere. Whether pocket or purse, it’s small enough to not be a bother, and to quote a famous photographer, “My favorite camera is the one I have with me.” So, there’s no reason not to take this one along.
The second thing about its lightweight is that you can put it on a selfie stick, a hiking stick, or a painter’s pole and get some incredible shots without breaking a sweat. Many of the shots in the video were taken using my hiking stick which has a removable cork handle, exposing a 1/4”x20 tripod-like thread, which screws right into the base of the Pocket2. It then becomes easy to recreate crane shots or even drone shots with a 16’ telescoping painter’s pole.
It takes 4K video, which is a video editor’s delight. Since most all my videos are produced in hi-def (1920×1080), that means I can crop away to get just the part of the 3840×2160 video feed I need, without losing any quality.
Not only does it take 12-megapixel stills (4000×3000), but it will shoot 2×2 or 3×3 assembled panoramics. So, instead of just being able to get this one shot inside the Samson Pavillion,
I was able to get this 9 frame panorama with just one touch of the shutter.
Shooting inside our church, this next picture is without any serious Photoshop adjustments, and yet look how well it rendered the well-lit book, while also capturing the dimly lit pews, the unlit stained glass window, and even still captured some of the detail of the sky and clouds through the skylight. The wide dynamic range for a camera sensor as small as this is quite impressive.
As you can hear from the Thunderbirds’ performance at the Air Show (in the video), the built-in microphone is quite capable of picking up ambient audio, however, I’d opt for the auxiliary adapter and an external microphone for any serious talking outside with background noise present. A built-in speaker was unexpected on a unit this size, but is great to be able to hear just what you’ve captured while still in the field.
With compactness, comes a lack of buttons and physical controls, so everything is primarily controlled by the 1.3” touchscreen. The only physical controls are the power switch, a 5-way toggle for the gimbal, and a shutter button. I especially appreciate the physical shutter button as opposed to others which make you touch the screen to take a shot.
The joystick not only controls the gimbal, but has these five functions: 1) Double press the joystick to recenter. 2) Control the camera direction while in the default interface. 3) Switch files when on the file preview interface. 4) Change volume (up/down) when playing back videos. 5) Press to play and pause the video.
One other option is to zoom in, up to 4x of the original, when recording. The option doesn’t appear until you start recording. After touching the right side of the screen, then you slide your finger up or down to zoom in or out.
On the screen, you’ll swipe in from the right to select: Photo, Video, Slo-mo, Timelapse, or Pano. Touch one of those choices and you’ll be presented with additional screens to select resolution, frame rate, etc.
Swipe in from the left to replay what you shot – either stills or video.
Swipe down from the top to select wide-angle settings, Normal vs Full-Screen display, high brightness setting, Pro (manual) camera controls, as well as monitoring battery life, setting up Wi-Fi to connect to your phone, anti-flicker rates, key tones – on or off, storage available on your microSD card, auto-shutoff timers, metering preferences, calibration, and a reset button.
Swipe up from the bottom to select gimbal specific controls like rear-facing selfie mode, follow mode, all follow mode, pan mode, smooth mode (for normal shooting), motion mode (for fast action), and recenter mode
So many choices – it took me a couple of days of shooting to feel comfortable knowing which way to swipe next, but now I get it right 95% of the time. 😊
The Pocket2 comes with a compact but sturdy carrying case which you’ll want to use to protect the gimbal and lens. There’s also a carrying strap included that will secure it to your wrist. I highly recommend both.
When you are done shooting, you have two options – either take out the Micro SD card and download it to your computer or hook the camera to your computer with a USB-C cable and select Udisk. It will then function as an external drive.
Lastly, you can also hook up the camera as a webcam for Zoom meetings, etc., via the USB-Cable by selecting PCCam.
This camera is definitely worth considering if you are getting started doing Vlogging or want to film action shots on the move. Give yourself a few days to practice and you’ll be delighted with the results you can capture.
Learn more here on the Feiyu website at https://www.feiyu-tech.com/feiyu-pocket-2/.
Disclosure: Feiyu sent me a Pocket2 to evaluate so I could write this review. However, opinions are, and always will be, strictly our own.