An old commercial jingle went, “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.” Today, I’ll tell you that the Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB doesn’t wobble. It’s also one of the smaller handheld stabilizers in its class, no doubt a reference to the tiny Australian bird of the same name, and offers a unique design approach with bonus features you won’t find standard on similar models. We spent some time with this stabilizer and were quite happy.
Admittedly, this isn’t going to be the most robust gimbal on the market. Marketed for mirrorless camera models such as the Sony a7 series and Panasonic GH line, the WEEBILL LAB can support up to 6.6 lb and can seemingly do so with relative ease. Impressive, considering the 50% reduction in size and 80% increase in motor power. In our tests, with a GH5 and the Canon EOS R, the WEEBILL LAB performed quite well. It is also easy to balance with its locking axes. This lets you run through each axis one at a time until the entire setup is balanced, and means you can lock everything down when not in use. The tilt axis is even tilted so that you can view the rear monitor of your camera more clearly.
Battery power is good, rated for 10 hours of use with a pair of standard 18650 batteries. These are removable, meaning you can carry some spares for longer shoots and can charge using a dedicated charger when desired. Additional camera ports mean you can keep your camera powered up, too. This connection provides camera controls, as well, when working with supported models, including the GH5/GH5S, a7 II and III series, and more coming soon. For those without direct support, the WEEBILL LAB has a follow focus system built right into the grip. You can hook up the included motor quite easily and an external lens support is available for longer lenses.
All the controls can be found where you would expect, on the rear of the main grip. One thing I noticed is that the small size resulted in me occasionally hitting the joystick there and adjusting the camera position. Adding the included mini tripod to the bottom can help many maintain a better grip, though you can also use it on top for underslung shooting, or simply as another grip for added stability. For more speed, you can tap the Go button on the side to activate the PhoneGo mode, which maximizes turning speed to match your moves as closely as possible. Another nice feature is that the quick-release system uses Manfrotto and Arca-type-compatible plates for maximum compatibility with your other supports.
One thing we unfortunately didn’t get to thoroughly test is the ZY LAB mobile app. Using a wireless connection and the app, you can transmit HD imagery to your phone for previewing the shot and settings. From here, you can change certain settings, check the histogram, and more. The app also provides some controls for the gimbal’s motion via a touch system. This is where you will find automated features such as panorama, focus time lapse, motion time lapse, and long exposure time lapse. We will make sure to update you here if we get some more time to play with the app.
The WEEBILL LAB is shaping up to be one of the best travel gimbals available, due to its small size and extremely rich feature set. Even compared to technically better stabilizers, it’s hard to deny the appeal of such a compact system and makes it more likely I would grab one of these for my own personal kit.
Zhiyun-Tech has addressed some concerns with the original release and has created an updated version of the gimbal. For more details on this update please review this article. Please note that as of this update all versions B&H is carrying are of the upgraded model.
Any questions about the WEEBILL LAB’s features or performance? Make sure to leave a comment below!
