After reviewing many, many phone gimbals over the last couple of years, it’s nice to even up the scales with a review of a gimbal designed for heavier cameras. While most Hohem gimbals have been targeted at lighter cameras, the iSteady MT3 Pro can handle cameras up to 2.5kg (5.5lb), sitting neatly between the DJI RS 4 Mini’s 2kg and the RS 5’s 3kg.
The MT3 Pro includes tricks from today’s modern light gimbals alongside pro-level niceties. AI tracking, powerful motors, a detachable screened control for tracking and remote recording, a capable app — it’s a solid package.
Introducing the kit
The iSteady MT3 Pro is available in a base setup (US$449) and in a kit (reviewed here, US$549). In addition to the gimbal itself and a small tabletop tripod, the kit adds a follow focus, an extra arm for a more flexible mounting setup, and a carry case, which is always appreciated.
Previous full-size gimbals I’ve used have included carry cases that have been simply too big to travel with, and throwing kit like this pre-assembled in a small backpack is inviting damage during transit. It’s peace of mind.
Though this gimbal family includes the iSteady MT3 as well as the MT3 Pro, I’d recommend going for the MT3 Pro for flexibility. As well as an increased payload capacity and stronger motors, the Pro includes a detachable control panel — a big deal, and more on that soon.
The geared camera base plate is welcome, and makes it easy to balance your camera: you just twist the dial until the camera stops falling over. It’s easier than sliding manually, and if you’ve ever balanced a gimbal you’ll have a pleasant time here. None of the axes were hard to balance, and as you’d expect, you can use an app or the built-in UI for calibration if you need it.
To support both phones and mirrorless cameras, a phone holder is included, and it’s easy to switch between portrait and landscape. The extra capacity over a regular phone-only gimbal allows you to mount all the accessories you might want: audio receivers, SSD, hubs, additional lenses, or a cage. I’ve also found it to be a perfect solution for my stereoscopic shooting setup, using two Osmo 360s side-by-side on a wider-than-usual plate.
Yes, power can be pulled from the gimbal, which has a few USB-C ports to go around, but — just like the RS3 Mini — it can’t quite provide enough power to keep a GH7 powered indefinitely. I shoot quite a few all-day jobs, for which I prefer to use USB-C power, and happily, that’s still possible while connected to the gimbal.
Many cables are included with the kit, including various flavors of USB-C cables for many cameras, but for my Lumix GH7, the gimbal connects from its USB-C to the camera’s remote shutter port. This leaves the USB-C port free for all-day power, and while of course dummy batteries are still a possibility, it’s nice to see the USB-C left free.
Let’s get into how it handles.
Removable controls make a difference
The full-size joystick is welcome, and it’s a big step up over digital joysticks. However, if you’re used to controlling a full size DJI gimbal or drone, these sticks aren’t tuned quite the same way. As you end a move, the joystick’s falloff is slightly steeper, making it a little harder to smoothly start or finish shots. It’s by no means impossible, but there’s a learning curve, and you may want to turn the speed down to make life easier.
As mentioned earlier, a key advantage of the MT3 Pro is that its control panel can be removed from the gimbal itself, and that’s very useful indeed. This means you’ve not just got a gimbal, but a remote trigger, tilt and pan device for your camera. No app required, no wireless connection needed, just remove the magnetic control panel and walk away.
If you leave your camera on the gimbal, on a tripod, you can now trigger recording at a distance, no matter which side of the camera you’re on. The screen on the remote control also lets you see roughly what’s in shot — assuming you’re using a relatively wide-angle lens — and that may mean you don’t need to set up a remote monitor for tricky low or overhead shots.
While you’d probably use autofocus at an event, in other contexts you might prefer follow focus with a manual, vintage or adapted lens, and that’s certainly possible here too. One of the USB-C ports on the gimbal is dedicated to the included follow focus, which includes all you’ll need to turn a manual focus lens into something you can control with the wheel on the side of the gimbal.
Since handling the lens manually would wobble your shot while mounted on a gimbal, a follow focus is a great solution for anyone wanting to pull focus manually in a handheld shot. Though I’m not a heavy user of manual lenses, I was able to successfully set this up with my Olympus 12-40 (which includes a clutch focus system that allows linear focusing) and it worked well.
When holding the gimbal in the traditional way, with the vertical main stem held upright below the camera, or spread the weight out with the included second grip that screws onto the side. That second grip includes a spot to mount the remote control, giving you control no matter how you choose to set the gimbal up.
Tracking, controllable wherever you are
For solo shooters who want to record vision of themselves, AI tracking is essential if you want to be able to move around. You can trigger tracking with gestures, but since the controller is removable, I’d just use that instead. Since the controller’s screen shows a live feed from the AI tracker, you can easily make sure you remain in the frame as you walk around — and you’ll maintain position in the same part of the shot you start in, too. But AI tracking is not just useful for those seeking to film themselves.
Because you can drag a box around many kinds of objects, then confirm that selection has gone green on the screen, shooters staying behind the camera can pull off clean “orbiting” shots quite easily. With tracking set, you can simply walk alongside an object (or move slowly around it if you like) while the gimbal keeps the object centered. Without tracking, this kind of shot can be tricky to achieve, but with tracking, you’ll have a much higher hit rate.
Tracking doesn’t always require extra hardware, but it does mean you don’t have to rely on specific camera features. For example, while my DJI RS3 Mini does include Lumix-native tracking, it’s only suitable for tracking people. The remote control with screen does make a difference here; without needing to use a phone app, all I need to do is draw a quick box around an object or person to lock on.
Conclusions
The iSteady MT3 Pro does a lot right. It’s easy to balance, the remote control brings useful flexibility, and the carrying capacity will handle many mid-size kits as well as stacked phone rigs. I’d recommend it to shooters who need more flexibility than a lighter gimbal offers, or who need to control a camera from a distance.
In the US, the MT3 Pro is available from bestbuy.com now, and with wider availability on March 30 (Amazon, B&H Photo Video, Hohem.com).
iSteady MT3 Pro: US449
iSteady MT3 Pro Kit: US$549