When setting up a YouTube channel, one of the points that one must take into account is that of try to offer certain production values. It may not seem very important, because of the romantic idea that YouTube gives anyone the opportunity to make content with what is at hand.
But a video on YouTube is an audiovisual experience, and although many people treat videos as an Espaitec's and values the sound section very well, the visual section is also very important. Here lies the importance of a team to improve the image, such as tripods, grips and gimbal.
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Why do you need a gimbal if you have a YouTube channel, no matter how small it is?
It is not that it is necessary to have a particularly large camcorder, because with the mobile camera It is more than enough to record. Or with a dedicated camcorder, which are not that expensive and some allow you to take out an extra screen to see the frame. but a lot of people sin of believing that total naturalness is attractive in the more than saturated vlog format.
Those selfie cameras talking to you while walking and full of blur and a frame that goes everywhere can give an amateur image, of doing what you can with few resources and that is sincere. But the time it is said that they do not want to make an effort to improve the product, tripods or gimbals being so accessible. With the enormous competition on YouTube, a sincere, Juan Palomo-style vlog of a person trying to be interesting is not enough. He has to look like someone worth following, both in what is shown on camera and the way in which he is shown.
Fortunately, many accessories have come out to improve video quality. And many are not particularly expensive. Here we will talk about what a gimball is and what it is for, in addition to other accessories to improve the image in videos of a Youtube channel dedicated to video blogging.
Gimbal to stabilize the image in a traveling shot
Let's speak clearly. If you record a video outdoors or simply moving, whether walking or as a passenger, and you do not record using a gimbal, the image will always come out shaking. In photography, there are certain tricks to make the image move less, such as holding your breath while taking the photo. But we are talking about up to sixty images per second in some cases, and no human has the ability to sustain the pulse infinitely. Inevitably, hand tremors, breathing and even blood flow will affect image stability.
The tremors are noticeable when we use the tips of our fingers and not the entire hand, since we have less grip. A gimbal is the solution that was invented for these cases, originally to maintain the frame in professional television and film cameras. But technology has advanced and has been democratized that today we can get a quality electric gimbal for a price close to 120 euros. It may seem like a lot, but it's actually a great helper that's going to make videos look better, and it doubles as a tripod. In the higher quality models thanks to the software of an app, they include additional functions such as facial tracking so that we are always framed.
A gimbal improves the image of your YouTube channel
For this reason, we strongly recommend that if you have a YouTube channel in which you record using your mobile phone or camcorder, that you make the investment in a tripod or a gimbal. Possibly, you use it and see that they serve you, but in the event that you do not, they are easy to sell second hand on websites or exchange applications.
What is a gimbal?
A gimbal is a support for video cameras that, by means of counterweights or motors, counteracts vibrations and movements to keep the video image stabilized.
Electronic gimbal vs counterweight gimbal
In the past, they were widely used analog gimbals, or counterweights. Those counterweights do the job that motors do in an electronic gimbal: compensate for hand movements and the body using the counterweights to stabilize the image.
Analog gimbals have the main problem that they require that, before handling the camera, do tests to check the compensation that is made before the movement. It is necessary to put the right weight on them and not fall short or fall short. Put too much weight on it and the counterweight will move more than the camera. Underweight it, and there won't be enough compensation. Furthermore, they are much larger and heavier by their very nature.
Currently, there is not that much price difference between an electronic gimbal. Due to convenience and safety, we currently recommend using an electronic one over a counterweight one.
Is a gimbal worth it?
As always in life when you have to buy something, It depends on the use that we are going to give it.. It depends a lot on whether we are going to use it regularly, and whether our need to have a gimbal to stabilize the image is common or if, on the contrary, it is sporadic.
But as soon as we record with that camera and YouTube is a hobby, even if our lives are not worth it, a gimbal can give us the satisfaction of have a much more stable image and thus not have to repeat shots nor discard material.
mobile phone grips
Not that they're a gimbal specifically, but they're an ideal middle ground between having nothing and a gimbal. They are more designed for photography, since they allow you to hold the mobile with your whole hand. You may think it is a gimbal, but it is not.
It is still useful to have a better grip, and to be able to extend the position of the mobile between crowds and thus have a better view. Already with one hand, it is a better grip and stability than using the fingers of both hands. Besides, they are compatible with tripods and shoes of tripods since they use the universal screw for audiovisual products.
Use tripods for the mobile camera
This option is more for those who vlog from the comfort of their homes, without changing the frame. They are perfect for those who do not make recordings outside, or mobile. And they're not especially expensive for the help they offer. They allow you to adjust position, height and angle with great precision, even in low ranges, as long as we talk about complete photographic tripods, not tabletop tripods.
If we want to use a tripod to record with the mobile, we will need a grip like the one we already discussed, since a grip has to be attached to the tripod shoe in some way.
How to focus with a tripod without help
If you're a solo vlogger, you'll know that focusing on a frame that you'll later appear in is difficult because you're not directly focused on yourself. For this trick, the Andrew Made a Film channel explained a homemade solution to be able to focus in a frame easily.
It consists of using cardboard to make a human silhouette of yourself, printing a life-size photo of yourself in focus, and using it to focus on yourself. It is ideal if you do not have a fixed place to record and therefore cannot ensure that you always use the same approach. Of course, you will have to keep the cardboard with yourself, and it may scare visitors.
Why is the human pulse not enough to stabilize a camera?
One might think "I have a good hand, I hold it tight and I don't need a tripod«. And it is a very common mistake that many people make when recording a video. No matter how you try, you will never will output stable video using hand. In photography it is possible to take photos that do not move, especially if the shutter time is short and there is a lot of light. But a video is a continuous succession of images to form a sensation of movement.
Therefore, the camera will end up picking up the natural movement of the human body. They are the movements of breathing, trembling of the fingers, and the flow of blood in the body. These are all small vibrations that cause the frame of a video to move. A tripod or gimbal, if well balanced, prevents the framing or autofocus from being spoiled. Of course, be careful if you place it on the table on which you interact. You should also be careful how you interact with the material you are recording if it is not resting on the table, to reduce the chances of moving the tripod.
Do you need an expensive gimbal versus a cheaper one?
Several experts have tested various gimbals of different price ranges and ranges. The most common answer is that once you buy a working gimbal and use it, going to a more expensive one is not usually worth it unless it is from a professional studio. What paying more is going to get you is access to an app and software suite with more dedicated options, ideally. But with an electric gimbal having a good running compensation, it is not worth spending much more for features that we are not going to use many times. Although this is something very common in the technological and audiovisual world, since those features go to more advanced and demanding creative professionals.
How do mobile phones stabilize the image using software?
Simply put, the mobile camera is made up of a sensor that collects the light that is projected on it, and from that light information is sent to the smartphone application. Depending on the camera application that we use, which is usually the default by the manufacturer, it means that the photo does not show everything that is projected within the sensor in the frame. But yes that collects everything that is projected onto the sensor and then stabilize the image
Through the use of artificial intelligence and mobile sensors, if we configure the camera to stabilize the image, will use the entire image collected by the camera sensor and automatically reframe the image when you detect these movements. Image stabilization has its flaws, such as on some high resolution and high frame rate settings it makes it unable to properly stabilize the image in real time.
Above we show an image that simulates what we mean. Let's say that the photographic sensor of your smartphone's camera collects everything that is seen in the image above. It picks up the whole hill, but the frame you see is just what's inside the red box, and because you're running, in that frame, the frame is tilted.
Artificial intelligence to stabilize the image needs a powerful smartphone
When processing the video, the mobile application uses the accelerometers to rebalance the image frame by frame, getting closer to what the yellow box shows, which is a stable image. But even using a gimbal and image stabilizer, it is not perfect for the most abrupt movements. But it helps a lot to stabilize the image and thus achieve a stable enough video that the viewer does not love.
