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GEAR / 45
TESTED: DJI RS 4 MINI
DJI’s RS 4 Mini gimbal hits the sweet spot
£419 dji.com This new lightweight stabiliser is compact, capable and budget- friendly, with added subject-tracking magic Shake-free moving video shots really require a motorised gimbal. For mirrorless camera set-ups, DJI now offers what could be the perfect stabiliser in the shape of its RS 4 Mini, which handles a payload of up to 2kg and costs just £419 in the Combo kit. The Combo is much cheaper than DJI’s RS 4 Pro kit and around two-thirds the weight. It’s also designed to pack up much flatter, making it easier to store. Assembling and using any gimbal can be a learning curve, but the new RS 4 Mini enables hands-free subject tracking via a module that clips on next to the camera. When the subject raises a hand or the front trigger button is pressed, the gimbal locks onto the subject and automatically tracks them
as they move around the frame, or even briefly out of it and back in again. You can also reframe the shot using the gimbal controls or set the menu to keep the subject in the centre. It’s a great feature and works well, and you can adjust things like speed. It’s only for people up to ten metres away, so sadly is no use for cars, bikes or animals. If you’re a solo vlogger, you can put the gimbal on a tripod or solid surface and walk around talking to the camera, with the camera following you around the frame. And the gimbal can be used for a phone or action cam as well. The Intelligent Tracking Module comes in the Combo kit, but not with the standalone gimbal, which is a real bargain at £339. The kit also buys you a separate, second handle which makes it far easier to use with low angles. The RS 4 Mini’s automated axis locks enable speedy set-up, unlocking all three axes in a second. Switching to vertical shooting is fast, by unfastening a clamp and repositioning the camera plate. There’s also Bluetooth shutter control, which eliminates the need for
Specifications
Axes: 3 Load capacity: 2kg Battery: 3100mAh Run time: 13 hours Charging time: 2 hours
Display: Fixed touchscreen OLED Modes: Pan-Follow, Pan-and-Tilt Follow, FPV, 3D Roll 360, Custom mode Connectivity: 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.1, 2x USB-C, Android and iOS app Dimensions: 316x236x64mm folded Weight: 890g cables, enabling wireless recording and zoom adjustments directly from the gimbal’s controls. DJI lists all the cameras this is compatible with, but unfortunately the Sony A1 II we used for most of the test was too new to be included. However, the Sony A7S III worked perfectly. It has all the regular controls of DJI gimbals, like the multi-purpose trigger button at the front. But the most useful feature is that holding it down locks the camera in its current position, despite you moving the gimbal around. Tap the trigger twice and it resets to the starting point, while three taps turns it around for selfie mode. The RS 4 Mini has all the most-used modes: Pan-Follow, Pan-and-Tilt Follow, FPV and 3D Roll 360. The OLED touchscreen displays icons more clearly than older models. In the menus, you can set how smooth or responsive you want the movement to be, and responsive mode lets you use hand gestures to start and stop filming for orbit shots.
The upgraded stabilisation algorithm balances strength and the tactile feel of camera movement. It feels like a very controlled movement. Compared to the older RS Mini, the battery life has been upped by 30% for up to 13 hours of use. If you do run the battery down, a 30-minute charge via USB-C gives around five hours of use. Overall, this is a great-value kit that has serious tech like intelligent tracking and does what most people want a gimbal to do. It’s a shame there’s no black version; it only comes in grey.
Verdict
THIS CHARMING PAN The gimbal makes smooth movements easy when shooting video footage (above). Magic Tracking Module clips on top of the L-bracket (left)
Overall rating 9/10 A feature-packed and powerful gimbal, which is compact and light Pros Lots of high-end spec in a lighter model Cons Not for heavyweight payloads
TESTED: SANDISK DESK DRIVE
With such high-resolution files from today’s cameras, data adds up fast. This is where the £585 Sandisk Desk Drive comes in handy: it’s a desktop external SSD with a 8TB capacity, purpose- built for fast speeds and plug-and-play simplicity. Sandisk is known for rugged cards and portable drives, but the Desk Drive marks a shift into SSD desktop storage. It’s ideal for anyone who might not want to invest in a full RAID system or NAS set-up. Of course, you should also have a separate, fully redundant backup system for long term storage... The Desk Drive has a minimalist look and is compact. Plug it into mains with the included adapter, while the included USB-C cable can link it to your computer. It comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable too. On a Macbook
Serious storage made simple
£585 sandisk.com
Pro and Mac Studio, it was recognised instantly – no extra formatting needed. It delivers read speeds up to 1000MB/s. While it might not match NVMe-level portable drives on Raw benchmarks, in practice it’s an excellent balance of performance
and reliability. A 4TB version is also available, but 8TB hits the sweet spot between size and price. Whichever you choose, it’s a quiet, fast and large SSD storage device that offers peace of mind, as it takes away the worry of a spinning HDD eventually failing.
DESK DISK Sandisk takes 8TB of storage and houses it in a compact enclosure that’s simple to use
Verdict Overall rating 9/10 Fast performance and very large capacity, but pricey
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