Freefly Systems M5 MoVI Gimbal Review (PROS & CONS)

Here is our review of the Freefly Systems M5 MōVI, a a high quality DSLR gimbal, designed and built with customization in mind.

Stabilization & Ease of Use

The brushless motors on the device have great performance levels and are completely silent when in operation.

The Freefly M5 MōVI gives filmmakers 100% control over the gimbal with a wide variety of different modes for single or dual operators alike.

When using the M5 in single mode, you can control the direction of the camera, using the gimbals huge handles without losing any stability.

The ability to customize the setting via the Freefly configurator, ensures the gimbal can be held perfectly in any filming scenario you could encounter.

MōVI M5 – Open box to shooting in 15 minutes from Freefly on Vimeo.

Multiple Users / Cameramen

The Freefly not only offers a single user, but a second operator can be deployed remotely. This allows the first user to place all of their attention on the maneuvering and framing while the second user operates the 3 axis camera modes.

This dual action operation ensures you have the best film shot possible at all times. A fantastic feature for serious movie makers.

The Freefly M5 also offers the most advanced gimbal software available.

There are advanced tuning settings and longer focal length, to name a few.

All available after you upload the latest 5.0 BETA firmware to the device.

Time lapse videos

Another great feature that comes with the new BETA firmware is the ability to time lapse you video shots.

Define your start and stop positions with either the Freefly controller or wirelessly from your smart device from the downloadable application.

Additionally, the FrameMaker can be added so that you can create difficult motion paths at ease.

Aerial Videography

The M5 Gimbal can also be connected to a wide range of rigs or helicopters.

The setup is really simple, once you have added the camera via the “no-tools” adjustment configurator, you will ready to shoot within a few minutes.

Lens and accessory add-ons are really simple and fast, allowing you more time for filming. The control algorithms have one of the best accuracy rates for GPS.

The gimbal has a connected GPS system that corrects itself when out of sync. This feature is really useful especially when the gimbal is hooked up to a helicopter or a ground-based vehicle as high acceleration levels can cause other devices without GPS to drift and lose the focus point.

The M5 is extremely lightweight and is designed to hold most small to mid range DSLR and cinema cameras.

Apps

As mentioned previously, there is a Freefly App that you can install to your smart device. This can be IOS, Android, Windows or Mac OS X devices.

Once installed, you can operate your gimbal wirelessly (via Bluetooth or WIFI) through different channels such as, motion booting, shaky-cam mode or wireless tuning and graphing. Perfect for another user to take control and lessen the load on the first operator.

Overall review

Overall, this is a very serious gimbal, made with professionals in mind.

You can expect nothing but top quality from this product. This is made for movie makers, and can handle any situations.

As with all Freefly products, you can guarantee quality. It is extremely easy to setup and the features and setting don’t take months to master as with some other DSLR gimbals.