Review: FeiyuTech a2000 Dual Grip DSLR Gimbal

Handheld gimbals for cameras used to be bulky, heavy, and quite expensive.

Makers like FeiyuTech have come a long way and now make high-quality 3axis handheld gimbals that are smaller, lightweight, and quite affordable. The FeiyuTech a2000 is a celebration of their 10th year making gimbals.

In this review, we will be looking at the Alpha series a2000 gimbal for mirrorless and DSLR cameras from Feiyu.

It offers professional quality and can help you up your photography and videography game with superior image stabilization.

Ease of Use

This A series gimbal is very easy to get set up. If you’ve worked with other gimbals in the past, you’ll find that the balancing process has come a long way and is quite a bit easier with the a2000.

You don’t need any tools.

The instructions could be a bit more clear, but the manual’s translation has improved from earlier versions and the illustrations are very easy to follow.

Once you have it balanced, actually using the a2000 alpha series 3 Axis Handheld gimbal is rather intuitive.

You can switch back and forth between the modes by tapping a single button a few times. A joystick controls angle and direction thanks to an incredible identification algorithm.

The Feiyu ON app (IOS – Android) adds a lot and lets you control the shutter from your phone, ideal for things like time-lapse videos.

Versatility

This gimbal features a lot of versatility.

You have your choice of installations, either single arm or dual-handled installation.

It’s likely that you’ll find uses for each of these two installation modes and it’s easy to move back and forth between them.

The 3-axis 360° rotation angle provides almost unlimited possibility.

In addition to the two installation options, there are several modes that give you a lot of flexibility.

There is:

• The basic gimbal pan mode where the camera will follow you as you move from side to side but will stay level and it will keep the camera balanced.
• The pan and tilt mode where the camera will smoothly follow your motions in both the pan and tilt directions.
• A lock mode that keeps the camera perfectly stable and locked in position.
• A selfie mode quickly rotates the camera 180 degrees.
• Finally, the timelapse operating mode lets you create stunning timelapse videos.

Within all of the modes, you can adjust a number of settings for additional control, like how quickly the camera responds to your movement.

Feiyu A2000 Compatibility

The Dual Handles FeiyuTech Alpha a2000 stabilization gimbal will work with the majority of DSLR cameras and lenses.

The important thing to check is whether the weight of the camera, lens, and any accessories you want to use weighs under the maximum payload of 2000 grams. This is equivalent to around 4.4 pounds.

The following cameras are compatible:

• Canon: 5D3, 5D4, 6D, 6D2, 7D2, 80D
• Nikon: D810, D750, D610, D7500
• Sony: a99, a77, a9, a7, a6500, a6300, Sony A7s
• Panasonic: GH5, GH4

Most of these cameras will work with most lenses, but check your weight to be sure.

For example, a Nikon D810 will work with most lenses, but the 24-70 lens and the 14-24 lens will push the weight a bit too high (the A2000 detects weight and will warn you).

In addition to the camera and lens compatibility, this gimbal works with a number of accessories.

It features 9 1/4-inch thread interfaces to attach things like lights or microphones for pro audio.

As long as the accessory weight doesn’t push you over the maximum weight, you’ll be fine.

Feiyu a2000 vs Zhiyun Crane V2

These two gimbals are quite similar but there are a few points of differentiation.

The a2000 3axis handheld gimbal has a larger payload, so it will be compatible with more cameras and accessories.

Especially if you tend to use heavier lenses, the a2000 is probably a better choice over the Zhiyun Crane V2.

The Zhiyun Crane V2 will work with a third-party dual-handle application but just comes as a single hand installation.

The Zhiyun Crane is a bit cheaper but the flexibility you get from the single or dual-hand installations with the FeiyuTech a2000 is really worth it for most videographers.

Online Reviews & Feedback

As this product is relatively new on the market, there aren’t too many reviews online yet at the time of publishing this one.

On FeiyuTech’s online store, reviewers have given it a 4-star average.

One reviewer describes it as “incredible” but points out that you run into problems when you try to turn the camera too quickly.

Reviewers on YouTube have been uniformly positive about the a2000.

The Brotographer calls it easy to set up and use.

Cinematographer Tom Antos compares the a2000 with the Zhiyun Crane and found that they perform equally well.

While reviewing the gimbal, he did point out, though, that the Feiyu a2000 has a number of nice extra features, like the lock button, the tripod, the camera cable, it allow controlling focus, and the quick release plate.

Is it worth your money?

If you’re serious about videography, you definitely need a DSLR gimbal of some sort and ideally one that is high quality.

It doesn’t have to be this particular gimbal and Zhiyun’s Crane is another option that is worth looking at.

However, this gimbal does come with everything you need, features extensive compatibility and a high payload, and comes with a lot of versatility and flexibility.

Buying the a2000 is an investment in yourself and in your future production quality, so if that is important to you, it’s definitely worth the money.

FeiyuTech has focused on gimbals from the beginning and they have really helped to further perfect the product by making it lighter and more versatile while also continuing to lower the cost for the consumer.

FeiyuTech’s a2000 gimbal is lightweight but can hold 2000 grams, more than enough for most DSLR cameras and lenses with still some extra weight for accessories.

It offers flexibility and versatility with both single grip and dual-handled installations and a number of modes. It’s easy to get set up and intuitive to use.

There’s no question that this gimbal can lead to better videography, and we recommend it 100%.