DJI RS 4 Mini: Two-Minute Evaluation
Gimbals have gone from devoted filmmaking equipment to must-have instruments within the arsenal of each content material creator. DJI is nearly single-handedly accountable for that, bringing stabilized video to the plenty with its vary of accessible smartphone gimbals and digicam gimbals. The RS 4 Mini is the newest addition to that line-up and – based mostly on my expertise – it’s the very best DJI gimbal thus far for YouTube and Instagram videographers.
One have a look at DJI’s description of the RS 4 Mini confirms that this can be a gimbal focused at content material creators. Its spec sheet reads like an influencer’s want checklist: it helps vertical capturing; it really works with each cameras and smartphones (utilizing the elective Mini Telephone Holder); and the brand new Clever Monitoring Module allows automated face monitoring to maintain solo videographers within the body.
Past these headline additions, you additionally get a raft of enhancements that make it a way more full gimbal than the RS 3 Mini. In bodily phrases, it borrows a lot of premium options from DJI’s flagship RS4 gimbal. That features automated axis locks which unlock seamlessly when the gimbal powers on, in addition to bodily switches for gimbal and joystick modes, plus a fine-tuning knob for balancing the digicam mounting plate.
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All of those tweaks enhance a hands-on expertise which was already strong. You get the identical 1.4-inch shade touchscreen, which is as attentive to swipe inputs right here because it was earlier than. There’s additionally a comfortably positioned set off and entrance scroll wheel, which can be utilized to manage considered one of a number of capabilities on a linked digicam. (Word that the multi-camera management cable bundled with the RS 4 Mini is a USB-C quantity. For sure fashions, together with the Sony A7S III I shot with, a special cable is required.)
The RS 4 Mini matches the excessive manufacturing customary of any latest DJI product, with a robustness to the construct that implies it’ll be capturing with you for a few years to return. That’s regardless of weighing only a smidge greater than the RS 3 Mini at solely 890g. It packs down simply as tidily too, measuring 236 × 64 × 316mm in folded type (versus 195 x 98 x 323mm for the RS 3 Mini).
Setup nonetheless begins with balancing the axes, which is an unlucky necessity with any gimbal. Instruction movies within the Ronin app do make this as painless as attainable and the improve to Teflon interlayers means the RS 4 Mini’s arms slide extra easily via the brackets. They will nonetheless be a bit grippy when looking for the candy spot with a heavier digicam although.
This solely actually turns into irritating once you need to swap from horizontal to vertical capturing, since you’ll have to rebalance the axes every time. Nonetheless, that swap has been made less complicated with the RS 4 Mini: you not have to take away the digicam from the mounting plate. As a substitute, you loosen and press a knob, permitting you to detach and remount the plate vertically with the digicam nonetheless in place. Clearances are fairly tight on this orientation, thoughts.
As above, the DJI RS 4 Mini can be used to stabilize smartphones with the elective Mini Telephone Holder. This merely slots into place on the mounting plate. Its efficiency capabilities imply the RS 4 Mini is overkill for those who solely shoot content material on cell, however the choice provides welcome flexibility for many who work throughout a number of units.
Different enhancements additionally proved welcome in practise. The built-in battery nonetheless isn’t detachable, however it’s larger at 3,100mAh. The claimed most of 13 hours (up from 10 hours) relies on the gimbal being stationary, which isn’t reflective of real-world utilization for many customers. In testing, we averaged round half of that, which remains to be higher than the RS 3 Mini. Arguably extra essential is the truth that DJI has shaved an hour off the recharge time, bringing it right down to 1.5 hours. That discount means you will get again to capturing extra shortly.
Regardless of its Mini moniker, the gimbal’s most payload is an enthusiast-friendly 2kg, which suggests it may well deal with a full-frame mirrorless camera physique hooked up to a comparatively weighty lens. Absolutely loaded, its shorter deal with does supply much less ergonomic assist than the RS4 or RS4 Professional. In testing, I discovered the redesigned RS Briefcase Deal with a assist right here: lighter and smaller than the earlier model, it mounts to the aspect of the gimbal and adjusts to totally different angles, giving your supporting hand one thing to grip.
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In efficiency phrases, the RS 4 Mini has the chops to compete with pricier gimbals. It ought to come as no shock that stabilization is solely superlative, due to DJI’s 4th-gen algorithm – the identical one utilized by the RS4 and RS4 Professional. It effortlessly smooths out movement throughout all three axes, even once you’re strolling alongside along with your topic. Actions from carrying a digicam by hand are virtually totally eradicated within the ensuing footage.
Controlling a gimbal could be a little bit of an artwork type, however the RS 4 Mini smoothes the training curve. Its joystick makes panning and tilting a fluid expertise, whereas a brand new ‘Responsive’ comply with mode reacts extra quickly handy actions when circling a topic. Hearth up the Ronin app and also you’ll additionally discover the choice to make use of your smartphone as a digital joystick through Bluetooth, plus artistic modes for capturing panoramas, timelapses and extra. You’ll be hard-pushed to discover a extra intuitive gimbal.
Nowhere is that extra evident than with the RS 4 Mini’s occasion trick: topic monitoring. The important thing to that is the elective Clever Monitoring Module, which attaches magnetically to the highest of the mounting arm. Fronted by a small digicam lens, it makes use of AI to detect faces and deploys the gimbal’s motors to trace them.
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The effectiveness of this software can’t be overstated. For filmmakers, it means that you can transfer round a topic with out having to manually pan and tilt to maintain them centered within the body. It’s additionally a boon for content material creators working alone. With the RS 4 Mini stood on its tripod base, customers can transfer across the digicam and it’ll comply with their face via a full 360-degree horizontal arc.
These twin makes use of are mirrored within the methods you’ll be able to allow ActiveTrack. The primary is with a single press of the set off (there must be a face within the body for this to work, which it took me some time to determine). The second is through the use of gesture controls: stand in entrance of the RS 4 Mini and you may throw up the related hand sign to start out or cease monitoring, in addition to recording. When the mode is energetic, a hoop mild across the Module’s lens turns from crimson to inexperienced (this may be disabled if the scenario calls for subtlety).
This function is quite a bit much less gimmicky than it would sound. I can see influencers, content material creators and would-be presenters utilizing gesture activation to simply management the monitoring function from afar. Not least as a result of the function proved extremely dependable in testing, by no means as soon as lacking a sign.
ActiveTrack proved no much less constant, locking on to faces with outstanding accuracy. That is sensible, provided that DJI has been perfecting the system on its drones and pocket gimbals for years. Its software right here is game-changing as a result of it means that you can use the monitoring tech with any digicam or smartphone that may sit on the gimbal.
Add up the RS 4 Mini’s options and also you’re a compact gimbal which might preserve you routinely framed in stabilized high-res video shot vertically on a full-frame digicam. When you think about that it prices the identical because the RS 3 Mini did at launch – and never an excessive amount of extra with the Clever Monitoring Module factored in – that makes the RS 4 Mini a robust contender for the best-value digicam gimbal you should purchase proper now.
DJI RS 4 Mini assessment: Worth and Availability
- Launched on February 20, 2025
- Commonplace DJI RS 4 Mini priced at $369 / £339 / AU$539
- Combo equipment with Clever Monitoring Module prices $459 / £419 / AU$659
DJI introduced the RS 4 Mini on February 20, 2025. The gimbal is out there to order now, priced at $369 / £339 / AU$539. That’s similar to what the RS 3 Mini price when it went on sale in January 2023, which we expect represents good worth, given its upgrades and efficiency. The usual equipment contains the next parts:
- DJI RS 4 Mini gimbal
- Fast-release mounting plate
- RS 4 Mini tripod base
- Multi-camera management cable (USB-C)
- Charging cable (USB-C)
- Screw equipment
The DJI RS 4 Mini can also be obtainable as a Combo equipment, which moreover contains the RS Clever Monitoring Module for AI-powered topic monitoring, in addition to the brand new RS 4 Mini Briefcase Deal with, which serves as an adjustable second grip. The Combo equipment prices $459 / £419 / AU$659.
It’s price noting that the Clever Monitoring Module can also be that can be purchased individually, that means customers can improve their capturing setup down the road. It’s priced at $69 / £59 / AU$99. Given its spectacular monitoring capabilities, we expect most customers will need to equip their RS 4 Mini with the elective module.
Additionally obtainable as a standalone accent is the DJI RS 4 Mini Telephone Holder, which permits customers to connect a smartphone to the gimbal’s mount. Whereas the DJI Osmo Mobile 7/7P is a extra pure match for content material creators who solely shoot with a smartphone, the holder offers homeowners of the RS 4 Mini the pliability to make use of it with each a digicam and a cell gadget.
DJI RS 4 Mini assessment: specs
|
Dimensions (folded) |
236 × 64 × 316mm |
|
Dimensions (unfolded) |
175 × 182 × 338mm |
|
Weight |
890g |
|
Most payload |
2kg |
|
Vertical capturing |
Sure |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C |
|
Battery |
As much as 13 hours |
DJI RS 4 Mini assessment: Additionally Take into account
Ought to I purchase the DJI RS 4 Mini?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
How I examined the DJI RS 4 Mini
- I examined the DJI RS 4 Mini gimbal for a fortnight
- I used it with a Sony A7S III, Nikon D7100 and iPhone 12
- I shot with it handheld and stood on its tripod base
DJI provided me with a pattern unit of the RS 4 Mini gimbal for this assessment, together with the Clever Monitoring Module, the Mini Briefcase Deal with and the Mini Telephone Holder.
Over the course of a fortnight, I examined the gimbal and its full complement of equipment. I primarily shot with a Sony A7S III hooked up to the quick-release plate, paired with an FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens. That mixture sat in direction of the higher finish of the RS 4 Mini’s payload capability, hitting the scales at near 1.7kg.
To see how the RS 4 Mini carried out as a smartphone gimbal, I used it with my iPhone 12 mounted within the Mini Telephone Holder. That very same cellphone was paired with the gimbal utilizing a pre-release model of the Ronin app.
And since I had it handy, I additionally mounted my Nikon D7100 to the gimbal with a 50mm prime lens, merely to see how properly its topic monitoring labored with a legacy DSLR mannequin.
I spent a number of hours capturing handheld with the RS 4 Mini. I hooked up the elective Mini Briefcase Deal with for a few of this era, to know how the grip improved dealing with with weightier cameras.
I additionally shot with the RS 4 Mini on its tripod base, primarily to check the effectiveness of its Clever Monitoring Module for solo content material creators. I used gesture controls to manage the gimbal in my front room.
I take a look at loads of cameras and lenses for TechRadar, and I commonly write about DJI. I’ve additionally examined the DJI RSC 2 prior to now, so I’m well-placed to assessment the RS 4 Mini.
First reviewed February 2025