Recently we covered the new pocket-sized gimbal released by Snoppa, the Vmate. It is a small gimbal with an embedded camera that you can carry anywhere as it can literally fit into your pocket. There are other similar products like this on the market like the well-known DJI Osmo Pocket and today, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAQlBPJm6kMSnoppa points out the differences between these two. Let’s see what they have to say.
For starters, the Vmate sports a 90 degrees rotatable lens and you can switch from horizontal to vertical orientation quickly. This is something very useful that the DJI Osmo Pocket is missing. In addition, the horizontal axis has a rotation range of 400 degrees so there are no blind spots or dead corners when shooting. On the other hand, DJI’s gimbal reaches up to just 280 degrees. That’s less than a turn.
When talking about connectivity, the Vmatec comes with WiFi built-in and you can preview what you’re shooting on your phone and also use the smartphone as a remote control. Thanks to that connection, the Vmate can wirelessly transmit 4k video files to the phone. The DJI Osmo Pocket is using a USB connection that after a period of time is easy to loosen resulting in poor contact and it’s even easier to break. Not to mention the fact that it’s not very practical when using it as the cable gets in the way. Using WiFi means that you can attach the Snoppa Vmate anywhere on the phone while the Osmo Pocket has to be placed only on the right side of the phone. Lastly, both come with USB Type-C ports at the bottom but Osmo’s uses USB 2.0 protocol which means reduced transmission speeds.
Both devices can shoot up to 4K@60fps video but the Vmate can also shoot slow-motion FHD video @240fps while the Osmo Pocket stays @120fps. In addition, Snoppa Vmate reaches up to 200Mbps bitrate and Osmo just 100Mbps. This means better video quality for the Vmate that has a new hardware module that does away with the focus issues found on Osmo.
Vmate and Osmo Pocket are similar in size but the Vmate handle is 5mm wider to offer a more comfortable grip and it also has a slightly larger display than the DJI. Also, the Vmate has built-in Bluetooth and can be externally connected to a Bluetooth microphone like Apple’s Airpods, Xiaomi, etc. And even more important is the dual microphone of the Vmate that offers 2 functions: Noise reduction or stereo sound recording.
The rest of the differences are found mostly in the software department. The Snoppa Vmate app offers a unique PIP mode besides the standard POV, time-lapse, panorama, and other modes. The PIP mode uses the smartphone’s front camera and vloggers love it. Finally, the Vmate has a TF card slot protected against water and also a lanyard hole if you prefer to carry it on your wrist. The Snoppa Vmate is currently in production and you can preorder it on Indiegogo at a discounted price.
