DJI RS4 Mini setup
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These setup notes are based on my experiences setting up and balancing the DJI RS4 Mini gimbal.  My primary use of the gimbal is for taking multi-row panoramas, but the various notes and clarifications here might also be helpful for other uses.

A three-axis gimbal is intended to keep a camera pointing in a constant direction.  To do this efficiently the gimbal and camera combination need to be balanced before use, because different camera and lens setups have different weights and centres of gravity (CoGs) and if unbalanced then the gimbal would require stronger, heavier, and more power-hungry motors.

Compared to the DJI RS3 Mini gimbal which I have also used, the RS4 Mini has a much improved camera clamp system with a useful forward ↔ back adjustment and also a left ↔ right camera plate; these both simplify setup.  These notes are for my current lightweight camera system, based on the Sony ZV-E10 II and E-mount (mostly APS-C) lenses.

Initial setup

Note that the camera must be firmly attached to the gimbal (the gimbal will shake it around during calibration).

  1. Power off the gimbal and mount the gimbal on a table-top or other tripod.
  2. Set the switches (smaller than the levers) for all three axes to Auto Lock position.
  3. Set all levers to lock (clamped) position.

  4. Adjust gimbal to working position:
    Unlock Roll axis from Auto Lock, rotate so roll arm is horizonal, re-apply Auto Lock.
  5. Unlock camera clamp lever and add camera + lens (without lens cap but with hood) to gimbal (this assumes clamp plate is already on gimbal and Arca-Swiss plate is on camera) and lock clamp lever; camera should be just short of vertical arm.
  6. Plug USB↔USB cable between camera and RS4 Mini USB-C socket (on rear of tilt arm).
  7. Extend and tilt screen to left as required.
    The positions of the screen, camera, and plate affect balance so must always be fitted the same way, e.g., screen out to left, camera plate centred in clamp.

Balancing

Follow the instructions in the manual and tutorial video; this is a summary with some clarifications.

(When sliding arms it is helpful to support the weight of the camera, especially for the Roll axis.)

With the gimbal still powered off:

  1. Unlock Tilt axis then adjust sliders:
    • Tilt depth balance (point lens forward) .. adjust camera clamp plate forward and back, using the knob, until roughly balanced.
      (This first adjustment is only needed if setup very different from previous balance.)
    • Tilt vertical balance (point lens up) .. “horizontal arm” is that attached to the camera base; the slider to move to adjust is on the (usually vertical but now horizontal arm).
    • Tilt depth balance (point lens forward) .. adjust camera clamp plate forward and back, using the knob, until balanced.
  2. Lock Tilt axis, unlock Roll axis, then adjust:
    • Roll balance slider .. lift the weight of the camera to enable smooth sliding.
  3. Lock roll axis, unlock Pan axis, then adjust:
    • Pan balance slider .. camera + lens CoG should be over the Pan axis.
  4. Lock Pan axis.

  5. Power on gimbal.  Top right icon on gimbal screen should be green, indicating balance OK.
  6. Select Calibrate icon on gimbal screen (top left of 4) and then Calibrate.  There will be some juddering during the calibration.

  7. Start Ronin app on smartphone and test (e.g., with Create → Virtual joystick).

Once balanced, the gimbal can be kept assembled and should not need re-balancing (assuming no change of camera/lens).  If adjustments are needed while packing, etc., it is useful to record the slider positions as in the example below – setting these manually should be sufficient to balance the gimbal adequately without re-balancing.

Balance slider positions

As an example, here are the slider positions I use with two Sony cameras, with various lenses, positioned as described above.  The positions for the Sony A6700 and A7CM2 are very similar to those for the A7CR.

The slider positions shown in the following table are for:

Tilt: Tilt vertical arm (‘L-bracket vertical’)

Clamp: Camera clamp rail (front↔back under camera)

Roll: Roll arm (NB with screen out to left and tilted)

Pad: Pan arm

All measures are on each slider arm’s scale, using the edge of the slider that gives the smaller value.

Weights are for the lens (with hood, unless stated, and no caps) and ‘cw’ is approximate counterweight added below camera, if used (varies depending on attachment and position).

Camera: Sony ZV-E10 II  (377g  26Mp  APS-C)
Lens  Tilt  Clamp  Roll   Pan   weight (g)
name @ mm  lens   cw 
60 ​ 3.2 4.2 3.4 1.2 200      
300 ​ 3.3 3.6 3.0 1.2 262  
90 ​ 3.4 3.2 2.7 1.2 306  
18-135 100 3.5 2.7 2.7 1.2 323  
55-210 100 3.4 1.8 2.8 1.2 361  
55-210 200 3.4 1.3 2.8 1.2 361  
200 ​ 3.5 2.3 2.6 1.2 410  
70-350     200 3.8 −0.9 2.0 1.2 622  

Camera: Sony A7CR  (515g  61Mp  Full-frame)
Lens  Tilt  Clamp  Roll   Pan   weight (g)
name @ mm  lens   cw 
70-350 350 3.7 0.1 1.7 0.6 622  
70-350 200 3.7 0.3 1.7 0.6 622  
70-350 100 3.7 0.8 1.7 0.6 622  
70-200 135 2.7 0.4 1.6 0.4 841 300
70-200 200 2.7 0.1 1.6 0.4 841 300
70-200×2 70 2.8 0.0 1.6 0.4 1049 300
70-200×2 200 2.8 −0.7 1.6 0.4 1049 300

 

The lenses named above are:

Name Description Type
60 Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN Art FF
300 Samyang 300mm F6.3 Reflex ED UMC CS APS-C
90 Sigma 90mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary FF
18-135  Sony 18–135mm F3.5–5.6 OSS APS-C
55-210  Sony 55–210mm F4.5–6.3 OSS APS-C
200 Kase 200mm F5.6 Reflex FF
70-350 Sony 70–350mm F4.5–6.3 G OSS APS-C
70-200 Sony 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II FF
70-200×2 Sony 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II + TC20 FF

 

The 300g counterweight referred to above comprises:

Other notes

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This page was last edited on 2025-08-02 by mfc.