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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 tables 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 and no caps) and ‘cw’ is approximate counterweight added below camera, if used (may vary depending on attachment and position).  Tables are ordered by lens weight.

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	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  60Mp  Full-frame)
Lens		Tilt	Clamp	Roll	Pan	weight (g)
name	@ mm					lens	cw
90	​	3.5	4.2	2.2	1.0	306
70-350	350	3.7	0.1	1.7	0.6	622
135	​	3.8	1.7	1.5	0.4	664
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	200	2.8	−0.7	1.6	0.4	1049	300

 

The lenses named above are:

Name	Description	Type	weight
60	Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN Art	FF	200
300	Samyang 300mm F6.3 Reflex ED UMC CS	APS-C	262
90	Sigma 90mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary	FF	306
18-135	Sony 18–135mm F3.5–5.6 OSS	APS-C	323
55-210	Sony 55–210mm F4.5–6.3 OSS	APS-C	361
200	Kase 200mm F5.6 Reflex	FF	410
70-350	Sony 70–350mm F4.5–6.3 G OSS	APS-C	622
135	Zeiss 135mm F2.8 Batis	FF	664
70-200	Sony 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II	FF	841
70-200×2	Sony 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II + TC20	FF	1049

 

The 300g counterweight referred to above comprises:

• Generic 50mm Arca-Swiss-compatible clamp (front of clamp at 4.0 on the camera rail); 99g.
• 200g counterweight (Neewer) screwed into clamp tripod socket.

Other notes

• The virtual joystick in the app is too sensitive for longer lenses. To slow it:
  User profile → Control → Motion, then set all three axes to Slow.
  If still too fast, speeds can be reduced further in Create → Virtual Joystick.

• The gimbal self-levels (even if mounted at a tilt), so there is no need for a levelling head on the tripod.

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This page was last edited on 2025-08-11 by mfc.