What is a Gimbal?
Last updated Tues, September 2, 2025
I hadn’t seen one before a local dog agility trial held in my local area the end of August, 2025.
Doing a Google search for “Gimbal Definition” I came up with this answer: “a mechanism, typically consisting of rings pivoted at right angles, for keeping an instrument such as a compass or chronometer horizontal in a moving vessel or aircraft.”
I am going to edit this review and make it more detailed as time goes on. This gimbal is made for an iPhone, but I use a Google Pixel 8 Android Phone, which makes it a little bit different to use.
So basically, to me, that means it’s a gizmo that will keep your phone mounted in a specified position no matter which way you rotate it. Having seen one being used at agility, I of course had to purchase one myself. So I purchased this: Insta360 Flow 2 Gimbal from Amazon.
There are a couple of models you can buy. I did not buy the one with the Apple DockKit because, well, I don’t have an iPhone. I paid $109.00 US for the model I received. The one with the DockKit cost $135.00 USD at the time I bought mine. Truth to tell, I didn’t know if the Pro version also came with the DockKit or if I could buy a Pro without it, so I didn’t end up buying the Pro. I just have the Insta360 Flow 2.
This is a little picture of it:
Some features I would like to go over:
- Can drop the follow mode.
- I had to reset it a few times sometimes.
- Have to turn on hand gestures every time.
- The NFC connection works well.
- Buttons on the Pixel 8 are right in the way of the clamp.
Using a Gimbal for Dog Agility
Dog Agility is not what this gimbal is made for. It’s made for vloggers who want to video themselves, or other people, or the world around them, usually in close proximity to the phone’s camera. For a good overview of what the Insta360 Flow 2 can do, visit this YouTube video. This has nothing to do with dog sports: Insta360 Gimbal Video
It goes without saying this is not made for dog sports, and I found it a little clunky to use for video recording my agility runs. I think having someone hold the phone who can zoom and follow the handler and the dog is a better option than using this Gimbal. But hey, it’s a tech toy, so it’s fun to have!
Gimbal for Training
I think using this gimbal for those of us who train our dogs on our own and want to video will work out really well. I will do a separate post on what happened to me when I was trying to video my Nosework (aka Scent Work) training in my backyard.
Zoom Feature
Zoom: The zoom option is pretty much non-existent when using it for agility videos. It would be really nice to be able to set a field of view type zoom so the handler and dog could stay in the field of view, but it doesn’t offer that. The zoom is basically to keep a person’s face in the camera when they are walking around talking into the video. I do need to provide a video of what it looks like when the person is far away from the phone.
Live Agility Run Video
The below is a video of me doing agility with Dreamer. You can see how it is following me around (no, it’s not a person holding the phone, it’s the gimbal).
Hand Gestures
The Insta360 Flow 2 has the ability to turn on from hand gestures. I will get some video of this, too, to show you how it works.