Hohem iSteady MT3 Gimbal Pro Kit review – clever AI tracking for any camera

The Hohem iSteady MT3 Pro is a camera gimbal that includes AI subject tracking. We’ve seen this feature in gimbals before, but usually on smartphone gimbals or as accessory attachments for gimbals that hold larger cameras. What caught my eye here is that the tracking unit is built-in, and that the main control panel, which has its own monitoring screen, can be removed to be used as a remote.

Hohem iSteady MT3 at a glance:

• $549.99 (approx £450) for Pro Kit
• Hand-held camera gimbal
• Holds 2.5kg
• Weighs 1070g
• Other kits available without accessories and lower payload

We don’t need AI subject tracking of course if we are skilled gimbal operators, but we don’t all have time to put in the hours needed to become really proficient, so this feature has the potential to save us a lot of time. It may also allow solo shooters to move around a bit as they are recording themselves to make their films more dynamic. So long as it works, of course.

Hohem iSteady MT3 key features:

• Subject Tracking – built-in camera tracks the subject and automatically moves the gimbal to keep people, pets, cars and objects framed in the mounted camera
• Remote control – the main control panel can be removed for remote operation and for monitoring the live stream feed from the tracking camera
• Fill Light – the tilt arm has a built-in fill light with temperature options from 2700-6500k, as well as a wide range of RGB colours
• Accessories – the Pro Kit comes with a handle as well as a follow focus motor that can be used to control focusing, zooming or apertures on your lens

In use

The Hohem iSteady MT3 Pro is a gimbal capable of carrying up to 2.5kg, but while some gimbals designed for bigger cameras can’t cope with small ones, this one can handle compacts and phones as well. It weighs 1070g, and is pretty small compared to some of my other gimbals. If you buy the Pro Kit version, as shown here, you get a handle, phone clamp, action camera adapter, tripod, follow focus motor and rail, all the cables you’ll need and a case to carry it all in.

The exciting bit though is the little camera unit next to the built-in RGB light at the top of the tilt arm, that’s capable of detecting humans, pets, vehicles and of tracking any selected object.

We can select subjects on the touch screen monitor of the removable control panel, or use hand gestures to get the gimbal to track us when we are filming ourselves. The mini camera tracks us and automatically moves the main camera to follow, so we don’t need to use the manual motion controls on the gimbal itself.

The feature is handy if we are circling a subject and want to keep it framed nicely without the effort of using the joystick, and it’s also great if we are filming someone, or ourselves, talking to the camera while they are moving around. We can select the speed of reactions and the smoothness of the follow – and it works remarkably well.

The control panel comes off so we can monitor the image on its screen, or simply use the joystick and touchscreen controls from a distance of up to ten metres.

Hohem iSteady MT3 Pro kit: Our Verdict

I rather thought this AI tracking thing might be too good to be true. As someone who finds gimbals awkward and disagreeable, I’m doubly delighted that it works really well, and that we can have this feature in a gimbal that doesn’t weigh much but which can still hold a decent sized camera and lens.

It’s pretty easy to set up too, with Teflon coated arms that slide nicely when small balancing movements are needed and an Arca-Swiss plate so cameras in cages can mount directly. This has been a very positive experience.

Hohem iSteady MT3 Pro kit: Product images