DJI RS5 Gimbal Beginner’s Guide: Setup, Balancing, and Filming Techniques

Whether you’re shooting for real estate, YouTube, or client work, the DJI RS5 could be a serious upgrade. But is it really right for you? How do you use all of these features? In this beginner’s guide, I’m going to answer all of those questions. And yes, this is a drone channel, I know, but we do use gimbals quite a bit when we record videos.

I’m going to talk about everything that is included, go over balancing the gimbal, show you how to set up the motors for zoom and focus, and then talk about how to integrate all of this with different cameras. So, let’s get to it.

New Features on the DJI RS5

Let’s start by covering all of the new features and upgrades. First, we have the new RS Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Mode. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. We first saw this tracking module on the RS4 Mini, but this one has quite a few upgrades. You can now track things like vehicles, animals, and even some objects in the frame, and it can stay focused on a person up to 10 meters away. Just like the last tracker, if a subject goes out of view, the tracker is going to try to reacquire it as they reappear on screen.

Speaking of the screen, there’s a big upgrade. You can now frame and track directly from the gimbal screen, which is really nice because in the past you had to use your phone to do this. Just like object tracking on DJI drones, you tap and drag on the screen to select the subject, and then you have a live view to see exactly how the tracking is going. You can also still use hand gestures from in front of the camera to start tracking. That was included in the first module and it’s really helpful for solo creators — I think it’s improved with this new one.

But if you are a gimbal operator working from behind the camera, this is actually kind of a game-changer. This went from being a cool feature for solo creators to being incredibly powerful for tons of different scenarios. I know our production team is really excited about this feature. The new tracking module is included if you purchase the RS5 combo pack, and it can also be purchased separately.

There is also an additional display now that shows movement on the Z-axis. And yes, it does not stabilize the Z-axis — but this is a very practical tool if you want to see whether your Ninja Walk is up to par.

There are also some basic upgrades you’d expect from newer models. You can now get a full charge in about an hour, and the battery life has been extended to 14 hours. If you use a high-capacity handle, which is sold separately, you can actually go up to 30 hours. The peak torque has also been increased by 50%, which really comes in handy for fast, quick-moving shots.

For low-to-the-ground shots, there’s the briefcase handle with an electronic joystick on top and button controls, so you don’t need to reach down. Quick adjustments are a lot easier. And the last feature — after having used these gimbals since the very first RS1 — DJI finally added little knobs for fine-tuning your balance. I’m going to show you how to balance shortly, but this is the true game-changer. I don’t care about everything else. This should have been added from model one. So, thanks DJI. Finally.

Setting Up the DJI Ronin App

Before we start, you should download the DJI Ronin app. This is required to activate the device and do any firmware updates. If you don’t activate the device, you only have five power cycles before the gimbal is fully locked.

Search for the DJI Ronin app in the app store, enable Bluetooth on your phone, and then power on the gimbal. In the app, click “Pair Device,” select the DJI RS5 from the list, enter the default password 12345678, and then follow the prompts to activate. If there’s ever a firmware update, the app will notify you — and I guarantee this is going to happen the day you have a big shoot. You’ll turn it on even though you did it the night before, and there’s the update. That’s what happens every single time. Make sure your phone and gimbal have at least 20% battery to complete it.

In the app you can also see compatible cameras, find a balancing video if you don’t like the one I’m giving you, and access device settings that you could also configure on the gimbal screen itself.

Overview and Assembly

All right, before we go any further, let’s do a basic overview of the whole thing. You have the battery handle, which is fairly easy to install. When it comes out of the box, it’s in two parts — press it until you hear a click, then lock it on the side. Very important. Then there’s the tripod at the bottom, which now opens and closes with one finger rather than each leg individually. Screw this in at the bottom, which is also where you’ll find the tripod access plate if you want to mount this on a tripod.

Above the handle are all of your controls. On the back is the screen where you’ll see all your adjustments. There’s the joystick for panning and tilting — it’s quite customizable. There’s also a big red record button on the back; if you link your camera, you can use it to start and stop recording. There’s the M button, which lets you switch between different modes and is fully customizable. The power button is on the side — just press and hold to turn it on or off. This is not like your DJI drone where you double tap and hold; it’s a single press and hold.

There’s a mode switch on the side with three options: Pan, Tilt, and Follow (PTF); Pan and Follow (PF); and FPV mode, where the camera moves in all directions. On the back of the gimbal you’ll find the focus or zoom wheel, and a trigger that does different things depending on how many times you click. On the side there’s the RSA port — electronic, no wires needed — which is where you can attach the briefcase handle.

On top you have the three motors and arm for attaching your camera. The bottom motor controls pan (left and right), the back motor controls roll, and the top motor controls tilt (up and down). Each motor has a little unlock switch. The reason I always forget where they are is that they auto-unlock when you turn on the gimbal. There are also those new balancing knobs I mentioned, and at the very top is a dual-layered quick-release plate — Arca-Swiss on top and Manfrotto on the bottom — so you can swap cameras quickly.

On the front of the tilt axis there are two USB ports for connecting accessories like focus motors or directly to the camera.

One very important thing to note: never turn on this gimbal without having a camera on it. If you do, it’s going to start spinning around like it’s auditioning for The Exorcist. Mount your camera plate first, slide it onto the gimbal so it almost touches the edge, and lock the back. Now you’re ready to balance.

Balancing the DJI RS5

Now you’re ready for the favorite part — balancing the gimbal. No, just kidding, this is actually not bad on this gimbal. It used to be really painful, but it’s a lot better now.

Why do you have to balance? You have to balance so that the motors don’t have to work overtime to keep the gimbal in a position it’s not supposed to be in. It’s really going to help your performance.

Here are a couple of tips. First, do this on a flat surface. Second, make sure your camera is set up with all of the accessories you plan to use — that includes filters, motors, microphones, audio receivers, anything you’re going to mount. You need all the weight to be distributed as it will be in real use. Also, if you’re balancing with a zoom lens that has an externally extending barrel, make sure it’s set to the middle of its range, not fully retracted or extended, so you get a good average.

The balancing process has four adjustments total. Start with the forward-and-back balance at the top of the plate, then adjust the height of the tilt motor arm, then balance the side-to-side on the roll motor, and finally balance the tilt rotation. For each one, unlock the axis, find the neutral position where the camera stays in place on its own, and lock it back in. It’s a multi-step adjustment — you may need to go back and refine earlier steps after making later ones. With the new fine-tuning knobs, this is much easier than it used to be.

Once you’re done, turn the gimbal on: press and hold, and it will beep. In the back, tap the calibration button in the top left corner of the screen and select “Auto Calibrate.” Don’t touch the table — just let it do its thing. It’ll shake around, which is normal, show you a percentage, and then display “Calibration Complete” with a checkmark. A red indicator means calibration didn’t go well; green means you’re good.

You’ll need to rebalance when switching to vertical shooting mode (the camera goes to a completely different position), and when switching lenses since each lens has its own weight distribution. Always rerun the calibration after rebalancing just to make sure everything is correct.

Buttons, Modes, and Settings

There is a lot here, so stick with me.

The power button: press and hold to turn on, press once to sleep, press and hold to turn off. Above the power button is your mode selector. PF (Pan and Follow) mode means the camera pans left and right to follow your movement but won’t tilt automatically — you use the joystick to tilt. This is the go-to mode for most situations. PTF (Pan, Tilt, and Follow) mode moves left and right and can also tilt up and down automatically. Personally, that’s my favorite for following subjects because I prefer using my hands over the joystick. A great use case is filming a building from bottom to top for a smooth look. FPV mode adds roll to the mix — you can lean the gimbal left and right and the camera follows very smoothly. We rarely use it, but for a stylized shot, it’s definitely your go-to.

In FPV mode, the back screen has an FPV icon where you can customize pan, tilt, and follow settings. There’s also a 3D roll option that automatically creates that barrel roll effect you’ve seen in movies and cool videos.

On the back, there’s a trigger button. Triple-tap to switch to selfie mode with the camera facing you. Double-tap to reset to neutral position — very handy. Press and hold to lock the camera in place, like a pause button, which is great for push-in shots or minimizing camera movement.

Under the trigger is the wheel, which maps to either focus or zoom depending on your setup and motor. On the left side is the RSA port, which also supports NATO mounts. The briefcase handle connects here electronically — no wires needed — and gives you access to the joystick, the record button, and the M button right from the handle. It’s a lifesaver. Doing low-to-the-ground shots with two-handed control makes a huge difference.

To link your camera for the record button and M button, you can either connect via USB-C cable or wirelessly: swipe down on the main screen, tap the camera/Bluetooth icon, select your camera, and enable Bluetooth on the camera itself. Make sure your camera is on DJI’s compatible camera list in the Ronin app.

For the M button, you can swipe up on the screen and swipe left to the second menu to configure it to take photos, activate a C1/FN1 button mapping, or lock/unlock the screen.

Navigating the Menus

There are a lot of settings here, so let me walk you through the main ones.

The calibration icon will show a green balance indicator that turns yellow or red if the camera is off-balance. The mode menu with the running man icon gives you follow speed controls, where you can customize how slow or fast the movements are — Smooth (with slow, medium, and fast) and Responsive (also slow, medium, and fast). Smooth control eases the camera into movement; Responsive moves the camera in direct response to your movement. For slow-paced filming, stick with Smooth on a medium to slow setting. For quick action scenes, you may want fast response, though watch out for jerky movement.

The Z-axis indicator is really neat. It shows how much you’re moving up and down while walking. The green zone is where you want to be; it’ll turn orange or red when you’re really shaking. If you have teammates who think they’re better ninja walkers than you, you can finally settle that debate right here.

Swipe up on the screen for extra settings: joystick speed (slow, medium, fast), joystick smoothness (low, medium, high), and the dial function to customize what the rear wheel controls when you have a motor attached. You can also adjust dial speed and reverse controls here. Swipe left and you’ll find the M button customization — photo, C1/FN1, or screen lock. You’ll also find focus motor torque settings and the press-and-hold trigger configuration, which can lock the gimbal for push shots or activate FPV mode.

Swipe down from the main menu for even more: display settings (autolock, brightness, rotation), Bluetooth camera pairing, focus motor settings, Z-axis display toggle, auto-lock camera behavior (recenter and lock, fold and lock, or nothing), sleep mode settings, silent mode (turn off notifications and sounds — probably should have this on all the time), startup auto-calibration, push mode for manually positioning a gimbal arm, orbit follow for smoother movement when orbiting a focus point, horizon calibration, gimbal auto-check, joystick zoom for compatible lenses, selfie mode disable, and auto-off functionality.

Swipe left from the main menu for special options: time-lapse (set intervals and choose photos or clips), waypoint tracking (set waypoints and speed), and panorama mode (set different scales).

Accessories for the DJI RS5

Let’s talk about accessories. First, the briefcase handle. It doesn’t come with the standard purchase but is included in the combo pack. It connects directly without additional setup or extra cables. There’s a quarter-20 mount and a cold shoe mount on it, plus a USB port on the left side to power things like a monitor.

The newly upgraded intelligent tracking module also comes with the combo pack. It’s magnetized and easy to attach — squeeze on each side to put it in place, and it clamps in solidly so it won’t detach while you’re moving. Once attached, you’ll see a connection message on the screen. Swipe right from the main screen to get to the tracking module view, where you can select whatever you want to track directly on screen. No phone needed as an extra screen anymore. On the previous model it would autodetect humans, but now you can track any object by highlighting it — a car, a tree, really anything. The USB-C port on the back of the module is only for firmware updates; it’s powered from the gimbal itself.

Key settings in the tracking module: tap the settings icon at the bottom left for composition options (center subject or keep current framing — so if you want a subject to stay on the right side, it’ll track and keep them there). Active track speed is slow, medium, or fast. Indicator lights can be toggled on or off. Gesture settings let you pick which gesture starts and stops tracking (by default, raise your hand), and you can also set a gesture to start and stop recording — the default is a peace sign.

Camera view calibration is worth doing before you start using the module. Move the joystick left and right to match the tracking view from the camera itself. And if you want to reframe while tracking, gesture a box around your face, move to where you want to be, then use the box gesture again to hold it in place. The module starts tracking you from that new position. The front light tells you what stage it’s in: green means tracking, yellow means reframing, red means it’s not active.

If you’re a solo creator, this is amazing. You can use the gimbal as a tripod and from in front of the camera you can start and stop recording, start tracking, and reframe your composition — all without moving. I wish I had this when I first started recording courses on my own.

The focus motor is another good accessory and we installed it earlier. It’s not included in the combo pack — you need to purchase it separately. There are a few ways to mount it: on a mounting plate with a rod extension, attached to a camera cage, or in front of the plate which is what I have now. You’ll need a grip ring that fits around your lens’s zoom or focus ring so the motor’s teeth can grab it. You’ll also need a USB-C to USB-C cable running from the motor to the top USB port on the tilt axis (the bottom port is for the camera — look for the camera icon).

Once connected, the wheel on the back of the gimbal controls the lens — incredibly smooth for zooming or focusing. If you want to control both zoom and focus at the same time with one motor, you can use the toggle on the left side of the screen to switch between joystick mode and zoom mode. In zoom mode, the joystick controls zoom with a compatible lens and the wheel controls focus.

In the focus motor settings (swipe down from the main menu, select the focus motor icon), you’ll find an auto-calibration option that determines the start and end points of your lens. You can also set these manually, which is useful for lenses that focus to infinity without a hard stop. And you can disable the motor entirely if needed.

How to Film With a Gimbal

Now let’s talk about the part that actually makes the biggest difference in your footage: how to hold it.

A gimbal does not automatically give you smooth footage. It stabilizes rotation, but it does not fix every bad movement you make, especially on the Z-axis. Let’s go over the techniques.

First, use both hands whenever you can. If you’re not using the briefcase handle, fold the tripod up and hold the bottom with your left hand, or use your right hand on the grip and your left hand at the bottom. Tuck your elbows against your body — use them as a tripod. If your arms are fully extended, every step you take transfers directly into the gimbal. With your elbows tucked in, you get that shock-absorber feeling.

When walking, bend your knees and plant your feet heel to toe. This is the ninja walk. You’re almost gliding across the ground. The gimbal cannot remove vertical movement — you need a special mechanical arm for that, which these gimbals don’t have. So if your head is bobbing up and down, your footage will be too. Keep an eye on the Z-axis display and practice staying in the green zone before you go on a shoot. Record some footage, watch it back, see how smooth it is. You can do a little recovery in post-production, but don’t rely on it.

For panning and tilting, let the gimbal do the work. Use the joystick to line up your composition, but once you’re locked in, pan left and right using your body — turn from your hips, not your wrists. For tilting, switch to PTF mode and lean forward and back with your arms, keeping them close to your body. Take time to practice and find the right follow speed settings for your style of movement. After five minutes of moving around, you may want to slow things down a little or speed them up.

Here are a few basic moves to practice:

A straightforward push-in: walk straight ahead toward your subject — no pan, no tilt. Simple but effective. If you have the tracking module, highlight your subject and walk toward it.

A pullback shot: walk backward from your subject. Watch your footing — if you have someone to help, they can grab your back to make sure you don’t hit anything. Walk toe to heel this time for smoothness, bend your knees, and keep an eye on that Z-axis. Great for filming someone walking toward the camera.

A side-to-side tracking shot: instead of crab-walking sideways, face the direction you’re going, use the joystick to point the camera toward the subject, keep your eyes on the monitor, and walk forward. Much smoother than moving sideways.

A reveal shot: plant your feet and lean out from behind something in the foreground. Focus on the background or subject first, then move behind something in the foreground. A very small movement — just peering around a wall or tree — gives you a nice reveal with blurry bokeh in the foreground. You may not even need to take an extra step; just lean or shift the gimbal to the side.

Final Thoughts on the DJI RS5

Smooth footage comes from technique, not your gear. Two hands, bend your knees, walk heel to toe, and turn your body for slow and steady movement. Do that and your footage is instantly going to look more cinematic. The more you practice, the better you’ll get — and that practice includes balancing the gimbal as well.

The DJI RS5 is a great gimbal, but it’s not the only option. If you want something a little smaller and less expensive, you may want to look into the RS4 Mini — we have a full review for that as well.

This article is based on a video by Pilot Institute on YouTube. Greg Reverdiau is a regular contributor to DroneXL.