Fimi Palm 2 Handheld Gimbal Pocket 4K Camera: New Design, Same Old Good Performance

The next generation of Fimi Palm 2 is here. A company backed by Xiaomi has its second attempt at beating the DJI Pocket 2. DJI has greatly changed their Pocket 2; it has a better field of view, image sensor, software, accessories, and more. In comparison, Fimi has put its efforts into improving the software side and appearance.

So, let’s inspect how these changes affect the performance of the Fimi Palm 2.

Overview

In a hurry, read this short overview stating the pros and cons of Fimi Palm 2.

Pros

Great Pricing
Nice attractive design
Excellent mini-joystick
Wide camera
Perfect 3-axis stabilization
Exceptional battery life
Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Cons

Slow Mo caps at 120FPS
Average image quality
No hardware improvements
Internal mic is bad
UI is not good

Fimi Palm 2 – Price

Fimi Palm 2 Price Fimi Palm 2 is launched at 199$, slightly more than the predecessor. The price is the same as the Feiyu Pocket camera and cheaper than the Snoppa Vmate. In the case of DJI Pocket 2 the price gap is even more significant, about 150$, but it comes with some extra accessories that affect the price tag.

Fimi Palm 2 – Unboxing

Fimi Palm 2 Boxed Unboxing is neat; the box is slim and looks similar to the previous year’s packaging. This time the camera comes with a hard case, unlike the last year’s gimbal protector. The case is a nice edition, especially due to the rainy and snowy weather we are experiencing.

Other than that, there is nothing special, and the box has the necessary SD card, charging cable, and some papers.

Design and Construction

Beautiful Fimi Palm 2

Fimi has almost completely changed the design; it has much more glass on the front, grippy sides, and a giant control stick for gimbal movement. They have entirely revamped the design; it might be due to the rumors of legal action from DJI regarding the design of Palm 1.

Identical Jack Location in both Generations

The camera gear and gimbal design are almost identical, but the body has changed significantly. The previous generation has a much more Osmo Pocket-like boxy design with a couple of buttons and a screen. This time it has a roundish design with a small screen, a button, and a big control stick. The touch screen is still small and not much visible in daylight. Moreover, the SD card, charging port, and headphone jack are in the exact location. And it also has a useful quarter-inch mounting hole that DJI Pocket 2 does not have.

Overall, Fimi Palm 2 looks nice and feels grippy and solid in hand.

Technical Specifications

Image Sensor: 1/2.6-inch CMOS image sensor
Lens: 128° FOV and F/2.4 aperture
Camera Resolution: 12 MP Up to 4K 30FPS FPS and 1080p 90 FPS
Chipset: HiSilicon 3559
Weight: 145 grams
Stabilization: 3-axis stabilization
Mechanical Range: Pan -240° to 60°, Tilt ±90°, Roll ± 45°
Battery: 2600mAh battery
Wi-Fi: Yes Built-in
Bluetooth: Yes Built-in

Fimi Palm 2 – Software

Various Modes of Fimi Palm 2

Fimi has done considerable work in the software department. The screen is still tiny, but it has many features and innovative options that make the video more compelling and professional.

The menu and navigation are easy to use and understand. It has different shooting options. Besides 4K 30FPS, you will find 24FPS and 2.7K 60FPS. You will see more FPS options at lower resolutions but not more than 120FPS. They have also induced a Pro Mode that allows you to manually tweak ISO, exposure, shutter speed, and much more.

Diff b/w F-LOG Color Grading and Normal

It has another F-LOG mode. The useful mode helps you preserve more details in a very dark and bright environment. It is a nice feature; you need to edit it after shooting, so only use this if you plan to post-production. Moreover, HDR is also there to enhance the image quality.

Since the lens is vast so there will be some distortion. In the menu, you will find a distortion correction feature that straightens up bent trees and stuff but the object on the edges still looks a little weird. Moreover, it has traditional modes like locking all axis, free follow movement, and FPV. The camera also has a selfie mode, and a dedicated Tik Tok mode with active tracking is quite beneficial for content creators.

FIMI Play Smartphone App

There are some significant improvements in the smartphone app. It has a lot more options and some story templates like DJI. They are a great addition as they make shooting easier and more fun.

Fimi Palm 2 – Performance

Fimi Palm 2 has a 12MP 1/2.6-inch CMOS image sensor with an F/2.8 aperture. It is a wide-angle lens with a 128° field of view around 15° to 20° wider than the DJI Pocket 2. The image sensor and lens can shoot up to 4K 30FPS and 2.7K 60 FPS. It is not the best slow-motion camera as the FPS caps at 120FPS.

Fimi Palm 2 vs DJI Pocket 2 Let’s look at the quality side by side with the DJI Pocket 2. You can clearly see that the image is wider below but look at the good dynamic range, colors, shadows, and highlights in the upper section. Both have nice quality in daylight, but Pocket 2 interacts exceptionally with the abovementioned matrices. I have said it before: DJI Pocket 2 can create stunning videos with a bit of post-production.

Fimi Palm 2 vs DJI Pocket 2 low light Low light footage is even worse, the colors are bad, and there is a lot of noise. You can see above that DJI Pocket 2 has comparatively better low-light performance and can be made even better with slight editing and post-production. I expected a better performance from Fimi as the camera is made for TikTok and social media content creators.

Battery Endurance

Last year Fimi Palm had a nightmare battery performance; after just a year, the battery is performing poorly, and degradation is severe. This time Fimi is using a better and bigger 2600mAh battery. It has excellent numbers, giving almost 5 hours of running time per charge. But let’s see how it performs in the long term.

Drawbacks

Same hardware as the Fimi Palm 1
No 4K 60FPS
Slow Mo only up to 90FPS only
Poor low-light performance
Internal mic is not good
No UI Improvements

Conclusion

Apart from these drawbacks, Fimi Palm 2 is a nice gimbal camera; it absolutely nails the joystick, ports placement for easy mic connection, stabilization, and battery performance. But there are almost zero improvements in hardware. We can also call it the Fimi Palm 1 summer edition. But for 200$, it will remain an attractive bundle because other action cameras are more expensive. But DJI Pocket 2 killer tag is simply exaggerating considering the features and capabilities of the camera.

Where to Buy?

Planning to buy this budget handheld Gimbal Camera? Get yours now, as Fimi is offering 30$ off. Watch some more real-life results and video quality of the Fimi Palm 2 on our YouTube video.