Let me cut to the chase: Hohem’s iSteady MT3 Pro AI Stabilizer is one of the best gimbals I have ever used. I have tested a number of gimbals over the past few years, with many earning spots in my travel gear bags, yet the iSteady MT3 Pro has managed to surpass them all, and the competition is not even close. This is a gimbal built to take on anything you can throw at it and designed with professionals and content creators in mind, especially those who jump between mirrorless bodies, action cameras and smartphones.
It backs that ambition with a relatively high payload rating, long-lasting battery life and an unusually involved approach to subject tracking. It packs a lot of potential into this pro-level product, but if you are up for the challenge, it can yield some amazing results.
Open the included case, and you are greeted with a wealth of accessories: the gimbal, a manual and essentially everything you need to start your stabilized video journey. The iSteady MT3 Pro follows the familiar three-axis gimbal template, but Hohem has pushed the body toward a travel-friendly silhouette, with a folded footprint of roughly 21.6 by 29.5 by 6.5 centimetres and a weight of about 1,070 grams. To be blunt, that does not sound light and, if you are trying to travel light, it really is not.
Compared with many professional full-size, cinema-oriented stabilizers, though, it is light, and it is still hefty enough to balance a serious camera rig. Hohem uses a Teflon-coated structure on the moving parts to ease friction when sliding plates and arms into position, which helps the MT3 Pro feel less fussy during initial setup than some earlier-generation gimbals.
“The iSteady MT3 Pro follows the familiar three-axis gimbal template, but Hohem has pushed the body toward a travel-friendly silhouette…”
Looking at the specs, the grip houses a 4,350 mAh battery that feeds the motors for a rated 20 hours in controlled indoor conditions, with the gimbal balanced and AI features disabled. In practice, those lab numbers will drop once heavy payloads and constant movement enter the picture, but they still suggest a system tuned for day-long shooting blocks without scrambling for a power bank.
In theory, you should be able to get a full day of shooting, but as with anything, this can vary widely depending on the camera and lenses you are using and how much stabilization is needed at any given time. Hohem also uses a standard Arca-Swiss-style quick-release plate, which should please shooters who already use cages and L-brackets built around that mounting ecosystem.
What excites me most about this new pro-level gimbal is actually something I first saw on the iSteady M7: the detachable remote, which makes using any kind of pro-level stabilizer easier and more intuitive than I have seen before. The detachable touchscreen remote docks on the gimbal’s bi-directional twist handle or can be removed and used as a wireless monitor. It can be used to ensure the gimbal is set correctly, confirm that the shot is working and call up presets that help keep everything smooth, especially when you are first getting the rig hooked up.
The remote carries a 1.4-inch colour LCD and connects over low-latency Bluetooth with a stated range of up to 10 metres, allowing users to see a live feed, adjust settings and trigger the shutter while standing away from the rig. For crews working with jib arms, sliders or low-angle setups, being able to reframe and start recording from a distance without pulling out a phone app can streamline operation.
Looking down at the twist handle itself, operators can support multiple grip styles, including upright, underslung, and briefcase modes, providing leverage for low passes or tight lateral moves. Hohem’s “second‑generation fast vertical switch” reworks the mounting geometry so that rotating into portrait orientation involves a short sequence of steps rather than a full re‑balancing job, which is increasingly important for creators moving between horizontal footage and vertical clips for Shorts or Reels. Fine‑tuning knobs on the plate assembly allow millimetre‑level fore‑aft adjustments to dial in centre of gravity when changing lenses or adding accessories.
I will say this now: if this is starting to feel a bit overwhelming, it can be. Unlike the iSteady M7 or many of the other gimbals we have looked at in the past, I mentioned earlier, the MT3 Pro is very much aimed at the professional and enthusiast market. A casual creator can dive in and play around with this level of gear, but it may ultimately be more of a hindrance if you just want to create some short clips of yourself dancing or have a gimbal follow you while you show things off.
The MT3 Pro can do that, but it can do many other things as well, and that level of flexibility can be a lot for someone new to this sort of tech. That said, it is incredibly interesting to use. Having used some professional gear that is much less intuitive, I can say that if you want to dive into the deep end, this is one of the best ways to do so.
Jumping back into the features, I love the touchscreen detachable remote, but the 2-megapixel AI camera mounted directly on the gimbal is perhaps one of the most exciting additions, especially if you want to create content solo and have the gimbal keep your framing on point. Rather than relying on a smartphone or the camera’s own feed to interpret movement, Hohem uses that sensor with a large-scale recognition model trained on images of people, pets, vehicles, buildings and other common subjects. The result is an on-board tracking system that can lock onto more than just a human figure, which is useful for product shoots, moving vehicles or architectural walk-throughs.
I was amazed at how well it all worked. This is the sort of thing I read on a box and expect to fail when pushed, yet it worked flawlessly in all the tests I did in the office (I will spare you the embarrassment of me walking around pretending to present, for everyone’s sake). Hohem says the MT3 Pro can recognize faces at up to about eight metres and maintain tracking at distances approaching seven metres, figures that line up with the company’s claims about the upgraded detection range versus earlier MT-series gimbals.
In practice, it lives up to those claims. I never had problems in the office with it finding me and staying locked on, and even when I was more active or testing at the edge of its range, the MT3 Pro kept me in frame and ensured the tracking was as smooth as butter.
What is even better is that the tracking works beyond just people; it has been built to handle a range of creative use cases. From people and cars to, of course, pets, the AI tracking has been tuned to keep subjects in frame. This is excellent news for creators looking to capture a variety of subjects, as well as for specialist creators who want the ability to track subjects without constant hands-on control or multiple operators.
Activation can be triggered in three ways: gesture control in front of the AI camera, commands on the detachable remote or a dedicated button on the handle. That flexibility matters for solo operators, who can step into frame, wave to initiate tracking and let the gimbal follow while they present to the camera without an assistant behind the lens. I have to commend Hohem: even with this level of pro gear, the company has made it possible for a solo creator to deliver incredibly professional results in a way that is much easier than many competing solutions.
“Hohem lists the iSteady MT3 Pro at about $449 USD, with the Pro Kit at $549 USD…”
Under the hood, the MT3 Pro runs on Hohem’s iSteady 10.0 stabilization platform, which the company says delivers about 40 per cent more motor strength than the previous generation. While I cannot say how well it compares with past iterations, I can say it worked flawlessly with each camera we have at CGMagazine HQ, including a Sony ZV-E10, Sony A7C and a range of smartphones I dropped in to test.
The gimbal is rated for payloads up to 2.5 kilograms, enough for typical full-frame mirrorless bodies paired with fast zooms such as a 24–70mm f/2.8, plus light add-ons like microphones or compact LED panels. Hohem’s compatibility lists reference popular camera-and-lens combinations from Sony, Canon, Nikon and Panasonic, so if you have a modern camera, you should be in good shape to dive in and see what is possible.
Out of the box, the MT3 Pro supports follow focus when used with the optional Spot Mini Motor, a 90-gram attachment with three speed levels for pulling focus or performing controlled zoom moves. In the Pro Kit configuration, this motor ships with an upgraded sling handgrip and mounting hardware, catering to operators who prefer traditional two-handed gimbal ergonomics for longer takes.
Custom follow-speed settings for each axis, along with separate “Smooth Follow” and “Tight Follow” modes, give users the ability to tailor how aggressively the gimbal responds to pan and tilt inputs, from gliding camera moves to snappier, orbit-style shots. This is firmly on the professional end of the feature set, but for creators who want to use cinema lenses, it is reassuring to know Hohem has considered this and made it possible.
In North America, Hohem lists the iSteady MT3 Pro at about $449 USD, with the Pro Kit at $549 USD, positioning the line below some flagship competitors while still clearly targeting serious users. The company plans to bring the MT3 series and SSD‑01 to major retailers, including Amazon, B&H Photo and Hohem’s own online store, with Canadian buyers likely seeing local pricing adjusted according to exchange rates once the products land later in the first quarter of 2026.
The Hohem iSteady MT3 Pro is one of the best gimbals I have ever used and, by far, one of the easiest professional-level options on the market. It includes everything you need to dive in and capture truly remarkable shots, delivered in a well-thought-out, highly intuitive package. It may not be the best option for someone just getting into content creation, but for anyone who wants to take their gear to the next level, I cannot recommend the iSteady MT3 Pro enough.
