Frequently asked questions

Three things:

• A DJI RS gimbal — the RS 3 Mini is verified.
• A camera with HDMI out plus a capture device to get its video into your computer. The Elgato Cam Link 4K is verified; most UVC capture devices work.
• A computer running Windows 11 or macOS on Apple Silicon.

Optional extras: a Sony camera with Bluetooth remote support adds automatic zoom, and an Xbox or PlayStation controller adds manual override.

Download the app and start the 7-day trial from inside it with just your email — no card, no checkout. The trial is registered online, once per person and machine. Every feature is included, so you can verify your exact hardware combination before paying anything. If it doesn't work with your gear, you've lost nothing.

Not during use. All tracking runs locally on your machine, so once the app is running your event doesn't depend on the venue Wi-Fi. The app does check your license key online now and then, but with a generous offline grace period — a live service never stops because the connection dropped.

The DJI RS 3 Mini is verified — it's what we develop and test on. Other DJI RS-series gimbals speak a very similar Bluetooth protocol and are likely to work, but unverified. Try yours during the free trial; if it turns out to be incompatible after you subscribe, cancel and the current month is refunded.

Verified: the Sony ZV-E10 II. Other Sony bodies that support a Bluetooth remote are likely to work but unverified. Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm zoom is not supported yet.

Zoom is optional: tracking (pan and tilt) works with any camera that can feed video into your computer. The Bluetooth camera pairing only adds automatic zoom control.

No. GimbalPilot runs on ordinary laptop hardware, including Apple Silicon Macs. On Windows, an NVIDIA GPU is used automatically when present and gives the AI more headroom, but it isn't required. The free trial is the honest benchmark: run it on the machine you plan to use.

Be careful. GimbalPilot uses an unofficial, reverse-engineered Bluetooth protocol, and a DJI firmware update could change that protocol and break the app — possibly permanently, since DJI firmware usually can't be rolled back.

Our advice: if your setup works, hold off on gimbal firmware updates until we've confirmed the new version is fine. If an update does permanently break the app, the refund promise applies.

Yes. Besides people, GimbalPilot can track a ball, a dog or cat, a horse, a bird, a car and a boat. You pick the target type in the app and click the subject once; the same on-device AI handles the rest.

Yes. Plug in an Xbox or PlayStation controller and touch a stick — you're flying the camera immediately, no mode switch. When you let go, tracking resumes on its own. That's the recommended setup for live events: the AI does the routine work, and a human can override at any moment.

Never. The AI runs entirely on your computer; no video frames are uploaded, streamed to us or stored by us. The only data our servers ever see is licensing information: your email, license key, device identifiers and subscription status. Details in the privacy policy.

Go to your account page and open the Stripe billing portal — you can cancel there in a couple of clicks, no email required and nobody tries to talk you out of it.

If you're cancelling because your hardware turned out to be incompatible, or because a firmware update permanently broke the app, the current month is refunded. For anything else, write to hello@gimbalpilot.com. Full details in the refund policy.

We'll say so plainly and work on a fix — but we can't guarantee one. The protocol is unofficial and DJI owes us nothing.

That risk is priced into the deal: GimbalPilot is a monthly subscription, not a big one-time purchase, and if a DJI firmware update permanently breaks the app you cancel and the current month is refunded. You're never stuck paying for software that no longer works.

Yes. Install the app on your laptop and your desktop, or a venue machine and a home machine — one subscription covers your machines, as long as you run one camera rig at a time. Driving several gimbals simultaneously needs a subscription per rig.

It's shown on the welcome page right after checkout and looks like GP-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Paste it into the app once and you're done. Lost it? Sign in at /account or email hello@gimbalpilot.com from the address you paid with.

Yes, and it's expected for now. GimbalPilot is a new app from a small publisher, and Microsoft SmartScreen warns about installers it hasn't seen many times before — it's a reputation check, not a virus detection. Click More info, then Run anyway.

The Windows install guide walks through it with screenshots.

Zoom needs a supported camera paired over Bluetooth — currently the Sony ZV-E10 II (verified) or another Sony body with Bluetooth remote support (likely, unverified). If no camera is paired, or your camera is a Canon, Nikon or Fujifilm body, the app tracks with pan and tilt only and the zoom controls stay inactive.

Run the pairing screen in the app to link a Sony camera. If a verified setup still won't pair, email hello@gimbalpilot.com.