Using a gimbal

A gimbal is a motorized phone mount that keeps your camera steady and can follow you as you move. NanoFlick works with DockKit-compatible gimbals, like the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro, for smooth shooting and automatic subject tracking.

Stabilization and tracking

Many people use a gimbal just to keep the camera steady. Many DockKit gimbals can also track subjects, panning and tilting to follow people. With tracking on, set the gimbal on a tripod and let it follow you while you move freely, which is ideal for filming yourself.

What NanoFlick adds

You can use any gimbal for stabilization with any app. NanoFlick goes further by working with your gimbal's hardware buttons and showing real-time tracking status, so you can start and stop recording, zoom, switch tracking modes, and see who's being tracked without touching your phone.

Tracking modes

Automatic: the system picks who to track.
Follow Speaker: prioritizes the person talking.
Follow Attention: prioritizes whoever is looking at the camera.
Tap to Track: you pick a person (iOS 18 and later).
Off: tracking is disabled.

Hardware buttons

The buttons do different things depending on whether a shot is unshot or already recorded:

Shutter tap: start or stop recording. On a recorded shot, play or pause the preview.
Switch: flip the camera. On a recorded shot, reshoot it. While recording, Switch adds a reaction shot from the other camera.
Wheel: zoom in and out. On a recorded shot, move to the next or previous shot.
Shutter double-tap cycles the tracking mode, and triple-tap turns on Tap to Track.

While tracking is on, the gimbal's joystick is disabled. Turn tracking off for manual pan and tilt.
Some gimbal buttons have built-in functions NanoFlick can't override. On the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro, the front trigger toggles tracking, and a double-tap on Switch rotates between portrait and landscape. Check your gimbal's guide.
If the zoom ring isn't working, or it rotates your phone instead, the gimbal may be in FPV mode. See your gimbal's manual to switch to general mode.

Tracking status and overlay

A status indicator appears when a gimbal is connected. Tap it for tracking modes, subject framing (left, center, right, or automatic), and the tracking overlay. On iOS 18 and later, the overlay shows boxes around detected people, with colors for who's locked, speaking, or making eye contact. In Tap to Track, tap a box to lock onto that person.

Apple Watch and compatibility

If your gimbal is on a tripod, the NanoFlick Apple Watch app can start and stop recording remotely. Button mappings are tested on the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro; other gimbals are untested and may behave differently.