At Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, French video blogger Luca picks up a pocket gimbal camera at the counter. It's the shooting gear he has long had his eye on, and it has made its way onto his must-buy list for his trip to China. He is far from alone. More and more people are turning to pocket gimbals and action cameras to record their daily lives.
Camera in hand, Luca hits the streets of Shenzhen. He starts with the gimbal off, and the footage sways as if he were on a boat. He switches it on and deliberately walks faster—and the footage glides as if it were on rails.
When night falls, Luca walks down an alley thick with trees, but the footage stays sharp, without a hint of blur.
After shooting, Luca wirelessly transfers the video to his phone and carefully picks a template. In under a minute, a vertical short video with music and subtitles is ready.
According to market research firm IDC, global shipments of handheld smart cameras reached 4.14 million units in the first quarter of this year, with Shenzhen brands DJI and Insta360 together taking about 87 percent of the market.
Shenzhen Customs data shows the city exported 7.3 billion yuan worth of digital cameras in the first seven months of this year, up 58.7 percent year on year. At stores in Huaqiangbei, foreigners make up 50 percent of customers—and up to 70 percent at peak times.
Luca isn't in a hurry to head home. He takes his new camera to Shenzhen Bay, and the footage he shoots there will feature in a video that very night.
Like Luca, many video creators use the same "Made in Guangdong" camera, and Shenzhen is fast becoming a regular feature in their footage.
China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in November 2026. What device do you plan to use to capture Shenzhen? Tell us in the comments.
Authors | Guan Xiruyi, Li Qian, Chen Rongwei, Gong Chunhui
Revisors | Huang Qini, Wei Shen, Liu Lingzhi
