yeah use the budget to get a little clip on light or microphone for your smart phone and maybe one of these to get very smooth moving shots
A little cheaper copy at $209 - but no idea about the quality.
The one I use is very similar to the one posted. Amazon It can get confused if you are making strange movements, like running around the back side of a stage.
I use it with an iPhone 6S Plus. I use the app from RecoLive at http://recolive.com to record from 4 sources at the same time. It works very well, and is very stable. I've used this to record multi-camera video from local concerts and speaking venues. You can designate a single audio source, which I try to get line audio from the venue.
Since space is limited, what about shooting with your phone and investing $300 or so into gear to help achieve better results? I'm thinking a 3-axis gimbal and a smartphone mic. Maybe add on a 22000mah battery pack. If you have the cash.
This is all assuming your phone has a decent camera. I shot with a my Pixel XL + Zhiyun Smooth II on a recent trip and the quality exceeded my expectations quite a bit.
Edit: they also make gorillapod like tripods for phones.
Is this the device you are using? https://www.amazon.com/Zhiyun-Z1-Smooth-C-Multi-function-Handheld-Blackberry/dp/B00ZZOVHA8
> Is the DJI Osmo the only halfway decent handheld brushless gimbal stabilized camera (thats all in one)? are there others?
Yes, the Filmpower Roxor 4K ($349.99 on eBay or $399.99 at Adorama) is the main competitor to the $587.99 (on sale) Osmo.
The Roxor has a built-in LCD, costs less than the Osmo and is now shipping. The image quality isn't the greatest, though. Video I've seen has very high contrast.
A couple of samples from Filmpower:
> what are some decent relatively inexpensive brushless gimbals for like a smartphone?
For smartphones, I am a big fan of the $218 Zhiyun Z1 Smooth- C.
A couple of examples:
Welcome to Thailand - Samsung Galaxy S6 Cinematic 4K Video by Christian Bruckmüller
Z1 Smooth-C & Iphone 6S - 1080p Video At 60fps by Dah-Shin Chen
This gimbal delivers a lot of value for the money.
> or point and shoot camera?
For point and shoot cameras, I recommend the iFlight G40 Lite ($315 on eBay and $375 at Amazon).
For cameras up to about 600 grams (e.g., point and shoot, NEX-5, Samsung NX500, BMPCC), this is the best value-for-money gimbal on the market. This is a fairly new product, so there are only a couple of examples out there, but they are impressive:
Hope this is helpful and good luck finding the right gimbal for your needs!