Arris CM2000 Gimbal Mini Review

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Got my CM2000 today and got everything installed. Took my time and it took about 2 hours to get everything connected, adjusted, and the pitch adjusted and calibrated so that the switch on the back of the stock Phantom 1.1.1 controls camera pitch.

I'm actually a bit surprised at how well the installation went. No real bumps in the road. I referred to these videos for both installation and adjustment since the unit came with no instructions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPpxj_R1ZGA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EUWl_sa1c

Took a 5 minute test flight and the video is very smooth and it's quite windy today as we have a storm front passing through. Nice quality piece and the pitch lever works really nicely once you go into the gimbal software and change it out of speed mode so that the lever adjusts the angle directly.

I had to leave the roll control unplugged since with it plugged in, the gimbal tried to do some odd rolling in one direction. Even though it's not compatible with the stock transmitter, apparently there is some signal coming out of the F2 slot so leaving it unplugged fixed that. The only reason I plugged it in to begin with was to get the wire secured.

Flight time is down from about 8 minutes to about 6 minutes but that is to be expected with the props having to turn a lot faster to counter the added weight. I'll get a Mad Dog 2700 and that should bring me right back up to 8 minutes so no problem there.

The gimbal also makes no noise whatsoever. I've heard a high pitched scream on some videos of the CM2000 but mine makes no noise whatsoever. Only thing I need to do is add a little height to the landing gear. It clears... but just barely.

Oh, forgot to add, the gimbal software worked fine for me on Win7 x64. Only thing I had to do is click on the link that Windows gave me for the driver (after it failed initially) and install the x64 version drivers. Worked fine after that.

I also forgot to mention that my one negative is that as delivered, when you mount the GoPro and slide it against the stop on the CM2000 mount, the little metal cross bar on the CM2000 mount presses the WiFi button every time! We all know what a bad thing that could be, so I had to glue on a small rubber grommet around the WiFi button on the GoPro to prevent the button from being pressed.

Mike
 
I love my CM2000, though I have the earlier version with the Martinez board. Are you using vision props as well? With those and the maddog 2700 batt I can top 10 min of flight time while using the Arris gimbal.

Mine does emit a faint high-pitched electronic whine/hum, but it's barely loud enough for me to be conscious of it.

I've also found that mine seems to be very forgiving with adding weight imbalance, such as a lens adaptor and filter...a couple of quick reboots with the new weight attached (and again when removed) and it finds center again on its own just fine.
 
Stock everything. Was thinking about getting the Vision props but read a couple posts where people are saying it is less stable with those. Have you not found that to be true?

Mike
 
mikeydaddio said:
Stock everything. Was thinking about getting the Vision props but read a couple posts where people are saying it is less stable with those. Have you not found that to be true?

Mike

Yeah they can indeed be a little less stable, but it usually only seems to be an issue at the extremes (i.e. in heavy wind, fast descents, etc)...never enough to give me real issue with handling or video stability when using the CM2000. The flight time dividends were well worth it for me.

To be honest, CF props gave me more instability issues than the Vision 9443's ever did.
 
mediaguru said:
My CM2000 was DOA. So I got a CM3000 and I'm thrilled. The extra axis (yaw) has turned out to make the videos much better.

I looked at that one but being more expensive than a Zenmuse, it was out of the range of what I wanted to spend. I also couldn't really see any practical benefit for the third axis as the Phantom does that on its own and I can't really imagine not being able to pan while flying.

Mike
 
mikeydaddio said:
mediaguru said:
My CM2000 was DOA. So I got a CM3000 and I'm thrilled. The extra axis (yaw) has turned out to make the videos much better.

I looked at that one but being more expensive than a Zenmuse, it was out of the range of what I wanted to spend. I also couldn't really see any practical benefit for the third axis as the Phantom does that on its own and I can't really imagine not being able to pan while flying.

Mike

The 3rd axis will dampen (smooth out) any movement on the yaw axis as well and can help overcome factors (wind buffeting etc) that are difficult if not impossible to compensate for just by manual stick input.
 
OI Photography said:
mikeydaddio said:
mediaguru said:
My CM2000 was DOA. So I got a CM3000 and I'm thrilled. The extra axis (yaw) has turned out to make the videos much better.

I looked at that one but being more expensive than a Zenmuse, it was out of the range of what I wanted to spend. I also couldn't really see any practical benefit for the third axis as the Phantom does that on its own and I can't really imagine not being able to pan while flying.

Mike

The 3rd axis will dampen (smooth out) any movement on the yaw axis as well and can help overcome factors (wind buffeting etc) that are difficult if not impossible to compensate for just by manual stick input.

I have to say after using the CM2000 that the above is spot on. First thing I noticed when flying with it (and after several tuning sessions) was the wind buffeting. Although, with high frequency buffeting like that, I don't see it really going away even with a 3 axis gimbal. It may help, but can you ever really get rid of high speed buffeting? Seems like it wouldn't have time to react. For the high frequency buffeting like that, I use Cyberlink PowerDirector and check the video stabilizer and it removes about 95% of it.

Mike
 
Whoever came up with the idea of stuffing foam earplugs into the rubber anti-jello mount bushings is a genius! I was getting wind buffeting shakes on forward motion and I stuffed the earplugs into each of the 4 rubber shocks and it is completely gone! The foam earplugs expand out into the rubber mounts and fill them and make them just stiff enough to eliminate the vibrations and even dampen what little jello I had left. Finally happy with my video stabilization.

Mike
 
mikeydaddio said:
Whoever came up with the idea of stuffing foam earplugs into the rubber anti-jello mount bushings is a genius! I was getting wind buffeting shakes on forward motion and I stuffed the earplugs into each of the 4 rubber shocks and it is completely gone! The foam earplugs expand out into the rubber mounts and fill them and make them just stiff enough to eliminate the vibrations and even dampen what little jello I had left. Finally happy with my video stabilization.

Mike

Nice, thanks Mike! Any particular brand/model you used?
 
OI Photography said:
mikeydaddio said:
Whoever came up with the idea of stuffing foam earplugs into the rubber anti-jello mount bushings is a genius! I was getting wind buffeting shakes on forward motion and I stuffed the earplugs into each of the 4 rubber shocks and it is completely gone! The foam earplugs expand out into the rubber mounts and fill them and make them just stiff enough to eliminate the vibrations and even dampen what little jello I had left. Finally happy with my video stabilization.

Mike

Nice, thanks Mike! Any particular brand/model you used?

They are old cheapos I found under the sink from years ago. They don't even have a brand name on them. Eight came in a set and they look like they were probably from the dollar store. :)

Mike
 
mikeydaddio said:
OI Photography said:
mikeydaddio said:
Whoever came up with the idea of stuffing foam earplugs into the rubber anti-jello mount bushings is a genius! I was getting wind buffeting shakes on forward motion and I stuffed the earplugs into each of the 4 rubber shocks and it is completely gone! The foam earplugs expand out into the rubber mounts and fill them and make them just stiff enough to eliminate the vibrations and even dampen what little jello I had left. Finally happy with my video stabilization.

Mike

Nice, thanks Mike! Any particular brand/model you used?

They are old cheapos I found under the sink from years ago. They don't even have a brand name on them. Eight came in a set and they look like they were probably from the dollar store. :)

Mike

Nope, none under my sink (just checked) :)

Thanks, I'll find some cheap ones to try!
 

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