DJI vs 3rd Party Gimbal

[WestViewDigital]

In theory, isn't the DJI gimbal going to be lighter and more accurate since it takes its cues from the Naza controller and not an external controller that's not at all connected to the actual flight of the Phantom?

Also, I would think that an outboard sensor's accelerometer would have a different center of gravity and be reacting to the movements to the Phantom instead of proactively getting it's movements from the actual flight controller.

Are there 3rd party brushless gimbals that plug into the Naza and are controlled with the Naza-M Assistant software?

 

[Gizmo3000]

yes, in theory the DJI will be a superior gimbal in many ways.
although the difference in weight will be negligible, the controller that 3rd party gimbals use are a whopping 15 grams.

But they all effectively do the same thing - use gyro's to stabilize a camera.

from what I've read, none of the 3rd party ones tie into the NAZA for stabilizing control, just for additional manual control.

It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming months as we'll see more and more video being produced by each gimbal.
But at this point, it will be a a difficult sell for DJI if even if they sell theirs for the lower $700 figure that has been mentioned.

 

[remvideo]

You just have to get more creative with a mount then

 

[Darrell1]

My concern with what I am seeing with these gimbals is that they use the Hero3 naked. Isn't this a huge risk, especially if you are flying around water?

Easy solution. Don't crash. I know I sound like a smart-***, but I'm serious. When I first got my Phantom, I was worried about crossing the small pool in my back yard even at higher altitudes, but after you've flown for a bit and feel more comfortable and understand your Phantoms capabilities and limits, you will lose all fear.

I now have no problem flying over water. Just be smart about it. Keep an eye on your status light and as soon as you get a red flash, get it over land. Better yet, use a timer and get it over land a couple minutes before you expect the red flash. Also, the Phantom is more expensive than the GoPro - you don't want to ditch that over water either.

 

[Gizmo3000]

My concern with what I am seeing with these gimbals is that they use the Hero3 naked. Isn't this a huge risk, especially if you are flying around water?

Easy solution. Don't crash. .

:lol:

So true!

Crashing into water is a scary thought that we all fear.
But that's the risk anyone takes flying electronics over water.

Unfortunately, for those of us wanting to do FPV, it basically means doing away with the waterproof housing because there's no way to connect a video cable while it's enclosed.
..and then of course there's few gimbals that can work with a GoPro in it's waterproof housing. (and still fit under a Phantom).

But there's the plus- the GoPro waterproof housing weighs even more than the GoPro! (like 90+ grams), and you really don't want to add that much more weight to the gimbal, or the Phantom if you don't have to.
plus the waterproof housing adds a bit more class to the front of the gopro lens, causing some flaring issues I'd say.

Once you grow more comfortable flying with a naked gopro, it's really not so bad.
it's nice being able to leave the gopro attached while still being able to access the memory card in between flights.

 

[auck]

not true, you can buy the gopro "skeleton" case which allows you to have the protection of the case, but still be able to access the USB port for FPV.

http://gopro.com/camera-accessories/her ... on-housing

as you can see, it still provides some protection for the gopro in case of a crash (no, it's not water proof). for me, if i crash and something happens to the phantom, most likely i'll be able to buy parts and fix it. for the gopro, if the camera is damaged in a crash.... well, i would not like to have to service it myself and void any warranties on it.

oh, also, the above housing takes away the side button to activate the wifi. SO that minimizes the chances of "accidental" activation of the wifi. really good for us with phantoms who are worried about fly away due to wifi from the gopro.

 

[remvideo]

I have an interesting question...

Does anyone make a gimbal that can be adjustable to use with different cameras ? As I use the gopro I find in some instances that superwide view is just too wide, it's not possible to get so close to my subject all the time.

 

[Gizmo3000]

I have an interesting question...

Does anyone make a gimbal that can be adjustable to use with different cameras ? As I use the gopro I find in some instances that superwide view is just too wide, it's not possible to get so close to my subject all the time.

well, most of the gimbals are meant for super-lightweight cameras, which there are few of , other than the GoPro.
you don't have to shoot super-wide with the GoPro tho.

 

[Adam]

I have an interesting question...

Does anyone make a gimbal that can be adjustable to use with different cameras ? As I use the gopro I find in some instances that superwide view is just too wide, it's not possible to get so close to my subject all the time.

The DJI H3-2D Gimbal is made specifically for the GoPro3, and if you want to change the view you can always have RageCams change out the lens.

http://ragecams.com/shop/54mm-lens-inst ... p-509.html

 

[Ali in Austria]

The GoPro H3, especially the Black, is a little more than a turn on and shoot camera. There are a myriad of settings to alter field of view, zoom, quality etc and with a little Post Production you can have what you want.

 

[tvpopta]

The zenmuse h3-2d seems to sit slightly more to the back compared to other gimbals, which will have the prop arms and landing gear into view earlier. Indeed, with the gorpo 3 black you can change your FOV to eliminate. But I like the 2,7K a lot too
I see with the arris cm2000 the roll is sometimes a bit off; this is quite unlikely to happen with the zenmuse, because it feeds of the naza, which is never wrong in terms of keeping the phantom level
The final price for the zenmuse with a reliable dutch retailer seems to be €599.- preordering is available. http://www.v-nix.nl (no english available). They tend to be on the expensive side with their stuff, but this seems a pretty reasonable deal. For now I'm very interested in what potential remote camera controls dji will come up with, and the final fpv connectivity.

 

[AllanVB]

I have an interesting question...

Does anyone make a gimbal that can be adjustable to use with different cameras ? As I use the gopro I find in some instances that superwide view is just too wide, it's not possible to get so close to my subject all the time.

The DJI H3-2D Gimbal is made specifically for the GoPro3, and if you want to change the view you can always have RageCams change out the lens.

http://ragecams.com/shop/54mm-lens-inst ... p-509.html

Well, Not sure whether this is good or bad news. Ragecams, Dennis send me back my camera with the modifications. I could not connect it to my receiver???? So Back to Ragecams it went. Apparently they cannot figure out what went wrong and cannot fix. I am asking myself, Am I out the fees and shipping I paid ragecams? Will I need to spend another $500 for a replacement camera? I don't have answers to these questions yet, but you can bet I will followup on all the forums with the good or bad news!

This is a direct quote from their website "This is very easy and safe to do.

To order this service please go ahead & place your order, & if you want the deluxe mod with filter kit select that also.

We ask that you mail us your camera & the repeater receiver part only.

We insure our work & have modded well over 1000 gopro cameras & 10 vision2 camera to date. Your camera will come back ready to film as soon as you connect it back to the vision2."

here is a link to their site: http://ragecams.com/shop/54mm-lens-inst ... p-658.html

Dennis keeps telling me how overwhelmed he is. He had better take care of his customers of that will change real fast.

 

[tknquad]

My concern with what I am seeing with these gimbals is that they use the Hero3 naked. Isn't this a huge risk, especially if you are flying around water?

Easy solution. Don't crash. I know I sound like a smart-***, but I'm serious. When I first got my Phantom, I was worried about crossing the small pool in my back yard even at higher altitudes, but after you've flown for a bit and feel more comfortable and understand your Phantoms capabilities and limits, you will lose all fear.

I now have no problem flying over water. Just be smart about it. Keep an eye on your status light and as soon as you get a red flash, get it over land. Better yet, use a timer and get it over land a couple minutes before you expect the red flash. Also, the Phantom is more expensive than the GoPro - you don't want to ditch that over water either.

But sometimes things get out of control. Yesterday i was flying over a very shallow water, in a park were because of rain there was a small lake. Birds were on it and I thought nice, I can get them in the video. I scared them and they took off, I had a quick turn, too quick and the phantom lost height, luckily enough I realized was what happening and gave full throttle, phantom stop descending at almost half a meter from water... I got very scared, my mobile phone (799euros) was attached. If some of you had crashes you know the bad feeling, not only about the money you loose, but about yourself. You feel stupid, unable to do things... yesterday I didn't enjoy to have saved it, I felt stupid to have risk it to loose it...

 

[tknquad]

I have an interesting question...

Does anyone make a gimbal that can be adjustable to use with different cameras ? As I use the gopro I find in some instances that superwide view is just too wide, it's not possible to get so close to my subject all the time.

Remember that changing the camera means reprogram the gimbal, as the center of gravity and the weight is different. Difficult but not impossible. Size matters too: GoPro is very small some other cameras don't. I have seen a Nikon for 119euro which pretends to be the smallest quality camera and video recorder in the world, but what about stabilization?
I was the first that wanted to skip the GoPro, I don't do extreme sport and the only use of GoPro would be with phantom, plus, I like stills and not videos, but then, i tested the GoPro and the quality is amazing ...so I changed my mind and now I want to do all of that, gimbal, GoPro, fpv etc