Gimbal - camera landing damage protector

[Quadcopter102]

I was thinking about damage to the gimbals and camera in the event of landing in rough terrain!
I know before you say it.... don't land there then... move to a better sport! But sometimes - especially for we beginners - it may not always go to plan - while thinking about making some thing out of thin plastic - ever practical my wife set about Google! She found this:-

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_261282.html for around us$10 - it can be found on the other Chinese stores and I get no gain from this link.

My thought s are about blocking the view for down pointing the camera.
Just wondering if anybody uses this or similar?

 

[REBELimgs]

Plenty of us use similar gimbal/camera guards. To be honest with you, I don't think it does much. I've seen damaged cameras/gimbals while one of these was installed.

I have one on mine and honestly, i think it's just a little bit of peace of mind. The gimbal is just really sensitive and easy to break.

Oh, and no, it doesn't obstruct the view of the camera. I've never seen mine show up in footage.

 

[Quadcopter102]

Plenty of us use similar gimbal/camera guards. To be honest with you, I don't think it does much. I've seen damaged cameras/gimbals while one of these was installed.

I have one on mine and honestly, i think it's just a little bit of peace of mind. The gimbal is just really sensitive and easy to break.

Oh, and no, it doesn't obstruct the view of the camera. I've never seen mine show up in footage.

Thanks for that info..for for the sake of $10 - $20 ..and the eternal wait for deliveries from China...I will try one out.

 

[REBELimgs]

You may be able to get one shipped quicker from eBay or Amazon

 

[Quadcopter102]

You may be able to get one shipped quicker from eBay or Amazon

A lot of the stores/sellers on Amazon will not ship to Aussie....I will try eBay though...but again..unless it's an Aussie seller....still takes three weeks minimum?

 

[REBELimgs]

A lot of the stores/sellers on Amazon will not ship to Aussie....I will try eBay though...but again..unless it's an Aussie seller....still takes three weeks minimum?

Ah, yes... I forgot the benefit of living in the US.

 

[Quadcopter102]

Ah, yes... I forgot the benefit of living in the US.

Just found an Aussue seller.....will be ordering one .
And yes... eBay is like a huge Chinese store here! Then again most things are made in China....including IKEA Swedish furniture!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Gimbal protectors require zip ties to attach, and once installed, the aircraft will no longer fit into most cases without cutting the zip ties and removing the gimbal protector. Rip Zip ties can be removed and reused, so get a couple of them instead the regular zip ties. Thin velcro strips sold on a roll at Home Depot also work well. A side benefit of the thin velcro strips is they add structural stabilty to the combination for easy hand catching, by tightly bracing the struts with the gimbal guard attached.

 

[Quadcopter102]

Gimbal protectors require zip ties to attach, and once installed, the aircraft will no longer fit into most cases without cutting the zip ties and removing the gimbal protector. Rip Zip ties can be removed and reused, so get a couple of them instead the regular zip ties. Thin velcro strips sold on a roll at Home Depot also work well.

Thanks...that saved me blundering into a self made problem...

 

[DDW]

Gimbal protectors require zip ties to attach, and once installed, the aircraft will no longer fit into most cases without cutting the zip ties and removing the gimbal protector. Rip Zip ties can be removed and reused, so get a couple of them instead the regular zip ties. Thin velcro strips sold on a roll at Home Depot also work well.

This gave me an idea: instead of zip ties or tape on the outboard arms to help with the cracking issues, what about velcro strips? Maybe tough to get on tight enough and maybe too wide, but certainly easy to get on/off.

 

[eMaX]

As I had said in a related thread, those gimbal protectors have absolutely saved my camera already. I had two crashes and one low battery landing in a not so nice fiel where just by the remains of the crops there my camera would easily have been damaged.

There's no reason not to put on a protector for 10 $ if your gimbal costs like 30 times that much.

I'd never fly without one.

 

[GadgetGuy]

As I had said in a related thread, those gimbal protectors have absolutely saved my camera already. I had two crashes and one low battery landing in a not so nice fiel where just by the remains of the crops there my camera would easily have been damaged.

There's no reason not to put on a protector for 10 $ if your gimbal costs like 30 times that much.

I'd never fly without one.

Well, there are some downsides. If your Phantom won't fit in your travel case with the guard installed, and you have to remove the zip ties to get it into the case, and then reattach it with new ones every time you fly with the guard, quick deployment goes down the drain. Thankfully, my case allows me to leave mine on. Also, depending upon the guard, the camera can slam into it during flight when the Phantom tips to the right during breaking, after flying left, resulting in an unusable video clip, because you lose the stabilization of the gimbal during camera contact with the guard. There is no free lunch!

 

[eMaX]

The first argument of course calls for a different case

The second argument I can't confirm with the UAVbits part; it won't make contact with the camera (at least I've never seen that). It may get into the picture if you descend with your camera facing straight down - but that happened rarely so far.

 

[REBELimgs]

The first argument of course calls for a different case

The second argument I can't confirm with the UAVbits part; it won't make contact with the camera (at least I've never seen that). It may get into the picture if you descend with your camera facing straight down - but that happened rarely so far.

I've put the UAVBits guard on at least 3 P3P and oddly enough the clearance between the camera and the guard was different on each. Seems like a manufacturing oddity on DJI's part.

To avoid any possible contact with the gimbal, I've installed 5mm landing gear extensions. Much better.

Also, my case doesn't give me any problems storing my P3 with the guard installed.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The first argument of course calls for a different case

The second argument I can't confirm with the UAVbits part; it won't make contact with the camera (at least I've never seen that). It may get into the picture if you descend with your camera facing straight down - but that happened rarely so far.

The impact with the guard is rare, but it does happen, and can be simulated when holding the Phantom and tipping it to extremes. Only one P3P to test it on left. Original one bit the dust, ripping off the camera, increasing my interest in the guard! I'm experimenting with a UAVbits camera mount, to increase the clearance by a few millimeters, which is all that is required.

 

[bobmyers]

The first argument of course calls for a different case

The second argument I can't confirm with the UAVbits part; it won't make contact with the camera (at least I've never seen that). It may get into the picture if you descend with your camera facing straight down - but that happened rarely so far.

It doesn't get into the picture.

 

[eMaX]

It doesn't get into the picture.

Yes it does. When you have your camera pointing straight down, but the drone isn't as it is e.g. compensating for wind.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes it does. When you have your camera pointing straight down, but the drone isn't as it is e.g. compensating for wind.

It usually does not, but it is theoretically possible, if you are shooting straight down, and either fighting an extreme tail wind or flying backwards at very high speed. I have never encountered it in over 100 flights. Should it ever happen, however, you can easily eliminate it by simply rotating the aircraft 180° if it is due to fighting the wind, or flying forwards instead of backwards at high speed when facing straight down. It's about as likely as accidentally executing a CSC in midair without engaging in extreme flying that the craft was never designed for.

 

[bobmyers]

Yes it does. When you have your camera pointing straight down, but the drone isn't as it is e.g. compensating for wind.

Mine has never shown up in any of my video.