Gimbal roll whats it for?

[fastfed]

Short and sweet. After finding out my horizon was lopsided and uneven, I found that I could probably fix it with the gimbal roll setting.

But hoping a proper imu and gimbal calibration will fix it. I just assume gimbal roll adjustment is just incase those calibrations do not fix it?

Is that what its for?

 

[alokbhargava]

You are right, it is to fix minor corrections needed after all calibrations. This can help avoid mechanical readjustments to some extent.

 

[fastfed]

So then I am to assume, DJI added this in for that reason, so if after all calibrations its still a little off, they will not warranty it for you, they will simply tell you that the adjustments are in there to fix that issue?

Thanks

 

[Dronason]

You should have seen how much tilt we get last year before recent firmware update. I just see a fee weeks ago that the tilt I had was due to the old roll adjustment I made to make it right. Now it is nice with a 0 correction.

 

[SnoozeDoggyDog]

Gimbal roll used to be so bad it made my blood boil. It was like DJI sticking 2 fingers up in my face each time I flew "so what, it's tilted" I, could hear someone from dji inside my head "so try and buy something half as good from another manufacturer or deal with it"!

 

[fastfed]

So what do I do? I just did a new IMU Calibration and gimbal calibration, and please note, from what I've gathered the IMU will only be for moving video, when stationary it shouldn't effect the horizon, either way, I had to do an adjustment of -1.8 to -2.0 to get it right, but then I feel after moving around for a while its like it looses the adjustment and I need to correct it again.

The only good news it seems to save the setting so if I start up again I don't need to re-enter the settings.

When I do a gimbal calibration all it does is move the camera back and forth, does not do any rolling.

Am I screwed? do I just deal with it and do my best to adjust ? I really do not want to lose this thing for 3 months by sending it to DJI.
or worse get it back and its not different somehow .

I'm so lost lol

 

[fastfed]

Also watching some videos, and seeing that when people do a gimbal calibration the entire gimbal moves up, down, side to side and roll, mine just goes side to side.,

can someone do a calibration for me please and let me know what yours does, did a firmware update change this?

Thanks

 

[matti]

I have struggled with tilted horizon, too. No matter what I do (see below), it is about 0-1-2° tilted. Some shots are 0° while others are 1-2° tilted in the same flight. I have now accepted this and fix it in post with Lightroom or Final Cut Pro (in P3P shooting 4K and outputting HD allows me to do that with virtually no degradation in image quality).

...My memo about how I tried to fix the issue:

IMU and Gimbal calibration:

Main Controller Settings > Advanced Settings > Sensors > IMU Calibration

Gimbal Settings > Gimbal Auto Calibration

Might fix tilted horizon. Make sure "Adjust Gimbal Roll" is 0° before calibrating.

Gimbal Settings > Adjust Gimbal Roll

Cool the P3 (and battery?) for one hour in my refrigerator or other cool place followed by an immediate IMU calibration and gimbal auto calibration on a perfectly level surface on power-up as soon as the DJI GO app shows a live camera view from the P3 (which will be very foggy due to condensation on the cold camera lens).

Gyroscope Mod 0.0-1.5, Acceleration (g) X, Y 0.00, Z -1.00, Mod 1.00 (0.98-1.02)

If the horizon is still tilted you might try the following:

Get airborne, climb to a height that gives you a clean horizon and then manually change the gimbal roll in the DJI GO app > Gimbal Param Settings > Adjust Gimbal Roll lets you adjust the horizon in 0.2 degree increments. You might make this a P3P shortcut to C1 and C2, then turn right thumbwheel.

A poster has suggested doing the IMU calibration while the AC motors/props (motor hubs using a piece of glass or something similar across all four motors) are level. I.e. "uneven legs". Even if you have a perfectly level surface, you will will find that the landing legs in the Phantom can be slightly off because of the uneven wear of the foam padding underneath the landing surface. The easiest method for balancing is to remove the propellers, place a glass pane (e.g. from a picture frame) directly on top of the prop shafts, and measure the top of this glass pane with a spirit level in both directions. You can then insert sheets of paper under the landing legs for a perfect horizontal alignment.

A poster has suggested doing the gimbal calibration while the AC is in the air on a calm day with little wind.

A poster has suggested facing the AC north while calibrating the IMU.

A poster has suggested tilting the camera straight down pointing at ground before starting the auto gimbal calibration.

A poster has suggested that if the AC takes off from an unlevel surface the horizon will be tilted.

A poster has suggested that the camera is attached to the gimbal unit and secured by a small set screw. It is possible to loosen the screw and rotate the camera assembly slightly to correct the tilt.

A poster has suggested doing IMU calibration (as above), but then adjusting gimbal roll with the grid on the camera to some level object, followed by gimbal calibration.

Horizon off alittle...
Tilted Horizon issues on Phantom 3 pro
Non-Level P3 Pro Camera Horizon FINALLY Resolved!

 

[happydays]

A poster has suggested doing the gimbal calibration while the AC is in the air on a calm day with little wind.

A poster has suggested facing the AC north while calibrating the IMU.

A poster has suggested tilting the camera straight down pointing at ground before starting the auto gimbal calibration.

A poster has suggested that if the AC takes off from an unlevel surface the horizon will be tilted.

A poster has suggested that the camera is attached to the gimbal unit and secured by a small set screw. It is possible to loosen the screw and rotate the camera assembly slightly to correct the tilt.

A poster has suggested doing IMU calibration (as above), but then adjusting gimbal roll with the grid on the camera to some level object, followed by gimbal calibration.

This guy A.Poster seems to know an awful lot about Phantoms!

 

[fastfed]

I have struggled with tilted horizon, too. No matter what I do (see below), it is about 0-1-2° tilted. Some shots are 0° while others are 1-2° tilted in the same flight. I have now accepted this and fix it in post with Lightroom or Final Cut Pro (in P3P shooting 4K and outputting HD allows me to do that with virtually no degradation in image quality).

...My memo about how I tried to fix the issue:

IMU and Gimbal calibration:

Main Controller Settings > Advanced Settings > Sensors > IMU Calibration

Gimbal Settings > Gimbal Auto Calibration

Might fix tilted horizon. Make sure "Adjust Gimbal Roll" is 0° before calibrating.

Gimbal Settings > Adjust Gimbal Roll

Cool the P3 (and battery?) for one hour in my refrigerator or other cool place followed by an immediate IMU calibration and gimbal auto calibration on a perfectly level surface on power-up as soon as the DJI GO app shows a live camera view from the P3 (which will be very foggy due to condensation on the cold camera lens).

Gyroscope Mod 0.0-1.5, Acceleration (g) X, Y 0.00, Z -1.00, Mod 1.00 (0.98-1.02)

If the horizon is still tilted you might try the following:

Get airborne, climb to a height that gives you a clean horizon and then manually change the gimbal roll in the DJI GO app > Gimbal Param Settings > Adjust Gimbal Roll lets you adjust the horizon in 0.2 degree increments. You might make this a P3P shortcut to C1 and C2, then turn right thumbwheel.

A poster has suggested doing the IMU calibration while the AC motors/props (motor hubs using a piece of glass or something similar across all four motors) are level. I.e. "uneven legs". Even if you have a perfectly level surface, you will will find that the landing legs in the Phantom can be slightly off because of the uneven wear of the foam padding underneath the landing surface. The easiest method for balancing is to remove the propellers, place a glass pane (e.g. from a picture frame) directly on top of the prop shafts, and measure the top of this glass pane with a spirit level in both directions. You can then insert sheets of paper under the landing legs for a perfect horizontal alignment.

A poster has suggested doing the gimbal calibration while the AC is in the air on a calm day with little wind.

A poster has suggested facing the AC north while calibrating the IMU.

A poster has suggested tilting the camera straight down pointing at ground before starting the auto gimbal calibration.

A poster has suggested that if the AC takes off from an unlevel surface the horizon will be tilted.

A poster has suggested that the camera is attached to the gimbal unit and secured by a small set screw. It is possible to loosen the screw and rotate the camera assembly slightly to correct the tilt.

A poster has suggested doing IMU calibration (as above), but then adjusting gimbal roll with the grid on the camera to some level object, followed by gimbal calibration.

Horizon off alittle...
Tilted Horizon issues on Phantom 3 pro
Non-Level P3 Pro Camera Horizon FINALLY Resolved!

WOW!! Thanks.
But after all of that, you still have tilted horizon.

I wish I was never told about, I'm not obsessed and cannot stop looking at it.

It seems when I get the horizon correct using the gimbal correction, after flying around some more, it gets all cockeyed again.

I simply cannot accept this, its way too annoying for me.

if I was able to fix it doing the gimbal correction I would be fine, but it still does not fix it.
I do see many people have this problem, my fear is sending it back to DJI and them sending me a refurb one with the same issue, lol and I'm out my drone for many many weeks.

Again, can someone tell me, when doing a gimbal calibration does the camera do anything other then side to side?

thanks

 

[Oso]

WOW!! Thanks.
But after all of that, you still have tilted horizon.

I wish I was never told about, I'm not obsessed and cannot stop looking at it.

It seems when I get the horizon correct using the gimbal correction, after flying around some more, it gets all cockeyed again.

I simply cannot accept this, its way too annoying for me.

if I was able to fix it doing the gimbal correction I would be fine, but it still does not fix it.
I do see many people have this problem, my fear is sending it back to DJI and them sending me a refurb one with the same issue, lol and I'm out my drone for many many weeks.

Again, can someone tell me, when doing a gimbal calibration does the camera do anything other then side to side?

thanks

Here's what I normally tell people who struggle with this particular issue. Just use it as a data point when deciding your next steps...

The dreaded horizon tilt

 

[fastfed]

Thanks

can someone tell me, when doing a gimbal calibration does the camera do anything other then side to side

 

[matti]

Here's what I normally tell people who struggle with this particular issue. Just use it as a data point when deciding your next steps...
The dreaded horizon tilt

Thanks. I wonder if other drones suffer the drifting horizon? Is this an universal issue with gimbal tech?

 

[fastfed]

can someone tell me, when doing a gimbal calibration does the camera do anything other then side to side

 

[dirkclod]

Mine after it does that just like goes limp then jumps back up and then says has completed on my screen Fastfed .

 

[fastfed]

ok thanks, because looking at some videos, it shows the calibration doing almost a whole dance like the typical startup

 

[fastfed]

ok cool.

Weird how it doesnt go vertical or roll if its calibrating

 

[dirkclod]

ok cool.

Weird how it doesnt go vertical or roll if its calibrating

Sorry,messed up and deleted my post . Yea I agree but that's what mine does .

 

[hawkeye62]

I have never noticed any horizon tilt. I did my IMU calibration using a glass plate with props removed.

Jim

 

[Domikk]

Is it good calibrate IMU??