P4P Major Tilted Horizon (Even after IMU/Gimbal Calibration)

jdwarren · Mar 12, 2017

Hey all!

The camera on the P4P is great, but I can't use any of my footage because of how tilted the horizon is. It doesn't even have to be the horizon that I am looking at, the second I have any movement the gimbal does not keep anything level.

I have done a cold IMU calibration, gimbal calibration, compass calibration.

My gimbal setting is set to "follow".

Any ideas on what I can do to solve this?

Thank you!

Suhail78 · Mar 13, 2017

jdwarren said:
Hey all!

The camera on the P4P is great, but I can't use any of my footage because of how tilted the horizon is. It doesn't even have to be the horizon that I am looking at, the second I have any movement the gimbal does not keep anything level.

I have done a cold IMU calibration, gimbal calibration, compass calibration.

My gimbal setting is set to "follow".

Any ideas on what I can do to solve this?

Thank you!

Unfortunately, DJI drones are notorious for this problem. Outside of what you've already done, i guess your last option is calling DJI and sending the drone in to be fixed, but most likely they will send back a reburb with the same issue, it seems that DJI is unable or unwilling to fix this issue permanently.

Neon Euc · Mar 13, 2017

Hold the C2 button and use the gimble wheel to manually correct and level it

jdwarren · Mar 13, 2017

Neon Euc said:
Hold the C2 button and use the gimble wheel to manually correct and level it

I did this, but the second I input any movements, the gimbal becomes tilted again. Yielding the footage un-usable.

jdwarren · Mar 13, 2017

Suhail78 said:
Unfortunately, DJI drones are notorious for this problem. Outside of what you've already done, i guess your last option is calling DJI and sending the drone in to be fixed, but most likely they will send back a reburb with the same issue, it seems that DJI is unable or unwilling to fix this issue permanently.

Very sad to hear this. I hate to send my drone in, the repair center takes forever. and I dont want a refurb that has been in a crash when mine is basically brand new, just a terrible tilted horizon.

Suhail78 · Mar 13, 2017

Neon Euc said:
Hold the C2 button and use the gimble wheel to manually correct and level it

jdwarren said:
I did this, but the second I input any movements, the gimbal becomes tilted again. Yielding the footage un-usable.

What i do in this situation is get lined up for whatever shot i want to take, and then manually adjust the horizon with C2, and it seems to fix the issue as long as im traveling in the same direction. But once i yaw, its back to a tilt....i've just accepted the fact that we have to live with it at this point.

Drestin Black · Mar 13, 2017

I find it sad that at the top of my P5 wish list is that they fix the tilted horizon.
It comes before more range or speed

RyanK · Mar 14, 2017

I'm having this same issue too. Drives me nuts. See video below of demonstration. I hope DJI can fix it.

mdowney58 · Mar 14, 2017

Is this not something that you can correct by adjusting the roll motor shaft in the roll arm?

Drestin Black · Mar 14, 2017

mdowney58 said:
Is this not something that you can correct by adjusting the roll motor shaft in the roll arm?

Maybe.
But it would also void your warranty

RyanK · Mar 14, 2017

Yeah, I don't want to do the work if it needs hardware fix. I'd much rather DJI did it, but I was hoping for a software solution first.

Suhail78 · Mar 15, 2017

So many people have posts up on this forum about this issue and that they sent their drone in because of it (some people even multiple times) but the issue almost always returns........best bet is manual adjustment with C2+ wheel prior to any shots or videos you plan on using.

zacksomeone · Mar 15, 2017

I met DJI's camera installer...

RyanK · Mar 15, 2017

Suhail78 said:
So many people have posts up on this forum about this issue and that they sent their drone in because of it (some people even multiple times) but the issue almost always returns........best bet is manual adjustment with C2+ wheel prior to any shots or videos you plan on using.

If all it took was an occasional gimbal adjustment left or right, I wouldn't mind that, but floating around during the middle of a pan shot is not something you can fix with a manual adjustment. It basically means I can never do pan shots if they cannot fix this issue. Very frustrating.

jdwarren · Mar 15, 2017

RyanK said:
I'm having this same issue too. Drives me nuts. See video below of demonstration. I hope DJI can fix it.

THIS! Exact same as you right here!

I adjust my gimbal roll at the beginning of the shot, as soon as I start to move / pan my gimbal starts to tilt majorly into the direction of the pan.

Makes the videos useless.. I hope DJI can fix this. I already have 1 P4P in the shop, dont want to send another to DJI but I may have to

Brockrock · Mar 16, 2017

I am wanting to get a second drone for assorted reasons and I considered the P4P until I saw it had the same horizon issue as the P4. Not an option now. I'm not sure I would have bought the P4 if I knew the footage would be canted. My nephew has a P3P and his horizon is solid. Probably would have gone that route.

skyeboysteve · Mar 18, 2017

I just got back my P4P a few days ago, from DJI. They fixed the vibration in my gimble so I no longer have any jello in my video. But now, my gimble seems to roll a lot more than before--giving me slanted horizon when ever I yaw (even while panning very slowly) or accelerate in flight in general. After several seconds of constant velocity or hover (with no yaw) it rolls back level... but it still ruins the shot. I can fix in post, but because gimble rolls so much, I have to crop down the frame a lot to level out the horizon.

iTzBryan · Mar 18, 2017

If you wanted to use 1080p you could shoot 4K, crop, and adjust the tilt? Still ridiculous you'd even have to do that. Should just work for the $$$

RyanK · Mar 20, 2017

I reported a week ago about my extreme gimbal drift issues (and posted a video as well, see above), even after the latest fw upgrade.

Today, I'm happy to report that I think I found a fix (at least it worked for me). I would like to do some more testing before I emphatically say my issue is gone, but today when I flew, it was a million times better. Some of you may have heard of this method, but I went extreme and was super careful to get a perfect IMU and gimbal calibration. Here's what I did.

1. Went to Lowes and got a 18" x 18" pane of glass (probably could have been a little smaller too, but it worked). Also got a bubble level and a mini torpedo level.
2. Still have cold nights here, so set the drone outside for a few minutes to get it cold before IMU calibration.
3. With drone still off, I balanced my pane of glass on top of the 4 motors and set my bubble level on it.
4. Used playing cards under the landing gear to get a perfect center on the bubble level. Also checked with torpedo level for good measure.
5. Removed the glass pane without touching the drone, and placed it on the ground.
6. Again used my levelers to get the pane of glass perfectly level on the ground (if your house is like mine, it's nearly impossible to find any table or floor that is 100% perfectly level).
7. Turned on drone and immediately began IMU calibration. Kept drone in place thru step 1 of calibration.
8. Then I used my level pane of glass on the floor for steps 2 thru 6 of IMU calibration.
9. After that was done, I put the drone back on the floor and glass back on top of motors. Leveled it again using bubble leveler and playing cards.
10. Gimbal auto-calibration.
11. Flew again this morning, and my gimbal was remarkably better. It was level, and even more importantly than that, it did not tilt and sway as I yawed the bird.

I still want to fly a few more times before I say it's definitely fixed, but I was very happy with today's flight compared to last time I flew. I hope this info helps you guys with the same issue!