Polarizer Filter for Phantom/Zenmuse H3

marsmock · Aug 23, 2013

Hello,

I was curious if anyone has or had placed a polarizer filter on there set up. Would one like this,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POLARIZER-FILTE ... 258175be94

or would that effect the weight balance and throw it off? Thanks.

tmcgowan · Aug 23, 2013

I recently purchased a neutral density filter from Naked Filters. It's designed to fit over the GoPro lens. Even though it only weighs a couple of grams, I've been a little reluctant to leave it on for long periods of time, since it does (as with all lenses) through the balance off a bit.

Audaciter · Aug 23, 2013

check out the stuff at "Snake River Prototyping" dot com.

If you are going to use the Zenmuse gimbal, you won't be able to use the waterproof housing at all.
SRP does make a product to work with the Zenmuse gimbal.

Gizmo3000 · Aug 23, 2013

I would stay away from the cheap plastic polarizers

but unsure how well the gimbals handle the extra weight

but these folks sell a 37mm filter adapter that might work ok

http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-26/F ... ROT/Detail

marcus_canada · Aug 23, 2013

Gizmo3000 said:
but these folks sell a 37mm filter adapter that might work ok
http://www.taco-rc.com/servlet/the-26/F ... ROT/Detail

I'd be wary of any accessory which is attached to the gopro with a rubber band :roll: Or Hot glue as most of the sellers are suggesting hahaha, wow.

Audaciter · Aug 24, 2013

I'd be wary of any accessory which is attached to the gopro with a rubber band :roll: Or Hot glue as most of the sellers are suggesting hahaha, wow.

+1. The Snake River Prototyping unit, is made of machined Delrin, and has a notch to clear the retainer, holding the
GoPro to the Zenmuse gimbal. The fit is excellent, requiring no glue, rubber bands, etc.

You can purchase 52mm filters from them, or provide your own.

gardenroute · Aug 24, 2013

I'm afraid it will not be easy - read this:

H3-2D Manual :
"H3-2D is Specialized for Camera and Lens before it leaves the factory. Please mount your camera to H3-2D When get it. No. adjusting or amending is allowed to H3-2D. Do not modify or add any other component / device (Such as filter, lens hood, etc..) to the camera, make sure to use the original battery; Otherwise it May end up with worse performance or even internal malfunction."

Audaciter · Aug 24, 2013

I'm afraid it will not be easy - read this:

Yes, do so, or do not, but it is at your own risk. No matter what you do in life, there are going to be risks involved.

The simple truth, is that the GoPro jello is reduced, by having a good ND filter attached. If the gimbal isn't strong enough
to carry it, then it's just a $700 piece of crap.

Not everybody is going to fly at sunrise, or sunset, to suit the nature of a finicky gimbal.

skipper1 · Aug 24, 2013

Just be sure to read the Zenmuse manual before you add anything. I'd hate to see you ruin a $700.00 gimbal with a $22.00 add-on.

edunwody · Aug 24, 2013

Audaciter said:
I'd be wary of any accessory which is attached to the gopro with a rubber band :roll: Or Hot glue as most of the sellers are suggesting hahaha, wow.

Click to expand...

+1. The Snake River Prototyping unit, is made of machined Delrin, and has a notch to clear the retainer, holding the
GoPro to the Zenmuse gimbal. The fit is excellent, requiring no glue, rubber bands, etc.

You can purchase 52mm filters from them, or provide your own.

I own the Snake River kit and it works! Very well made with high end filters. Really makes a difference with image quality.

Disclaimer!!! I use it without the Zinmuse. I know and have seen it work flawlessly on V1 Zin.
I'm afraid at this time it will not work on my V2 Zin. I hope with a modification from Snake River that soon will not be the case. Until then I will be flying the GoPro without.
Great folks at Snake River!

My 2 cents.

E

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Audaciter · Aug 24, 2013

Zenmuse V-2 ? When did this come about ?

Definitely keep us posted on performance, etc.

edunwody · Aug 24, 2013

Audaciter said:
Zenmuse V-2 ? When did this come about ?

Definitely keep us posted on performance, etc.

Think it was about a week ago.
That's what I got installed. Motors are in house now not outsourced, what every that means. I thought everything in china was outsourced.
Anyway, I didn't ever see a V1 but there are some changes I am told.
I do know that many V1s worked flawlessly but a few ( being a relative term) had flaws.

E

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xzoticskillz · Sep 6, 2013

Guys do not use snakeriverprototyping filters on the zenmuse. I did and my motor got scorching hot, notified snake river prototyping and they recalled all filters. They are a very reliable and reputable company however their filter systems and the zenmuse do not mesh which really sucks, because this definitely had the potential to reach the holy grail of non-jello footage.

edunwody · Sep 6, 2013

xzoticskillz said:
Guys do not use snakeriverprototyping filters on the zenmuse. I did and my motor got scorching hot, notified snake river prototyping and they recalled all filters. They are a very reliable and reputable company however their filter systems and the zenmuse do not mesh which really sucks, because this definitely had the potential to reach the holy grail of non-jello footage.

First of all. I love the guys at Snake River. They sell a great product. I'm afraid they do not work on my Zen. Which I hate because the filters are great.
The one they sent out where Beta only. Just to see if they worked. They worked on their test Zen. But they had the first batch. Mine goes to sleep.

E

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martcerv · Sep 7, 2013

I cant understand how a premium gimbal can possibly be so under engineered that it cant handle 24g more weight getting a gopro black to around 100g with a filter. This is why I am staying away from the DJI gimbal, I would gladly pay that price if it was a solid piece of hardware but other then great performance when its working well everything else is below even the cheaper options. Those 24g more or so would be nothing compared to the extra load you would get from wind and g-forces in flight and so I think DJI have just gone way too wimpy a set of motors on their gimbal.

The funny thing is its not even the lightest option, yet its still weak and the v2 gimbal seems to be made of even cheaper components to make up for the losses they have had needing to replace many gimbals. People have had them fail even without filters so I doubt its a filter that will take it over the edge and there is on way it should be so wimpy that it cant handle a blurfix and filter.

I have recently tried some of the Polar pro filters and the quality compared to the SRP is a long way behind, they are fairly dark so good on very sunny days but then on these days it gets a reflection that ruins the image completly. I got this with both their ND4 and ND3 filters on the same day and have never seen anything like that from any other filter I have used. I also have their polarizing filter but havent tried it out yet, the PP is lighter 7-8g but it makes the image softer and is prone to that crappy reflection.

I will do up a full review of the filters later on and have some test videos up here in this playlist.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... 4h2svElWu0

My 2 cam mount had some issues at this point so I got more jello then I ever got in the past, I sorted that out now and will re-shoot some comparisons next time the sun is out. These are all ungraded pt on cam raw videos uncropped just scaled to 50% and put side by side to show how they really effect the image without the camera making any compensations for it.

I also have more filters to try out with the Blurfix next time so I will give them all a proper test and my setup is much more balanced and mount has zero wobble compared to quite a bit in those tests.

edunwody · Sep 7, 2013

Before I got the gimbal I used the Snake River filters all the time. They really work.
As far as balancing, not sure how to make that work.

E

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