Hi Air pilots, I'd like to find out if in sport the cam in the videos I found on you tube is always pointing some degrees down by accident or by firmware/hardware/design.
Even if people not flying sport in full speed, it does not look like that the cam will ever stay horizontal in Sport Mode.
How is your experience about that?

As soon as you start moving in sport mode, the camera start to look down a bit, and stay that way after you stop.

https://forum.dji.com/thread-134054-1-1.html

Thank you very much.
Not sure that I like this.
Do you?

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-13 08:05
Thank you very much.
Not sure that I like this.
Do you?

Like others, I don't like it.
But that is how it is now.

Most likely, this will be fixed/changed in an future software upgrade.

That’s the way it is now, not sure if it can be fixed with firmware, hopefully.

How much more can the camera move upwards?
I mean, the Air is flying a greater angle as the spark in sport, isn't it?
Can it be a precaution in case of heavy movements, to prevent that it hits the end stop?

In order to go that fast, the aircraft nose must pitch down.

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-13 08:57
How much more can the camera move upwards?
I mean, the Air is flying a greater angle as the spark in sport, isn't it?
Can it be a precaution in case of heavy movements, to prevent that it hits the end stop?

You could be spot on with your last sentence, nobody wants their camera footage to keep pitching up and down. It looks like DJI programmed the Air to give it an alternate gimbal endstop when it reaches its original endstop in banked (sports)flight. To prevent it from hopping up and down when flying in sportsmode.

DJI 'fixing' this, could result in more complaints than it alleviates.

Skypony Posted at 2018-2-14 07:30
In order to go that fast, the aircraft nose must pitch down.

Yes, but even the spark can, after the initial 'sport-nod', get the cam horizontal again!
And isn't offering a -20° angle only!
Just saying

LoSBoL Posted at 2018-2-14 08:48
You could be spot on with your last sentence, nobody wants their camera footage to keep pitching up and down. It looks like DJI programmed the Air to give it an alternate gimbal endstop when it reaches its original endstop in banked (sports)flight. To prevent it from hopping up and down when flying in sportsmode.

DJI 'fixing' this, could result in more complaints than it alleviates.

But if it would be intentional, it should be told upfront the sale, don't you think?
No one wants the video footage to be only downwards, even if not using full speed in sport.
But as I did read about, it is not about the speed. It is about "sport is on", even flying slowly.
How about sideways flying in sport?
Horizontal or downwards?

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-14 10:11
But if it would be intentional, it should be told upfront the sale, don't you think?
No one wants the video footage to be only downwards, even if not using full speed in sport.
But as I did read about, it is not about the speed. It is about "sport is on", even flying slowly.

It's basically choosing between 2 evil's, I guess you would rather have your footage tilting up and down as you fly?
You can bet if that was the way DJI implemented it, people wanted to know that upfront aswell.

Fly within the capabilities of the gimbal of the aircraft and you won't have issues. Basically, sportsmode isn't really suited for shooting at the horizon.
The problem is speed/acceleration, the craft needs to tilt beyond the gimbals capabilities so it has to pitch the camera down. By staying at that angle when you stop would actually give you stabilized footage when you choose to throttle up again. Instead of hopping up and down.

LoSBoL Posted at 2018-2-14 10:47
It's basically choosing between 2 evil's, I guess you would rather have your footage tilting up and down as you fly?
You can bet if that was the way DJI implemented it, people wanted to know that upfront aswell.

Again, the Spark has a limited gimbal, too.
And it 'nods', as soon you speed up in sport.
But after some seconds the cam comes back up.
Maybe that is the reason for the one or the other shaky cam, who (DJI;-) knows.
But can it really be a problem, to install/construct a cam with a bigger +° range?
It is not really a 50$ toy, isn't it?

But I would still like to know:
How behaves the gimbal in sideway flights in sport mode?

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-14 11:23
Again, the Spark has a limited gimbal, too.
And it 'nods', as soon you speed up in sport.
But after some seconds the cam comes back up.

Yes, you've got a clear point aswell, tucking away the camera has it's pro's and con's, the con being it has limited gimbal tilting capabilities. It's not a 50 dollar drone, but it isn't an 1500 dollar drone either. As for the sideway tilting, I got this test from https://myfirstdrone.com/blog/dji-mavic-air-vs-mavic-pro




Speed
The Mavic Pro will go over 40mph, but so can the Mavic Air. Many people would end the comparison there, but that wouldn’t tell the full story. The max Speed in sport mode is only one measurement, but the real maximum speed will change depending on how you’re flying. This is why we tested the max speed in almost every situation we could think of (not just Sport mode).
In Sport mode both drones go around 40mph. When you are controlling both of them with just a smartphone, there’s a huge difference in speed. The Mavic Pro will max out at 7mph (with obstacle avoidance off and the Mavic Air will do 16mph with APAS enabled. That means the Mavic Air would be a much better choice if you want to just use your phone to fly. When using a controller, both drones go 20mph, but if you disable obstacle avoidance on the Mavic Pro, it will go almost 30mph.
Gimbal speed is another thing that most people don’t talk about. While both drones can go up to 40mph, that doesn’t mean that you will be able to look straight ahead at that speed. The Mavic Pro starts to tilt the camera down at 30mph when going forward, however when you’re flying sideways you can go up to 40 without the gimbal reaching its limit.
The Mavic Air has a gimbal design that is closer to the Spark, and because of that it has a very limited range of motion. You can only go about 20mph in any direction before the gimbal reaches its limit. The only way of going faster while still looking forward is to fly backwards.

Drones Puppet Posted at 2018-2-14 11:58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KUr_3pJyGk

Is that in sport only?
Honestly?
I would not have expected DJI to downgrade the Air this way, or better, to keep the Pro this way ahead of the Air!
I am pretty sure, there are neither technical difficulties nor pricy ones, to let the 3 axis gimbal of the Air behave like the 2 axis gimbal of the Spark.
I assume pur marketing here!

LoSBoL Posted at 2018-2-15 00:17
Yes, you've got a clear point aswell, tucking away the camera has it's pro's and con's, the con being it has limited gimbal tilting capabilities. It's not a 50 dollar drone, but it isn't an 1500 dollar drone either. As for the sideway tilting, I got this test from https://myfirstdrone.com/blog/dji-mavic-air-vs-mavic-pro

Thank you very much!
Right now I am not so unhappy that I not got me one when I had the Combo box in hands!

I will stay tuned for more infos and feedbacks ;-)

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-15 04:36
Is that in sport only?
Honestly?
I would not have expected DJI to downgrade the Air this way, or better, to keep the Pro this way ahead of the Air!

Yes, and now I will sell it and buy a Spark again.
I'm very disappointed.

I sold Spark and Pro. I'm an idiot. I never thought, that a 3-Axis Gimbal would work that bad. More bad than the Spark 2-Axis Gimbal.

I think people are expecting way to much from Mavic Airs and Sparks and even Macic Pro's.
These are not "true professional" film making drone like the inspire and phatoms. Look at the gimble design on those compared to the Spark and Mavic product lines. You get what you pay for, you need to use your equipment according.

Spark Gimbal works better than the Air Gimbal.

Solution: https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... &fromuid=821420

Spark gimbal works better then spark gimbal? Yesh okay...u see spark in sport mode? Anyways the camera by default is going to tilt down a little bit because of the angle of the aircraft angle is 35° in sport mode same as the spark..  and I don't like what the spark does how the camera will go down and sport mode but then come back up that ruins the shot ....go back to the spark then quit complaining

No one has forced you to voice your opinion here, if you find that everything is fine for you.

$gambino$ Posted at 2018-2-15 13:12
Spark gimbal works better then spark gimbal? Yesh okay...u see spark in sport mode? Anyways the camera by default is going to tilt down a little bit because of the angle of the aircraft angle is 35° in sport mode same as the spark..  and I don't like what the spark does how the camera will go down and sport mode but then come back up that ruins the shot ....go back to the spark then quit complaining

>>and I don't like what the spark does how the camera will go down and sport mode but then come back up that ruins the shot <<

For your problem it is simple:
Start your shot about 50m's befor you wanna 'shoot'. Solved!

Are you guys utilizing the default tilt setting on the Air gimbal?   What happens if you allow it to tilt up further than 0 degrees?   I'm pretty sure you can modify that setting and that may help with a higher viewpoint when the drone is tilted.  Thoughts?

Does not work. I posted a real solution in the link above.

Drones Puppet Posted at 2018-2-15 12:46
Solution: https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=134054&pid=1201681&fromuid=821420

That's great, good to hear you found a sollution to your likings

Berg I Imagery Posted at 2018-2-15 19:37
Are you guys utilizing the default tilt setting on the Air gimbal?   What happens if you allow it to tilt up further than 0 degrees?   I'm pretty sure you can modify that setting and that may help with a higher viewpoint when the drone is tilted.  Thoughts?

Only with very smooth and slow throttle control flying and braking you can keep the elevated gimball position. with just a little to much throttle it will reset to 0 degrees after to much attitude.

It's better to just keep it off. tilting the gimbal into the extended zone will give you less margin for the aircraft to change its attitude. So it gets worse, which probably is the reason its turned off by default.

Question: Is that Sport nodding forward / tilting sidways in all Videomodes?
Or only in 4k?
Just thinking:
Digital image stabilisation works for the Spark 2 axis gimbal in FHD for Sport forward only, but  in &apos' even sidewards!  
I assume with a 3 axis gimbal DJI could let people use full 'sport-speed' with full video abilies in FHD video mode in forward and sidewards flights.
THIS could be easily added via the next firmware update.
And it would keep the line:
Spark, limited 2 axis gimbal with no horizontal video sideways in sport
Air, 3 axis gimbal but limited in 4k, unlimited in FHD
Pro, .....
....
....

Also: I could 'live with that', if I would know it upfront, meaning: before buying!

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-2-13 08:05
Thank you very much.
Not sure that I like this.
Do you?

This sucks. I mainly fly racing drones and when flying fast the camera should angle up NOT DOWN (or at least max up) duh!

Drones Puppet Posted at 2018-2-14 11:58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KUr_3pJyGk

I had this same problem happen to me once...has not occurred again...yet.

kwad vision Posted at 2018-2-18 06:56
I had this same problem happen to me once...has not occurred again...yet.

I'm joining this thread late because I just now ran into this problem. I think there's a really obvious and easy solution that will please everyone: Add an option to the Go 4 app to allow me to keep the gimbal all the way up if that's where I want it, or automatically move it down when I start moving. Explain the trade offs of each setting somewhere in the documentation.

I really want to lock it all the way up in sport mode sometimes. I hope DJI can bring us that feature.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-7-15 15:07
I'm joining this thread late because I just now ran into this problem. I think there's a really obvious and easy solution that will please everyone: Add an option to the Go 4 app to allow me to keep the gimbal all the way up if that's where I want it, or automatically move it down when I start moving. Explain the trade offs of each setting somewhere in the documentation.

I really want to lock it all the way up in sport mode sometimes. I hope DJI can bring us that feature.

It’s mainly down to the pitch of the aircraft, if it stays where it is you would get absolutely no footage only the props spinning so fast , you just won’t have useable footage, or you may not be able to even see where your going very easily, spark gimbal doesn’t drop down, but it moves all over the place. The pitch in both Mavic Pro and phantom Pro are not as pronounced, so they don’t drop down.
I don’t beleive anyone on this thread would opt for a much slower Mavic Air , so they can film straight on.
In sport mode that moves much slower.
You also have the option of increasing altitude in sport mode and this will bring the camera up higher.

I think it is a bug, however Sport mode is not really for filming is it? It is for getting places fast and hooning around at low altitude and having fun.  Not only will it "nod" in sports mode, but other rapid motions in sports mode will cause the image to tilt sideways when breaking and various other things due to the Gimbal not being able to keep up. If you want nice film, you should be in P mode and flying gently and slowly. Sports mode is not for filming.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-15 15:19
It’s mainly down to the pitch of the aircraft, if it stays where it is you would get absolutely no footage only the props spinning so fast , you just won’t have useable footage, or you may not be able to even see where your going very easily, spark gimbal doesn’t drop down, but it moves all over the place. The pitch in both Mavic Pro and phantom Pro are not as pronounced, so they don’t drop down.
I don’t beleive anyone on this thread would opt for a much slower Mavic Air , so they can film straight on.
In sport mode that moves much slower.

"You also have the option of increasing altitude in sport mode and this will bring the camera up higher."

Can you say where that option is in Go 4?

I'm going to disagree with the crowd here. "Sports mode is not for filming." I disagree, at least for me. Here is a short little video I did all in sport mode, that I could not otherwise have done. In the first scene, going into a head wind as fast as I can. In the second scene, I came in and down towards myself as fast as I could in sport mode - it came out pretty smooth I think.


Lately I've been using sport mode to film FPV racers and fixed wing aircraft. For much of the time, I'm flying slow or maybe even stationary - just catching the action. One moment I might be low and stationary at a hoop as an FPV racer goes through, the next I may be up high in the air. However, I also want the ability to move as fast as I can to another spot to catch the action there, and then I don't want to have to remember to lift the gimbal up again.

Also, when I'm chasing a fixed wing craft that can go faster than my Air, I really don't mind if the props get in the way. In fact, that might even look cool. But knowing that this is the trade off, I would know what kind of video I'm getting and can decide ahead of time that I'm going to edit it out.

I'm flying VLOS all the time anyway, so even if the props obstructed my view, that would not matter.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-7-15 15:47
"You also have the option of increasing altitude in sport mode and this will bring the camera up higher."

Can you say where that option is in Go 4?

Well if your at 50 ft push throttle up, this will have the effect of raising the the Camera as it is attached to the drone, it’s still looking down at the same degree but you will have a greater field of view if this is what you are looking for.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-7-15 15:48
I'm going to disagree with the crowd here. "Sports mode is not for filming." I disagree, at least for me.

Lately I've been using sport mode to film FPV racers and fixed wing aircraft. For much of the time, I'm flying slow or maybe even stationary - just catching the action. One moment I might be low and stationary at a hoop as an FPV racer goes through, the next I may be up high in the air. However, I also want the ability to move as fast as I can to another spot to catch the action there, and then I don't want to have to remember to lift the gimbal up again.

Most people will just set one of their option buttons to re centre. And this will give you a proper centre, not like flying Mavic Pro in sports and your gimbal just moves a shade but you don’t know it’s off centre.

This is more down to the mechanics and the need for Mavic Air to be able to increase its pitch to be able to travel at the speed I’m sure most would not for go for the sake of keeping gimbal centered .

We see a real problem with Mavic Pro when in RTH mode against the wind, simply because it cannot pitch any higher, it has great difficulty flying into the wind, and many have been lost because of this, I would prefer my Mavic Air on RTH mode to pitch as high as it does to fight the wind.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-15 16:01
Most people will just set one of their option buttons to re centre. And this will give you a proper centre, not like flying Mavic Pro in sports and your gimbal just moves a shade but you don’t know it’s off centre.

This is more down to the mechanics and the need for Mavic Air to be able to increase its pitch to be able to travel at the speed I’m sure most would not for go for the sake of keeping gimbal centered .

I thought the re-centre function was to be used when the drone was not flying. You can use it while you're flying?  I've just been using the dial on the RC to lift the gimbal back up.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-7-15 16:07
I thought the re-centre function was to be used when the drone was not flying. You can use it while you're flying?  I've just been using the dial on the RC to lift the gimbal back up.

But my main point, is that I understand the pitch issue and then the props get in the way. That's okay, because once I slow down, it's not a problem. Just don't make me lift the gimbal up again is all I'm saying.