Yesterday took the biscuit in the way of being completely frustrated and angry. To date I am on my third X5 camera. The first two had serious issues with poor video feeds, to the point where I would continuously lose the picture. Yesterday I took out the latest camera, to find that everything was working well, until I made some tilt down shots while shooting video. After about 45 degrees tilting down, the entire gimbal and camera would vibrate with a dreadful grinding sound. The shots were unusable due to excessive vibration. The lens I use is the Oly 12mm Zuiko and I have been told by the UK distributor Heliguy, that this is a known problem. I have also been told that they have put in a support request and are waiting to hear back from DJI, who currently seem to be on holiday.

I am interested in hearing from DJI directly and to hear what will be done to correct this issue. I'm also perplexed as to why I have been unable to find similar reports on any of the forums if this is a known problem.

I am now stuck with a £500 lens that has been recommended by DJI as being compatible, but am unable to use.

Help with this would be apreciated. Cheers.

Hmmmm I don't know if this is related and therefore relevant, but my X5 with the standard lens vibrates and makes one hell of a grinding sound even in straight and level direction.  

I am taking it back to Drones direct tomorrow morning as the bird is only a month or so old and has very little on the clock

Nigpd Posted at 2016-2-12 15:40
Hmmmm I don't know if this is related and therefore relevant, but my X5 with the standard lens vibra ...

Well, there we go. I don't have the problem with the stock lens, only the Oly 12mm. The only thing I can think of is the DJI's quality control is crap. There must be massive discrepancies to let these kind sof errors slip through. The same lens and gimbals, but different aircraft where some have issues and others don't. As a commercial operator, this kind of thing is unacceptable and I hope to hear from DJI soon.

Mine did the same thing, DJI said it needed to be broke in, so i rotated the gimble left,right, up and down while it was on the ground and it solve the shuttering and grinding. I have had many flights without any problems.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-12 16:10
Mine did the same thing, DJI said it needed to be broke in, so i rotated the gimble left,right, up a ...

Breaking in???  This technology should work 100% from the get go.

Are customers supposed to suffer sub standard video product during the run in period?

I don't think so!

Nigpd Posted at 2016-2-13 00:07
Breaking in???  This technology should work 100% from the get go.

Are customers supposed to suf ...

Well, let's cool down for a moment ... The gimbal is extremely sensitive to off-balanced camera/lens combination. Therefore some effort have to be made in order to properly balance particular combination, either by adding carefully chosen balancing rings and/or filters on front. My OLy 12mm need 13.8 g on front to render perfect balance, although the gimbal didn't protest at all without it. Some mass on the back of the camera may be needed in case of more exotic lenses. Pennies, dimes or quarters on double-sided sticky foam does the job there. It's pretty much the same procedure like with props balancing. Simply observe how camera + lens behave on unpowered gimbal, make some adjustments with chunks of plasteline and tell us how it works when you power your bird ...

Nigpd Posted at 2016-2-13 18:07
Breaking in???  This technology should work 100% from the get go.

Are customers supposed to suf ...

Well at least it wasn't expensive.

Oh, wait...


But seriously, QA with X5 hardware appears to be problematic for some folks.
Was considering one to upgrade my B model I1, but will pass.

dobmatt Posted at 2016-2-13 07:37
Well, let's cool down for a moment ... The gimbal is extremely sensitive to off-balanced camera/le ...

I fail to see why I should have to look at balancing the gimbal  with the OEM lens and the supplied balance ring fitted.

Once the lens cover is off, it should balance perfectly.  That's what I paid the big bucks for.

And I still maintain the point about running in.  Absolutely should not be necessary.

Nigpd Posted at 2016-2-13 02:07
Breaking in???  This technology should work 100% from the get go.

Are customers supposed to suf ...

Ok dude im just trying to help, maybe DJI isnt the right drone maker for you.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-13 12:34
Ok dude im just trying to help, maybe DJI isnt the right drone maker for you.

I wasn't having a go at you, I was having a go at dji and the wonderful advice they give out

Nigpd Posted at 2016-2-13 04:29
I fail to see why I should have to look at balancing the gimbal  with the OEM lens and the supplied ...

Correct, and this should be the case with supplied DJI 15mm lens. If it's not, then the gimbal is faulty and need to be warranty replaced. Custom balancing refers to ANY other lenses utilizing the X5 concept of interchangeability, although only a few officially supported lenses need balancing rings. Bottom line: if your gimbal with standard lens refuses to work properly (quietly) in all positions, send it to fix. And stick to your guns ...

I'm at  a complete and utter loss with this balancing lenses. DJI have released a list of compatible lenses, of which the Oly 12mm was one of three they first confirmed compatibility with. I have also been told, quite categorically by Ed Tahoe (?) that the Oly 12mm should definitely not be used with a lens hood. Yet I read so many posts about guys balancing lenses, using lens hoods, using ND filters etc etc. I wish DJI would get their act together and release a proper compatibility list for all the lenses and whether they are supposed to work with or without a hood, work with or without an ND filter etc.

I posted this help request on the forum 48 hours ago and still have not heard from DJI.

Hi,

Did you get the problem resolved? Facing the same problems using the 12mm on a brand new X5. Pan motor appears to vibrate constantly and the tilt motor goes nuts when tilted down about 45 deg.

Gimbal balances fine with ND attached.

Might be returning I suspect.

Thanks.