I have a new Phantom 4 Pro, and the video I take is steady except for when I fly backwards.  Anytime I shoot video when flying backwards I get a lot of "wobble" and shake.

I did auto calibrate the gimbal on a level surface but that did not help.

Tonight I tried calibrating the IMU and then the Gimbal afterwards, but it's too dark to fly right now.

Is this common?  Should I send the unit back or do you think calibrating the IMU then Gimbal will fix it.  Doing auto calibrate on the gimbal did not help.

-Roger Uzun

Please post some video of the issue. Did you get any warning messages?  I have never encountered backward only wobbling???

dronist Posted at 2017-2-9 20:32
Please post some video of the issue. Did you get any warning messages?  I have never encountered backward only wobbling???

Ill post some video if it persists tomorrow when I fly again.  I did the IMU calibration maybe that helped.  I got no warning messages, everything seemed fine.  It only affects footage when flying backwards.  Hovering/panning/fwd don't show the issue.

fansed5d1cc0 Posted at 2017-2-9 22:14
Ill post some video if it persists tomorrow when I fly again.  I did the IMU calibration maybe that helped.  I got no warning messages, everything seemed fine.  It only affects footage when flying backwards.  Hovering/panning/fwd don't show the issue.

Please supply a video when you can.

I have a Phantom 3 Standard.  About 50 seconds in I do a long full throttle reverse.   Steady as. Hope you issue can be sorted.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-2-10 00:03
I have a Phantom 3 Standard.  About 50 seconds in I do a long full throttle reverse.   Steady as. Hope you issue can be sorted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw-woZ9cvZc&list=UUCdFvAbhmhTckB-AK1ocWPQ&index=3

BTW, very beautiful location....

dronist Posted at 2017-2-10 07:36
BTW, very beautiful location....

Thanks, I live in Alishan in Taiwan.

The Gimbal Problem is wind/speed related.  If I fly in reverse with this P4Pro in ANY wind or at ANY speed above about 10mph, the gimbal has a shake.  No other direction does this.  It's not high winds or speeds, its any wind or speeds about about 10 mph.  The P3Pro I still have does not do this.

So I think I'm sending it back.  There's something wrong with the way the gimbal is mounted or operates.  If there is no wind and you fly slowly the video is solid even flying in reverse.  If you fly in reverse at any speed or when there is any wind you get a very noticeable shake.

This video illustrates the problem.  First there is a 15-20 sec clip with wobbly video, followed by a similar length clip flown at a lower speed at a lower altitude.  You can see the higher alt clip where there was (slightly) more wind, but NOT enough to trigger any warnings in the app, is wobbly.  The lower altitude clip where I kept the drone under 15mph (with no wind) is steady.  

In general I can fly backwards with smooth video in some directions, but not in others, depending on the breeze.  Even a slight breeze in the wrong direction when flying backwards results in the wobble effect.  In some directions you can fly full speed backwards with no shake.  In most directions you cannot.  It flies forward without any shake regardless of the wind.  I am talking about slight wind here, never enough to set of any sort of warning or that you can even feel on the ground.

I hade this issue today, flying in 1-2 ms winds. All my reverse footage from today is unusable. No warnings, until hours later, that i mention in another post.

I was shooting at 1/200th shutter as i did not have ND available, will adding ND filter help fix this issue at all?

I used an ND8 filter.  Does not affect this issue for me.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-2-10 08:37
Thanks, I live in Alishan in Taiwan.

Have you ever thought of doing a video of the area where the timber railway used to operate? If I recall correctly, there is a hotel with one or more preserved Shay locomotives.

Geebax Posted at 2017-2-11 18:21
Have you ever thought of doing a video of the area where the timber railway used to operate? If I recall correctly, there is a hotel with one or more preserved Shay locomotives.

The train runs in part of the Alishan National park and I will be doing a shoot there 23rd.

We are allowed to fly in the national park.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-2-11 18:38
The train runs in part of the Alishan National park and I will be doing a shoot there 23rd.

We are allowed to fly in the national park.

That will be nice. I look forward to seeing you video. We have one of the original Alishan Shay locomotives in a museum here in Australia.

Geebax Posted at 2017-2-11 19:36
That will be nice. I look forward to seeing you video. We have one of the original Alishan Shay locomotives in a museum here in Australia.

I grew up in the ACT.  Plenty of places to fly in Australia I guess.  
Haven't lived in Australia since 1986 though lol

I don't know if this is relevant, but the P4P comes with a foam piece around the backside of the gimbal that needs to be removed.  I didn't notice it at first and had this problem.  

I have this problem !

I'm having the exact same problem with my Phantom 4 Pro+ as well. I have the latest firmware, new props, calibrations, done. Anytime I fly backwards I get shake. Anybody know what is happening? Best, Dare

fans655189a7 Posted at 2017-2-11 16:23
I hade this issue today, flying in 1-2 ms winds. All my reverse footage from today is unusable. No warnings, until hours later, that i mention in another post.

I was shooting at 1/200th shutter as i did not have ND available, will adding ND filter help fix this issue at all?

fans655189a7,

The shimmy in this video footage is called "jello effect" and is caused by too high a shutter speed relative to video frame rate when there is motion. It is not a result of any defect in your camera or gimbal. It can be helped/eliminated by using an ND filter to reduce the shutter speed to, ideally, twice the frame rate. So, if you are shooting in 4K/30 mode, you want to use an ND filter that will give you a proper exposure with a shutter speed of 1/60. Similarly, if you are shooting in 4K/60, use an ND filter that will give you an autoexposure shutter speed of 1/120.

THE COOLER Posted at 2017-4-14 21:53
https://vimeo.com/213036451

I have this problem !

OK - the video shake in THIS video is true gimbal shakiness/instability and is not "jello effect".  Was it windy aloft during this video segment? If so, you may have to reduce your horizontal speed and/or flight direction or wait for a less windy day.

Note: to check wind speed aloft before filming, hover the aircraft in P-GPS mode then switch to ATTI mode and allow the aircraft to drift with the wind.  After a few seconds the DJI GO 4 app will provide you with the exact wind speed (the displayed horizontal velocity) and the satellite map view will provide you with the wind direction aloft by noting the flight path of the drifting aircraft.

Did you ever solve your problem? I just bought a reconditioned ph4-pro drone via Newegg....and I am having this exact problem. Footage going forward is silky smooth. Whenever I fly backwards, I get the same wobble/vibration that I see in your video. This is my 3rd PH4....but first time I have ever had this problem. Very frustrating!!

Anyone solved the issue?

Phantom 4 Pro Plus, all firmware and calibrations done.

Here is a video showing the problem. The camera shake starts after the 30 sec. Please note, that this is NOT "jello" effect. It is an actual gimbal shake.