We had some nice weather instead of 40 km/h winds for the first time since the firmware update and I tried to fly the P4 around a smooth curve, the result is not smooth at all!

This video is speeded up x3 which makes the problem a lot more obvious.  I have the Exp etc. settings set to as smooth as possible and they seem to work.  The problem is that as soon as I move the yaw stick right the gimbal jumps right a few degrees before the aircraft starts its smooth turn, the gimbal jump ignores the exp etc. settings and always makes a sudden movement, then after turning a little I return the stick to the centre the gimbal jumps back left a few degrees.

In this video I only move the yaw stick right, never left and yet you can see the video jump left after every right turn.  

Why does the gimbal have to move at all when I move the yaw stick?   It is as though it is trying to improve a sports mode turn and ignoring the fact that I have everything set smooth.

It actually makes it hard to steer because you turn to the direction you want to go, then when you leave go of the stick it turns back a bit, so then you need to turn a bit more!

Nigel, when did this situation happen? Did you try to change an environment and calibrate the IMU and see if it can work well. Please keep us updated. Thanks.

If you go into 'gimbal settings'/'Advanced Settings' is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off, if not try that ?
Sitting stationary on the ground the gimbal will move left or right slightly with Yaw stick if gimbal pan follow is on, and not if it is off.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-9-21 01:34
Nigel, when did this situation happen? Did you try to change an environment and calibrate the IMU and see if it can work well. Please keep us updated. Thanks.

The gimbal has always moved when using the yaw stick, but it seems to move more than last time I made a video flying in a curve so I think maybe the new firmware has made it worse?

Even if the aircraft is sitting on the ground the gimbal moves when you move the yaw stick, and I don't understand why?

Aardvark Posted at 2017-9-21 01:53
If you go into 'gimbal settings'/'Advanced Settings' is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off, if not try that ?
Sitting stationary on the ground the gimbal will move left or right slightly with Yaw stick if gimbal pan follow is on, and not if it is off.

"is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off"

No, it was "on" !

What does "'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' " mean, what is it supposed to do?  
Why would you want a setting that messes up your turns?

I guess it is supposed to improve things but isn't taking note of the other settings like "Exp"?

Thanks.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-9-21 02:22
"is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off"

No, it was "on" !

If Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow is set OFF: it will help to keep the gimbal centered and avoid the sudden camera jerk when trying to do a smooth pan.
I, myself keep this feature OFF.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-9-21 02:22
"is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off"

No, it was "on" !

If Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow is set OFF: it will help to keep the gimbal centered and avoid the sudden camera jerk when trying to do a smooth pan.
I, myself keep this feature OFF.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-9-21 02:22
"is 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow' off"

No, it was "on" !

Aloha Nigel,

     Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow works with another setting that allows you to control its sensitivity.  But, I forget where the slider is.  If you look, it will make sense when you find it.

Aloha and Drone On!

wangrincreation Posted at 2017-9-21 21:16
If Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow is set OFF: it will help to keep the gimbal centered and avoid the sudden camera jerk when trying to do a smooth pan.
I, myself keep this feature OFF.

Aloha wangrin,

     Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow works with another setting to increase its smoothness.  There are very interesting maneuvers you can do with that operation.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2017-9-22 02:56
Aloha Nigel,

     Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow works with another setting that allows you to control its sensitivity.  But, I forget where the slider is.  If you look, it will make sense when you find it.

I haven't found that, there is nothing about "Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow" in the P4 user manual, searching on Google I find some people saying that it should be "On" for smoothness and others saying it must be "Off" for smoothness.  Nobody explains what it is supposed to do!

I suspect it has a bug and only works properly if other settings such as the Exp and Gain are on default values.

My P4 is currently much smoother with it turned "Off" and most importantly it does not turn back left a bit when you leave go of the stick like it did in the video above.

I have used the P4 with it off in the past but I think before I upgraded the firmware I was using it set to "On" without having problems.  Not sure if the difference is the new firmware or because I changed some of the other settings after updating the firmware.

It would be good if DJI gave us an explanation of the setting and included the explanation in the User Manual, and maybe it needs fixing because if you get it wrong then it can ruin your video!

Did you ever have this happen before the update?

ALABAMA Posted at 2017-9-22 05:46
Did you ever have this happen before the update?

I don't remember ever seeing it turn back left after releasing the sticks before.

I know that before the update, if it was on the ground and I moved the yaw stick right then the gimbal would turn right and then back to the centre after releasing so 'Enable Synchronised Gimbal Pan Follow'  must have been set "On", but looking at video from that time with similar flying there is no sign of it turning back on release of the stick, the turns are smooth, they start and stop a bit faster than I would like, they have a lack of inertia, but they are smooth.  Something has changed, either the firmware or the settings I am currently using.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-9-22 05:01
I haven't found that, there is nothing about "Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow" in the P4 user manual, searching on Google I find some people saying that it should be "On" for smoothness and others saying it must be "Off" for smoothness.  Nobody explains what it is supposed to do!

I suspect it has a bug and only works properly if other settings such as the Exp and Gain are on default values.

Aloha Nigel,

     The weather has died down a bit, to 15 mph winds, so I will be doing a full installation of the new P4 firmware.  As part of that process, I will be looking for the "Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow" and companion option.  When I find it I will post here, but it may be by Sunday.

     Meanwhile, I understand your reluctance to use it.  When I first used it, I had a similar problem a year or two ago when Sploodge introduced it for the brand new P3 Pro.  

     Then I later learned about the other option and it suddenly worked.  I was looking for the other option because I saw a video that someone did and he asked why this "mistake" was in the video.  I quickly realized that he was accidentally using the missing option and hunted for it.  I mentioned it to him.  I wonder if the guy ever realized that the "mistake" was a very good tool for video.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2017-9-22 17:21
Aloha Nigel,

     The weather has died down a bit, to 15 mph winds, so I will be doing a full installation of the new P4 firmware.  As part of that process, I will be looking for the "Enable Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow" and companion option.  When I find it I will post here, but it may be by Sunday.

Thanks, looking forward to your findings.

It is not that I am reluctant to use it, just that I would like to understand it and also understand what has changed since before I updated the firmware.  The option must be there for a good reason but currently for me it just ruins my flights!

For an option which has been available for years, it is surprising that I can't find any explanation of what it does and when to use it, other than "turning it on makes turns smoother" and "it must be off for smooth turns"!

I see it is also in the newer drones like Mavic, the Mavic people almost all say to turn it on while most Phantom people say to turn it off.