Just curious,
It seems that with the mini, and a lot of other drones, having the gimbal and camera being exposed, makes is quite vulnerable to damage.
The gimbal cover supplied is tinted & obvously designed for protection only.   But what about having a cover that is more bulbous to not interfere with movement, and precision made of a high grade clear plastic to not interefere with image quality.
If such a thing existed it would be an excellent option, as well as improve aerodynamic flow...   
Thoughts?

The gimbal guard is there to hold the gimbal still when your moving the drone to stop it being damaged,  if you had a clear cover it would stop the gimbal being able to stabilise the footage.

I suspect it would be hard to make a gimbal cover that wouldn’t distort the picture and not cause flaring.

DAFlys Posted at 11-22 02:30
The gimbal guard is there to hold the gimbal still when your moving the drone to stop it being damaged,  if you had a clear cover it would stop the gimbal being able to stabilise the footage.

LOL, perhaps read my post fully...  i mention changing the shape of the cover to not interfere with the movement of the gimbal.

Cookster670 Posted at 11-22 02:51
I suspect it would be hard to make a gimbal cover that wouldn’t distort the picture and not cause flaring.

i'm sure it's possible..   hi grade plastics are used in prescription glasses for example...  
We can in this day and age make things as high quality as we want them to be.- And cheaply.
Also, nothing stopping having said flight protection cover 'coated' like most lenses are, to reduce flare and increase light transmission through the cover.
Such a cover could easily be made i'm sure, and done cheaply.

A well made gimbal cover for flight would do 3 things.1) Protect the gimbal from accidents
2) Aid the aerodynamics of the drone (less drag)
3) Reduce wear & tear of the gimbal mechanism from it having to continaully having to compensage for wind buffeting on the gimbal and camera face...   Put your hand out of your car window, evan 30mph, you really feel it...   That is what is hitting the gimbal as you fly along to variying degrees.   A flight cover would remove all that.

PGYTECH FILTER CPL FOR MAVIC MINI



i bought this cpl filter.

fansc39779e9 Posted at 11-22 03:19
PGYTECH FILTER CPL FOR MAVIC MINI

[view_image]

That's cool,  I've looked at these as well. but i'm talking about a specially designed bulbous shield that completely protects the whole gimbal from impact damage  and airflow buffeting.  

It is rather expensive to make something like this without compromising the image quality.
So that would be a costly addition to the mini.
Also, the light will reflect on the inside of the bowl making for a lot of internal reflections.

The bowl will get scratched itself pretty easily (bulky thing with no place to hold on)!
My Mavic Pro protective cover falls out of my hands rather often....
Also think about the weight. That would be > 250gr losing the advantage the mini has right now in many countries.
Finally, the bulb has to be rather big to allow for enough space in all directions, I suspect it would even get below the landing gear of the mini.

I agree with your idea but flaring is the main problem as i see it - if they could prevent flaring ..that would be great

They had one on the mavic pro , no one ever used it, it was no good for photography and it was felt that it would cause overheating . I’ve never know gimbals or Lens to be damaged from just flying .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-22 03:49
They had one on the mavic pro , no one ever used it, it was no good for photography and it was felt that it would cause overheating . I’ve never know gimbals or Lens to be damaged from just flying .

True.
I only have that on for protection.
But you also need the locking thing.....
So the one for the mini has a better design

Dean01 Posted at 11-22 03:48
I agree with your idea but flaring is the main problem as i see it - if they could prevent flaring ..that would be great

That would be hard to do, and expensive.
Plus it would be a difficult piece to hold without damaging it (there would be nothing to hold it on to, since it has to be clear material all around)

A gimbal cover for flight is not a good idea even if a company would make one, airflow through the drone would be seriously hampered and cause overheating issues. And then we would see more fly away or lost drones on the forums. Air circulation is a must for any drone.

Here's a prime example of WHY a gimbal flight protector is a GOOD idea...
Watch this vid from 5:30 onwards .. where he makes a mistake indoors.. Prop guards are ON... yet despite that, the gimbal took a hit in a very basic fall ..  & it busted...

The mini needs a crash guard for the camera.... even just for regular landing. I already ordered the leg extensions to protect the camera... but the arms can flex during a hard landing and the camera can still get damaged even with the legs extensions.

djiuser_RDpozUn4JhQY Posted at 11-22 04:41
The mini needs a crash guard for the camera.... even just for regular landing. I already ordered the leg extensions to protect the camera... but the arms can flex during a hard landing and the camera can still get damaged even with the legs extensions.

I'm interested in the leg extensions...  they weight 17g all up apparently. .. Do you think this 'small' weight penalty will negatively affect flight duration, & add much drag?

PhasedSpaces Posted at 11-22 04:28
Here's a prime example of WHY a gimbal flight protector is a GOOD idea...
Watch this vid from 5:30 onwards .. where he makes a mistake indoors.. Prop guards are ON... yet despite that, the gimbal took a hit in a very basic fall ..  & it busted...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbrVQYkkWoo

The drone is designed mostly for aerial photography if your going to constrict camera in anyway then it defeats the purpose of getting great aerial shots, may as well put a camera on a telescopic stick .

PhasedSpaces Posted at 11-22 04:28
Here's a prime example of WHY a gimbal flight protector is a GOOD idea...
Watch this vid from 5:30 onwards .. where he makes a mistake indoors.. Prop guards are ON... yet despite that, the gimbal took a hit in a very basic fall ..  & it busted...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbrVQYkkWoo

There is no fix for stupid

hallmark007 Posted at 11-22 05:09
The drone is designed mostly for aerial photography if your going to constrict camera in anyway then it defeats the purpose of getting great aerial shots, may as well put a camera on a telescopic stick .

Actually that is how I started.
Osmo Mobile on a monopod

Montfrooij Posted at 11-22 05:15
Actually that is how I started.
Osmo Mobile on a monopod

Mini is so light you could send it up on a kite lol


So this was you ha ha

hallmark007 Posted at 11-22 05:20
Mini is so light you could send it up on a kite lol

[view_image]

LOL!  :-D ...

Well then you may have to register it, remember you only have 1 gram to work with.

MatthewW28 Posted at 11-22 06:01
Well then you may have to register it, remember you only have 1 gram to work with.

Already registered.   The crash guards take the mini way over 250g as it is...
Interesting thing that most people seem to be overlooking ,is that this new registration ruling applies to ALL radio controlled aircraft, not just drones.  Which means practically ALL model planes, gliders etc will have to be registered, as most ARE over 250g.  even the 'toy' ones you used to be able to get in Maplins etc.  
I wonder how the CAA are going to mop that one up...

hallmark007 Posted at 11-22 05:20
Mini is so light you could send it up on a kite lol

[view_image]

Hahahahahahaha.
Who knows.
I have to look for the video

hallmark007 Posted at 11-22 05:20
Mini is so light you could send it up on a kite lol

[view_image]

Found it.
I forgot to lock the focus, so there is some hunting....

as already mentioned the MP1 had the clear bubble and no one flew with it. the sun glare and light flare kills the image quality. and also it blocks the vents behind the gimbal to cool the internals

Hello and good day PhasedSpaces. Thank you for sharing these information with us and for your valued insight with regards to the gimbal protector of the DJI Mavic Mini. I will be cascading these information and this thread to the designated DJI Department for further attention. Thank you for your support.

Montfrooij Posted at 11-22 03:55
That would be hard to do, and expensive.
Plus it would be a difficult piece to hold without damaging it (there would be nothing to hold it on to, since it has to be clear material all around)

i can imagine it is a hard thing to do and so understand why it has not been done.
anyway i decided it is better to learn to fly without crashing :-)

fansc39779e9 Posted at 11-22 03:19
PGYTECH FILTER CPL FOR MAVIC MINI

[view_image]

Hey great. But you ruin the drone's weight, it will weigh more than 250g, right?

Dean01 Posted at 11-23 09:39
i can imagine it is a hard thing to do and so understand why it has not been done.
anyway i decided it is better to learn to fly without crashing :-)

Oh yes. That is the best way

I still think it would be a good OPTION protecting the weakest part of the drone. Will it distort the image? Perhaps, though there is plenty of quality plastic out there.  Ventilation?  Could have holes in some areas for that too.  I am puzzled by people claiming "IMPOSSIBLE" when the impossible was the development of this drone < 250 g (< 200 in Japan!).

From what i remmber, mavic Pro had the gimbal protector shaped like a dome and yes, you could fly/record with it on

What about NO GLASS on the newly designed gimble protector?  Like a hard plastic with two hard plastic prongs out of the way of the gimble and lens view….then during a crash the two prongs, almost like two bugs antennae will absorb much of an impact......

Exactly what I was looking for when I found this thread !   Having crashed my Mini 3 and damaged the gimbal within the first week, I also conclude that a camera protector should be a basic part or the design.   Failing that, it should be a basic accessory.   

The camera is placed so far forward, it is not even protected by the motor arms !

The outer gimbal caps could easily be replaced by caps fitted with simple projecting semi-circular bars, which would be just out of view of the camera and allow full movement, but would protect it from frontal collisions.
The Mini 3 is 248 grams, so the protector could probably be added within 2 grams, but otherwise, just remove some less important plastic elswhere.   

The camera is the most delicate and the most unprotected part !