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Gimbal going limp/erratic in Sport Mode
2002 16 2016-3-16
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DoctorRennie
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United States
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What gives?  I'm noticing that when flying in sport mode, the gimbal flips down repeatedly and it's hard to keep the camera pointed straight ahead so that I can flying straight.  I'm not using sport mode for filming - just getting out to where I need to film.    Have you guys noticed this happening in sport mode?  When flying in P mode, the gimbal seems to keep the camera centered just fine.  I used to notice this happening on my P2 Zenmuse gimbal when it was really windy sometimes but never had it happen on the P3 Pro.  


Maybe it's my CP filter - too heavy?  Hmmmmm...

Scott

2016-3-16
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DJI-Amy
DJI team

Hong Kong
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In sport mode, it's normal that the gimbal becomes limp, since it's not for shooting, this mode is for speed. It's okay, if you land it and restart the aircraft, it will be back to normal.
2016-3-16
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C_LUU
Second Officer
Flight distance : 481988 ft
Australia
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That seems pretty weird? So you can't fly FPV in sport mode you can only fly via line of site?
2016-3-16
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mrGREEK360
lvl.4
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Canada
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Lol can the op post a video? So its slower then a phantom 3 in p-mode 16m/s vs 10m/s on the p4, and now sport mode you can't do fpv? If this is correct then this trade off is not worth it, if I was a p4 owner then I'd want a mode at 16m/s with proper gimbal.
Sports mode looks like an afterthought, especially if the gimbal goes limp in sports mode. I wonder why DJI didn't tell us this and why the previews didn't mention this before release. I wonder if there was an embargo on the limp mode lol.


Won't the gimbal get premature wear from it being limp swinging everywhere if you mainly use s mode?
2016-3-17
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cwhobbies
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United States
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DJI-Amy Posted at 2016-3-17 02:58
In sport mode, it's normal that the gimbal becomes limp, since it's not for shooting, this mode is f ...

Are you kidding me! I thought Sport mode was for FPV flying, how can you fly fpv when the thing is LIMP!!! WOW
2016-3-17
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Northofthe49th
Captain

Canada
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Maybe the damn thing is going so fast it is afraid to look and going limp is like closing its eyes....just a thought!
2016-3-17
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mrGREEK360
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Canada
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cwhobbies Posted at 2016-3-17 18:12
Are you kidding me! I thought Sport mode was for FPV flying, how can you fly fpv when the thing is ...

Lol I'd be furious if I purchased a P4 and found s mode had a limp gimbal.

,DJI should offer an option to make sports mode 16m/s (same as p3) without a limp gimbal instead of 20m/s limp. Who thought this was a good idea?, 4m/s is not worth losing the gimbal function imo.  The Phantom 4 is not a racing quad, its primary function is as a camera. If this is correct then you can't follow cars (fast movimg objecta)/with a p4 as p mode is to slow and s mode is limp.

I was considering getting a Phantom 4 after the first revision when the bugs are worked out, but this just makes me want to wait for the Phantom 5.

can a phantom 4 owner post a video of smode at full speed, to show how it looks?
2016-3-17
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C_LUU
Second Officer
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Australia
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Yeh what about the promo video that shows it filming skaters down a hill going fast? there is no use in filming within sport mode if the gimbal is limp and uncontrollable? must have been filmed with a inspire. Can we get clarification from DJI on this please? Amy are you correct in saying its completely limp when in sport mode?
2016-3-17
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david.p.mann
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United States
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DJI-Amy Posted at 2016-3-17 01:58
In sport mode, it's normal that the gimbal becomes limp, since it's not for shooting, this mode is f ...

Amy - are you certain about this statement that it is "normal" for the gimbal to become limp when flying in S mode??  That does not sound right and would certainly be a huge disappointment.  Please check with the P4 software and hardware team on this and report back to this forum post.

I flew two full batteries this evening and was in and out of S mode multiple times flying 34-38 mph into the wind and up to 52 mph with the wind. Maybe I just got "lucky" but my P4's gimbal performed beautifully in every test in S mode. I even chased a couple egrets for minute in S mode.  I will certainly test this more fully tomorrow on a long-distance run where I plan to be in S-mode the entire round-trip flight. I'll post the results of my testing.
2016-3-17
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DoctorRennie
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david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-3-18 13:55
Amy - are you certain about this statement that it is "normal" for the gimbal to become limp when  ...

Did you have a filter on the lens?

Thanks,
Scott
2016-3-18
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Craig Rogers
lvl.1
Flight distance : 168445 ft
United Kingdom
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I've only run some quick tests so far, but the flight I did in Sport yesterday seemed to keep the gimbal pretty stable.
2016-3-18
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edbighi
Second Officer
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Austria
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Same here. Just finished a 1 mile distance flight over mointa
2016-3-18
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edbighi
Second Officer
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Austria
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Sorry, just did a one mile flight over mountains. Gimbal was rock solid.
2016-3-18
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Old Geezer
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United Kingdom
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Are you sure it's the drone's gimbal that goes limp?

I know that any time I go into sport mode my body makes my gimbal go limp
2016-3-18
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david.p.mann
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DoctorRennie Posted at 2016-3-18 17:32
Did you have a filter on the lens?

Thanks,

No filter or lens hood installed during my testing of S-mode on P4.  If you had one installed, I would remove it and see if that restores full gimbal function.

The first month I owned my Inspire 1, I installed a very light-weight 3-D printed lens hood on it from an E-Bay vendor to prevent lens glare.  I quickly learned that was a BIG mistake. The weight of the lens hood was not the problem - it was that it acted like a wind sail at higher speeds and the increased wind resistance caused the Inspire 1 gimbal to be very unstable.  I removed the lens hood and threw it away - no more gimbal problems in over 12 months of flying.  

If your lens filter is third-party or increases the diameter (wind resistance) or weight of the stock lens even slightly, it could be the source of your gimbal issues. Easy enough to test - just remove it and try another S-mode flight at higher speeds.

I'm going to test P4 gimbal performance during extended S-mode flying at 30+ mph this afternoon.  I'll post my test results on this forum.
2016-3-18
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david.p.mann
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david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-3-18 00:55
Amy - are you certain about this statement that it is "normal" for the gimbal to become limp when  ...


I flew two full batteries this evening and was in and out of S-mode a half dozen times including one continuous 7,000 foot flight back and forth over man-made lakes at a local park at full throttle (average speed of 42 mph) the entire time.  Gimbal performance and video quality was superb.  Gimbal tilt was adjusted so that horizon was very near the top of video frame, so tilted slightly down from straight forward.  No limp gimbal issues in S-mode here.

Also, I discovered that the P4 can fly at 37 mph in P-mode if you turn obstacle avoidance OFF. I call this P-Fast mode. I flew a long-distance flight 23,652 feet (4.5 miles) out and then back same distance to home point with the throttle at max. (avg. horizontal velocity of 37 mph) the entire time except for brief bits at the beginning, middle and end of this 16-minute round-trip flight. Gimbal performance was stable and flawless and I also panned the camera down and back up to near horizontal smoothly a half-dozen times.  Again, no limp gimbal issues in P-Fast mode either.
2016-3-18
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DJI-Wild
DJI team

Hong Kong
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Sport Mode was created to let flyers experience the thrill of speed. It is best enjoyed by flying FPV. This mode pushes the Phantom 4 to its maximum speed and tilt angle, so vibration may occur in videos captured. P Mode is recommended for video and photography.
2016-3-21
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