Just reveived my 2nd replacement Osmo and unfortunately I'm noticing the same issues that my 1st one had. I've tried different batteries and recalibrating the gimbal. It has the latest firmware and I've followed all operating/unlocking/acitivating etc instructions as per DJI's gudielines.

In these particular shots the Osmo is mounted on a manfrotto tripod on a level floor. It's indoors. The gimbal is locked via the app. One of the main reasons I bought an Osmo was to record hyper/timelapses. As you can see via my video, neither are possible when the device is moving by itself. The 1st video is a clip sped up 10,000% to show how it drifts off course while the 2nd video is an actual timelapse made through the DJI app.


password: osmo


password: osmo


I'm going to test out some other stuff, but looks like I'll be calling my vendor again for another replacement or a complete refund.

Thanks Dave. We both have the same issue, i call it the "wobble". DJI support is saying my is bad, and to send it back to them and they'll fix. Yet, they can't tell me what's wrong with it, just that they want to test it. Seems like a waste of time and money.

jeffmoltenberry Posted at 2016-6-7 16:30
Thanks Dave. We both have the same issue, i call it the "wobble". DJI support is saying my is bad, a ...

Jeff, it is frustrating. I've also been wanting to use my Osmo for driving shots as it's way easier and quicker than setting up a movi and rigging. But the drift/wobble is making the results less than desirable. I'm doing some more tests today and tomorrow and if I can't find a way to make this thing work like advertised I'll be sending it back. Rather disappointing that they've released a piece of tech that isn't fully functioning. I'm watching for another handheld gimbal option as I become more and more disenchanted with my wobble osmo  

To me it looks like the Osmo is "struggling" to free itself. Why do you have it "locked via the app"? I'd think you wouldn't want that. We know that if you hold in the front trigger it will say in place, how about gaffer taping that down? Also, have you set it for "Fast" under gimbal control? I would.

But if it was I trying to solve this problem, I'd email some gurus! Try:  Greg Watkins:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtigiSuyi1fWCU2yaAvydA

Or Rufus Blackwell:

http://www.dji.com/newsroom/news ... gon-rufus-blackwell

And Ian Arsenault:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCED9cyB4Df_qUU3m7BMQrPA

It should be easy to find their contact info and I'm sure as a DP he'd help a bro out. I do that all the time. I'll watch a doc and then email the guy to ask about lenses, etc. I figure that the chances of you getting two lemons in a row are zero, right? It may be a simple setting or combination of settings. It looks to me as if one of the gimbals wasn't fully unlocked?

Good luck,

Ned

Chicago DP Posted at 2016-6-7 20:37
To me it looks like the Osmo is "struggling" to free itself. Why do you have it "locked via the app" ...

Ned,

I have it locked to simulate the working conditions I need it to perform in. I've been mounting this to a car and when the vehicle turns the Osmo should stay fixed to that frame via the lock feature. If I'm driving down a winding road without it locked it would, in theory, pan to match the movement of the car. Ironically, its panning by itself anyway. I do appreciate the links and suggestions though. I'll try some of those to see if I can get any better results. I have tried a small test of using the trigger vs the app but could still see a drift. I will try using some gaff though. Isn't it crazy the amounts of things gaff comes in handy for?

Also, I'm no analytics guru but I think the chances of me getting two lemon osmos is definitely greater than zero since there are numerous users experiencing similar defects on multiple units.

This is a job for Macgyver! It seems to my simple brain that if you G-tape the front trigger down, the bastard is suppose to point forward in that direction.

I don't know where you live, thought it was Hawaii, but here we have to carefully look for newly paved roads because our winters are so tough even an Osmo won't help! But I would think if you take a tight curve at a high speed it would take the Osmo, even a perfect one, to spend a time to compensate and come bak to center. You'll notice the YouTube hyper lapse samples like to shoot straight ahead. I'm no engineer but if I was sitting on the hood of the car holding the Osmo and you took that curve, I'd have to turn the Osmo into the curve to compensate, so if it's on the hood mount it will take a while.

But...I don't know why you got that wobble. Are you in a big city with other Osmo owners you can interface with and compare units? Also, what's with your desire for hyperlapse? It's "interesting" but can you monetize it? Or is it a side art project?

Later,

Ned

Chicago DP Posted at 2016-6-7 21:14
This is a job for Macgyver! It seems to my simple brain that if you G-tape the front trigger down, t ...

Unfortunately the only other Osmo owner around me has the same issue. I live on the East Coast in a pretty nice beach town. Hawaii was just for a trip/shoot.

You know, if the Osmo only drifted on turns, I could kind of live with that, but this thing is drifting on straight and smooth roads. I've even tested from 10mph up to 35mph with no luck. I may be going for some test shots at sunrise tomorrow. I might have to take some tape with me to test out the trigger. Even for non-timelapse it would still be great to have the Osmo keep it's frame.

The hyper lapse was for a specific client. But I also have been wanting to do one where I track a friend, who is an artist, while he is walking the street then come to a static shot somewhere scenic and then transition that into more of a traditional timelapse of him painting that scene. So it would go from a hyper lapse to a time lapse, if that makes any sense? Unfortunately with the way mine is behaving this can't be pulled off cleanly, even with shooting in 4K and then reframing for 1080 as the drift/wobble is just all over the place.
  We have a film festival here every year and I've been dying to submit something, and this would be a short and sweet piece to enter.

Also, if you've every dug into the world of stock imagery, there are people making money with time lapse and hyper lapse. I think in small bursts they're aesthetically pleasing and can help push a story along in a unique way.

Here's a little piece I had up on instagram testing the Osmo out on some of my driving shots from Oahu. In these little gaps it looks ok, but I had to cut around as the shot would drift randomly left or right, which sucks because I came across some cool landscapes where the original head on framing would have been great, but with the drift, they were ruined. There's also a small hyper lapse in there.

Thanks for all of your feedback.
To be honest, our engineers have been trying their best to find a better solution to solve this issue, but unfortunately, I haven't got any available update yet.
However, in normal situation, this issue is not so visible if it isn't be amplified too dramatically.
If there's any update, we would be very happy to share it with you at the first time.
Thanks for your understanding.

Dave, I think I have an idea. You said you put the Osmo  on the hood. Hmmmm....what if you put it on the dashboard to protect it from the air currents? Could that have done it? How did the gurus do theirs? Think of a wind test tunnel for cars, if the Osmo is on the hood the air currents could cause it to go L or R, correct? The gimbals could be fighting the air currents coming form the hood, even on a non-windy day.

You know the guy who does the Osmo tips with his precocious daughter? He had a mount idea for the dashboard so it looks OUT the windshield, search his tips. Perhaps this is the issue. If you get in touch with one of those gurus on YT, let us know what they say but I bet they are before the windshield, not on the hood.

And yes, I can see hyper lapse making money as stock, I hadn't thought of that.

Later,

Ned

Try this:

https://fstoppers.com/gear/sybri ... capabilities-133894

DJI-Adela Posted at 2016-6-7 21:23
Thanks for all of your feedback.
To be honest, our engineers have been trying their best to find a b ...

Thanks for the update. Hope they figure it out soon!

Chicago DP Posted at 2016-6-7 22:48
Dave, I think I have an idea. You said you put the Osmo  on the hood. Hmmmm....what if you put it on ...

Ned, it is possible to shoot through the windshield but this isn't ideal at all. Between glares and reflections and so on. It's like taking a beautiful lens and putting a really cheap glass filter on top. And while the air current definitely is creating drag on the Osmo, it shouldn't be making it drift like that, nor would shooting from the inside stop the drift, as in my above two videos it's inside and on a tripod and still drifts! I don't expect the Osmo to be super rock steady at higher speeds, but 10-15mph shouldn't be too much for this thing to take. I mean, they even have a bicycle mount for it, and bikes move that fast.

DJI-Adela Posted at 2016-6-7 22:23
Thanks for all of your feedback.
To be honest, our engineers have been trying their best to find a b ...

? A normal situation where it's inside and on a rock steady tripod and is still drifting and wobbling around? If that is drastic then taking it out into the real world would be absurd. Which is how I feel about spending money on something that doesn't live up to its advertised features. I appreciate the apologies, but please don't patronize us by saying 'in a normal situation'. Maybe DJI should reorganize the campaign so that DJI advertises the Osmo on a more accurate level. The folks at B and H are starting to experience a flux of returns and exchanges.

I wish companies would invest more in only releasing actually functioning devices rather than let the public/consumers be the beta testers.

Dave A Posted at 2016-6-8 21:59
? A normal situation where it's inside and on a rock steady tripod and is still drifting and wobbl ...

Thanks.
If there's any update, we'll let you know.
Your support will be highly appreciated.

I reached out to Rufus Blackwell, creator of the popular "Saigon Hyperlapse." He said he noticed this same problem and his solution was to leave the gimbal locked.

I haven't done a full test, but I can confirm the Osmo/DJI GO app allows you to record while the gimbal is still locked. It does warn you on the screen and Osmo makes a beeping sound.

Long term, I don't think this would be good for the gimbal motors.

jeffmoltenberry Posted at 2016-6-10 23:51
I reached out to Rufus Blackwell, creator of the popular "Saigon Hyperlapse." He said he noticed thi ...

Jeff, man it's comforting and disheartening to know Rufus had to deal with the same issue. I have read where people are leaving the gimbal locked, but like you mentioned, I'd be worried about the long term damage done to the motors.

DJI-Adela, can you offer any insight if this is the only work around, and will it shorten the life of the Osmo if certain locks were left on the gimbal?

I doubt that there's a solution that doesn't involve turning the Osmo's stabilization off altogether.

This seems to be a similar problem to that with IS (image stabilized) lenses on a camera, when on a tripod, and where the IS is not turned off.

The IS effectively sets up a loop-back where it detects minute movements, compensates for them, and then compensates for the compensation, etc.

So, unless dji can come up with a method of disengaging the stabilization system on the Osmo altogether — while on a tripod — I don't see any solution.

Just my take on things.

Dave A Posted at 2016-6-11 02:23
Jeff, man it's comforting and disheartening to know Rufus had to deal with the same issue. I have  ...

Hi Dave,
In my view, any long-term using may wear the parts out. General speaking, it doesn't affect the normal conditions of the motors when they are locked. The motors' movement is designed to response accordingly to the real situation, actually, no matter you lock the motors or not, the gimbal will keep working on stabilizing its gesture via the motor's movement in 3 axes.

Hope our engineers would figure out more creative ideas on this issue, too.
Thanks for your understanding.

Here is my wobble Problem.

pw: osmo

Tried: Reset Gimbal, Calibrate Gimbal, set Speed Settings down, nothing helps... :-/ So at this point, it's useless.

You'll never get perfect time/hyper lapse with 3 axis gimbal stabilised camera for $700 or something like that.

Those motors just can't stay micrometer aligned for 20 mins. They just can't.
Yes it's probably useless for time lapse. But it's good for what it's designed for.  

Yes and it says:" perferct for timelapse". It's possible to get timelapses without moving (i got some of them). So it's a) a faulty unit or b) a problem with the software.

Dave A Posted at 2016-6-10 14:23
Jeff, man it's comforting and disheartening to know Rufus had to deal with the same issue. I have  ...

Hi, Dave. Osmo is designed as a sport camera with stabilization system. Its strength is stabilization during movement.

Under current technology, I don't think there's any gimbal system that can maintain exact precision, not when you increased the speed to 100X. So the only choice is to physically lock the gimbal.

Also, locking the gimbal won't do extra damage to motors, acutally no damage at all, compared with allowing the gimbal free movement for the same amount of time.