Gimbal cover... Remove before flight or not

[aespi]

I've seen several videos where folks fly the Mavic with both the gimbal cover either installed or removed,
Any pros or cons for either option??

Thanks

 

[msinger]

The only proven con I've seen here is that it sometimes causes more glare when flying toward the sun.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

As a photographer and videographer of over 30 years, I can say that putting a spherical plastic dome in front of any lens will have a degrading effect on the image. Just how degrading is acceptable, when weighed against the advantage of some protection in a crash, is entirely up to you.

 

[DodgeP]

Remove!

 

[Foxtrot Uniform]

Many believe that flying with the cover attached will negatively effect the airflow to the internals. I ALWAYS fly with it off.

 

[Fly_Me_To_The_Moon]

Definitely remove it. It will reduce sharpness of your photos/video if you leave on, and there is no physical safety reason it should stay on. Plus, DJI says to take it off in the manuals.

 

[stratos]

Its up to you mate. If you are just flying for fun it wouldnt hurt to leave the cover on.
I have done my own comparison videos and and yes in some cases you can have so reflections from the glove.

I saw in ebay some "lens hood" which is basically a blacked out gimbal cover with an opening just for the lens, that will "potentially" protect your camera on impact and avoid un wanted reflections.

 

[AwesoM]

The gimbal is pretty fragile, if you are flying with it off would the wind not be causing unnecessary video shake?

 

[bsshog40]

There are vents behind the gimbal, and behind the vents is a cooling fan for the internals. If it's not removed, the MP will get very hot and may cause issues.

 

[TraylorTrash]

There are vents behind the gimbal, and behind the vents is a cooling fan for the internals. If it's not removed, the MP will get very hot and may cause issues.

X2

 

[Robert Mitchell]

The gimbal is pretty fragile, if you are flying with it off would the wind not be causing unnecessary video shake?

Not really. Seems to handle it quite nicely.

 

[AwesoM]

I flew mine for the first time today. It was about 4:30 pm and windy. The glare on the lens hood was horrible for both video and pictures. I just returned my P4P for the Mavic.. I hope I did not make a huge mistake. I will try it without the cover tomorrow as most of you suggest here, i was going to go it today but was worried with the wind it would make the gimbal unstable.

 

[bsshog40]

I flew mine for the first time today. It was about 4:30 pm and windy. The glare on the lens hood was horrible for both video and pictures. I just returned my P4P for the Mavic.. I hope I did not make a huge mistake. I will try it without the cover tomorrow as most of you suggest here, i was going to go it today but was worried with the wind it would make the gimbal unstable.

I flew mine yesterday for the second time. We had some occasional gusts of wind. I never seen "any" shake in my videos.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

I flew mine for the first time today. It was about 4:30 pm and windy. The glare on the lens hood was horrible for both video and pictures. I just returned my P4P for the Mavic.. I hope I did not make a huge mistake. I will try it without the cover tomorrow as most of you suggest here, i was going to go it today but was worried with the wind it would make the gimbal unstable.

Nahh, you didn't make a mistake. Maybe it is because of it's position or small aerodynamic profile, wind doesn't seem to affect it.
I've been a photographer for 30 years and can tell you, putting a piece of plastic in front of a highly engineered optical lens is never good for the image. Since it would offer very little protection in case of a crash, It is more of a transport protective device, imo.

 

[TakMavic]

There are vents behind the gimbal, and behind the vents is a cooling fan for the internals. If it's not removed, the MP will get very hot and may cause issues.

X3!

 

[GerdS]

I have meanwhile drilled a 16mm hole into the flat surface of the cover at the right side (while mounted) to allow enough air flow for the vent. So I will be able to use the cover even at summer without overheating the electronics.
Just wondering why DJI didn't make such a vent hole by default...

 

[windblown]

No cover for me. I bought this thing to take pictures and video with. Having the cover on would be like taking pictures and video through an old distorted car window, but worse.

And then there is the whole cooling thing. The Mavic gets warm with outside temps near 0C so I imagine it gets REAL warm when it's hot outside.

I noticed some early promo vids from DJI showed the cover in place during flight, but the actual training/technical videos showed it removed in flight when they weren't inserting promo shots into the video.

 

[halley]

If it's not removed, the MP will get very hot and may cause issues.

The number of people making this assumption with no engineering data is pretty shocking. Speculation is useless without data.

First, we have no data for internal temperature limits nor data for normal operating internal temperature ranges. Two, the bottom heat sink gets warm to the touch regardless of flight or motor activity, yet we have no warnings from DJI on how much time you should have motors running for cooling prop wash airflow vs no motors running for other activities like firmware updates. Three, there is a fan inside the Mavic but it is quite small and slow, while all of the hottest parts have a thermal paste bonding the part to the heat sink; we don't know whether the fan is designed for cooling or not, as it could simply be there to ensure the clear cover doesn't fog up in humid air. Four, we have a lot of people posting complaints of all sorts to the forums, yet so far I have not seen one DJI repair bill or even a story about an actual heat-damaged Mavic system. If there were stories of strange odors, stories of smoke, stories of warped plastic, stories of discoloration around any part of the drone, I would give more credence to the idea that the DJI Mavic Pro might need all the cooling it can get. No stories, no data, no problem.

Guys, the cover is there if you want to use the cover, and new pilots probably feel more comfortable with a slightly protected gimbal when bopping around the hedge gardens and credenzas. Also, the cover is quickly removable if you want to fly without the cover getting in the way of your aerial photography. The system appears to be designed for either flight configuration with equal effectiveness.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

The number of people making this assumption with no engineering data is pretty shocking. Speculation is useless without data.

First, we have no data for internal temperature limits nor data for normal operating internal temperature ranges. Two, the bottom heat sink gets warm to the touch regardless of flight or motor activity, yet we have no warnings from DJI on how much time you should have motors running for cooling prop wash airflow vs no motors running for other activities like firmware updates. Three, there is a fan inside the Mavic but it is quite small and slow, while all of the hottest parts have a thermal paste bonding the part to the heat sink; we don't know whether the fan is designed for cooling or not, as it could simply be there to ensure the clear cover doesn't fog up in humid air. Four, we have a lot of people posting complaints of all sorts to the forums, yet so far I have not seen one DJI repair bill or even a story about an actual heat-damaged Mavic system. If there were stories of strange odors, stories of smoke, stories of warped plastic, stories of discoloration around any part of the drone, I would give more credence to the idea that the DJI Mavic Pro might need all the cooling it can get. No stories, no data, no problem.

Guys, the cover is there if you want to use the cover, and new pilots probably feel more comfortable with a slightly protected gimbal when bopping around the hedge gardens and credenzas. Also, the cover is quickly removable if you want to fly without the cover getting in the way of your aerial photography. The system appears to be designed for either flight configuration with equal effectiveness.

I would also add the there are 4 props rotating @ X RPM generating a massive amount of airflow., thus cooling the unit.

 

[Landmix]

YouTube - Drone Valley did a test with the gimble cover. Because of the vents behind the gimble, the heat increases with the cover on. Rick used a thermal reader but you can feel the temp difference after 60 seconds of use.
A = No gimble cover and don't forget the gimble locking plate.


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