Tilted horizon

[Humanparody]

Yeah, it's definitely a problem that should have been addressed by now, meaning both that this model is way newer and also before they even rolled it out. There's no way, with so many people experiencing the problem, that it didn't present itself on the prototypes before they rolled it out.
I have seen the issue on phantoms but it's far more rare. At the end of the day the software is probably exactly the same. I almost feel like the key difference between the phantom and the Mavic, the smaller camera itself, might be why the issue pops up so frequently on the Mavic. If you watch it fly, that camera is jiggling all over the place. I'm shocked the footage is as clear as it is. I'm sure the wind beats the heck out of it while it's flying even worse. It just doesn't have much weight to help dampen the movement. (Cue me thinking about adding a little weight to the camera to see if it helps)

 

[asainz320]

This is a video I made about a month ago about this issue. I haven't noticed any changes with the new FW update.

 

[Jaysjob]

So I tried again today. It was less windy but still a bit gusty. I calibrated inside, flew, landed and calibrated outside. I'm still getting tilted horizon. If I spin horizontally while in flight it banks a bit but when I come to a stop the angle doesn't settle away like it should. And it seems to differ from spinning left or right. This only became painfully apparent after the update before the last one. Not really sure what to do?

 

[jerniganbrandon]

Make sure the drone is sitting on a perfectly level surface before you power on since the drone needs to reference "horizontal" before calibration.

That's not how gimbals are supposed to work. If you calibrate on level ground, that should be enough going forward, since it knows what "level" means in relation to the aircraft. If that weren't the case and it needed to be on level ground upon power up, then we all might as well return the thing.

I've found the slower I go, the better shots I get.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

This is a video I made about a month ago about this issue. I haven't noticed any changes with the new FW update.

Great video and questions. I feel so many of us feel the same way. What I've found out about your twitchy gimbal when panning is that it reflects the quads attitude. In other words it's responsiveness. I had to turn down the responsiveness of the throttle a few notches and the twitchy gimbal disappeared. I think the weight of the Mavic plays a big role with it being so light. In so many ways I feel DJI threw this together too quickly. It's got so many great technical features it does so well. But this seemingly simple tilted horizon issues just kills it. Maybe it's worth waiting for a second rendition of this quad?? Great post. Cheers.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

So I tried again today. It was less windy but still a bit gusty. I calibrated inside, flew, landed and calibrated outside. I'm still getting tilted horizon. If I spin horizontally while in flight it banks a bit but when I come to a stop the angle doesn't settle away like it should. And it seems to differ from spinning left or right. This only became painfully apparent after the update before the last one. Not really sure what to do?

Same boat here. I've sent back the 2 because of this issue. This brings me to ponder how I don't hear of this issue from some people. Then when watching other people's videos on YouTube I see many with tilted horizons. It's obvious this is not a concern to them as they could have fixed this in post. Maybe some of us are being too particular?? I don't feel this but have to wonder. Seems to me if I spend $1300 on a new quad I should not have to fix what it's designed to do in post editing. DJI needs to address this issue. Thanks for your input. Cheers.

 

[flyNfrank]

This is a video I made about a month ago about this issue. I haven't noticed any changes with the new FW update.

asainz320-
These settings suggestions wont fix the tilted horizon, but they should help the function of your gimbal and yaw commands. With your Device, GO4 App, AirCraft, and Remote Controller all powered on, in the GO4 App navigate to the 3 dots in upper right corner of flight view. Next select the Drone icon from top of menu list. This should take you to the Main Controller Settings page. Scroll to bottom and select Advanced Settings. Open the Sensitivity feature and set the "Yaw Movement Limit" to 50.

Next return to the menu list and select the Camera icon. Select Advanced Settings. Set Gimbal Pitch Speed to 3. Set Gimbal Pitch Smoothness to: 10.

The settings above most likely wont be your final adjustment, but they will give you a more controllable feel from what you currently have set. One other important thing that stood out to me in your video was your Remote Controller appears to need calibrated based on the stick input I saw. Of course use the GO4 app for that as well. Once finished with all these suggestions you aircraft should feel better

 

[Superior-Side 906]

asainz320-
These settings suggestions wont fix the tilted horizon, but they should help the function of your gimbal and yaw commands. With your Device, GO4 App, AirCraft, and Remote Controller all powered on, in the GO4 App navigate to the 3 dots in upper right corner of flight view. Next select the Drone icon from top of menu list. This should take you to the Main Controller Settings page. Scroll to bottom and select Advanced Settings. Open the Sensitivity feature and set the "Yaw Movement Limit" to 50.

Next return to the menu list and select the Camera icon. Select Advanced Settings. Set Gimbal Pitch Speed to 3. Set Gimbal Pitch Smoothness to: 10.

The settings above most likely wont be your final adjustment, but they will give you a more controllable feel from what you currently have set. One other important thing that stood out to me in your video was your Remote Controller appears to need calibrated based on the stick input I saw. Of course use the GO4 app for that as well. Once finished with all these suggestions you aircraft should feel better

Great post. You put into words way better than I attempted. You are correct this will not be the solve all but will help quite a but.

 

[Crayons]

My horizon tilts when I yaw or turn then if I stop it corrects to level somewhat. Just doesn't seem it should do this.

Hi @Superior-Side 906 - just wondering where you're at with this issue now? Have noticed this with my new Mavic - very wonky horizon - I think after yawing sometimes - looks like almost 10 degrees off sometimes.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

Crayons- I received my new MP 2 weeks ago and have updated it and flown it now 13 times and have not experienced a tilted horizon yet. The more I've read about some people having issues an others with no issues the more I have come to realize that it must indeed be a quality control issue with DJI. I believe some units are just not assembled up to spec causing domino effect of issues relating to the gimbal..With this Mavic I did NOT calibrate the IMU out of the box and will only do it when the MP tells me to. I also did NOT calibrate the gimbal. I do compass calibrations when I'm 30 or so miles from my previous flight area. So far so good no issues at all. I recommend sending the unit back if your within the window. Otherwise send back to DJI for repair. It's a pain in the butt I know but it's worth it. I am on my 3rd one now and have sent the others back the minute I saw an issue.

 

[Crayons]

Sheeesh - that is a pain in the butt but good advice I guess. What is the window? I've had it 2 weeks.

 

[alienwarrior]

Wouldn't be so bad if they applied the same work around they did for the P4.
C1 button and right wheel to adjust the horizon.
Having to go through 3 layers of menus to frequently adjust is a pain and dangerous as you are focusing on menus and not the flight!!!

[Edit] Looks like the latest firmware has the C2 button and right wheel - just discovered it.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

asainz320-
These settings suggestions wont fix the tilted horizon, but they should help the function of your gimbal and yaw commands. With your Device, GO4 App, AirCraft, and Remote Controller all powered on, in the GO4 App navigate to the 3 dots in upper right corner of flight view. Next select the Drone icon from top of menu list. This should take you to the Main Controller Settings page. Scroll to bottom and select Advanced Settings. Open the Sensitivity feature and set the "Yaw Movement Limit" to 50.

Next return to the menu list and select the Camera icon. Select Advanced Settings. Set Gimbal Pitch Speed to 3. Set Gimbal Pitch Smoothness to: 10.

The settings above most likely wont be your final adjustment, but they will give you a more controllable feel from what you currently have set. One other important thing that stood out to me in your video was your Remote Controller appears to need calibrated based on the stick input I saw. Of course use the GO4 app for that as well. Once finished with all these suggestions you aircraft should feel better

I like you have had this experience on 2 MP units. I'm now on my 3rd and the issue us non existent. I believe it's a manufacture issue inline with quality control of the gimbal and its components. It is a shame. DJI should be held accountable especially since we are all spending so much money on these units.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

Wouldn't be so bad if they applied the same work around they did for the P4.
C1 button and right wheel to adjust the horizon.
Having to go through 3 layers of menus to frequently adjust is a pain and dangerous as you are focusing on menus and not the flight!!!

My MP adjusts with the C1 and wheel adjustment.

 

[Superior-Side 906]

Sheeesh - that is a pain in the butt but good advice I guess. What is the window? I've had it 2 weeks.

Depending where you purchased it. I purchased all mine from Amazon, they have 30 day return policy. Other places like Best Buy have replacement windows of around 2 weeks. Look into it, I think it's worth it.