BUG: Mini 2 Gimbal Tilt Issues in Sport Mode

[ctyldsley]

Has anyone had issues with the gimbal in sport mode?

It regularly tilts downwards itself but also more frustrating is when banking left or right the gimbal doesn't level with the horizon and instead tilts on an angle left or right depending which way I'm banking.

It's not a constant issue but regularly happens in mid flight. I didn't have this issue with my Mini 1. It only appears to occur in sport mode.

Short clip to illustrate it:

(you can see it also tilts downwards itself, so I stop to manually try move it up/down)

 

[old man mavic]

this has been noted on a couple of drone revues on the web already, really sport mode is better used to get from A to B quickly, and then use Cine mode for smooth video shots ,it is something that may be improved in future upgrades who knows

 

[ctyldsley]

this has been noted on a couple of drone revues on the web already, really sport mode is better used to get from A to B quickly, and then use Cini mode for smooth video shots ,it is something that may be improved in future upgrades who knows

It seems to be a new issue to the Mini 2 vs the Mini 1. I did this exact same shot of running in sport mode along the same bridge with the Mini 1 without any issues.

Surely it can't be working as intended. There were many shots I took over my time with the Mini 1 which utilised the speed of sport mode as part of the shot (e.g fast low ground shots), which simply won't work with this issue on the Mini 2.

 

[old man mavic]

@ctyldsley when a new product comes out there are always issues which usually get sorted ,as new firmware becomes available ,i imagine DJI are already working on a solution,as we speak

 

[Subraid]

I can confirm that problem, my Mini 2 has it too.
In addition to that, I've this sideway-tilding sometimes in the photo-panorama too and therefore the panorama is failing....

 

[scro]

I think this will become one of the most complained about things in the Mini2. Having seen the official specs I can see clearly that the new Mini2 has an "Achilles heel". The problem is a hardware issue: the drone can tilt up to 40deg, but the gimbal mechanical limits are 35deg side to side and when flying forwards. With the camera facing down at -90deg there is only 20deg of remaining travel for reverse flight. I can guarantee it won't get fixed in firmware as it is a physical limitation of the gimbal DJI have chosen.

This was a barely perceptible issue on the MM1 (try pointing the camera down at -90deg and flying backwards in sport mode, and you'll notice it jumps.

I played with the tilt parameters on a MM1 and increased the limit to 40deg, and the gimbal could no longer keep the horizon level at all times, especially when flying sideways - exactly the same as some reviewers are now reporting.

 

[KiloMeater]

I never shot video with the sport mode anyway, it has always been the mode to move between places of interest

 

[scro]

Expect to see some non-horizontal horizons and a few gimbal jumps in N mode too, if it's a bit windy.

 

[KiloMeater]

Expect to see some non-horizontal horizons and a few gimbal jumps in N mode too, if it's a bit windy.

That may be a problem, even if I mostly use cine mode.

But it is such an obvious specs numbers mismatch, they can't have just missed it.

 

[realice]

Didn't you check gimbal mode not FPV. I had near same issue with mini 1 when unintentionally switched FPV mode on. It was working strange when I slide aside. Like on video. Tilt from time to time.

 

[DanMan32]

The M2 also would have the gimbal jump in sport mode. As was noted above, likely this was due to gimbal hitting it's limits when AC pitched forward or backward a lot to accommodate sport speeds.

Point being, MM2 isn't the only one that experiences this, though only for tilt, not so much for bank.

 

[Rana Jehanzeb]

DJI has increased wind resistance of Mini 2 by using more powerful motors as compared to Mini 1 but seems didn't upgrade 3 - Axis Gimbal to control camera in such a bank in Sport Mode. Same was found with M2P. You can check it by holding drone by hand and Tilt it. You will notice that first camera will try to stay in middle and then it will fail holding position and tilt to the same direction.

 

[AtortPhotography]

I have had same thing happen on other drones that much I know.

 

[scro]

That may be a problem, even if I mostly use cine mode.

But it is such an obvious specs numbers mismatch, they can't have just missed it.

It seems like a glaring mismatch in specs indeed! Doesn't seem to be stopping people from buy them though. Maybe thats where next year's Mini3 will be improved ?

 

[MaverickMavicMark]

this has been noted on a couple of drone revues on the web already, really sport mode is better used to get from A to B quickly, and then use Cine mode for smooth video shots ,it is something that may be improved in future upgrades who knows

I want gimbals to work properly in all modes.

 

[boblui]

Not a bug at all. My Mini 1 did that also. The range of gimbal movement is just too narrow. Not a significant issue for me though :

 

[nhgill960]

Just curious, does anyone know if the gimbal on the mini 2 can look side to side like the MA2? I thought it was a cool feature.

 

[DanMan32]

I understood the original M1 also had gimbal tilt issues in sport mode.

The body extends above the gimbal in most Mavic models so that does limit how much of an unobstructed upward angle could be achieved. That "hood" probably saved many gimbals from serious damage in crashes.

 

[AtortPhotography]

I had the same issue today BIG time. Made a quick video to show and contacted DJI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai7x60H8dcY&feature=youtu.be

 

[dwallersv]

It seems to be a new issue to the Mini 2 vs the Mini 1. I did this exact same shot of running in sport mode along the same bridge with the Mini 1 without any issues.

Yup. More powerful motors, faster acceleration, same gimbal. This is not a bug, but rather a performance limitation.

Because of the more powerful motors, the tilt angle of the aircraft when accelerating has also increased. It now exceeds the gimbal's tilt range. So, if you push the drone to it's maximum flight capabilities, you will exceed the camera gimbal's designed range for stabilizing the camera.

This is what Normal and Cine modes are for. Sport mode arguably is for flying the drone, not taking video. That is, flying it for the sake of thrilling flying, like you would do with a drone that didn't have a camera.

Any type of flight (other than just getting A->B as fast as possible) in Sport mode will produce absolutely useless video, even if it was perfectly stabilized.

Here's a clip (from the cache on my phone, hence lousy quality) doing some Sport flying yesterday. Practicing coordinating turns. Power diving and then ascending. Tring to turn on a dime. Everything throttle and pitch sticks maxed out most of the time.

As you can see, if there's anything actually useful about such footage it only needs to be captured once and then stored away as "file footage" to be reused again and again.

As far as the tilt error, yeah, you can see it if you know to look for it, but honestly anyone else who doesn't won't notice it with all the other raucous movement.