Camera/gimbal cover. Fly with or without?

jkcargile · Apr 2, 2017

Just got my Mavic Pro the other day. I've only done a couple of flights. I'm getting a line or glare on the video feed. Do you remove the camera/gimbal clear cover before flight or does it remain in place during flight?

larkin · Apr 2, 2017

Please. Gimbal Cover......DJI say on?!!

D700 · Apr 2, 2017

You should do as you wish, according with your video demands. The cover protects the camera/gimbal, however it will cause some glare due to the plastic material/bubble shape. Without it the video is clean and so suitable for a more quality demanding project, but...no protection - you have to land it in a flat clean area or hand catch it.

Top Hat · Apr 2, 2017

It's all up to you.

Former Member · Apr 2, 2017

Qoncussion said:
Not correct. The bubble was designed for transport protection only. It blocks the main air intake for cooling the drone. Leave it off when flying.

Good point. The fan shroud sits right behind the dome and will restrict airflow if left on.

ryo · Apr 2, 2017

But did anyone notice if flying WITH the cover really made the MP warm up more than without? I never tried as i always fly without but should be an easy task to make the test.

Former Member · Apr 2, 2017

ryo said:
But did anyone notice if flying WITH the cover really made the MP warm up more than without? I never tried as i always fly without but should be an easy task to make the test.

I dont think its worth overburdening your cooling fan to try it, especially for an extended flight of 10 or more minutes. Its like putting your hand over the end of a vacuum cleaner hose. The fan motor will try very hard to overcome the lack of airflow, and could lead to overheating of the fan and boards. Just feel the bottom of your Mav after having it on and idling for 2 minutes, it gets hot. Inside you have 2 boards that need cooling, and that fan is their only means to get it.

In addition, whenever I update firmware, I always keep a desk fan blowing into the gimbal to help out the internal fan. Sometimes these updates take 20 minutes or longer, enough to get components very hot.

In the Phantoms, it was never a good idea to keep it on and idling for an extended period of time even though the gimbal had a tiny fan on it. I have a collection of fried P3 gimbal boards because people tried to update firmware without using a fan to cool the bird down.

Robert Mitchell · Apr 2, 2017

My opinion and what I do.

Take it off. It would provide very little protection in a crash anyway, it is optically horrendous and introduces not only glare but refraction and prop flicker. It is better suited as a transport protection device.

If you are not interested in good looking video, and think that tiny window of protection is worth it, leave it on.

It's up to you.

ryo · Apr 3, 2017

Thunder-drones said:
I dont think its worth overburdening your cooling fan to try it, especially for an extended flight of 10 or more minutes. Its like putting your hand over the end of a vacuum cleaner hose. The fan motor will try very hard to overcome the lack of airflow, and could lead to overheating of the fan and boards. Just feel the bottom of your Mav after having it on and idling for 2 minutes, it gets hot. Inside you have 2 boards that need cooling, and that fan is their only means to get it.

In addition, whenever I update firmware, I always keep a desk fan blowing into the gimbal to help out the internal fan. Sometimes these updates take 20 minutes or longer, enough to get components very hot.

In the Phantoms, it was never a good idea to keep it on and idling for an extended period of time even though the gimbal had a tiny fan on it. I have a collection of fried P3 gimbal boards because people tried to update firmware without using a fan to cool the bird down.

Ok, but even dji state that the bubble can be left on during flights. The situation doesn't compare with fw update situation because in that case the bird is sitting still and no air flow around it as when flying: in that case, when the fan kicks in must have the bubble off to front air intake. In temperatures i fly, actually around 15°C, i never heard the fan working after a flight.
In any case, all that bein said, never had a fly with the bubble in place.

tmoerel · Apr 3, 2017

Would you wear 50 cent sunglasses outdoors? Because they have about the same optical quality as the dome. NONE that is!

Alex_S · Apr 3, 2017

Sure you can leave it on. However this is a protection device and not an accurate optical camera lens accessory.
For best quality video and photos that cover must be taken off.

stratos · Apr 3, 2017

Protection wise will help
Camera and video quality will suffer

Its your choice at the end

rydfree · Apr 3, 2017

Qoncussion said:
Not correct. The bubble was designed for transport protection only. It blocks the main air intake for cooling the drone. Leave it off when flying.

Not correct , it is for gimbal protection during transport AND flight.
Mavic - Gimbal Cover | DJI Store
"Protects gimbal and camera from collision, dust and water during transportation and in flight."

DJI says if you are learning to fly then it offers one more level of protection . It is designed for proper airflow .

True fly · Apr 3, 2017

Or do what I did and get a cover that is cut out in the middle works a treat allows air in and gives that bit of protection if in a crash

jkcargile · Apr 3, 2017

True fly said:
Or do what I did and get a cover that is cut out in the middle works a treat allows air in and gives that bit of protection if in a crash

Where did you purchase this from?

True fly · Apr 3, 2017

Found it on eBay and it is a nice snug fit I just had to trim a little bit off on the left hand side as the camera pickes up a little bit of the cover when turning but now the camera has full unrestricted views with protection

D700 · Apr 7, 2017

Qoncussion said:
Not correct. The bubble was designed for transport protection only. It blocks the main air intake for cooling the drone. Leave it off when flying.

Maybe you would like to comment DJI's official video introducing the Mavic Pro where you can clearly see in many parts they're flying it with the bubble. Probably DJI's people need to learn the proper way to fly it...

tmoerel · Apr 7, 2017

D700 said:
Maybe you would like to comment DJI's official video introducing the Mavic Pro where you can clearly see in many parts they're flying it with the bubble. Probably DJI's people need to learn the proper way to fly it...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Probably to avoid lawsuits...

mstevens · Apr 7, 2017

tmoerel said:
Probably to avoid lawsuits...

... due to gimbal damage that might have been prevented by the dome.

Fletcher500 · Apr 7, 2017

I was using the cover for the first 2 weeks, and as noted, the video suffers especially facing the sun and at close angles.

Although still a point being debated, I think the cooling aspect of not having it on make sense.

I don't use it.