Camera Issues

[Kossnen]

So, about three weeks ago I managed to nip my first tree branch. The mavic was able to regain control and fly to a safe landing (it bent the wing back into a half folded position). Everything was fine I thought. I did change propellers just in case and I don't use the plastic gimble bubble but I do use a sun guard. After a week I did notice my camera slowly moving to the right or left before takeoff. It would even out and I was able to fly normal. Weird, but you never know what kind of calibrations or adjustments it's making. I manually calibrated it just in case. That issue now seems better. However, now, in the past week, the picture feed has started to tear or go blank ( it did it a few times before calibrating too). The HUD stays on screen, however the screen will go gray, go black and white, picture will freeze, or the camera feed will be half fine, and half froze/full of artifacts/ blocked out. It doesn't happen often and it seems to happen more in sports mode. There also seems to be a delay between the picture and the actual movements of the mavic. I normally see full remote connections when this is happening. Could it be interference? Firmware update gone wrong? Camera issues? Cable to phone issues? I thought to myself that it may be the lens I have on it. I took that off before coming home tonight.. no time to test it yet though. I have dji care refresh, so I'm not too worried. Just wondering if it was worth sending in. (Firmware up to date using Samsung S7)

TL;DR
1: Hit tree branch. Seemingly no damage
2: Camera acting weird, moving slightly and screen of the feed tearing, going black and white, freezing. Full remote connection.
3: Camera sway and moving corrected, live feed still acting weird.
4: Interference? Firmware update gone wrong? Camera problem? Use DJI Care Refresh?

Sorry if it sounds like I was rambling. I was. I kept going back and adding more to the story and what I noticed. Any help would be great. Thanks!

 

[khooper802]

Sounds like maybe a wire is detached? If only part of the video is going blank and is sports mode, to me sounds like when you go fast the gimbal is shaking more and the wire is moving and becoming displaced and replaced. Not sure how you could fix that though.

 

[Former Member]

FIRST, You might try using a different device and see if it does the same thing. If it does it on a different device, it could be either interference or a camera problem, both mechanical, and either would require a Refresh.

It would be a shame to lose your drone during one of those blackout periods. If this problem makes you not want to fly in sports mode, then time to think about getting it fixed.

 

[Kossnen]

Yeah, I'll try with a different phone first. Does anyone know how the gimble wire is connected? Is it soldered or is it snapped into a socket? Judging by the replacements I'm seeing on ebay, it looks like it snaps in. I wonder if it's just loose. If I could get to it without opening the drone, I'll try to gently seat it in better. Either way, Refresh is always an option. Thanks!

 

[Former Member]

snapped into a socket?

All gimbal cables are snap-in connectors.

 

[khooper802]

Yeah, I'll try with a different phone first. Does anyone know how the gimble wire is connected? Is it soldered or is it snapped into a socket? Judging by the replacements I'm seeing on ebay, it looks like it snaps in. I wonder if it's just loose. If I could get to it without opening the drone, I'll try to gently seat it in better. Either way, Refresh is always an option. Thanks!

I would agree, just because you said it happens most in Sport Mode. I think its when your putting more pressure on the gimbal and its shaking more then its shaking the wire loose every so often...

 

[Kossnen]

The plot thickens. So, I went back out today and tested it some more. The first flight in an open field felt sloppy. In GPS mode it seemed fine. But again, in sport mode it felt like there was a lag in the feed and I got artifacts and tearing. The copy that saved to my phone showed the feed errors. At home, I flew again. Even when on the ground, the screen was going gray and tearing. It cleared up and I took off slowly (recording the whole time) I went up about 150 ft and flew around a little, turning as much as possible to see if I could create the errors/sloppiness in regular GPS mode. I couldn't. I then switched to sport mode and tried. Again, no errors. The feed felt tight too. Very little delay. When I got inside and checked the SD card, no errors on either flight's video. Picture was nice and clear. So, I no longer think it's a cable connection within the drone. I'm wondering if it's the cable from my phone to the controller or still, a firmware issue. I'm going to try another phone as soon as I can. Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Former Member]

The plot thickens. So, I went back out today and tested it some more. The first flight in an open field felt sloppy. In GPS mode it seemed fine. But again, in sport mode it felt like there was a lag in the feed and I got artifacts and tearing. The copy that saved to my phone showed the feed errors. At home, I flew again. Even when on the ground, the screen was going gray and tearing. It cleared up and I took off slowly (recording the whole time) I went up about 150 ft and flew around a little, turning as much as possible to see if I could create the errors/sloppiness in regular GPS mode. I couldn't. I then switched to sport mode and tried. Again, no errors. The feed felt tight too. Very little delay. When I got inside and checked the SD card, no errors on either flight's video. Picture was nice and clear. So, I no longer think it's a cable connection within the drone. I'm wondering if it's the cable from my phone to the controller or still, a firmware issue. I'm going to try another phone as soon as I can. Thanks for all the help so far!

Maybe you could also use the bottom port of the controller, if you havent tried that yet.

 

[Kossnen]

Oh, I completely forgot about that one. Will do tomorrow (weather permitting). Thanks!

 

[Kossnen]

I didn't get a chance to take it out. However, I did remove the propellers and test inside by moving it with my hand. It seemed that the glitches and lagged cleared up after about 45 seconds of run time. Same when using my girlfriends phone. If the drone disconnected, either by turning off the phone, app, or disconnecting the wire connection, the lag would happen again then clear up. I wonder if switching to sports mode also causes the issue to happen. I'l test more out tonight hopefully. Did the official DJI app update recently? Like within the past week or two? Mine automatically updates so I very well may have missed it. Thanks for all the help!