Custom Cut on Mavic Pro gimbal cover

[ditography]

Hi Guys, I am wondering if it's possible to cut a certain part of the gimbal cover (the side that's facing forward and downward) to enable slight protection while landing on uneven terrain while maintaining maximum image quality from the camera.

I'm also still waiting for my own Mavic so I can't test whether this method is possible or not.

The dotted line shows the cut behind the gimbal


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[Dynamic3dSolutions.com]

Hi Guys, I am wondering if it's possible to cut a certain part of the gimbal cover (the side that's facing forward and downward) to enable slight protection while landing on uneven terrain while maintaining maximum image quality from the camera.

I'm also still waiting for my own Mavic so I can't test whether this method is possible or not.

The dotted line shows the cut behind the gimbal


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

I like the idea. The only thing would be finding where you could cut it and be just out of field of view. This would take some testing with the Mavic's camera system to find the sweet spot to cut.

 

[rockydog]

You could check what you need to remove by drawing lines on the bubble with an erasable marker...once you've got the lines just out of view, that's your cut line.

 

[mstampfli]

I thought I read somewhere that the cover had a relatively weak holding clasp system, and would not hold for the lifetime of the drone.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using MavicPilots mobile app

 

[zimode]

Love the idea.. hopefully there will be after market solutions as well

 

[Dronebow]

I'm thinking that a variety of gimble covers designed for protection and good video will be surfacing. As the demand for something starts to increase so will the products.

 

[Pablo]

I'm no expert on aerodynamics, I can barely spell aerodynamics, but wouldn't that funnel all the air inside the gimbal cover during flight? That doesn't sound like a good idea to me unfortunately.

 

[Dronebow]

I'm no expert on aerodynamics, I can barely spell aerodynamics, but wouldn't that funnel all the air inside the gimbal cover during flight? That doesn't sound like a good idea to me unfortunately.

Well, the gimbal is getting the same amount of air without the cover. Right? If you are flying 30mph with no wind then the gimbal is getting a 30mph wind on it's face. With the opening it's still receiving the same amount of air and actually probably less because once the air in the cover gets to some point then I think the air would start going around the cover rather than in.

And I can't spell aerodynamics either but that sounds right from logic perspective...

 

[Pablo]

Well, the gimbal is getting the same amount of air without the cover. Right? If you are flying 30mph with no wind then the gimbal is getting a 30mph wind on it's face. With the opening it's still receiving the same amount of air and actually probably less because once the air in the cover gets to some point then I think the air would start going around the cover rather than in.

And I can't spell aerodynamics either but that sounds right from logic perspective...

Trial and error I guess. It might work, or it might mess with that tiny, fragile gimbal. I'll let someone else try.

 

[ditography]

I'm no expert on aerodynamics, I can barely spell aerodynamics, but wouldn't that funnel all the air inside the gimbal cover during flight? That doesn't sound like a good idea to me unfortunately.

The air inside the cover could be easily countered by making another hole at the back as an exhaust window. Also I wasn't thinking of using this for high speed flight as I was planning to use the drone mostly for photographic purposes. The ideas was simply to modify the cover as an extra layer of protection to prevent any rocks or uneven terrain to damage that fragile gimbal while landing.

I am thinking of ordering a spare bubble once they're are readily available (and I have an actual drone to test with).

 

[vince123]

The air inside the cover could be easily countered by making another hole at the back as an exhaust window. Also I wasn't thinking of using this for high speed flight as I was planning to use the drone mostly for photographic purposes. The ideas was simply to modify the cover as an extra layer of protection to prevent any rocks or uneven terrain to damage that fragile gimbal while landing.

I am thinking of ordering a spare bubble once they're are readily available (and I have an actual drone to test with).

I've been thinking about doing the same thing, not just for protection but also to reduce lens flare when facing near the sun. In my flight yesterday I noticed that a very bad 'rainbow' effect when the sun directly contacts the lens. My girlfriend jokingly asked how I'd mount a lens hood, which got me thinking about modifying the gimbal cover.

 

[Dronebow]

So the main issue with keeping the bubble on is glare and maybe some distortion correct? I'm wondering when someone will come out with a bubble that has opaque sides to keep out the glare and for the front of the camera a flat face to reduce distortion. Perhaps even adding a filter on the camera would help.

 

[vince123]

So the main issue with keeping the bubble on is glare and maybe some distortion correct? I'm wondering when someone will come out with a bubble that has opaque sides to keep out the glare and for the front of the camera a flat face to reduce distortion. Perhaps even adding a filter on the camera would help.

Yes, the distortion and glare are very noticeable with the gimbal on. I'm planning to first test the field of view with a dry erase market, then cut a slot out and paint the remaining gimbal material. My only concern is that I'll have to cut away too much plastic from the sides to account for the 'yaw' rotation, that there may not be enough material left to protect the camera or block the sun. Looks like I'll be taking a dremel to my shiny new Mavic tonight! (don't have a heart attack, just the gimbal cover!).

 

[Dronebow]

Yes, the distortion and glare are very noticeable with the gimbal on. I'm planning to first test the field of view with a dry erase market, then cut a slot out and paint the remaining gimbal material. My only concern is that I'll have to cut away too much plastic from the sides to account for the 'yaw' rotation, that there may not be enough material left to protect the camera or block the sun. Looks like I'll be taking a dremel to my shiny new Mavic tonight! (don't have a heart attack, just the gimbal cover!).

Does the gimbal pan horizontally at all? I keep seeing pictures that seem to show a bit of horizontal pan left or right on the gimbal which makes me think that it does pan a bit, maybe for settings like follow me. That may affect your ability to successfully modify the cover.

 

[vince123]

Does the gimbal pan horizontally at all? I keep seeing pictures that seem to show a bit of horizontal pan left or right on the gimbal which makes me think that it does pan a bit, maybe for settings like follow me. That may affect your ability to successfully modify the cover.

Yea, that's what I mean by 'yaw' rotation...same as panning (aka "z-axis"). It does a little any time the aircraft rotates such as follow me as you mention, which is why I'm concerned I'll have to cut away too much material to make the modification effective. I'll just have to test it out and see what works

 

[Dronebow]

Yaw, I know right?..
I really need to learn the lingo.. LOL

 

[DrPeppar]

IMy girlfriend jokingly asked how I'd mount a lens hood, which got me thinking about modifying the gimbal cover.

Pics or it didn't happen

 

[Chris_Toronto]

Cool idea

 

[Rom3oDelta7]

Yea, that's what I mean by 'yaw' rotation...same as panning (aka "z-axis"). It does a little any time the aircraft rotates such as follow me as you mention, which is why I'm concerned I'll have to cut away too much material to make the modification effective. I'll just have to test it out and see what works

I believe if you disable "Synchronized Gimbal Pan Follow" it will not do this. Try it and let us know.

 

[ditography]

Yes, the distortion and glare are very noticeable with the gimbal on. I'm planning to first test the field of view with a dry erase market, then cut a slot out and paint the remaining gimbal material. My only concern is that I'll have to cut away too much plastic from the sides to account for the 'yaw' rotation, that there may not be enough material left to protect the camera or block the sun. Looks like I'll be taking a dremel to my shiny new Mavic tonight! (don't have a heart attack, just the gimbal cover!).

Please keep us posted with your experiment Vince!


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