Experience with Carbon Landing Gear Skid Gimbal Guard and Lens Hood

[BumblerBee]

I bought the following shield to give my Mavic and its camera a better protection from below:

Carbon Landing Gear Skid Kit Gimbal Guard Plate Protector for DJI Mavic Pro Body | eBay

First thing I noticed when mounting, was that one rare screw on Mavic is glue-sealed, as a warranty protection. So I mounted the plate using only 3 screws:




Next thing that I immediately discovered, that despite mounting the gimbal protector arms as prescribed in the instructions, and despite one sample image at the seller's showing Mavic with its gimbal cover on, it was not possible to take off the cover - the arms were in the way:



So I ended up reversing the way the arms are mounted:


I am now waiting for arrival of the lens hood in the post, and it will be interesting to see if it fits together with the protector above...

 

[Six6Sics]

I got one of these plates too, but in the time between ordering and receiving it - I read many reports of it hindering the cooling vanes on the underside of the MP..... I haven't gotten to scientific with it as yet, but I have put a new battery in the pyrometer for some testing this weekend.....

 

[kyle76joslin]

Here's an idea...don't crash. Lol...

 

[BumblerBee]

I noticed that the mounting screw is a bit longer than the back "feet", so Mavic rests on the screw(s), rather than the feet.

 

[BumblerBee]

The lens hood arrived today. First observation: it fits well, and it can actually be combined with the gimbal guard:

 

[BumblerBee]

Seeing as the weather outside prevents even the thought of flying (rain, wind, occasional thunder), I did some camera testing inside, hand-hold "flying" Mavic.
I did a few typical manoeuvres, tilting it forward and backward, rotating and banking. Tried several gimbal positions: forward, 45* and 90* down.

My conclusion is that if you fly slowly (tripod mode) or careful normal mode, then the guards and the hood are not in the way.

However, any fast movements (simulating acceleration of or fast turn) would bring both into view. This was more pronounced on the left side of the frame, as the camera is positioned asymmetrically.

The hood is easy to take on and off - it uses the same mounting as the gimbal cover. The frontal shade part of the hood is detachable, is it is possible to fly with part of the hood as a camera protector. One can also cover the hood with the standard rubber cover that came with the Mavic.

In the end I removed the skid and the gimbal guard (because of the rare screw and it being a permanent solution that can come into frame) and am opting to use the hood for only those conditions that call for its use.

PS:

Here's an idea...don't crash. Lol...

This is not about not crashing, but about landing/taking off in "unhygienic" conditions, where part of the terrain may come in contact with your camera or Mavic's belly.