Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom Gimbals can be swapped in 15 minutes: Detailed pics inside

[Morawka]

Hey guys, I decided to take one for the team and break apart my Mavic Pro 2 Pro to see how complicated gimbal repairs were going to be. Good news, it's very easy. The entire procedure can be done in as little as 15 minutes.

With the glue controversy going on, I also wanted to see how the gimbal was attached to the mount. Below you will find a short video I made, as well as some pictures to aid in self-repairs. As you can see, the gimbal is indeed secured to the vibration reduction frame with 3 screws. I'm not sure why DJI used glue, when they instead could have used longer screws to pass through to the motor mount.

Video:

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Picture Album: Imgur

 

[akniering]

Holy cow, well done! I don't think I could ever bring myself to do that haha

 

[dewster]

Here’s another video:

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[Morawka]

Here’s another video:

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Yeah that's a better video, thanks for sharing.

 

[ChipDjipro]

I can swap my camera out in10 seconds. Inspire. Lol

 

[GringoLoco]

I'm assuming you couldn't just swap a zoom for a pro camera because the software was set up specifically for one type of camera, is that correct?

 

[Morawka]

I'm assuming you couldn't just swap a zoom for a pro camera because the software was set up specifically for one type of camera, is that correct?

Someone else said that, but I have serious doubts that it's true. Three Reasons

1: The Camera's electronics are on the gimbal itself (that would contain any specific hardware/software for that camera)
2: DJI Go 4 App supports DJI's entire line of drones.
3: Flashing firmware would add a 1 hour process to repairs/camera swaps, and DJI doesn't want it's techs spending hours on that kind of thing

I'm thinking the only thing we'd need to do is run a gimbal calibration routine in the DJI Go 4 app to account for the 2 gram difference in weight.

IMO, there is a high likelihood these cameras are plug and play. In other words, no firmware update required. If someone has both copies, try it out for us.

 

[GringoLoco]

Whoa, that's crazy if it they can swap with no intensive software work. Of course they probably won't just sell you a zoom gimble for a fair price lol.

 

[jwblair]

It is possible to write firmware that works on both by having the firmware check to see which camera is installed. Whether-or-not DJI did this is another question. The only way to find out (other than DJI telling us) would be for someone with both the Pro and the Zoom to swap the camera on one of them and see if the app sees the difference.

 

[cpokrywka]

I would assume the actual "version" of the drone is hardcoded somewhere and is what tells the software what features to display within he app.

 

[Morawka]

I have emailed the guys over at WeTalkUAV and asked them to perform the test. They have both drones. I'll get back to you if they respond.

 

[Blaksony]

Wow, that makes sense,Very exciting

 

[khabbi]

Very cool. My next question is how different is this from the Mavic Pro 1? Imagine if you could swap cameras between the platforms (mainly if you crashed out your Mavic 2 and had a good gimbal from a pro 1 laying around or could buy one cheap).

 

[Morawka]

Very cool. My next question is how different is this from the Mavic Pro 1? Imagine if you could swap cameras between the platforms (mainly if you crashed out your Mavic 2 and had a good gimbal from a pro 1 laying around or could buy one cheap).

it's a totally different design, not at all compatible. The Mavic Pro camera has separate cables for data and power.

 

[gnirtS]

Id be very surprised if there isnt a board swap inside as well. The image processor is not going to have all the data for both camera "just in case".

 

[visualair]

This is very interesting. I am sure the different cameras will become available one way or another, but hopefully it will be as easy as this video shows.

 

[dirkclod]

Sorry to go OT guys.

I can swap my camera out in10 seconds. Inspire. Lol

Why don't you just place in your signature you have an Inspire instead of saying you do in about all your post .
Hint.....that was not a question.
Now back to the topic .

 

[Blaksony]

Holy cow, well done! I don't think I could ever bring myself to do that haha

Yeah I lost interest after the first 4 screws were removed

 

[fcat]

I wasn't aware that you can actually pan the gimbal from side to side with your finger on the screen while flying the Mavic 2 Pro like you can with the Inspire. Haven't seen any mention of this on any DJI info.

 

[Morawka]

Hey I just wanted to keep you guys updated. Another YouTuber swapped the zoom camera with the Hasselblad camera and it all worked fine. As I suspected, no firmware update is needed. Hopefully DJI doesn't go all anti-consumer and lock this ability out.

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