Poll: Gimbal cover: on or off?

[Joely-Bird]

Or do what a few of us do on hear glue a length of ribbon to the gimbal lock it works the treat no way to forget it then

Best Solution yet... Thanks! Will definitely be doing this.

 

[Ping^Spike]

is your drone on a tether? im trying to work out what that yellow thing is next to you.

Lol

No, my drone isn't tethered, but my dog is

 

[mpa]

Lol

No, my drone isn't tethered, but my dog is

lol, no worries, i read somewhere people are encouraged to use tethers for safe operation of rc planes/drones, i never actually seen anyone do it.

 

[Jamison74]

to please the naysayers on this forum and remove cover, or to protect my 1600$ drone?..

Your drone is only worth $759.00
Buy Mavic Pro - Aircraft (Excludes Remote Controller and Battery Charger)

 

[True fly]

I don't want to start a war hear but do people actually read and look at the posts as there is a 3 option and that is get the cut out dome like what thunderdrones posted in thread 26 it solves all argument about with or with out the dome as it is like flying with out the dome but It is still there for protection as I even stated in thread 52 and have a pic of it also so at the end of the day if you use the dome I use then yes u will never have an issue
Just my 2 cents

Cheers David

 

[Plawa]

Here, have some dots: ........

Feel free to use them as much as you want, let me know if you run out and I'll send more.

 

[DCatalo]

It's pretty clear to me that the cover messes up my shots. No pun intended. And if you crash, that cover isn't going to help, more like hurt considering the way it's attached. Though I haven't ( and hope to never) crash my MP. I've got over 35 hrs of flight time and only use the cover in transit. I have 2 covers, 1 is cut outhe but it doesn't seem to matter

 

[iZimm]

As has been already mentioned a few of the posts.....I would recommend using one of the gimbal covers that is a) has the cut out for the camera (min interference in the shot) and b) is dark in colour to minimize the side glare.

There are several versions available on line and are inexpensive.

There should have been a third option to the poll
C) Used a modified Gimbal cover

 

[oli4]

I left it on once for the first flight, this was the last time... If you leave it on and the sun is shining you see a lot of things you dont want to see. The image is crap. The only thing that works is when the sun is behind the drone.
So since that first flight I fly without the cover. No bugs smashed (I dont fly 100mph) Nor does my camera have any dirt on it.
But interesting poll, I thought more people fly without the protection but this here is extremely clear so far 11 forgot to take it off, 140 fly without.

 

[Alex_S]

The Mavic dome has no optical quality. It distorts picture quality. You would not put a plastic "protection" around your DSLR camera for the same reason. It's a transport protection which needs to be taken off for taking video and photos if you value optical quality.

 

[Steven Georges]

I can't vote because there is no option for black sun shade.
If you get one, there's no need to make your own anymore, I would recommend one made with a molded, not a 3-D printer.

 

[GFCutler]

Alrighty, there appears to still be much "controversy" about the use of the gimbal cover during flight.

I personally keep it on, these are some of the observations i have made:

1. First and foremost it provides mechanical protection for the fragile gimble and camera.

2. It proves a physical barrier to bugs, dirt debris. cleaning the bugs off on the body after every flights is bad enough.

3. There is no noticeable affect that i could see on the heat sinks/electronics. most electronics operate from -20degressC to 150degress C, none of the components get anywhere near these extremes. they sit around 70degressC cover on or off

4. The mavic cooling system is trigger by a temperature sensor, it only turns on the fan when the temps reach a predefined level. my observations are that most of the time the fans are off during flight even after 20 minutes, this leads me to believe the passive airflow over the heatsinks as the drone is moving through the air is sufficient to keep the drone cool. only real times i heard the fan running is when its sitting on my desk during a firmware upgrade or when its sitting around stationary for 5 minutes or so. therefore if the fans not on than there no heating issues.
note: these observations 3 and 4 were made throughout winter and summer (10degressC to 30 degress C) for people in an Alaskan winter or the Sahara your results might vary significantly

5. if DJI really wanted people to take the cover off because they believed it would reduce the life of the drone they would have made the cover non-transparent with a label saying remove before flight.

6. there are multiple threads on the official DJI forums where DJI themselves had said its ok to fly with it on : heres one i just googled Gimbal cover for protection in flight?, im sure the guy from DJI who is saying this would have been fired by now if he is spreading misinformation.

7. I've had more than 30 hours 600km of flight with gimble cover on with no issues.

8. If i one day do intend to use the footage professionally i will not hesitate take the cover off, but for just recreational flying ill keep it on.

9. Most of all just have fun flying, do whats best for you don't be convinced by someone else. we come from all over the world, whats best for you is sometimes not necessarily best for others. operating environments are different from all over the world. some people here are too passionate about the the cover being on or off and end up spreading rumors or misinformation, and end up hijacking threads about something completely different.


Everyones welcome to vote in the poll, im curious as to what the percentage is using the gimble cover. i suspect most dont use it because points 1 and 2 (above) arent too important to them (which is completly fine!),
Cheer everyone

As a life-long photographer, I must inform you that to place a clear bit of plastic in front of an optical lens, is nothing short of madness and stupidity - especially when you've been correctly informed that you're undoing all the work the lens-maker has put it to perfecting the lens. Why don't you go all the way and smear some grease over the lens and gimbal as well? At least it'll stop it going rusty!

 

[mpa]

Your drone is only worth $759.00
Buy Mavic Pro - Aircraft (Excludes Remote Controller and Battery Charger)

wow you can really use the interweb..are you so ignorant that you fail to believe there is a world outside the US?

 

[mpa]

As a life-long photographer, I must inform you that to place a clear bit of plastic in front of an optical lens, is nothing short of madness and stupidity - especially when you've been correctly informed that you're undoing all the work the lens-maker has put it to perfecting the lens. Why don't you go all the way and smear some grease over the lens and gimbal as well? At least it'll stop it going rusty!

not everyone is a "life long" photographer, i fly as a hobby. putting a transparent cover over my drone is "stupidity" and "madness". wow just listen to your self buddy. is that exaggeration much? oh the humanity...... get it off. what a joke

 

[GFCutler]

not everyone is a "life long" photographer, i fly as a hobby. putting a transparent cover over my drone is "stupidity" and "madness". wow just listen to your self buddy. is that exaggeration much? oh the humanity...... get it off. what a joke

 

[GFCutler]

I added the bit about me being a life-long photographer to inform you that I do know what I'm talking about and not just bragging.
But I won't dwell on the subject any longer because having read your reply and seeing that you're still not open to accepting good advice from someone that knows what he's talking about, I'd plainly be wasting my time. Allow me to close by saying that only an fool replies to qualified advice by being so dismissive and defensive.

 

[TheRoach]

Why take pics with a $1000 camera through a 2 cent non-optical cover?

 

[mfc]

I use one of the "sun hoods" mentioned above. Protects the gimbal & camera on landing and preserves photo quality. Not sure why DJI doesn't fit/provide one as standard.

 

[namja]

1. Chill out everyone. @mpa has made it very clear that video quality is a not a priority, i.e. DOES NOT CARE ABOUT VIDEO QUALITY. A lot of people fly just for the joy of flying. I know some of you asked why the video is being shot on 4K then, and probably the best answer is because that was the default setting.

2. But that does not take anything away from the comment that if anyone cares even a little bit about video quality, then having the plastic cover on is really stupid. And it is madness.

3. Using a hood is a compromise. It offers less protection as bugs, dirt, and other objects can still get to the lens. It preserves photo quality but at some cost as the hoods (at least all the ones that I've seen) will get in the picture when you accelerate forward or turn side to side (yaw). If there are any that don't get in the picture, then you will get less/no protection from those. BTW, you should vote gimbal cover OFF if you use a hood, since you are flying without the gimbal cover.

 

[mfc]

3. Using a hood is a compromise. It offers less protection as bugs, dirt, and other objects can still get to the lens. It preserves photo quality but at some cost as the hoods (at least all the ones that I've seen) will get in the picture when you accelerate forward or turn side to side (yaw).

Not sure that the hood getting in the picture is really the issue .. when flying fast forward or yawing at full stick, the gimbal is reaching its limits and 'judders'. The hood showing in view is a timely reminder that you're not recording good video and should slow down and/or use tripod mode? Or, to put it another way, the hood helps you assess the filming situation.