Stable video in windy conditions?

Solo58216 · Oct 26, 2015

You said it may not be up to your standard, not me. I thinks its fabulous just not what it was originally for. But with the new video formats and the ability to change lens & add filters I don't think anything else comes close.

JonW · Oct 26, 2015

OK, here are the links again, this time without copyright problems

SOLO

Phantom

JonW · Oct 26, 2015

Solo58216 said:
You said it may not be up to your standard, not me. I thinks its fabulous just not what it was originally for. But with the new video formats and the ability to change lens & add filters I don't think anything else comes close.

I understand that many Solo owners are satisfied with the video quality. If you are a hobbyist then it may very well be up to your standards. But the quality of video that I am able to get with my Solo is unacceptable by any professional standards. I bought Solo for professional use and wouldn't think of delivering the shaky, unstable video that I get from it to any paying client. That's my issue. It's not just a personal standard, it's the standard that my clients will expect if I ever want to get hired again. So for now, I still use my Phantoms for pro use and wait, hoping that some firmware update, modification or product recall will make the Solo a pro-grade drone too. It sure would be nice to use its smart shots AND get professional quality video.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

JonW said:
I understand that many Solo owners are satisfied with the video quality. If you are a hobbyist then it may very well be up to your standards. But the quality of video that I am able to get with my Solo is unacceptable by any professional standards. I bought Solo for professional use and wouldn't think of delivering the shaky, unstable video that I get from it to any paying client. That's my issue. It's not just a personal standard, it's the standard that my clients will expect if I ever want to get hired again. So for now, I still use my Phantoms for pro use and wait, hoping that some firmware update, modification or product recall will make the Solo a pro-grade drone too. It sure would be nice to use its smart shots AND get professional quality video.

As a Solo owner I say to you sir well said I 100% agree, I am also not satisfied with the video quality currently being produced from the Solo way to much micro vibrations, I wish 3DR would do a massive recall because that HDMI cable ain't working out or the data cable.

Maddog · Oct 26, 2015

Jon- clearly something is wrong with your Solo. My video is always much smoother like your phantom footage.

Have you contacted 3DR for repairs?

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

Maddog said:
Jon- clearly something is wrong with your Solo. My video is always much smoother like your phantom footage.

Have you contacted 3DR for repairs?

I have contacted 3DR. Their reply was to re-install the gimbal. This will be the 4th time I have done this but I guess I'll try again before proceeding. I'm starting to worry about stripping my gimbal mount and battery tray screws. Interestingly they sent me a link to a user's youtube video tutorial, not the official 3DR gimbal install tutorial.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 27, 2015

JonW said:
I have contacted 3DR. Their reply was to re-install the gimbal. This will be the 4th time I have done this but I guess I'll try again before proceeding. I'm starting to worry about stripping my gimbal mount and battery tray screws. Interestingly they sent me a link to a user's youtube video tutorial, not the official 3DR gimbal install tutorial.

That's funny that they would tell you to watch a non official 3DR installation tutorial, about them screw's I hate how cheap they are extremely easy to strip.

Maddog · Oct 27, 2015

JonW said:
I have contacted 3DR. Their reply was to re-install the gimbal. This will be the 4th time I have done this but I guess I'll try again before proceeding. I'm starting to worry about stripping my gimbal mount and battery tray screws. Interestingly they sent me a link to a user's youtube video tutorial, not the official 3DR gimbal install tutorial.

Well that totally sucks- sorry your having such a bad time.
Obviously re-installing the gimbal isn't working.

J R · Oct 27, 2015

JonW said:
I have contacted 3DR. Their reply was to re-install the gimbal.

Jon,

I am experiencing quite a bit of micro vibrations with my unit. I've also reinstalled the gimbal multiple times. I have four different HDMI cables on the way to me as I write this, another OEM cable from 3dr, a ribbon cable from Relish3d (could be a while before it gets here from Singapore), A stockish cable that I found a link to from this forum and an ultra-thin one. I'm most interested in testing the ribbon and ultra-thin. The ultra-thin should be here in the next few days. I'll post results of my layman tests when I receive and install them.

Jerry

Maddog · Oct 27, 2015

J R said:
Jon,

I am experiencing quite a bit of micro vibrations with my unit. I've also reinstalled the gimbal multiple times. I have four different HDMI cables on the way to me as I write this, another OEM cable from 3dr, a ribbon cable from Relish3d (could be a while before it gets here from Singapore), A stockish cable that I found a link to from this forum and an ultra-thin one. I'm most interested in testing the ribbon and ultra-thin. The ultra-thin should be here in the next few days. I'll post results of my layman tests when I receive and install them.

Jerry

I too, am curious to know your results.

Monty · Oct 27, 2015

Maddog said:
Very nice- did you add the bird?

Nope. Bird was investigating the Solo. I just zoomed using GP Studio on the last loop.

Monty · Oct 27, 2015

JonW said:
I like what you did with this video but there is quite a bit of shake in it. Nice framing though. And of course the bird

The wind was 25 mph when I launched so I was max vertical until I cleared the trees. Still a little chop on the next shot. Then the Solo settled down. You can see the wind in the trees.

Maddog · Oct 27, 2015

Monty said:
Nope. Bird was investigating the Solo. I just zoomed using GP Studio on the last loop.

Ahhh- very cool! I knew something happened in post but didn't know what.

Jubalr · Oct 27, 2015

JonW said:
I understand that many Solo owners are satisfied with the video quality. If you are a hobbyist then it may very well be up to your standards. But the quality of video that I am able to get with my Solo is unacceptable by any professional standards. I bought Solo for professional use and wouldn't think of delivering the shaky, unstable video that I get from it to any paying client. That's my issue. It's not just a personal standard, it's the standard that my clients will expect if I ever want to get hired again. So for now, I still use my Phantoms for pro use and wait, hoping that some firmware update, modification or product recall will make the Solo a pro-grade drone too. It sure would be nice to use its smart shots AND get professional quality video.

Jon, why don't you use the Solo with the smart shots as you want but just remove the vibes in post? Any professional still/videographer will process in post anyway before giving to a client, don't they?

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

J R said:
Jon,

I am experiencing quite a bit of micro vibrations with my unit. I've also reinstalled the gimbal multiple times. I have four different HDMI cables on the way to me as I write this, another OEM cable from 3dr, a ribbon cable from Relish3d (could be a while before it gets here from Singapore), A stockish cable that I found a link to from this forum and an ultra-thin one. I'm most interested in testing the ribbon and ultra-thin. The ultra-thin should be here in the next few days. I'll post results of my layman tests when I receive and install them.

Jerry

Awesome. I hope one of those is a solution and you will share it with us!

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

Jubalr said:
Jon, why don't you use the Solo with the smart shots as you want but just remove the vibes in post? Any professional still/videographer will process in post anyway before giving to a client, don't they?

Video can be stabilized to some extent in post but I would really prefer to deliver steady video to clients instead of telling them to "fix it in post." Especially since my competition will be delivering silky smooth Phantom or Inspire footage. Plus, it's one more step that will cost the clients extra money for an editor to fix it. I don't want to be the guy who causes clients to have to work harder to make my footage usable. And they will lose some resolution because the software needs to crop out edges in order to have a solid image to stabilize on. I believe it then up-samples the resulting stabilized crop to match the original resolution. There are always some negative consequences to image resizing. I know others have posted that they have "micro vibrations." I would have to classify mine as "macro vibrations." To some the micro vibrations may seem acceptable but professionals who deal with video all day every day have standards which are very high. I have worked in television and film production for many years and editors see "problems" that I wouldn't have ever noticed.

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

Jubalr said:
Jon, why don't you use the Solo with the smart shots as you want but just remove the vibes in post? Any professional still/videographer will process in post anyway before giving to a client, don't they?

Oh, and I missed part of your post. I think you meant that I would fix it before delivering. Most of my clients will have a media manager on set who is importing video from the cards of all cameras on set. Most of the time operators never have access to the footage themselves. It is all collected by the end of the day and delivered straight to the editor. So if I was shooting for my personal use, yes I could stabilize. But the normal procedure is that I turn over the SOOC footage and leave with formatted cards.

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

Projeffrey11 said:
That's funny that they would tell you to watch a non official 3DR installation tutorial, about them screw's I hate how cheap they are extremely easy to strip.

Here's the video they sent me the link for. The only thing different from what I had already seen was the tying of the hdmi to other wires to help keep it away from the gimbal mount, so i did that.

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

Ok, so I uninstalled and re-installed my gimbal for the 4th time. Here's what I did differently. (see pics) I twisted a tight loop into the data cable to take up slack and keep it isolated from the shell wall. I partially followed some ideas that I got from RichWest regarding reshaping the hdmi cable. I didn't use heat, I just identified where the 4 corners (rubber dampers are) and put right angle turns into it by bending it around a screwdriver. This seems to have helped it fall into place around the dampers instead of touching them. I just hope that the cable is sturdy enough that I didn't damage it by bending it. I also twist tied the hdmi to other wires in the right side of Solo to keep the hdmi elevated off of the gimbal board and away from the front of the shell. So that's about all I've got. If this doesn't work I might need to throw in the towel. But of course now that I'm done it's raining. Maybe tomorrow.

So what's the launch protocol now? Calibrate compass and launch facing north with a rabbit's foot in my pocket and looking at the moon over my right shoulder while throwing salt over the left?

JonW · Oct 27, 2015

nacjr said:
Why does everything have to look like it was filmed on a stationary tripod?

Shaky video just doesn't meet professional standards. If I want to get paid by a client and get hired again I need to deliver rock-solid footage. There's a lot of competition and if my video is shaky but the client has used other videographers who used a Phantom or Inspire I will be the one who they won't hire again