How do you guys feel about the latest gimbal update from 3DR?

[Del]

I think it is great that the company decided to hold off. Sacrificing the quality of what could be a great product just to release an ok product is NEVER a good idea. There have been a lot of people showing impatience towards the release of the gimbal, but I would much rather wait to have the gimbal perfected especially after investing $400 towards it. Look at the bright side, the majority of us received a free battery due to a delayed gimbal release and there is a extended 30 day money back guarantee on everything after you receive your gimbal. What more can people ask for. I would say 3dr is on the right track to a long successful business.

I agree a 100% with you..!! Let them do there thing and perfect the gimbal ..and when they are a 100% sure that it will work like it should.. Then they will release it to all of us..!! The last thing 3DR wants to happen is release it to the public to early with out doing all the major testing on it to find them all coming back for one reason or another..!! So have patience people ..it will come !! And you won't have to send it back..!!!

 

[rrmccabe]

It comes down to this in my opinion

The Solo really is not an upgraded Phantom as I originally thought it would be. It has unique features and capabilities that are going to appeal to a smaller crowd than the Phantom group.

If you are in that crowd and need those features or enjoy tinkering then patience is going to be required and it will probably be worth the wait for those that need it.

I personally didn't have the patience to wait knowing that the hardware has a pretty short life expectancy. I have found there are no "investments" in technology unless you can put it to use right away. This is because tomorrows technology will cost half and do twice as much.

As it turns out, I am just not in that smaller crowd. The small amount of tinkering I want to do has me flying cable cams, orbits and really nice missions with my Phantom 3 and doing it today.

Too early to tell how it will compare to the Solo/Gimbal setup but I can tell you its good enough for my needs. I have have to think that in the end the Solo will do a better job but like everything else that is speculation.

 

[KRVer]

Well you think what you want. This is based on conversations with 3DR personally.

Erik, David: I concur with Rich and Ian. We weren't even made aware of any discrepancy in shipping date between the Solo frame and gimbal at NAB. All we were told was that Solo would be shipped in early June. We ordered directly from 3DR in early May and only later received the info that the gimbal would be coming later than the bird.

We've kept our Solo because I think it's gonna be great but had to purchase a P3P in the meantime because we can't get video shots we want without a stabilizing gimbal that can be adjusted mid flight.

My point, however, is that Rich is correct about the delays on the gimbal earlier than the July pushback to August.

Peace.

 

[Ian [P13]]

@KRVer It was actually late May that was the original date stated, albeit I remember the first customers got them 1st June, which given that fell on a Monday, I kind of think 3DR hit that date, albeit the original expectation was Solo & gimbal were to arrive together and that slipped and has slipped since.

I'm sure US people will have them this month and I know UK dealers have been told they'll have the gimbals in their shops, ready to ship on the 8th September.

 

[JonW]

I have found there are no "investments" in technology unless you can put it to use right away. This is because tomorrows technology will cost half and do twice as much.

My thoughts exactly. That is why I feel like 3DR really seriously dropped the ball on the Solo launch. In any industry involving technology, keeping a step ahead of your competitors is difficult and fleeting. Just look at the ongoing iPhone/Galaxy rivalry. Each tries to hit the market with something that outperforms the rival before the rival catches up and adds something else new. But 3DR did it the other way around. They publicly announced all of their new features and how their product would be better than the competition, and now 4 months later they still haven't delivered the product. My hope was that by taking a chance on buying bleeding edge technology I would have a jump on my competition in commercial drone videography. But I have to think that DJI is observing the whole Solo launch and working on a response in the form of new equipment and features. It seems entirely possible at this point that DJI could launch a "Solo killer" product before the Solo gimbal ships.

 

[KRVer]

@KRVer It was actually late May that was the original date stated, albeit I remember the first customers got them 1st

You're right. By the time I ordered a couple weeks after NAB, I was expecting mine to arrive in June since I knew I wasn't in that first batch who had likely ordered immediately following NAB.

 

[David Weston]

Hey guys,,building something like this is way more complex and sophisticated than say,,the Space Shuttle or a Cray SuperComputer. And when you factor in that NO ONE has ever seen or built one before,,right? Never been done before,,right?

 

[thetac]

I agree a 100% with you..!! Let them do there thing and perfect the gimbal ..and when they are a 100% sure that it will work like it should.. Then they will release it to all of us..!! The last thing 3DR wants to happen is release it to the public to early with out doing all the major testing on it to find them all coming back for one reason or another..!! So have patience people ..it will come !! And you won't have to send it back..!!!

Oh you mean how they did it for the solo...because we all know it has been the "perfect" product for all of us. I personally know 3 people that bought/exchanged/aquired 3 solos each to get one that worked just OK.....the gimbal will never be a "perfect" product with all the bugs worked out no matter how long they delay it...don't fool yourself. But having something to attach to our solo is better than nothing....even if we all become "beta" testers as has been the case with the solo....ive aquired more knowledge through use and experience than most of the customer service reps i've talked with...and they are happy to learn/know what you have found out! Case and point what happens when PAL is selected on the go pro versus NTSC....what can happen with a weak go pro battery (which will never happen with the gimbal because the gimbal charges the go pro) these are things they hadn't experienced because their tests involving use of the gimbal prior to mass marketing the product without the gimbal

 

[dm14]

IMO, it's just lame that they've gone radio silence after blowing through their ship date. I want them to get it right as much as the next guy, but I don't really see why this is taking so long. They have a lot of weight behind them, and the idea of a 3-axis gimbal isn't exactly new. They're setting themselves up to look pretty bad if this isn't the BEST 3-axis gimbal on the market...hopefully it will be.

Some of us have been around since the IRIS "developer edition" days, and had hoped that 3DR had learned a bit about missed promises and communication. I personally think they did, but could still be doing a bit better with this one. They're not a hobbyist company anymore, they're trying to take on DJI. That requires being a lot more agile.

That said, people are already talking about the next GoPro, which may be a new form factor, coming in January. Can you imagine going through this all over again if the long-awaited gimbal won't be compatible with the latest and greatest GoPro?

 

[Ian [P13]]

@dm14 Glad you mentioned the Iris as some of the issues people have complained about, happened before with the Iris, so I've no idea why the Solo has had to repeat some of the same mistakes For example using a separate branch of Arducopter and then be changing the software up near to the release date, it caused bugs with the first Iris firmware and did so with the first Solo firmware too.

With the Iris too little effort went into testing it with a gimbal, whilst the Solo has improved on this, to have had the delays must mean the gimbal was later in the development cycle than the Solo itself.

 

[BiggSean]

It comes down to this in my opinion

The Solo really is not an upgraded Phantom as I originally thought it would be. It has unique features and capabilities that are going to appeal to a smaller crowd than the Phantom group.

If you are in that crowd and need those features or enjoy tinkering then patience is going to be required and it will probably be worth the wait for those that need it.

I personally didn't have the patience to wait knowing that the hardware has a pretty short life expectancy. I have found there are no "investments" in technology unless you can put it to use right away. This is because tomorrows technology will cost half and do twice as much.

As it turns out, I am just not in that smaller crowd. The small amount of tinkering I want to do has me flying cable cams, orbits and really nice missions with my Phantom 3 and doing it today.

Too early to tell how it will compare to the Solo/Gimbal setup but I can tell you its good enough for my needs. I have have to think that in the end the Solo will do a better job but like everything else that is speculation.

How did you achieve cable cam and orbit with the P3? I'd REALLY like to give this a shot with my P3P.

 

[rrmccabe]

Litchi app. Have to sign up to be Alpha tester but its open to public. The Alpha version is already more stable for me than Tower was with the solo. To do cable came you just setup a mission and point camera however you want at 2 way-points. PM me if you need more info so we don't derail this thread.

 

[Wrexalot]

At this rate I'll be installing a nice shiny gimbal on a worn out solo...sigh...

 

[Retired2Fly]

Another update from 3DR basically reiterating what I posted earlier today. The smart gimbal has begun production and shipping will begin soon. Hopefully some here will receive the first ones shipped. Good Luck!

.http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/another-gimbal-update

 

[aaa]

its awesome!

 

[Toiletbowl]

Another update from 3DR basically reiterating what I posted earlier today. The smart gimbal has begun production and shipping will begin soon. Hopefully some here will receive the first ones shipped. Good Luck!

.http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/another-gimbal-update

holy mother cowwww.... your very long time awaited gimbal, RAYBRO looks yumyum hehe

 

[erikgraham]

http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/another-gimbal-update

Enough said. It's on the way.

 

[kneel23]

Edit: Wasn't on last page of comments before I posted this, so its redundant. Sorry.

http://3drobotics.com/another-solo-gimbal-update-now-shipping/

YAY!!!

I ordered mine today - got a significant discount which makes the waiting a little less painful.

Ordered a DJI Inspire in the meantime so if I have to wait a bit longer than most folks for my Solo Gimbal (due to not being in the first batch of pre orders) I won't mind so much.
Also if there are problems like there may have been with the first batch of Solo's then maybe I won't get the early ones