Where to get a gimbal for the Solo NOW?

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Our Iris+ crashed twice due to the GPS signal getting weak and sending the Iris into a fast sideways sway into a tree. Arm broke, gimbal broke, props broke, legs broke.

***crashes**

We ordered replacement parts, waited a week for items to leave the warehouse (because there is a lead time for Iris parts apparently), and lost out on a few jobs.

After getting the parts we realized we forgot to buy the Servo Y Splitter Cable (which cannot be found locally and has to be ordered - $2 + $12 shipping):

Servo Y Splitter Cable 15cm - 3DRobotics Inc

So now we can't power the gimbal and aim the camera.

Alright, we flew anyway. It crashed AGAIN due to a GPS issue. We sent the flight logs into 3DR and they said there was indeed a loss in GPS signal, but they can't do anything since it's out of the 90-day warranty.

***/crashes***

Since we have jobs scheduled, we went to Fry's (we're in the SF Bay Area) and bought the Solo. We need a gimbal immediately for video shoots and the delivery time for the Solo Gimbal seems to extend forever and ever based on other threads here. I'm guessing at least 3 weeks+. The fact that 3DR decided that releasing a drone with the gimbal not even close to being ready makes me want to punch someone.

Since the Solo has universal gimbal mounting points, what's a good substitute gimbal to get?

I'm *this* close to just buying a Phantom 3 from Amazon and getting it shipped next day air. I know that there is ZERO support from DJI, but unlike 3DR, you can actually get PRODUCT. It'll save me from cancelling or postponing work and also hours correcting the damn barrel distortion from the GoPro.

Stuck between two infuriatingly frustrating companies - DJI and 3DR.
 
FYI: you can walk into any RC hobby shop and buy that Y splitter cable. They are very common and not 3dr specific.
 
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There are gimbals listed on ebay, but they are asking 2 to 3 times the price. Whether they actually have the gimbals in their possession for shipping, is anybody's guess.
 
Our Iris+ crashed twice due to the GPS signal getting weak and sending the Iris into a fast sideways sway into a tree. Arm broke, gimbal broke, props broke, legs broke.

***crashes**

We ordered replacement parts, waited a week for items to leave the warehouse (because there is a lead time for Iris parts apparently), and lost out on a few jobs.

After getting the parts we realized we forgot to buy the Servo Y Splitter Cable (which cannot be found locally and has to be ordered - $2 + $12 shipping):

Servo Y Splitter Cable 15cm - 3DRobotics Inc

So now we can't power the gimbal and aim the camera.

Alright, we flew anyway. It crashed AGAIN due to a GPS issue. We sent the flight logs into 3DR and they said there was indeed a loss in GPS signal, but they can't do anything since it's out of the 90-day warranty.

***/crashes***

Since we have jobs scheduled, we went to Fry's (we're in the SF Bay Area) and bought the Solo. We need a gimbal immediately for video shoots and the delivery time for the Solo Gimbal seems to extend forever and ever based on other threads here. I'm guessing at least 3 weeks+. The fact that 3DR decided that releasing a drone with the gimbal not even close to being ready makes me want to punch someone.

Since the Solo has universal gimbal mounting points, what's a good substitute gimbal to get?

I'm *this* close to just buying a Phantom 3 from Amazon and getting it shipped next day air. I know that there is ZERO support from DJI, but unlike 3DR, you can actually get PRODUCT. It'll save me from cancelling or postponing work and also hours correcting the damn barrel distortion from the GoPro.

Stuck between two infuriatingly frustrating companies - DJI and 3DR.

Sorry for being blunt here.
But if you need a drone instantly for professional work, you should have informed yourself before the purchase. There is a huge backlog of gimbal orders and it will for sure take a few more weeks until you find them on the shelves at retailers.

You have 3 options- either fix your Iris (you can buy a Y cable at every RC model shop or configure one yourself in <5min) or look into eBay - I am sure that someone will sell one for double price- or just buy a P3. But please don't whine about the Gimbal - shipments will not accelerate by that ;)
 
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I placed an order for the Solo gimbal yesterday. The website says it will ship out in 3 weeks.

Based on my past experience with ordering my Iris and from user feedback from the web, this is most likely a complete LIE from 3DR.

The gimbals cleared customs but will go to those who have already been waiting months for the gimbal, right?
 
You say you do this for hire in the Bay Area. What's you company called? I'm in the north bay.
 
Sorry for being blunt here.
But if you need a drone instantly for professional work, you should have informed yourself before the purchase. There is a huge backlog of gimbal orders and it will for sure take a few more weeks until you find them on the shelves at retailers.

You have 3 options- either fix your Iris (you can buy a Y cable at every RC model shop or configure one yourself in <5min) or look into eBay - I am sure that someone will sell one for double price- or just buy a P3. But please don't whine about the Gimbal - shipments will not accelerate by that ;)

I would imagine if someone did this for a living they would have more tools in their arsenal than an Iris and then a Solo?
 
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I placed an order for the Solo gimbal yesterday. The website says it will ship out in 3 weeks.

Based on my past experience with ordering my Iris and from user feedback from the web, this is most likely a complete LIE from 3DR.

The gimbals cleared customs but will go to those who have already been waiting months for the gimbal, right?

i hope you get it in 3 weeks, I really do.
I ordered early may and im just NOW getting shipping info and whos to say if its the actual gimbal.
Could be the free battery.
 
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I placed an order for the Solo gimbal yesterday. The website says it will ship out in 3 weeks.

Based on my past experience with ordering my Iris and from user feedback from the web, this is most likely a complete LIE from 3DR.

The gimbals cleared customs but will go to those who have already been waiting months for the gimbal, right?
I question if you are really serious about your business.
If you assume that 3DR LIES, so why did you place an order yesterday?
I would strongly advise you to cancel your order and go for a P3. This would help me and others in the queue;)
 
I would imagine if someone did this for a living they would have more tools in their arsenal than an Iris and then a Solo?
Exactly. Anyone doing it for a living has multiples of everything to begin with. Know any pro photographers with only one camera? Curious why they aren't trying to source the cable they forgot to buy? I smell a fish market somewhere...
 
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Our Iris+ crashed twice due to the GPS signal getting weak and sending the Iris into a fast sideways sway into a tree. Arm broke, gimbal broke, props broke, legs broke.

***crashes**

We ordered replacement parts, waited a week for items to leave the warehouse (because there is a lead time for Iris parts apparently), and lost out on a few jobs.

After getting the parts we realized we forgot to buy the Servo Y Splitter Cable (which cannot be found locally and has to be ordered - $2 + $12 shipping):

Servo Y Splitter Cable 15cm - 3DRobotics Inc

So now we can't power the gimbal and aim the camera.

Alright, we flew anyway. It crashed AGAIN due to a GPS issue. We sent the flight logs into 3DR and they said there was indeed a loss in GPS signal, but they can't do anything since it's out of the 90-day warranty.

***/crashes***

Since we have jobs scheduled, we went to Fry's (we're in the SF Bay Area) and bought the Solo. We need a gimbal immediately for video shoots and the delivery time for the Solo Gimbal seems to extend forever and ever based on other threads here. I'm guessing at least 3 weeks+. The fact that 3DR decided that releasing a drone with the gimbal not even close to being ready makes me want to punch someone.

Since the Solo has universal gimbal mounting points, what's a good substitute gimbal to get?

I'm *this* close to just buying a Phantom 3 from Amazon and getting it shipped next day air. I know that there is ZERO support from DJI, but unlike 3DR, you can actually get PRODUCT. It'll save me from cancelling or postponing work and also hours correcting the damn barrel distortion from the GoPro.

Stuck between two infuriatingly frustrating companies - DJI and 3DR.
If you need it for work. It's a no brainer. Get the phantom now and make the money.
If in the future you want to purchase a Solo, there should plenty in stock when you're ready.
 
If you need it for work. It's a no brainer. Get the phantom now and make the money.
If in the future you want to purchase a Solo, there should plenty in stock when you're ready.

I bought the Phantom 3 Pro so we don't have any delays. I *really* want to just stick with one manufacturer because it means stocking up on replacement parts is more efficient (if we have two 3DR drones we only need to really have one set of replacement parts, versus a set for DJI and a set for 3DR if we have one of each).

Unfortunately both companies seem to have serious issues.

We don't target high end real estate. Have no interest in that sector.
 
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Our Iris+ crashed twice due to the GPS signal getting weak and sending the Iris into a fast sideways sway into a tree. Arm broke, gimbal broke, props broke, legs broke.

***crashes**

We ordered replacement parts, waited a week for items to leave the warehouse (because there is a lead time for Iris parts apparently), and lost out on a few jobs.

After getting the parts we realized we forgot to buy the Servo Y Splitter Cable (which cannot be found locally and has to be ordered - $2 + $12 shipping):

Servo Y Splitter Cable 15cm - 3DRobotics Inc

So now we can't power the gimbal and aim the camera.

Alright, we flew anyway. It crashed AGAIN due to a GPS issue. We sent the flight logs into 3DR and they said there was indeed a loss in GPS signal, but they can't do anything since it's out of the 90-day warranty.

***/crashes***

Since we have jobs scheduled, we went to Fry's (we're in the SF Bay Area) and bought the Solo. We need a gimbal immediately for video shoots and the delivery time for the Solo Gimbal seems to extend forever and ever based on other threads here. I'm guessing at least 3 weeks+. The fact that 3DR decided that releasing a drone with the gimbal not even close to being ready makes me want to punch someone.

Since the Solo has universal gimbal mounting points, what's a good substitute gimbal to get?

I'm *this* close to just buying a Phantom 3 from Amazon and getting it shipped next day air. I know that there is ZERO support from DJI, but unlike 3DR, you can actually get PRODUCT. It'll save me from cancelling or postponing work and also hours correcting the damn barrel distortion from the GoPro.

Stuck between two infuriatingly frustrating companies - DJI and 3DR.

Your production company is depending on ONE drone to provide services? And until very recently, that was an Iris+?
 
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I placed an order for the Solo gimbal yesterday. The website says it will ship out in 3 weeks.

Based on my past experience with ordering my Iris and from user feedback from the web, this is most likely a complete LIE from 3DR.

The gimbals cleared customs but will go to those who have already been waiting months for the gimbal, right?
I'm sorry, but I smell some BS being shoveled by a troll. It simply makes no sense that an aerial photographer/videographer is complaining because the drone from a company he clearly dislikes, his SINGLE drone that he depends on, is an unreliable 3DR drone (as he implies) and he is so unhappy with losing work because of this faulty drone, he buys another SINGLE drone from the company he dislikes because of their poor past history. And he didn't realize that the one drone he depends on for his livelihood doesn't even have a gimbal readily available???
The story doesn't add up.
 
I question if you are really serious about your business.
If you assume that 3DR LIES, so why did you place an order yesterday?
I would strongly advise you to cancel your order and go for a P3. This would help me and others in the queue;)

We were in an emergency scenario. The drone crashed. We had work coming up. My team immediately went out and bought the Solo in a local store under the assumption that the existing Iris gimbal would be a direct plugin. It's from the same brand and the Solo touts upgrade-ability plus if worst comes to worst there is a fixed GoPro mount on the Solo that we might be able to use to get by for photo shoots.

We didn't consider DJI because their customer service doesn't exist and any DJI is essentially a throwaway, unless you have the luxury of waiting months for a repair.

The store didn't have the gimbal in stock so I went online to 3DR to get it shipped next day air, figuring that *surely* no manufacturer would be boneheaded enough to roll out a drone without the gimbal on hand for immediate shipment. I saw the two week shipment notice but locked in the order anyway just to get in the line (it's still locked in - I haven't cancelled the order).

Research showed that not only was the gimbal "two weeks out", but that people had been waiting months for their gimbal, all the while with 3DR telling them the gimbals are only "two weeks out." This mirrored my exact experience with 3DR when we first bought our Iris. Email after email telling us about delays and of course slipped promises. Thus, I couldn't really trust 3DR's two week's delivery estimate.

Solo returned. DJI Phantom bought. The Inspire is too much money to invest in a company that provides zero support.

So now we have the DJI for current work until the Solo gimbal arrives (if it ever does). The Solo is returned but can easily be re-bought in a store within an hour once the gimbal arrives. Just hedging my risks here between two risky companies.
 
I'm sorry, but I smell some BS being shoveled by a troll. It simply makes no sense that an aerial photographer/videographer is complaining because the drone from a company he clearly dislikes, his SINGLE drone that he depends on, is an unreliable 3DR drone (as he implies) and he is so unhappy with losing work because of this faulty drone, he buys another SINGLE drone from the company he dislikes because of their poor past history. And he didn't realize that the one drone he depends on for his livelihood doesn't even have a gimbal readily available???
The story doesn't add up.

Who ever said we rely on drones for our livelihood? It is but one component of our business but we don't want the drone issue to affect the select customers who have ordered it from us.
 
Who ever said we rely on drones for our livelihood? It is but one component of our business but we don't want the drone issue to affect the select customers who have ordered it from us.
Then the P3 will be a good investment for you. Perhaps when the Solo has all the kinks and delays resolved, you can give it another try. Or you may find the Phantom meets your needs and be perfectly happy with it. I have 3 Phantoms and have never had an issue I couldn't solve with the help of the DJI community. Due to the lack of support, that is what you do - turn to the forums for help. It has always worked for me.
 
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Then the P3 will be a good investment for you. Perhaps when the Solo has all the kinks and delays resolved, you can give it another try. Or you may find the Phantom meets your needs and be perfectly happy with it. I have 3 Phantoms and have never had an issue I couldn't solve with the help of the DJI community. Due to the lack of support, that is what you do - turn to the forums for help. It has always worked for me.

Perfect. I think my team will enjoy the P3. It's cheaper and the camera is excellent while requiring no distortion correction. The team wants the different flight modes of the Solo (cable and orbit) but we really need to see these kinks worked out from 3DR before committing more.

I personally would highly prefer to support a business that's local, which is partly why I bought the Iris in the first place. I'm also fully onboard with their advanced features, autonomous flight, and desire to make a flying *platform* rather than an all-in-one system.

Unfortunately this second round of painful supply issues, the two Iris crashes, and broken shipment promises have left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
We were in an emergency scenario. The drone crashed. We had work coming up. My team immediately went out and bought the Solo in a local store under the assumption that the existing Iris gimbal would be a direct plugin. It's from the same brand and the Solo touts upgrade-ability plus if worst comes to worst there is a fixed GoPro mount on the Solo that we might be able to use to get by for photo shoots.

We didn't consider DJI because their customer service doesn't exist and any DJI is essentially a throwaway, unless you have the luxury of waiting months for a repair.

The store didn't have the gimbal in stock so I went online to 3DR to get it shipped next day air, figuring that *surely* no manufacturer would be boneheaded enough to roll out a drone without the gimbal on hand for immediate shipment. I saw the two week shipment notice but locked in the order anyway just to get in the line (it's still locked in - I haven't cancelled the order).

Research showed that not only was the gimbal "two weeks out", but that people had been waiting months for their gimbal, all the while with 3DR telling them the gimbals are only "two weeks out." This mirrored my exact experience with 3DR when we first bought our Iris. Email after email telling us about delays and of course slipped promises. Thus, I couldn't really trust 3DR's two week's delivery estimate.

Solo returned. DJI Phantom bought. The Inspire is too much money to invest in a company that provides zero support.

So now we have the DJI for current work until the Solo gimbal arrives (if it ever does). The Solo is returned but can easily be re-bought in a store within an hour once the gimbal arrives. Just hedging my risks here between two risky companies.
You have a "team" aBe do pro work, and one drone... The Iris, to do it. And it crashed but you forgot some parts you need. And you bought a Solo off the shelf. And you are looking for help regarding whether you should buy a Phantom, all of a sudden here.

Ummmm.... I'm sorry, I am having trouble hearing the rest. BS alerts are going off all around me.
 
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