Trying to start semi-pro AP with DJI F550 - Gimbal suggestion needed

[dma251]

I've been playing around with taking stills and video from my various multirotors for a few years now, and after owning an XA quad and hexa, and a F450, I now find myself with a stock dji F550 and a first gen Gopro Hero HD.

I would like to be able to make a few bucks doing very simple low-production level stills and video for a realestate agent friend and some of the local horse arenas and stables in my area. I'm talking about sub $100 promotional and internet pics/vids.

I know my gopro is a serious limitation, and I am planning on getting a Gopro 3, is the Black edition the only one I should consider?

Lastly, I want a new gimbal. The last one I had was the XA Gopro gimbal, but it was servo-driven and never really worked well. I am looking at these two gimbals, but am interested in hearing about others that are in the sub-$400 price range.


http://www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet/the-2600/Beholder-GoPro-Brushless-Gimbal/Detail


http://gothelirc.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?search=yes&bc=no

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tombrown1]

Black edition is the one to get. First thing, get rid of the fisheye - I think Rage Cams sells lenses.

If you don't have a camera operator, learn how to fly FPV the best you can.

Try to get 3-axis stabilization if you can and then use follow mode - most beginner videos have a lot of yaw shaking/wobbling.

Don't even think about servos - brushless is the only way to go.

Get good photo/video editing software. We use Lightroom 5 and Premiere Pro CS6 - both great products. Final Cut Pro can work, but the stabilization is nowhere near as good as CS6.

Good luck.

TB

 

[dma251]

Thanks for the advise - I really appreciate it. Can you tell me more about follow -mode? I'm fair at FPV flying, but lots of room for improvement.

 

[tombrown1]

Follow mode is a feature in the AlexMos software - Basically if you yaw your mr quickly to the right, the camera will smoothly pan to the right until it catches up with your yaw. It just smoothes everything nicely.

 

[dma251]

That sounds like exactly what I need! So I'm really liking the looks of the VectorDD gimbal with alexmos, but what would be a good means of gaining 3-axis? Also, by doing this, am I seperating the gimbal/electronics/battery unit from the MR and it's power systems? This way allowing it to rotate freely?

Also, would you mount your landing gear to the gimbal unit so it rotates with the camera?