New Zenmuse firmware and again no video command !!!!!!!!

[fritz99]

I cannot believe it !
The new firmware is out and again no command on the trigger for making videos.
It should be absolutely no technical problem for a 3 postition swich to trigger photos or videos.
Also the IR command for the Sony NEX is no secret.
I need the command really very urgent !
I hope that the DJI people read this forum and do nit ignor the wishes of their customers !

Fritz

 

[BorisS]

fritz dont think they will read it. More likely in the main thread of the zen in Rcgroups ! The trigger never worked ? or the new firmware which by the way doesnt work with the GH2 gimbal, doesnt hackt it ?

Boris

 

[mitmit]

The new firmware is out and again no command on the trigger for making videos.

I'm probably missing something very important.
could you please explain why on earth do you need this function? 16Gb sd card will cost you $20 and give space for more than 60 min of 1080p50 footage. why not to push REC button before you take off and push it again on landing?
whats the secret purpose of being able to do it remotely?

cheers
dimitri

 

[BorisS]

If you have a gh2 hack that you know will only record for 2 min before it freezes the cam

 

[copterstudios]

I agree that it would be a nice and easy feature to add. However, press record on the ground and keep it going. Your flight time will be done way before your card fills up!

 

[FerdinandK]

To me it is ok as it is now, but with that you could shoot a video, and make one (or more) photos at the same flight.

 

[BorisS]

true ! the GH2 for example probably the Nex also has the feature to make foots during video rec. At the moment though the GH2 version only triggers the video on off rec dependent on what mode you are in or triggering still. Would be cool if you can configure the GCU only give a still taking command, so you have the option to start video recording manual and than use to trigger to take stills.

Boris

 

[mitmit]

hmm. cant agree guys
wanna do quality - concentrate on one task. if you need to get both pics and video - take care of extra battery, shoot video, change batt and go fly for stills.
its my imho certainly

 

[BorisS]

true but what the hell how often do you take the bird up for test reasons have a cool situation in front of the cam and would love to have a still, but in movie mode, just additional in case its need. The camera has the feature a little code thats it !

 

[mitmit]

me personally? for almost 5 years i do ap/av - never. really, I've never had a chance to (suddenly) see something that cool that I'll immideately will need to take picture of

but probably i'm just not fortunate enough..)

 

[BorisS]

or you are super fortunate because you constantly have beautiful scenarios in front of you and they don't excite you that much anymore that you would want a still

 

[fritz99]

true but what the hell how often do you take the bird up for test reasons have a cool situation in front of the cam and would love to have a still, but in movie mode, just additional in case its need. The camera has the feature a little code thats it !

Hello Boris !

You are completely right !
I do not understand why they ignore their customers !

Fritz

 

[MombasaFlash]

If you have a gh2 hack that you know will only record for 2 min before it freezes the cam

Which hack are you using Boris? Because I did not want to get too mired in firmware complications I have stuck to Sanity5 and have yet to realise that it might be limited in recording time. I press record on the ground and when the flight is over I press stop. Some flights last for two or three minutes and some maybe nine minutes but in all cases the Sanity5 hacked GH2 is still recording when it lands. Although I have both Shutter and Record remote actuators I only actually use the Shutter variety. It is certainly convenient and cool to have remote Record but if the downlink monitor does not show that the camera is in Record mode (when a separate monitor camera is used, for example), then it is much much safer to get into the habit of starting recording on the ground where you can still verify on the camera screen.

To me it is ok as it is now, but with that you could shoot a video, and make one (or more) photos at the same flight.

true ! the GH2 for example probably the Nex also has the feature to make foots during video rec. At the moment though the GH2 version only triggers the video on off rec dependent on what mode you are in or triggering still. Would be cool if you can configure the GCU only give a still taking command, so you have the option to start video recording manual and than use to trigger to take stills.

You are both wrong. The Nex CAN be remotely triggered to operate the Shutter or Record but you are not able to release the shutter whilst it is recording video. You can either take a photo or you can record video but cannot do both at the same time.

The Canon 5Dmk2 DOES permit a photo to be remotely triggered whilst it is recording video but doing so will result in a short delay/freeze frame on the video.

 

[FerdinandK]

@MombasaFlash

WIth what I am wrong?

We are talking about what can be remotely triggered with the Sony Nex5n in combination with the Z15. Right now you can only trigger the shutter to take a photo (if no video is recorded). If you want to record a video you have to press "record" before takeoff and once again after landing. So you cannot take a photo during a flight in which a video is recorded.

The whish would be to extend the Functionality of the ir-transmitter of the Z15 to be able to start/stop the video. So take off start video - stop video - shutter photo - start video -stop video. It is not the question what the Sony Nex5n can or cannot do remotely, it is the question what the Z15 can control on the Sony Nex5n.

best regards

Ferdinand

 

[fritz99]

@MombasaFlash

WIth what I am wrong?

We are talking about what can be remotely triggered with the Sony Nex5n in combination with the Z15. Right now you can only trigger the shutter to take a photo (if no video is recorded). If you want to record a video you have to press "record" before takeoff and once again after landing. So you cannot take a photo during a flight in which a video is recorded.

The whish would be to extend the Functionality of the ir-transmitter of the Z15 to be able to start/stop the video. So take off start video - stop video - shutter photo - start video -stop video. It is not the question what the Sony Nex5n can or cannot do remotely, it is the question what the Z15 can control on the Sony Nex5n.

best regards

Ferdinand

Yes that is exactly what I am thinking that the Z15 should be able to do.

Fritz

 

[MombasaFlash]

@MombasaFlash

WIth what I am wrong?.......

Looks like we had a bit of language/translation confusion going on there.

OK so, the gentLED shutterPLUS for the Sony Nex does offer remote Record and Shutter on a three position switch and would therefore permit the video start/stop - release shutter - restart video that you mention but, it is a separate wire and not neatly built in as all the other Z-15 functions have been to permit true, unhindered 360 operation.

And so, yes, the Z-15 really ought to have that function updated. As Boris mentioned, the GH2 has to be physically set to either photo or video and then the single remote will activate whichever function has been set on the camera so nothing much to do with that one.

I have a Z-15 on order but one problem I foresee is the video monitoring. The Z-15 has the nice, neat and convenient built-in HDMI converter but, as mentioned and discussed on the GH2 Info and Hacks thread, using it limits video settings to 1080p24 or 1080i50. If you try to use 720p50 the camera will automatically revert to 1080i50.

I get over this with a separate monitoring camera at the moment. It is a solution that I detest because, although the monitoring function itself is fine, you have no idea what the camera is doing. A perfect example is last weekend where during a full day shoot at a theme park the camera battery went flat in the air and we kept on blindly doing runs until it was time to land and then discovered that the last X number of minutes had not been recorded. This would have shown up immediately with a direct camera output but the stupid GH2 video out options either don't work at all (analog) or cripple the record settings (HDMI).

I really do hope that this issue is addressed with the GH3 - or that a hack eventually surfaces for the GH2 that removes these HDMI limitations, provided the camera processor can actually keep up.

Utilising a separate monitor camera on the Z-15 may be tricky, either for the weight/balance/mounting space considerations or because of the extra flying cable.

 

[ChrisViperM]

The GH2 limit of vid quality while using the HDMI output is a pain in the a##, but instead having a separate monitoring camera in "parallel" would it be possible to have a liitle camera watching the monitor of the GH2....? I would do it like that since I only need to know if the GH2 is running and if it's pointing in the right direction....picture quality of the downlink would be not important, just don't know which camera can do that, since it has to be pretty close to GH2 monitor...and very small and light weighted.

Chris

 

[hjls3]

The GH2 limit of vid quality while using the HDMI output is a pain in the a##, but instead having a separate monitoring camera in "parallel" would it be possible to have a liitle camera watching the monitor of the GH2....? I would do it like that since I only need to know if the GH2 is running and if it's pointing in the right direction....picture quality of the downlink would be not important, just don't know which camera can do that, since it has to be pretty close to GH2 monitor...

Chris

sorry dont know much about the GH2, however, what you suggested has me thinking about a solution i need. i just fired up a T2i in live view and put a Hero2 positioned starring at the t2i screen. worked like a charm. this particular hero has LCD backpack and i was able to see the monitor at any distance. in addition the hero2 makes for a pretty decent downlink picture. give it a try, i was surprised how well it worked. thanks for putting the idea in my head

 

[BorisS]

With the given FW and the startup procedure, you can forget mounting or attaching anything to the Z15 that has a cable, if maybe after the startup procedure. Since the Startup procedure takes the 360 continuous of the gimbal to a test !

Adding anything at the moment even if its a filter and afterwards you balance out the gimbal results in small jumps on the nick axis in my eyes. Others might have better results.

So adding a cam to see the GH2 screen or a more intelligent trigger is rough at the moment. And for sure only usable in FPV and that other z15 mode that is not 360.


@Mombassa I have to check again but I think its this mix hack between Sedna for 720 and Sanity for 1080I, working okay stable !

Boris

 

[MombasaFlash]

With the given FW and the startup procedure, you can forget mounting or attaching anything to the Z15 that has a cable,...

Hmm, food for thought there. It seems the Z-15 comes with a healthy (read 'unhealthy') list of compromises.

I did some more SD card compatibility tests with the GH2. Head over to the GH2 thread to see the bizarre results