Interesting thoughts guys, initially I was after the zenmuse, but after looking around and taking into account the massive the price difference (in aus the zenmuse is close to $800 vs a hobbyking Tarot or similar for $150). You can understand why i'm looking around.
Well yes, I can understand why you're looking around because no doubt gimbals are generally expensive, but then I also think the reason you're here is because you're after the benefit of someone elses experience. I've played a few servo based units and also two different Arduino based brushless units including the Aeroxcraft, which I've found to be the best of that type so far and the only one I've used that's worth mentioning but certainly not perfect but as I said previously you get what you pay and they are good value for money. But, if you want the absolute best GoPro 2D gimbal with no mucking around and excellent results right out of the box then the best one out there is the DJI Zenmuse. Consider that you pay 5 times that for a bigger 3D gimbal for a Nex or a GH3 then it is still good value for money, and when you know it's just plug and play with no trailing cables and no guess work it's no competition in my opinion.
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I'm tempted to try a Hawkeye from my local hobby shop thats going for $199 Aus. Would you still say the zenmuse is worth 4x that amount?
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In the UK I paid £450 for the Zenmuse and they are in stock in quite a few places over here, which during the summer wasn't the case as they were almost always out of stock because demand just outstripped supply. I've already tried the half-Zenmuse-price stuff and it is like night and day, there is no comparison. Knowing what I know now I deeply regret spending the 400 quid I already spent on two other brushless gimbals that only part delivered. You have to ask yourself why DJI can command that price and why they frequently end up in short supply ... there is a reason why they sell as well as they do.
Also am I right or wrong in guessing that the because the zenmuse plugs into the naza it should therefore 'know' what the hexa's next move is going to be, vs a sensor that simply reacts to change of movement?
The Zenmuse will plug into the Naza or the Wookong as I've used it with both (and probably the Ace 2) but it's not being controlled directly by the flight controller, it has it's own stabilisation module although I believe the flight controller does have some input into the process as you can't use the Zenmuse without a DJI controller but I suspect that's just DJI hooking you into their eco-system more than anything.