Droidworx or Cinestar?

[fpvroo]

Hi Guys,

I'm in the market for a new frame, probably hex...
I'm thinking of a Droidworx XM6 or a Skyjib6 lite.
Or a cinestar 6

I want to carry a GH2 or GH3 with gimbal DD when available or a AV130 for now.
I rather have a smooth flying copter than the most efficient one.
Still thinking about 4S or 6S...

I like the retractable landing gear on the Droidworx Frame and the way they thought.
But I read the cinestar has got the best vibration dampening?
What experience have you guys had with these frames?

 

[Steve Townsend]

Interested in this thread myself. I will add I like the DW cage and the protection to the electronics and the altogether neat tidy solution. But I have just invested in the Cinestar gimbal and radians thinking this is the best camera arrangement. So not sure which to go for myself, Skyjib or CS.

 

[fpvroo]

Interested in this thread myself. I will add I like the DW cage and the protection to the electronics and the altogether neat tidy solution. But I have just invested in the Cinestar gimbal and radians thinking this is the best camera arrangement. So not sure which to go for myself, Skyjib or CS.

I think If I would have the Cinestar Gimbal (have you got the 3 axis?) I would probably get a Cinestar Copter, I haven't seen adapter to connect cinestar gimbal to other copters, but I might be wrong with that?

 

[Photronix]

A few thoughts from Hoverfly.

Gimbals. I wouldn't go with the AV130. The cinestar gimbal is much smoother, robust, versatile, and higher quality. Another option would be PhotoshipOne which is what we use on our Scripta and Erista. Keep in mind I have worked on a few cinestar 8 frames and gimbals and one of the first things that needs to be done is to jam some gel or foam in between the plates of the vibration dampening. It creates shakes that your gimbal won't correct. This also depends on the flight controller and how well your props are balanced (vibration source not shake source).

Retracts. We are waiting on our first Droidworx retracts but from everything I have seen so far they have the best solution. However, if you can learn to fly in carefree mode (depending on the flight controller ) then you don't need a 360 mount or retracts (if your goal is to reduce cost).

The new quick release lower unit plate with dampening from Droidworx works the best from what we have seen.

We hope you will consider the HoverflyPRO/GPS for your flight controller of course.

 

[kloner]

i don't like the cinestar vibe isolation setup..... like he said, super touchy to camera swing, not shake or vibe...... limits winds it can fly in even lower than you'd expect. The gimbal is alright, but if your gonna fly reds, it needs about what it costs in upgrades to do it...... I've been flying cs8 for somebody else but when it came time to buy one for myself, i went sj8 v2 and av200

the 130 is only a hundred bucks less and a world apart in quality

 

[Steve Townsend]

I think If I would have the Cinestar Gimbal (have you got the 3 axis?) I would probably get a Cinestar Copter, I haven't seen adapter to connect cinestar gimbal to other copters, but I might be wrong with that?

I think that is my problem. Yes I have bought the 3 axis CS. But I am just not sure about the CS6 or CS8. I don't like the exposed electronics on the Cinestar, the Droidworx always looks neat and tidy and a more complete design, especially with the addition of their proprietary PDB. I know that Allied Drones have various adapter to join the CS gimbal and the DW machines so that isn't a restriction.

What I have actually done to date is built a Vulcan Y6 which I am actually very pleased with. I had originally decided to go this route because of Vulcan frame's low cost, the ability to easily change layouts X Y and between flat and coaxial and importantly they offered help in the build process if I needed. I was a novice then and thought I need assistance. I had originally thought I would learn with this machine, try different layouts then discard and graduate to a Cinestar or Droidworx, gaining experience all the time to be able to make better decisions in the future.

The Vulcan actually is very impressive so I have am in a little bit of a quandary. I have always wanted a Cinestar or a Skyjib but actually I have never seen one!! Rightly or wrongly I have gone the CS gimbal route which I can put on the Vulcan and look forward to testing. Maybe I could go the CS or DW flat octo and Vulcan Y6/X8 as well and have the best of both, but that seems juct too expensive and extravagant even if I could afford!!

I am interested in trying the HFPro but I have decided to put a WKM on the Y6.

 

[kloner]

try allied drones, they got adapters from to anything

http://www.allieddrones.com/pages/products

 

[Droider]

AV130 wont fit GH3. So it would be a AV200 or the CS. As for frames then I guess its personal choice. I have built all of them. I have a affection for DW personally and fly there frames professionally. I have build and flight tested CS frames but they are just not my cuppatea!

I have the new DW SJLX4 and been flight testing/tuning again to day and I am well cuffed. Almost got RSCG and AV200 sorted now.

The DW set ups are great for packing down where the CS stuff aint so easy. I am sure Kloner is correct about the adaptor plates for the CS gimbal on to DW frames. I have seen them some where.

Dave

 

[Benjamin Rowland]

Sorry for rambling, but here it goes...

I've got a lot of flights on a Cinestar 8 with Hoverfly Pro. That's a great combo. The Cinestar is pretty easy to build and the Hoverfly Pro is easy to set up. The Cinestar gimbal is very nice also. The only weak point that I've seen is the connection point between the Cinestar frame and the Cinestar gimbal. I'm betting that Freefly is working hard on improving that connection. It definitely isolates the copter vibes from the gimbal really well, but there is a bit of lateral movement that can induce a bit of roll twitch on windier days when using a gimbal stabilization system. There are some tricks and modifications that can be found online that help to remedy this issue, but I bet that Freefly will come up with a better solution. Doubling up the plates and using the blue 0-rings is one option (I plan to try that very soon). The gimbal is easily adapted to a variety of cameras. I'm flying a FS700 on one on Monday for the second time.
We love our Cinestar/Hoverfly combo - highly recommended. You can read our review here: http://www.yonderbluefilms.com/blog/2013/1/2/2012-with-the-cinestar-8.html

I also own a Droidworx XM6. I've flown it for fun, but haven't used it much yet for shooting. I have an AV200 on that rig. From talking to folks, the AV200 is much better than the AV130 (built much stronger). Since I don't have a ton of experience with this rig, take that into account with my comments here. I'm pretty sure that the Droidworx frames are slightly heavier than Freefly, but the difference is minimal. The Droidworx systems are built to pack down fast, which would be nice for traveling. The Droidworx sits a good bit taller than the Cinestar, which can make it a little more top heavy on a bumpy landing (be careful). Droidworx sell hardware for going coaxial if that is something you want. I've got an issue with mine at the moment where when it is loaded up with gimbal and camera and accessories, it has a tendency to yaw a bit when correcting for wind - I'm going to take a day soon to figure out the cause behind that. It flies great unloaded, so I'm betting I just need to balance out things on the gimbal better. The connection between copter and gimbal is nice and it has a quick release. Droidworx makes a good frame and many people have had success with them - Droider (Dave) is a good example.

 

[fpvroo]

Hi,

thanks for everybody chiming in! I appreciate that, it's really a great forum!
I'm now thinking DW is the route for me, but I'm wondering SJ or XM? What's the big difference?
Also does anybody from australia now If we need to pay customs from NZ?
There is a lot new DD Gimbals coming now, I ordered a ecopter hero 3 gimbal as well. It looks like Photohigher will come out with new DD Gimbals soon?

 

[Bluerex]

Hey Roo, Built my MX4 x4 over the christmas break - been dialling it in since.
I really like the X4, I am new at this game but have tried quads and a hexa - it was the realisation that neither offered any sort of redundancy that pushed me toward an eight motor craft, and
for the first time I can concentrate more on the shot than getting the copter back in one piece. I have had more successful flights with the XM than any of my other copters and I like it!!
No duty paid (although the ANZ Bank are bast*rds for charging international transfer fees) The XM is maxed out (recommended) with a 550d and AV 130 - the SJ will go way bigger with an AV 200...
BUT I am testing with 2 by 8Ah 5S batteries weighing in at 6.5kg (using axi motors and 12 x 3.8 slowfly props).

My rambling build thread is here
http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?7267-XM-X4-Build-log

Happy to discuss - but a bit biased with my x4 and AV130 combo atm

C

PS where are you located?