Tag: Gimbal

Walkera H6 actually named “Voyager 3”, only a prototype

Walkera H6 actually named “Voyager 3”, only a prototype

January 7, 2015 14:30 | By | 1 Comment

German IT magazine heise.de reports from CES Las Vegas that the previously teased Walkera H6 was nowhere to be seen at Walkera’s booth – and was shown to them only on their request (German, Google translate).

Photo by heise.de / nij

Photo by heise.de / nij, used with permission

According to Walkera, a communication problem with their american distributor led to the premature announcement, which was planned for end of January this year at the Toy Fare Nuernberg in Germany. Sadly, pricing and features are still secret until then, even though production is slated to begin “soon”.

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DJI Phantom 2 with H3-2D Gimbal Review

DJI Phantom 2 with H3-2D Gimbal Review

May 12, 2014 22:34 | By | Add a Comment

The Phantom 2 is available as a complete package complete with 2-axis brushless gimbal. The price for this combo started out at over $1000.- but has recently come down to a more manageable $680. Magazine reviews are glowing, but few of them have any comparisons to make. Is the Phantom 2 combo offer worth the price of admission, or should you look elsewhere? Find out in our review!

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FPV Shopping Bag

FPV Shopping Bag

December 26, 2013 19:15 | By | Add a Comment

FPV shopping time! In this new segment we’ll take a look at various new products that came out recently, in the hope that there’s something interesting for you. As always, if you have any hints or suggestions for new gear, please let us know!

 

The Pixhawk flight controller is now shipping. Yours for $280 (sans GPS and telemetry), it can be ordered from the 3DR store. Designed for the new QGroundControl software, this open source flight controller is ready for fleet operations where one ground station controls multiple UAVs in flight, with tons of connectivity options. Warning: SBUS or CPPM receiver output signal required, or you need to order an extra PPM Encoder board!
This dual 5.8GHz transmitter allows you to send two video signals on two different channels. This can be used for diversity sending on the aircraft side, or to transmit two different viewpoints at the same time. It’s a bit pricy at $120 over at GLB. Allegedly it’s 500mW, but it does support audio transmission (for antenna trackers)
A BEC for $9? That’s not bad by itself, but this is an integrated power distribution board with dual BECs specifically for multicopters. Up to 6S LiPos are supported, though each BEC can only drive up to 2A. Oh and one BEC output can be adjusted between 5 and 20V – which is awesome if you need 12V on a 4S multicopter but don’t want extra weight.
Helical antenna are great. Most builds suffer from poor construction however. This one is just $30 and features a solid guided construction that prevents the springy bit from compressing and thus detuning. It comes with a flex cable, and is available only in right handed circular polarization. If your transmitter antenna is left-circular, this is not what you want. On the plus side, you can order SMA and RP-SMA versions depending on your connector.
Got a great camera for FPV that unfortunately only outputs HDMI? This little converter board will take your HDMI signal and output analog video for a little over $28. It supports a whole range of HDMI resolutions and runs off the 5V of your typical BEC.
Got a Canon 5D Mark III? Gimbals for this beast can cost a pretty penny. Here’s a cost effective carbon fiber gimbal, available in a two axis version for $222, as well as a three axis version for $269. No gimbal controller included, so you have to spend another $100-$150 depending on your setup. You can’t reasonably expect DJI level build quality here. However judging from our experiences with the Zenmuse H3-2D (the gimbal switches OFF if you bang against the endpoint), better build quality does not always mean less problems. Ultimately the 5D is an expensive camera, so the question is whether you want to entrust it to a budget gimbal.

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DJI releases Zenmuse Z15-5D Gimbal for the Canon 5D Mk II and III

DJI releases Zenmuse Z15-5D Gimbal for the Canon 5D Mk II and III

November 24, 2013 12:52 | By | Add a Comment

DJI just released their high-end Z15-5D gimbal, specifically designed for the Canon 5D Mark 2 and Mark 3. This is a 3-axis gimbal, complete with infrared control for your Canon camera, as well as three operating modes that either keep the camera stabilized straight and level, stabilize it at a certain angle, or a “FPV mode” that locks the gimbal in place without stabilization, for easier FPV flying. It supports pan/tilt angles of up to 130 degrees, as well as a roll angle of up to 30 degrees.

Note that only the EF 24mm 2.8 lens is supported (due to the camera CG), and you need at least a DJI A2 with firmware v2.0, a WKM v5.26 or an Ace One / Ace Waypoint with firmware v4.02.

There’s no word on pricing yet, although GLB has a preorder offer for about USD $3000.-

More pictures after the break.

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