Gopro of my gimbal/ Vimeo link

[Navigator53]

Wow, that looks great!

Mel

[Goldenhour]

Hi Mel!
I am still working on vibration. There are so many bearings and gears and harmonics. Took off the hc3sx leveling function to see if it contributed to vibes....NOT. I did come close to crashing when I found out real flying takes reactions 3 times the speed I was giving with leveler on. I'm doing that for practice now. Have yet to initiate an auto for practice. Lord help me.

[Navigator53]

I've been following you for years Craig, actually stalking

I've been chasing jello for years, try this and that, Crius boards PID's etc to try and get the perfect video.

Recently bought a Phantom 2 with H3 3D gimbal, can not believe how liquid smooth the footage is

No post production, warp stabilizer etc. just video that when it's holding position, looks like a still photo.

I'll help you set your Phantom up

[Navigator53]

We have great neighbors, we all take pride in our yards

Across the street, Ken is a Master Gardener and every year I go up and take photos of his yard which he shares on facebook

This year I thought I try something different, video put to music

I was rushed as a storm was a brewin' and I knew his flowers wouldn't make it

I'd only flown the Phantom 4 times when I put it up as the clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up, I'm a bit smoother now.

Flowers (5 min 59 sec)

[Goldenhour]

Quad copter I see. It is smooth. Only problem now is I've made a firm decision to hold em or fold em. If I cant get great video I just wont do it. I've got maybe 20-30 years left of which I'll be able to work 10 at which time I'll be able to retire meagerly. IE, I'm not rich
Being I get smooth video with the camera off the gimbals(on top of the FMTA) I'm guessing its harmonics going down the gimbal. I've got some nice stills so I'm thinking a 20megapixel canon say.
The thing that is maddening is I've gotten great video at random and I cant repeat it. Maybe a poltergeist.

[Goldenhour]

I've been working of getting my single rotor to do video and not buy a quad. It seems like everything I did would eventually come round to vibes. After five test flights today I tried something with the thought of "shit, I've tried everything else".
I took the 2 axis gimbal and basically hung it from the 2XPT gimbal with four rings of zip ties.
I'll be damned if the gopro video didn't come back smooth, none of the high frequency stuff. I remember seeing metal rings used on some of the high end ready to fly gimbals. They must be vibration isolators. I was damned near ready to commit suicide after all the money I've tied up in this and getting nothing but shit.
It could be a fluke but I don't think so.
A lot of money.

[Goldenhour]

This is a quicky 720p gopro video I did tonight. It is rocky from sway but no high frequency vibes or "jello". The sway will be an easy fix. I have spent a fortune in time achieving this and I am one happy camper today. I found the light at the end of the tunnel!
Done with two light wire cable loops holding the 2-axis gimbal and gopro. No multicopter needed here and it will lift my heavy cameras for stills as well.

Vibrations isolated mechanically (1 min 49 sec)

[Goldenhour]

A picture of the wire rings that solved my vibe problem. I saw some heavier ones used on the cinestar gimbals(expensive) for heavier applications. You can buy the wire cable and copper attachments and make a ring for about $1.50 a piece.
Gonna upload some video later today.

Seems these wire loops are the bees knees. I'd suggest anyone to employ them. Perhaps they are like a round spring or maybe the vibration has trouble transmitting through the wire. I still have a tail wag issue that causes some sideways stuff. That seems to come and go with battery discharge and C rating of the pair I use.
Waiting on my cheap chinese($230) 3-axis gimbal now that'll put that to bed.

[Goldenhour]

This is some video I did today. Nothing fancy. Notice the side to side wobble or maybe you just felt sea sick. I just learned this can be mitigated with the equivalent or out-runner with ear plugs in the middle. Something that stops the side to side without stiffening the hanger. Back to work and that perfect video.

First 3axis vibration free video. (4 min 47 sec)

Another vid done tonight at goldenhour. About 400 feet. At 1:46 I start my descend. Wish I had a real time altimeter. Just gotta get rid of the gimbal rocking. Stabilization is a real suka.

AP test Goldenhour Port./Van. ColumbiaRiver (3 min 53 sec)

[pc3associate]

Get out and start filming what you want to film. I believe you are pretty much there. Most of the imperfections seen can be edited out. 99% of aerial clips are 6 seconds or less. 8 usually max. Anything over that is dull and looses the viewers interest. I believe you are at the point where more time should be spent flying to achieve the clip you want.

Not sure what your end goal is. Put a video plan together of what you want. Work on getting the sequence of clips you need. Once edited and put together with the proper sequence you are gonna be surprised what you are getting.

[Goldenhour]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Lord knows the time I've put into this project and I've learned a bit. Still so much more.
I'm getting ready to go camping up in the Gifford Pinchot Forest for a week and have been mulling over whether to take the copter. I decided I'll go up some very early morning with that as my only work to be done.
Just after running my last test shot after work (which the Gopro crapped out) I got a loud knock on the door. Some neighbors are concerned about privacy and called our police dept. I understand about all that. I know I've been pushing it but I can get so many more tests done if all I have to do is go outside with my shop 30 feet away. I told the nice officer that I'll keep it in my property line and below the roof line. Thats high enough for vibration tests. Anyway I think I've nailed and as you say PC its time to put some stock together for some winter time post processing. This is my latest. Done about 30 minuetes after he left. Not to be antagonistic but this is serious stuff to me.

Best to date 8-18-14 (2 min 1 sec)

[Goldenhour]

In the spirit of Alexmos and Linux I want to share what took me about two years to figure out. Could have done it sooner If only I had thought of it sooner.
In the picture are two heavy loops. These are only for for and aft sway. The tighter the loops are, pulled oblong, the more high frequency vibration is allowed through. Next I will make an aluminum fixture so it is all one piece. Then all I'll need to do is bolt or zip tie the whole assembly on or off.

Frenchmans bar (4 min 17 sec)

[Goldenhour]

Did another iteration of the old stuff in 1080P at 30fps. Nothin fancy. No high frequency stuff. I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved. I was ready to give up. Trying to put together a theme or story to put together with stills, ground shots and aerial stuff.
If your wondering why the gimbal aft isnt being used its because it will be used for stills. I will make an easy on and off fixture for what I've made here.

Vibration Iso. at 1080P (1 min 52 sec)

[Goldenhour]

This is my final "iteration" of the vibration isolator. It has velcro straps so I can swap out between still and video in a few minutes. For a Gopro ?
Being I am OCD, I think, I still want to make the isolators smaller or as small as possible.
The first video I was fighting high level winds, on the Columbia on a Butte. Although the copter came down fast as you can see it seemed like forever till the copter got bigger.

Aerial view of Vancouver, Wa. 1080p (3 min 58 sec)

Vancouver,Wa. TimeLapse Gopro 1080p (0 min 25 sec)