H3-2D Directions - Straight Down for Photos?

kburrows · Feb 3, 2014

I know this is a silly question. I am just getting into quad copters and can't find out anything about the maximum rotation of the H3-D2 gimbal. Can it point straight down to take a picture? I assume the only way to do it with the GoPro 3+ is to set the camera to take pictures at a set interval and hope you don't run out of space on the micro SD card. Of all the videos I have seen posted, I have noticed there are none with a straight shot down.

Thanks!

ladykate · Feb 3, 2014

kburrows said:
I know this is a silly question. I am just getting into quad copters and can't find out anything about the maximum rotation of the H3-D2 gimbal. Can it point straight down to take a picture? I assume the only way to do it with the GoPro 3+ is to set the camera to take pictures at a set interval and hope you don't run out of space on the micro SD card. Of all the videos I have seen posted, I have noticed there are none with a straight shot down.

Thanks!

Yes, you can aim straight down. I have a few videos if you want to see them. Some others have posted videos that were wholly straight down. I usually set it up so the horizon is not bent too much. The fish-eye makes some significant distortion of the horizon at times. Aiming the camera correctly helps.

kburrows · Feb 4, 2014

Good news! It's amazing how little has been posted about the actual use and function of the gimbal. Just how to install and calibrate it. I have Photoshop and GIMP to remove the skewing. Adobe now has the Hero 3+ in it's camera database, so getting the pin cushion out should be much easier now.

Thanks for the help!

kburrows · Feb 4, 2014

Would love to see your videos. How can I get a link?

ladykate · Feb 4, 2014

kburrows said:
Would love to see your videos. How can I get a link?

Here is a short clip that shows the camera pointing straight down. I usually cut this part out of the videos. ;-} When the camera pans up you can see the horizon distortion straighten as the camera and the horizon line up. If the camera was pointing down (or up) farther, then there would be distortion of the horizon. There will always be distortion somewhere due to the wide lens but even in superwide mode, you can still affect it by using the FPV and aligning the shot so your target is less affected by the fish eye.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6vbX0jU3cE[/youtube]

Here is a view of a building (you can see it on the left it the above clip). Note that the distortion due to the fish eye is minimized by positioning the airframe and the gimbal.

Here is a version that emphasizes the fish eye

kburrows · Feb 4, 2014

Excellent! Thanks for the video and pics! What program do you use to reduce the fish eye and what settings do you find work best to reduce it?

Thanks so much!!

ladykate · Feb 4, 2014

Those are unprocessed shots. There are some packages you can use but I prefer to do what I can with the camera angle.

EMCSQUAR · Feb 4, 2014

kburrows said:
Of all the videos I have seen posted, I have noticed there are none with a straight shot down.

Thanks!

Watch this short -> https://vimeo.com/85627492

kburrows · Feb 4, 2014

Thanks! I spent a long time on line trying to find specifications for the gimbal and just couldn't find anything that showed the range of movement. Watched so many videos I got sea sick with the motion. I guess most are going for the dramatic cinematography with the sweeps and flying low.

Good job with the video! How many sea lions did you chase off?