Landing gear in image frame

Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
34
Reaction score
0
Got my P2 a few weeks ago so I'm still learning.

I love the image I'm making but I find a lot of time I end up seeing the left landing gear in my frame. Whenever the Phantom turns a bit too quickly or is inclined to fight the wind. It ruins a lot of shots and I'm wondering if there is something to do to avoid that. I have the 3D gimball with a GoPro.
 
there's nothing you can really do in flight to prevent that... you can try to fly very gently but like you said a gust of wind or whatever and the Phantom auto-corrects and you might see it.

There several types of aftermarket landing gear available for the Phantom2... some are basically like the stock set just a wider and taller like these or these.

but there's also fancy ones like these carbon fiber ones

many different styles out there.. just go searching for dji phantom 2 landing gear you'll find some you like
 
Reducing the field of view helps quite a lot. Other than that it's avoiding hard right turns and flight in gusty conditions - if you want to film hard turns make them to the left! Also if you fly in ATTI mode as opposed to GPS it will drift with the wind rather than fight it if you must film on windier days - although that requires a lot more attention to be paid to the flying and less on the filming in case you come a cropper

While GoPro continue to make their cameras with the lens off-set to the left it's going to be an issue on the stock Phantom. You can retro-fit wider landing gear but they won't fit in most flight cases and you need to be careful with compass position.
 
ah yes FOV I usually run in medium. nice one
 
Thought it was the way I installed the gimbal but looks like I'll have to learn to live with this issue. Bummer. Thanks for the replies.
 
QYV said:
there's nothing you can really do in flight to prevent that... you can try to fly very gently but like you said a gust of wind or whatever and the Phantom auto-corrects and you might see it.

There several types of aftermarket landing gear available for the Phantom2... some are basically like the stock set just a wider and taller like these or these.

but there's also fancy ones like these carbon fiber ones

many different styles out there.. just go searching for dji phantom 2 landing gear you'll find some you like

Assuming these, once installed, wont fit into a normal case, right?
 
Fotoman said:
Thought it was the way I installed the gimbal but looks like I'll have to learn to live with this issue. Bummer. Thanks for the replies.

Bro we just gave you several perfectly workable solutions what the heck?

ddublu said:
Assuming these, once installed, wont fit into a normal case, right?

You're correct that the mass-produced cases with like, contoured foam and whatever are made for the stock legs. Lots of guys are doing DIY cases, I personally use a large photography backpack and I could cram extended gear in there I just don't..

but I have another solution... there are several types of FOLDING landing gear... I'm not sure if they have that "visible in camera under certain conditions" problem that the stock legs have but it sure looks like some of them wouldn't have that problem, like perhaps this set from Helipal.
There's another set here on Shapeways that looks good.
google phantom 2 folding gear, there's more out there
 
There's also a plate which moves the gimbal forward. Last time out I shimmed the front corner of the gimbal plate with cardboard and it was enough to keep the leg out of shots. I'm going to see if I can shim the gimbal to phantom mount
 
It's annoying isn't it..

I'd love to upgrade to the wider legs however I'm not prepared to lose the functionality of my case.
 
This has been discussed before. It's a poor design of the gimbal, because the gopro lens is not centered, it's offset to the left, allowing the left leg to enter the frame on strong gusts of wind or hard turning to the right. Try flipping the GoPro upside down.
 
I tried flipping the GoPro upside down and it does work. However I can't connect the power cable on the GoPro anymore meaning I would have to take it off and charge it every time I use it. A bit annoying and time consuming. Also, the Phantom kept spinning left when I tried it. Not sure if it's due to flipping the GoPro and changing the balance of the gimbal or just a temporary glitch. Didn't have time to do more than one quick flight. But the left leg was not in the shot anymore even when I made hard turns.
 
Fotoman said:
I tried flipping the GoPro upside down and it does work. However I can't connect the power cable on the GoPro anymore meaning I would have to take it off and charge it every time I use it.

More importantly, you would have no FPV video.
 
Fotoman said:
I tried flipping the GoPro upside down and it does work. However I can't connect the power cable on the GoPro anymore meaning I would have to take it off and charge it every time I use it. A bit annoying and time consuming. Also, the Phantom kept spinning left when I tried it. Not sure if it's due to flipping the GoPro and changing the balance of the gimbal or just a temporary glitch. Didn't have time to do more than one quick flight. But the left leg was not in the shot anymore even when I made hard turns.

Good to know! I haven't tried it myself. Personally I don't mind having to charge the GoPro if it means not having the leg in the shot. And I don't need/use FPV so that's not an issue for me, either.
 
Need a take off cradle. Something that stays on the ground. Then hand catch it. Just an idea that I had. Not sure if its doable.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31