See reference video showing problem:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/kuhYCuokwjA[/youtube]
http://youtu.be/kuhYCuokwjA
Problem:
GoPro footage sometimes shows "scan lines" (horizontal lines) when used on the Phantom with the Zenmuse gimbal.
A week after getting the Phantom/gimbal combo I crashed it with the Hero 3 (Black). It was after this that I first noticed the "scan lines". I figured the crash caused the problem, so I eventually got a new Hero 3 (Silver). Sure enough the problem showed on that one too.
Possible Causes:
Not sure. Doesn't seem to be the camera, since the problem shows up when using two different Hero 3 cameras (one Black edition, the other Silver).
The gimbal most certainly was affected by the crash. It seems to generally work in the sense that it stabilizes the GoPro, but just yesterday (a month after the crash) it started this awful screeching. That can't be good. Could a damaged gimbal somehow be causing this issue of showing lines in the GoPro footage?
What about the electronics inside the Phantom? Could these be affecting the GoPro? If so, how?
I tried switching out the black carbon rotors for the original white ones that come with the Phantom. This seemed to help quite a bit at first (see clip #3 in my sample footage). But clips 1 & 2 (shot the following day) show the problem.
The rotors affect the problem but don't seem to be the actual cause (since the problem didn't exist when I initially flew the Phantom).
It doesn't seem like anything with the helicopter (other than the rotors) is the actual culprit because I have been able to duplicate the problem without having the GoPro connected electronically to the Phantom and without the gimbal turned on.
Light seems to be a factor. I'm not sure I've had this problem on overcast days. Seems like heavy direct sunlight plays into it. Almost like the Gopro's exposure is being affected by the rotor spinning. BUt then why doesn't everyone have this problem?
It doesn't appear to be the camera because the problem shows up on at least one other Hero 3.
Another possible factor is the little spongey things that connect the gimbal to the Phantom. In my crash, I lost three of the four spongey things (the dark black stiff ones). I then used the dark gray ones. Doesn't seem like that would make much difference though.
Things to do:
Need to test other variables. The 1440x1080 footage looked good, but will it every time? What about 1440 at different fps? Not sure yet.
Need to try seeing if I can mount GoPro to gimbal without the back part being plugged in. In other words, can I jury-rig it so the gimbal works, but the GoPro isn't plugged in to the electronics. That way I could narrow down potential culprits.
---
Any ideas? Anyone else experiencing this? Any solutions? Thanks!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/kuhYCuokwjA[/youtube]
http://youtu.be/kuhYCuokwjA
Problem:
GoPro footage sometimes shows "scan lines" (horizontal lines) when used on the Phantom with the Zenmuse gimbal.
A week after getting the Phantom/gimbal combo I crashed it with the Hero 3 (Black). It was after this that I first noticed the "scan lines". I figured the crash caused the problem, so I eventually got a new Hero 3 (Silver). Sure enough the problem showed on that one too.
Possible Causes:
Not sure. Doesn't seem to be the camera, since the problem shows up when using two different Hero 3 cameras (one Black edition, the other Silver).
The gimbal most certainly was affected by the crash. It seems to generally work in the sense that it stabilizes the GoPro, but just yesterday (a month after the crash) it started this awful screeching. That can't be good. Could a damaged gimbal somehow be causing this issue of showing lines in the GoPro footage?
What about the electronics inside the Phantom? Could these be affecting the GoPro? If so, how?
I tried switching out the black carbon rotors for the original white ones that come with the Phantom. This seemed to help quite a bit at first (see clip #3 in my sample footage). But clips 1 & 2 (shot the following day) show the problem.
The rotors affect the problem but don't seem to be the actual cause (since the problem didn't exist when I initially flew the Phantom).
It doesn't seem like anything with the helicopter (other than the rotors) is the actual culprit because I have been able to duplicate the problem without having the GoPro connected electronically to the Phantom and without the gimbal turned on.
Light seems to be a factor. I'm not sure I've had this problem on overcast days. Seems like heavy direct sunlight plays into it. Almost like the Gopro's exposure is being affected by the rotor spinning. BUt then why doesn't everyone have this problem?
It doesn't appear to be the camera because the problem shows up on at least one other Hero 3.
Another possible factor is the little spongey things that connect the gimbal to the Phantom. In my crash, I lost three of the four spongey things (the dark black stiff ones). I then used the dark gray ones. Doesn't seem like that would make much difference though.
Things to do:
Need to test other variables. The 1440x1080 footage looked good, but will it every time? What about 1440 at different fps? Not sure yet.
Need to try seeing if I can mount GoPro to gimbal without the back part being plugged in. In other words, can I jury-rig it so the gimbal works, but the GoPro isn't plugged in to the electronics. That way I could narrow down potential culprits.
---
Any ideas? Anyone else experiencing this? Any solutions? Thanks!