mounting a Nikon J1 to Phantom 3?

Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
90
Reaction score
20
Age
44
i could upgrade to the Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic 2 to get that nice 1 inch sensor...
but wait, i already have a 1 inch sensor camera, the Nikon J1. it is lightweight. has a built in intervalometer to take photos every 3s. so i am thinking of mounting it to my Phantom 3 and see how it is.
anybody else tried the Nikon J1 or any lightweight mirrrorless? what are your thoughts and advice?
 
I don't think i have ever read about some one doing this to a drone...I guess we are all Very Happy with the stock cameras and also very happy with what the stock cameras can do...however " each to their own ".. oh i have a P3SE model and i love the camera its a 12 mb camera and its good enough for what i use it for... plus !....The best of luck if you follow thru with the experiment !
 
I don't think i have ever read about some one doing this to a drone...I guess we are all Very Happy with the stock cameras and also very happy with what the stock cameras can do...however " each to their own ".. oh i have a P3SE model and i love the camera its a 12 mb camera and its good enough for what i use it for... plus !....The best of luck if you follow thru with the experiment !

someone made a nice mount for DSLR for the Phantom 2 as seen here: https://www.shapeways.com/product/C5VKTQWUU/dji-phantom-2-universal-camera-mount
sadly he said it does not work for phantom 3
 
i could upgrade to the Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic 2 to get that nice 1 inch sensor...
but wait, i already have a 1 inch sensor camera, the Nikon J1. it is lightweight. has a built in intervalometer to take photos every 3s. so i am thinking of mounting it to my Phantom 3 and see how it is.
anybody else tried the Nikon J1 or any lightweight mirrrorless? what are your thoughts and advice?
If you can't see through the camera and can't control it, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a better camera.
And given the price of a P4 pro and how good it is, it's pretty silly to play around with something that's not going to be really workable.
 
I have seen some people who attach cameras to older phantom like P2 but the problem is in the photo and video it takes. They say it was shaky.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pharm
I have seen some people who attach cameras to older phantom like P2 but the problem is in the photo and video it takes. They say it was shaky.
That is why you had to spend £400 on a mounting, and a gimble, for your GoPro .
 
the nikon camera i plan to use is 400 grams.
wont fly over 30 ft. will update over the weekend when i have time to actually try this out with zip ties. this is just for photos, not shooting videos
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigAl07
Keep us posted. this could be a fun project.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotorCycle-Man
here is my set up along with a sample photo.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
strapped it using zip ties. total weight of Nikon j1 with default kit lens is 407 grams. this is a 1 inch sensor mirrorless camera. a better camera i also have is Canon M1. with the bigger apsc sensor, it should be even better! the canon m1 with 22mm f2 lens is 415 grams.

Phantom 3 4K model has no issues carrying the extra 407 g. very stable. however, i constantly got the low battery warning. height of phantom was about 40ft. i dont plan on taking it any higher. and not using it for videos so i would say this test is a success!
 
You sure must Hand Catch !.......Please be careful if you do......them fast spinning blades can cut fast and never slow down while doing it !
 
Where there is a will there is a way :)

I'd guess that battery warning is happening because you're pulling a lot of juice from the battery consistently and I'd bet your batteries have some age on them. Just don't fly directly over yourself or anyone as you could have a shut-down.
 
some photos were blurry. I am not sure how to solve that. should i clamp the camera down further?
as of now, it sways back n forth a lot with just 2 zip ties as you can see.

via software, i solved the blurry photos by changing the shutter speed of the Nikon from 1/80 of a second to 1/200 in manual mode shooting. i can see taking nice photos in sunlight but my setup wont be nicer at night time.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,359
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers