P2V+ camera gimbal conversion to selfie stick

dgd3 · Aug 5, 2017

How to use the camera and gimbal to make a selfie stick?
I know how to get the camera assembly off the Phantom and attach it to a stick.
But I don't know how to get the live video feed from the camera into a monitoring screen while images/video is recorded to the microchip in the gimbal assembly?

J Dot · Aug 5, 2017

Hello,
Man, will be tricky, and beyond my ability ( as research will be involved ) but, you need a couple more things!
And to answer a couple questions!

1) when you say MONITOR, are you using a 3rd party monitor ( non smart device )? Or your phone or tablet!
( this will answer several questions )

2) your stick done correctly will be heavy and bulky! No way around it, unfortunately! Is that ok?
( if not why not sell the camera gimbal and other stuff And buy an osmo? ( there is different versions, the cheaper model which uses your smartphone as camera, of the more expensive one with 4K camera built in ? ) just saying, these are things to consider!

Ok
First,
Research ( as I've not dug that far yet ) we need to figure out the cameras operating voltage I believe it is 5vdc, but might be wrong ) we will need this info!
So, battery to power it all?

Next
In order for the camera to TRANSMIT the image , you will ALSO NEED, the wifi unit from the drone!
Chrome box with 3 plugs and 2 antennas, some are smooth, some are full of little holes, drilled in them! We will need this!

Here is where the problems start!
You'll have to figure the plugs out ( molex or jst ? GH style connectors ) ( one of those cannot remember off the top of my head, sorry ) but some might not be needed!
The wifi pulls power from camera, so that part is good, and telemetry wires are not needed, but you'll have to figure out remaining 2? I've not looked into it? ( also you can delete the small RF board ) as it won't be needed!
( once you figure this out and get it wired and a proper battery ( doubt you want the bulky p2 battery, most likely a 3s, or 4s with added resistance for safety to camera/gimbal/wifi unit! )

Ok now if all went well,
You can add the RANGE EXTENDER, into the mix, and a smart device, and you should be good to go!

( added NOTE: I'm not sure if you will have CONTROL ( of gimbal and camera? ) but you will have video feed! I believe control runs through the NAZA unit! )

But like stated OSMO, sounding better and better!
But
I always ENJOY, and APPRECIATE,
ANYONE, willing to think OUT of the BOX, and dive in head first, on building something new, or interesting! Even if it is just to see if you can! VERY COOL! I do hope you research it out, and build it, I'd like to know your findings! And you can say, You did it! Might be cool as heck! ( not the word I was looking for, but had to improvise )

I would be interested to know if it all worked!

Actually,
A vision NON-PLUS, camera ( fc200 EGG ) would be SOOOOOOOO, much easier, as it has onboard wifi! Only need power, couple it to a nice 2 or 3 axis aftermarket gimbal, would be quite nice, and light! Just some added info! ( did I mention CHEAPER too! )

Keep me updated!
Would be cool to see done! A+

J Dot

dgd3 · Aug 5, 2017

Thanks J Dot.
I really appreciate all the effort you went into thinking this out and helping me organize my thoughts about it. My P2P has a bad Wi-Fi module so I thought I would take the camera off and let my son have the drone for a toy. Then I'd have a good camera on a great gimbal so I thought well why not see if I could figure out a selfie stick. Overall this does seem to be way beyond my abilities. I've done some research and haven't really come up with anybody that has done this before. I did find some third-party "handles" so that you can hold your whole drone up and use it as a steady cam.
So I'll answer your questions as they came up.
By monitor I mean any kind of monitor just to start with. I do have a few old iOS devices and using one of these would keep it from gathering dust in the closet.
A heavy bulky stick should be not as heavy and not as bulky as holding the whole phantom up.
Selling the system to buy an Osmo could be an idea. But I've seen in the used areas guys with P2P set ups like mine with five batteries five chargers, carrying case all kinds of extra goodies etc. are not selling for more than a couple or three hundred dollars.
And you raised a very good point, power supply. I never even thought that far.
I agree it would be a great project but it is way beyond my abilities from what you've been able to point out to me. This is just the first day I've had this posting up so let's see what ideas come in the next little while.
As I said your time to provide this feedback is really appreciated.

J Dot · Aug 5, 2017

I'm going to send a personal mail to you, as I want it to be private!

Check your conversations in a few!

This info may help you!

J Dot

crash1sttime · Aug 13, 2017

@J Dot @dgd3

Ive built a similar unit using a 2 axis gimbal and a cheap wifi action cam such as the SJ 4000, as its wifi you only need to mount your phone to the holder, I used a DJI P2V mount, and set it to WIFI mode and then use the App to connect to the camera, as the camera is battery powered I didnt need power for it, as for the gimbal I bought a small 11.1v 1100Mah power battery and just velcroed it to the gimbal unit, I used a selfie pole to hold the unit and it worked with great success.

The egg camera uses 12v ive tested that with a multimeter, all you would need is the white cable that fits it and connect it direct to the battery to power it (battery listed above would work ok) obviously your not after telemetry so the other 2 wires in the plug can be cut off, of course you would need the range extender somewhere, I know people have said you can connect direct to the camera but ive tried that and i couldnt get it to work at all, maybe you can who knows.

As luck would have it I have an egg camera spare and it is much better quality than a cheap action cam so I may decide to rebuild the handheld gimbal and use the egg camera, if it works out I will post a picture.