Phantom v2 with zenmuse 3d update question.

[capodrone81]

Just purchased v2 phantom with zenmuse 3d. My question is when I first take unit of of box, should I leave the gimbal off and update firmware first, power down, then install gimbal, power up and update gimbal software? With all the stories of bricked gimbals I'd like to avoid as much preflight drama as possible.

Thanks!

-Joe
Current v1 phantom OG. :?:

 

[noiseboy72]

It certainly wouldn't hurt.
The issues are over reported - given the number of P2s now out there, but why take the risk?

 

[Phantom2_Duck]

Zenmuse better quality than vision +?

 

[capodrone81]

Zenmuse uses your gopro serirs camera which I do believe gives a better picture than vision plus. Either way great choice cant go wrong. The zenmuse and go pro route is more $ than vision plis I believe. Hope that helps

 

[QYV]

capodrone, if this is your first quadcopter you may want to consider flying for a little bit without the gimbal at all. P2's don't usually come with the gimbal preinstalled so simply don't install it right away. Especially if this is your first foray into the hobby (if you're already a pro just disregard the rest of this post) chances are high you'll have some sort of crash, tipover, or at least a very hard landing... almost everybody did when they were new myself included I've had maybe a half a dozen serious crashes myself and ruined 1 gimbal. Luckily the Phantom2 itself is a pretty robust piece of equipment... the gimbal not so much it's way more delicate.
So if you're at an elevated risk of some sort of crash, spend some time... at least a few flights or couple days flying around WITHOUT the gimbal attached to get a feel for it at short, visual range. Once you've gotten a good feel for flying the quad (and possibly a little hot dogging out of your system) then attach the gimbal and gopro.
You can absolutely update the P2 firmware without the gimbal attached, and then again once you install the gimbal it'll just spot the new hardware and apply any update to the gimble firmware separately.

on the other topic, a GoPro BLACK (3 or 4) is vastly better than the cameras on the Vision series (yes, even the Vision+). the supported resolutions and framerates it captures are way higher. There's also the fact that the Vision series cameras are single-use only on the Phantom. A GoPro you can detach and use for anything at all.
That argument is in fact negated on the Inspire 1 where you can detach the camera and use it handheld... and even though the Inspire camera captures 4K some guys around here with more knowledge than me about video are still saying the gopro is a better camera. Let's also not forget the price tag on an Inspire $2900! a P2+Zenmuse+GoPRoBlack+FPV still is only around $17-1800.

So yes, a P2+Zenmuse H3-3D, if you factor in a good FPV system and especially if you include the cost of a GoPro is more expensive in the end than the Vision series, but you've got a much more powerful platform than a Vision... better camera, better FPV range.

 

[Mako79]

Do the update. I couldn't get tilt working until I did the update.

And just off topic..

Zenmuse uses your gopro serirs camera which I do believe gives a better picture than vision plus. Either way great choice cant go wrong. The zenmuse and go pro route is more $ than vision plis I believe. Hope that helps

Not really. Same price in my opinion. I'm not going to discuss video quality. I will discuss purpose.
Vision plus has a fixed permanent camera that is prone to everything. It does 2 things - aerial photos and aerial video.
On the other hand, the gopro is detachable and can do simultaneous aerial photos and aerial video. And with the right mounts, you can attach it your dog and see what is doing. So that's 1 more thing the gopro can do over the Vision Plus.

This is why you shouldn't factor the cost of the gopro.
I built a P2 H33D Ver2/Black Pearl 32ch/AVL58/IOSD/DJI mushroom Antennas for roughly the same price as the Vision Plus.

 

[jason]

Zenmuse uses your gopro serirs camera which I do believe gives a better picture than vision plus. Either way great choice cant go wrong. The zenmuse and go pro route is more $ than vision plis I believe. Hope that helps

Not really. Same price in my opinion. I'm not going to discuss video quality. I will discuss purpose.
Vision plus has a fixed permanent camera that is prone to everything. It does 2 things - aerial photos and aerial video.
On the other hand, the gopro is detachable and can do simultaneous aerial photos and aerial video. And with the right mounts, you can attach it your dog and see what is doing. So that's 1 more thing the gopro can do over the Vision Plus.

This is why you shouldn't factor the cost of the gopro.
I built a P2 H33D Ver2/Black Pearl 32ch/AVL58/IOSD/DJI mushroom Antennas for roughly the same price as the Vision Plus.[/quote]

While you could assemble (not build) a phantom for slightly more than the vision plus you still do not have camera which could cost you between 350 - 500 dollars more. In other words you just spent money on equipment you can't use to either take photos or video without adding in the cost of the camera.

So the cost of the $1369.00 for the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ v3.0 plus what ever for a mount to hold wi-fi range extender and iPhone and your ready to fly out of the box. While the Phantom 2 v2 with all equipment ready to fly will cost $1777.95 - $1926.95 depending on which gopro you purchase.

 

[DrTelemark]

I actually found that the Drone-expert Quickrelease was the better solution - $1300 for the Vision 2+, $260 for the H3-3D gimbal, $300 for the QR board and $50 for the adapter. Granted the total cost is $1860 before adding a camera but you have FPV built in and a far better camera AND gimbal. My P2V+ gimbal was never level and the max res was 1080p with only a framerate of 30. Not adequate for most video work these days.

 

[capodrone81]

I actually found that the Drone-expert Quickrelease was the better solution - $1300 for the Vision 2+, $260 for the H3-3D gimbal, $300 for the QR board and $50 for the adapter. Granted the total cost is $1860 before adding a camera but you have FPV built in and a far better camera AND gimbal. My P2V+ gimbal was never level and the max res was 1080p with only a framerate of 30. Not adequate for most video work these days.

Im still biased towards go pro and zen muse, I also like the fact I can remove the go pro and use for other scenarios other than to have a camera only used on the quad. The hero 4 and hero 3 black plus shoots 2.7k to 4k fyi.

Either way as long as your happy youve made the right choice.

 

[Mako79]

I actually found that the Drone-expert Quickrelease was the better solution - $1300 for the Vision 2+, $260 for the H3-3D gimbal, $300 for the QR board and $50 for the adapter. Granted the total cost is $1860 before adding a camera but you have FPV built in and a far better camera AND gimbal. My P2V+ gimbal was never level and the max res was 1080p with only a framerate of 30. Not adequate for most video work these days.

I'll go one better..

I sold my Vision plus camera and gimbal. Heap of junk I reckon. It would break if a leaf sneezed on it. Never crashed mine but I was always afraid to fly it. I bought backup flex cables, gimbal guard and had the inertia guard and even Loctite it. It was like a bubble-boy camera! Bought a H3-3d and $10 part3 P2 cable with that money. Did the plug in conversion. It's not hotswapable as the DE method (don't need as I sold my camera). You probably realise that once your go gopro - you stay gopro. And with simultaneous vids and pics, who needs the Vision + camera.