Inspire 2 Camera Won't Look Straight Ahead - HELP!

[Skylux Media]

Greetings. This is my first post so apologies if I have posted anything incorrectly. I'm looking to get some help with my Inspire 2 and X5S camera. I recently purchased the Inspire 2 last week and after updating all firmware, and performing a gimbal calibration, the X5S will not idle facing straight ahead. It is slightly crooked to the left (or right if you're facing the drone head on). I am able to manually turn it so it faces directly forward, but every time I fire it up and it calibrates its self, it comes to rest looking off to the side. Even when I put it up in the air it stays looking to the side. What can I do?!?! I have uploaded pictures:

 

[NickU]

If that's' it's default 'reset' position i.e. Where it settles after starting up, Try the following and it should hopefully sort it out...

Start off with the Inspire 'cold' (i.e. You haven't used it/powered it on for an hour or so) and carry out an IMU calibration. Once you've done that, then go outside onto a nice clear grassy area away from any metalwork and do a compass calibration, finally (after all that), then perform a gimbal calibration.

 

[Skylux Media]

If that's' it's default 'reset' position i.e. Where it settles after starting up, Try the following and it should hopefully sort it out...

Start off with the Inspire 'cold' (i.e. You haven't used it/powered it on for an hour or so) and carry out an IMU calibration. Once you've done that, then go outside onto a nice clear grassy area away from any metalwork and do a compass calibration, finally (after all that), then perform a gimbal calibration.

Okay I'll give that a try. Thanks!

 

[NickU]

You may need to do the calibrations a couple of times to get a good solid set of readings, but it will hopefully sort it for you. If the IMU or compass readings are out of whack then it affects the gimbal positioning.

Your IMU and compass readings after calibration should all be (barely) showing up in the green section of the graph, certainly not in amber or red.

 

[NickU]

Haven't got djigo in front of me right now, it should be somewhere like Main Controller Settings (... in top right of screen, then the cloverleaf symbol)->advanced settings->sensors

The gyro and accel readouts give you the IMU readings, and there's a calibrate button underneath, the tab for compass readout and cal should be at top of same screen.

When doing the IMU cal, follow the onscreen instructions in DJI go 4. It will prompt you to stand your i2 on it's 4 sides in turn. Note it doesn't need to be vertical each time - resting at an angle on its legs is fine, and you don't need to hold onto it to support it either, it will stand on edge unaided provided you're using a flat and level surface.

if you have trouble doing the IMU cal, or getting it to finish, then pay close attention to the diagrams that DJI go 4 shows you and make sure you're putting it on the side it's asking for.... you may have put it onto the wrong side by accident, it easy to misread the diagram!

That all makes it sound far harder to do than it really is...

 

[ronin rs211]

I have the same issue after the latest update and IMU cal or compass cal do nothing to correct the camera being off center.

 

[theirishdroneranger]

I have the exact same issue, brand new camera. Will try this full calibration again in the morning.

Dji have told me to return it to the store, what do you folks think? Is there any point, if the replacement does the same?

 

[NickU]

If it's a new I2 and the camera won't look straight after doing all the cals, then it's potentially something that your dealer or DJI would need to look at/fix as there's no offset correction that's available for the user to set. I had that issue with the first Phantom 4 I had and the dealer replaced it as DOA within the first couple of weeks.

If it's only arisen after a firmware update and you can't get the camera to go straight, then you can try ta couple of things (if you're happy to do firmware related stuff):

1) First try to Refresh the firmware to the latest version - you may need to use Assistant 2 to do that. I've had one occasion where I had to run the update a couple of times because it failed to update something the first time round. If you've done the firmware updates without the camera attached, then there may be a firmware version mismatch - but it should tell you if that's the case.

2) if that doesn't make it any better, then try downgrading the firmware and app to the previous version of firmware/software. You can either do that via assistant 2, or via your tablet (long press on the triple - at the top right of the go fly screen in DJI Go brings up the firmware loader page - if aircraft is powered on and connected, it shows the aircraft firmware that's available, if the aircraft is powered down and the RC on, then it shows the RC firmware available.)

I don't know if the problem is with the gimbal or with the aircraft in these cases, so they may want both returning

To get you out of a hole if you need to go shoot something before you can get it fixed, then before flying set the camera to look forward by putting the gimbal into free mode, then visually repositioning it forwards by looking at it's alignment and using C1+left wheel, then setting the gimbal mode back to follow (without reseting the camera position). That way the camera will track the aircraft's heading - but remember that it you use the option to reset the camera position, it will be out of line with the nose.

BTW people, please do the calibrations in the order stated:

1. IMU (when aircraft cold - if you do it when warm , then you'll have to wait longer for everything to warm up to the temp it was at when calibrated every time you power it on )
2. Compass
3. Gimbal

The camera gimbal (i think!) uses both the IMU readings and the compass readings to orient itself and know where it's meant to look - it certainly seemed to use them all on the Phantom

 

[ronin rs211]

Yeah you can always send it back and get a replacement in a month with the same issue as I did and DJI will call it fixed...
It's the software not the hardware. These dumb issues are only there after the latest firmware / app updates.

Hell if you let DJI's crack teams work on it you may get it back in time to take advantage of the nice cool fall weather so that your new iPad mini4 doesn't overheat due to the new app upgrade.

 

[NickU]

they do seem to have some sloppy coders among them , the number of times the DJI Go updates muck up the settings at random is ridiculous.

Only other thing I can suggest to try is use Assistant 2 to do a "Factory Reset", followed by a firmware downgrade, followed by another factory reset, followed by the calibrations. If that fixes it, then try an update... but then again maybe not

Failing all that, hope they (silently) fix it in the next update.

 

[ronin rs211]

I hope it's soon because with the way the video feed craps out after 5 min of flight time the Inspire 2 is anything but inspiring to fly now..

 

[theirishdroneranger]

Unfortunately I tired the above and it didn't fix the issue. So frustrating, I spent about 4 hours messing with it.

 

[theirishdroneranger]

Has anyone else had this issues? Is it firmware related I wonder? I'm returning my x5s tomorrow so it will be interesting to see if it is the hardware. I'll post an update when I get the replacement.

 

[Ojokuen]

I had the same issue after I updated the firmware!

 

[ronin rs211]

I've tried every everything and it is the DJI firmware updates causing the issues we all have.
It's not the summer heat or the iPad 4 mini, it's the new firmware....

Fix it DJI or give me a refund.

 

[Blacksails]

I'm guessing if IMU and compass cals haven't sorted it then it's a similar issue to the one the X5 and X5R can suffer from. On the X5 / X5R there is a magnetic orientation nut in the pan motor enclosure that tells the camera what is forwards. It will cause this if it isn't centered correctly, either from factory or due to vibration. An easy fix, if your delicate, but unfortunately you have to send it back to DJI and wait a while if you don't want to ruin your warranty.

 

[Skylux Media]

I finished calibrating IMU, and calibrating Gimbal, and unfortunately it's still the same for me as well. I Tried to load a previous version of the firmware, and sadly the problem remained. So that makes me think it might be similar to what @Blacksails mentioned. I have contacted DJI and they want me to send it in, which is unfortunate because I'm currently on a job. We are shooting an international Polo competition and it's been quite comical to try and follow the horses while the camera is pointing off to the side. The video looks like we're flying drunk and unable to hold a straight line. At least I can manually rotate the gimbal to straighten it out before each shoot. Annoying, yet functional enough until I have time to return it.

 

[theirishdroneranger]

I finished calibrating IMU, and calibrating Gimbal, and unfortunately it's still the same for me as well. I Tried to load a previous version of the firmware, and sadly the problem remained. So that makes me think it might be similar to what @Blacksails mentioned. I have contacted DJI and they want me to send it in, which is unfortunate because I'm currently on a job. We are shooting an international Polo competition and it's been quite comical to try and follow the horses while the camera is pointing off to the side. The video looks like we're flying drunk and unable to hold a straight line. At least I can manually rotate the gimbal to straighten it out before each shoot. Annoying, yet functional enough until I have time to return it.

I have had confirmation after much badgering over on the dji forum, that this is a firmware issue rather than a hardware one and the devs are now aware, and working on a fix. They are also adding a yaw trim function. Hold fast for now, as there is no point returning your bird or camera just yet. All the IMU and compass calibrations in the world won't solve it.

 

[2B-Inspired]

I had a the same issue at one time too. Unfortunately I can't recall what the fix was but I am quite sure it was just a setting change similar, if not related, to the same menu which is used to enter adjustments for the horizon correction? I'll try to look that up when I power it up next.

 

[theirishdroneranger]

I had a the same issue at one time too. Unfortunately I can't recall what the fix was but I am quite sure it was just a setting change similar, if not related, to the same menu which is used to enter adjustments for the horizon correction? I'll try to look that up when I power it up next.

Unfortunately there is now way to correct this via settings. It's a firmware issue since the last update.