RX100 / other camera options

ianwood · Jul 5, 2015

Video is not that great but I am intrigued by the possibilities. I1 should have plenty of lift capacity for these larger cams. Anyone have any details on gimbal integration and mounting?

Yogi · Jul 5, 2015

If this is real, I want it. RX100 is brilliant.
I will not, however, hold my breath.

Koptervision · Jul 5, 2015

I wrote this company inquiring about how soon they would deliver . Here is the reply on 6/30/2015:

Were still developing it.
Currently were finishing up an development of thermal solutions on the Inspire and M100, after that we will proceed with the RX100/NX500 mount/gimbal, however were having a small team of R&D so it goes not as fast as we want it to be.

Feel free to ask if you have further questions,
Best regards, Met vriendelijke groeten,
Rob Tiebie
www.dronexpert.nl
www.facebook.com/dronexpert (for latest updates)

ianwood · Jul 5, 2015

I wonder if they've integrated to the USB interface for the gimbal. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out with the right USB tools.

damoncooper · Jul 5, 2015

ianwood said:
I wonder if they've integrated to the USB interface for the gimbal. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out with the right USB tools.

USB interface for the Sony cams you mean or Inspire? I'm not aware of any USB interfaces on the Inspire or Inspire X3 cam/gimbal.

ianwood · Jul 5, 2015

As I understand it, Inspire / P3 use a USB interface between FC and gimbal whereas Phantom / Zenmuse use CAN bus.

skylabimaging · Jul 5, 2015

I like where this is going

damoncooper · Jul 5, 2015

ianwood said:
As I understand it, Inspire / P3 use a USB interface between FC and gimbal whereas Phantom / Zenmuse use CAN bus.

Interesting. I know the I1 does have CAN bus as there's a port onboard in the nosecone and on the RC. But it's possible the camera / gimbal is on USB. Where did you hear this?

If the HW and protocol specs for the gimbal / camera control protocol could be figured out, 3rd parties could in theory make a gimbal for 3rd party cameras.

Why DJI doesn't make gimbals for the I1 for a few decent 3rd party cameras I have no idea. They would probably triple I1 sales and greatly extend the longevity of the platform, vs keeping the "camera pie" for themselves by keeping the camera / gimbal proprietary.

Seems very short-sighted to me.

ianwood · Jul 5, 2015

Trying to remember... Maybe it was RCG. I recall it sounding authoritative. It could be wrong though. A scope on the pins would make it pretty easy to figure out.

I'd much rather DJI just came out with some third party gimbals instead of us trying to hack it together. I've got a P3P but I still prefer to shoot with the P2. Inspire + RX100 or Black Magic Micro would be phenomenal.

skylabimaging · Jul 6, 2015

I think the inspire is going to be hitting it's limits as far as being able to carry this stuff...it's only got a few hundred grams before you start loosing efficiency.

As much as I like where this is going, I gotta ask, if you guys have so much interest in carrying different camera/gimbal platforms, why not just build a multicopter to suite those needs and ditch the proprietary components of DJI systems?

ianwood · Jul 6, 2015

Inspire seems to have some breathing room for lift but if not, the Matrice certainly does. As for the appeal, Inspire is a great turnkey platform. DJI has worked most all the kinks out. I just want maximum image quality.

damoncooper · Jul 8, 2015

Anyone thought of using this Sony RX-100 Mark III gimbal on the Inspire? Apparently it's got it's own built-in IMU and controller. Add power from the I1, mount it and add a VTx and in theory it would work. The Sony RX-100 seems like a pretty nice camera.

http://www.iuasinc.com/products/walkera-g-3s-sony-rx100-gimbal.html

markus_e · Jul 18, 2015

Is there any idea how we could mount a RX100 to the inspire the simple way (without gimbal) to start testing. Would use the time lapse app to make 1 picture every 2 or 5 seconds automatically.

Would like to see the dronexpert mount but they just told it will take some more weeks, which is what they said already months before.
Would like to use it this summer but no option to buy a solution for RX100 yet...Thanks for any thoughts

Firefly_AI · Jul 19, 2015

I've been trying to establish the 20 pin layout for my I1 for a while now. If I could get to the bottom of that, I'm convinced I could rig up an external GCU and camera. Information is hard to come by I'm afraid.