For years I have been wanting the bottom half of a drone. Why? We already have the top half at East Coast Aero Club, i.e., a standard helicopter or airplane. For capturing images out the side of a helicopter, why not use the bottom half of a drone (the gimbal and the camera) to take stabilized video and stills? It seems as though the clever engineers at DJI (now a $1 billion drone company!) had more or less the same idea: the DJI Osmo. I have ordered one to try out. I am a little concerned that a gimbal designed to cancel out the vibration of a smooth electric-powered quad-copter will not be up to the challenge presented by a piston-powered two-bladed 2400 lb.-gross-weight helicopter. As soon as the Osmo shows up I will provide a full report.
Meanwhile… what do readers have to say about DJI and its products? The Osmo can supposedly support their high-quality Zenmuse X5 camera/gimbal with a four-thirds system sensor. Has anyone tried out the high-end imaging devices from DJI?
I’ll be very interested to see your report back. My airplane partner wanted to buy and install an Eagle360 (http://www.airbornesensor.com/index.html) but I’ve been holding out. The Osmo sounds like it might be exactly what we want.
DJI and Osmo have a bright future. No doubt it’s going to be a tech race to keep from getting commoditized. But in general: well controlled drones, stable camera platforms, and small high res cameras have real practical uses and a very bright future.
However, GoPro stock is down 68% from its high. Commoditization happens fast. See Apple watch and Fitbit. If you don’t establish a big cult following fast and lock down the ecosystem, you soon become Wal-Mart brand aspirin.
Brushless gimbals are a dime a dozen, nowadays. You could have gotten any number of large ones for DSLR’s or a Feiyu FY-G3 for Gopros for a lot less money.
Apparently the new X5 is pretty good. https://fstoppers.com/aerial/dji-zenmuse-x5-makes-inspire-1-worth-buying-91492
If you’re handholding it, I wouldn’t worry, but if you’re mounting it to the airframe, then I’d worry that the vibrations might be too much.
There are cheaper gimbal options available but the Osmo is more refined. DJI has been in the game well before their competitors. Having used other small handheld gimbal systems such as the Swiftcam and Feyiu tech options. The DJI product is just more advanced and the results are better. The Osmo fitted with the X5 will be a real power house. It’s size will be very appealing to many consumers as well.