Here is something new that has been requested over the months since I started - a 3rd axis option.

GHT 3rd Axis Option (1 min 6 sec)

Will make it available as soon as I take stock of the new iPower gimbal motors with hollow shafts.

would like to see the third-axis in action... is everyone still using martinez boards ? alexmos has a three-axis controller board out now.
Also to the guy posting the edits, its getting better and better ! which lens is that ? the focus seems very soft everywhere except the center

Originally Posted by eheheh

Great video.

Still trying to work out what it is about the open source code that seems to induce a roll tilt depending on which way the hexacopter is pointing. In your video the controller seems to do it more when it is pointing in one general direction.

I see that in more Gimball demo video's. Quite annoying.
But what you are saying is that it is caused by the gimball controller, ie a different controller would solve that roll tilt issue?

I have picked a few better shots from today's test flight:

GHT Brushless gimbal + NEX5 test (1 min 14 sec)

The correct balance is very important, otherwise the gimbal can resonate heavily, especially on pitch axis (but - this is not a problem of GHT gimbal, this is a "feature" of all gimbals based on Alexmos software - that simple PID algorithm is not able to do miracles)

It looks good I also have better results. I thought setting Power as high as possible is good but that is not true. I lowered them and I get better results. My problem is that when it's windy or flying fast I am getting shakes. Imperfect horizon does not bother me as much as shakes.

You can try attached settings that I found in Alexmos thread, it is for rctimer gimbal but could work for our gimbal too. I did not test them yet but looked them and it has even lower Power settings I currently have. When I lowered mine I got less shaking in fast flight, these may help to get rid of them, hopefully.

Originally Posted by alek3d

Imperfect horizon does not bother me as much as shakes.

That is true, but I find it still annoying, certainly with photography.

And isn't one of the main functions of a gimball controller to keep the camera horizontal?

And looking at a different controller: Does the Martinez software/hardware perform better in this aspect?

Originally Posted by MarsMars

That is true, but I find it still annoying, certainly with photography.

And isn't one of the main functions of a gimball controller to keep the camera horizontal?

And looking at a different controller: Does the Martinez software/hardware perform better in this aspect?

Yes, that is true. Keeping the perfect horizon is its main function. But it looks like it isn't that easy. Anyway, horizon drift is not big and only occurs in quite aggressive flight maneuvers, when there are strong centrifugal forces. When flying easy it's almost perfect. Especially when you mention photography you should not have problems with horizon drift as when hovering still the gimbal levels well.

Regarding the controller - Alexmos FW is way better. It looks like open source project died and developers went away for some commercial projects.

I believe in the near future there will be more and more cheap gimbal controllers which hopefully will do a good or perfect job for us

Originally Posted by alek3d

Especially when you mention photography you should not have problems with horizon drift as when hovering still the gimbal levels well.

Thanx. Busy gathering information and learning what I should get for a multikopter with a camera underneath...

Regarding the controller - Alexmos FW is way better. It looks like open source project died and developers went away for some commercial projects.

I believe in the near future there will be more and more cheap gimbal controllers which hopefully will do a good or perfect job for us

Ok, so the more expensive AlexMos is worth the money then.

wrt the GHT gimbal: One of them can handle portrait mode. I understand that this is a manual operation, ie not controlled from a remote control, meaning I can NOT switch from portrait/normal mode while flying?

I never tried it but Alexmos board has RC inputs on both axis, on pitch and roll. Majority of people (including me) use RC input to control pitch manually. But I believe you can do the same to control roll. So you actually can switch to portrait mode while flying using your remote control.

Originally Posted by alek3d

I never tried it but Alexmos board has RC inputs on both axis, on pitch and roll. Majority of people (including me) use RC input to control pitch manually. But I believe you can do the same to control roll. So you actually can switch to portrait mode while flying using your remote control.

Hmmm. If I can switch to portrait and normal mode using RC roll control, why is there the GHT EZ-GIMBAL WITH A TWIST?

Because of that version, I was made to believe that manual control of roll, same as pitch, is not possible because of some hardware rotation limitation: the gimbal is unable to turn the roll position 90 degrees to accomplish portrait mode, or is for instance unable to 'level/stabilize' the camera in portrait mode!

I never said GHT gimbal can do that. I said Alexmos board enables you to control the roll tilt manually via RC input. I think open source FW has also RC inputs for both axis.

But I think you should ask and consult "eheheh" who seems to be GHT gimbals producer. I have Nex gimbal from him and that can freely rotate around roll axis - if there weere no motor wires. But it could do 90 degrees for sure.

If I have time this weekend I will switch RC input from pitch to roll and try it. I'll let you know then.

Originally Posted by alek3d

If I have time this weekend I will switch RC input from pitch to roll and try it. I'll let you know then.

Thanx for that!

Originally Posted by MarsMars

Thanx for that!

I made a short test. Obviously, my sensor isn't calibrated properly (did just basic calibration) but you can get an idea how that works. I hooked roll RC input to a knob on my RC transmitter.

BL Gimbal RC input roll (0 min 43 sec)

A little test video from today:

FY680 + NEX5 + GHT gimbal - Bratislava, Slovakia (7 min 5 sec)

I was testing horizon stability during panning.
This video has been post-processed in Adobe Warp to get rid of occasional shakes, but I think the results are pretty good.

Originally Posted by MarsMars

Hmmm. If I can switch to portrait and normal mode using RC roll control, why is there the GHT EZ-GIMBAL WITH A TWIST?

Because of that version, I was made to believe that manual control of roll, same as pitch, is not possible because of some hardware rotation limitation: the gimbal is unable to turn the roll position 90 degrees to accomplish portrait mode, or is for instance unable to 'level/stabilize' the camera in portrait mode!

Mars, I think that the purpose of the "Gimbal With a Twist" is to manually rotate camera tray for portrait mode, because if you just rotate the whole gimbal like I showed in my video, then the gimbal controller goes nuts. Pitch axis becomes Yaw, Yaw becomes Roll, etc and I think in flight the stabilization would not work.

So, when you twist the camera 90 degs manually, the then gimbal stabilization stays normal.