Can I get away with a 2 axis gimbal?

[Noa Put]

Why is it inferior in any way to use on a gimbal? Have you tried the gopro on a 3 axis gimbal?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Noa

I cannot see any logic in that either. I just finished a wedding shoot using the little SJ400 on the 2 axis gimbal and the footage is very pleasing indeed!! There is no way I could have kept the levels as good as the gimbal did it and we were fighting 30 knot wind on the beach too. I'm very impressed and more to the point my back doesn't ache and it's so great to use a tiny little device with just one hand to get great footage!

I had to shoot max wide as I was guessing the framing but it still looked excellent! I think instead of messing around with my Smart phone and wifi I will simply zap a 2.5" self powered LCD on the back of the roll motor and hook it into the camera with an interface cable!

To answer my question, yes, I can get away with a 2 axis gimbal but due to my camera being 2mm thicker than the GoPro casing I had to go out and buy two longer clamp screws. No big deal


Chris

[Noa Put]

I should be able to find out next week as my gopro is promised to arrive, I could not find any gopro footage back on Marks vimeo page that where taken on a gimbal as they all where static shots but I probably overlooked as there are so many video :) I wanted to see why it is so bad for use on a gimbal. The camera does have a wide and superwide view where I would see the narrower view for most shots and the superview would be great to get a full view of a church or any other large building for instance + you can crop the image as well if you want to narrow the field of view even more. Can't wait to get my hands on one, hope I won't be throwing it out the window after I tried it. I have a wedding in 2 weeks, if the gopro gets delivered in time I"m going to take it with me to test, will be fun.

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Noa

I had to shoot max wide as I was guessing the framing but it still looked excellent! I think instead of messing around with my Smart phone and wifi I will simply zap a 2.5" self powered LCD on the back of the roll motor and hook it into the camera with an interface cable!

Chris

Hi Chris, I may be wrong but I don't think the SJ4000 is able to record while you are using the video output. You can certainly monitor the image via the av out, but I think it is one or the other. The GoPro can record and send a video output at the same time.

Roger

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Roger

I don't want to record to an external device..I'm just recording to it's own microSD card ..unless you mean that you cannot get a video out signal while recording?? On all the units made after 27th April 2014 you can send a signal to a monitor while recording but only via the USB port and you can do this in record mode too. You do however need the microUSB to RCA cable. The guys with drones are using them now and plugging into a video transmitter.

Chris

[Mark Rosenzweig]

Let me try one more time as someone who has both a GoPro and a 4K cellphone, and have actually used a cellphone on a gimbal:

No one is saying a GoPro is bad on a gimbal; what I am saying is that a 4K cellphone is better. It is better 4K video (no distortion) and you can view what is being shot on a big high resolution lcd. Simple and good quality. Using a GoPro: to see what the GoPro sees you need to carry the GoPro *and* a cellphone and connect by wifi thereby depleting the already challenged battery of the GoPro.

Really this is simple: which is better, carrying around a GoPro and a cellphone on a gimbal or just shooting with the cellphone on a gimbal? Unless there is some reason to believe the GoPro is providing some superior 4K quality, I think it makes little sense to belittle using the cellphone. Again, the GoPro is a versatile tool providing extraordinary 4K video that can be used many ways; it is less good and user friendly than a 4K cellphone on a gimbal given the viewing limitations, short battery life, need for also carrying a cellphone, and its fisheye.

There is nothing wrong with a GoPro on a gimbal. There is a simpler better alternative. OK? You don't have to use the alternative.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Roger

Yep it works perfectly with the right cable and will also send thru a video TX see this video.

There is a huge amount of info also on the RC forum owners thread at : SJ4000 Action Cam ***Owners Thread*** - RC Groups

SJ4000 AV out proof for FPV - YouTube

Chris

[Dave Blackhurst]

I've been eyeing the Sony Z3... cell phone on 3 axis gimbal sounds as tempting if not moreso than the GoPro...

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Mark Rosenzweig

Let me try one more time as someone who has both a GoPro and a 4K cellphone, and have actually used a cellphone on a gimbal:

I was a bit confused as you first said that the gopro on a gimbal is inferior in every way to a phone but if I understand you right you have not used the gopro on a gimbal at all?

I can't agree that either the phone or the gopro have any significant advantages when you use them on a gimbal when it comes to portability, it's the gimbal that becomes the extra ballast in both cases. In both cases you have to use the phone, either to shoot with or to use it as a screen. The gopro you can just leave attached to the gimbal at all times.

That using the gopro's wifi will deplete the battery faster is a fact but I don't plan to shoot 2 hour concerts with it, it will be used for very specific shots throughout the day at a wedding, so if the batterylife will be more limited, you still can use sparebatteries to get you through a whole day of shooting.

Fact remains that the gopro is a much more versatile camera to be used in different applications, the major advantage of a phone is that you always have it on you, so incase you need to get a shot and don't have a dedicated camera with you, a phone can now provide professional looking images if the conditions are right. It can mean the difference in getting the shot or not, and if you have a gimbal with you have added functionality but that is something you need to be dragging along with you so that's something you only will use for specific situations.

The wide and extreme wide angles of a gopro is something I actually want to have, if I want to have focal length and dof choice I use my steadicam with my gh4 and a lens of choice but I want something that shoots really wide and has front to back sharpness and that can fit in my backpack, I also want the 2,7k at 50fps in order to be able to crop and do slowmotion but still need to see how those different framerates and resolutions work out.

It will be fun to try, that's for sure :)

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Roger

Yep it works perfectly with the right cable and will also send thru a video TX see this video.

There is a huge amount of info also on the RC forum owners thread at : SJ4000 Action Cam ***Owners Thread*** - RC Groups


Chris

Hi Chris,
The video just seems to show the cam connected via the video out to a fatshark tx which is then being picked up by the rx connected to the goggles. I can't see that they are recording on the camera at the same time.

Have you succeeded in getting your own SJ4000 recording and monitoring at the same time? I can get the video out with mine but not while recording. There also seems to be total confusion on the RCG forum as to what are fake cameras and what are not, in addition to whether you can record and monitor. There seems to be an idea that the latest models can do both, but mine is showing the latest firmware but cannot do both. Very puzzling!!

Roget

[Chris Harding]

Hi Roger

The guy is Dustin Wilkins and in the video below he shows you how to mod a standard microUSB cable and the pin connections. He made the 2nd video too I think but in this one he most definitely shows the cam recording and outputting composite video to his little monitor which is what I want.

The only thing I don't know is whether the made up SJ4000 AV cables you can buy use pins 4 and 5 as per the video. He has allowed comments on YT so we could ask him ...the only criteria is that your firmware must be Version 1 (for some reason version 2 is the pre-April firm ware ) and was only installed on cameras after 27th April 2014

Do you have a bought cable for AV that's USB (not HDMI) ???

Chris

SJ4000 DIY USB AV Out Cable Instructions and Details - YouTube

[Roger Gunkel]

Chris, I have a cable that I made up to go from my GoPro usb out to my video tx on the quad. it doesn't work with the SJ4000 though. Maybe it's different wiring for the SJ4000.

Roger

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Roger

eBay seem to have plenty of specific cables for the camera for only $5 so it's worth a try. On my gimbal it would be a lot easier with a monitor BUT not essential. I shot a romantic video on the beach totally blind and no-ones head got cut off and it was a darn side easier than sweating in a stedicam vest!!

If you scroll thru the last item on the menu it gives you the firmware version ..if it ends with a V01 it should be the new firmware. If the stock cable doesn't work it wouldn't be too tricky to mod one if you are handy with a soldering iron. Do you own a multimeter?? if so see if you can see if the video out plug goes back to terminals 4 and 5 on the micro usb??

Chris

[Roger Gunkel]

To be honest Chris I am not that bothered about the live monitor, as i will be trying to build my own gimbal in the Winter and should be able to see the camera screen. it would only really be useful to replace the GoPro on the quad as it is a much cheaper camera. Having said that, I have just ordered another SJ4000 for £38 :-)

Roger

[Mark Rosenzweig]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

I was a bit confused as you first said that the gopro on a gimbal is inferior in every way to a phone but if I understand you right you have not used the gopro on a gimbal at all?

I can't agree that either the phone or the gopro have any significant advantages when you use them on a gimbal when it comes to portability, it's the gimbal that becomes the extra ballast in both cases. In both cases you have to use the phone, either to shoot with or to use it as a screen. The gopro you can just leave attached to the gimbal at all times.

That using the gopro's wifi will deplete the battery faster is a fact but I don't plan to shoot 2 hour concerts with it, it will be used for very specific shots throughout the day at a wedding, so if the batterylife will be more limited, you still can use sparebatteries to get you through a whole day of shooting.

Fact remains that the gopro is a much more versatile camera to be used in different applications, the major advantage of a phone is that you always have it on you, so incase you need to get a shot and don't have a dedicated camera with you, a phone can now provide professional looking images if the conditions are right. It can mean the difference in getting the shot or not, and if you have a gimbal with you have added functionality but that is something you need to be dragging along with you so that's something you only will use for specific situations.

The wide and extreme wide angles of a gopro is something I actually want to have, if I want to have focal length and dof choice I use my steadicam with my gh4 and a lens of choice but I want something that shoots really wide and has front to back sharpness and that can fit in my backpack, I also want the 2,7k at 50fps in order to be able to crop and do slowmotion but still need to see how those different framerates and resolutions work out.

It will be fun to try, that's for sure :)

as I understand it you have never used a phone on a gimbal or a gopro at all. Why not keep a phone on a gimbal and use it for gimbal shots and then the gopro is free for all those different uses you have in mind without having to unhitch it from a gimbal. I agree completely the gopro opens up lots of creative uses, and I look forward to seeing what you do with it. I just don't get why you resist using a phone for a gimbal and the gopro for more suitable uses.