Freefly Movi M5 Brushless Gimbal, Official Users' Thread

[Bartman]

Here you go folks! I've spoken with a few new owners and they're very happy so far. Let's hear what you're finding out about the M5 and let's see some footage.

Bart

 

[econfly]

I'm following Bart's epic build thread and thinking about the M5. Anyone using their "Toad in the Hole" quick release to move from handles to multirotor? It seems like a great way to maximize use of the gimbal.

http://store.freeflysystems.com/products/toad-in-the-hole-quick-release

 

[econfly]

The M5 is here.

The immediately obvious bit of genius in the design is the use of twin carbon tubes in the camera cage along with a keyed tube for the pan axis balance adjustment. This is why it's so easy to balance -- you can't screw up and get the axes out of alignment. Anyone who has ever struggled with a tension clamp and bolts or screws on a single tube knows how it can be a huge pain to adjust balance while keeping everything square. The M5 has an elegant and simple solution for that problem. And the tube clamps are just perfect -- easy balance adjustment with no tools required.

Apart from this, the thing is obviously well built. I picked up their "toad in the hole" quick-release I mentioned above and it is very nice. My primary goal is to fly this thing, but being able to easily move from copter to handles means I will be much more likely to use it hand-held as well.

 

[stevemaller]

Super happy with my M5. Freefly have been terrific with support, and it's been a great experience. I am mostly flying the GH4 right now on my custom heavy lift X8. I did get the Toad, and it's great. Did a huge 5 mile hike with the copter recently and would never have tried it without the Toad.

Video from the flights is here: https://vimeo.com/94484422

View attachment 18269

 

[Bartman]

Is the Toad a standalone mount for the M5? Do you still use the Cinestar adapter plate with the Toad? What about vibration isolation? There are pictures of it on the internet but it's not super obvious what it provides in terms of mounting details.

Thanks,
Bart

 

[stevemaller]

Is the Toad a standalone mount for the M5? Do you still use the Cinestar adapter plate with the Toad? What about vibration isolation? There are pictures of it on the internet but it's not super obvious what it provides in terms of mounting details.

Thanks,
Bart

The Toad doesn’t replace anything with the standard Cinestar/MōVI or Cinestar/3-axis setup. In both of those cases, there is a 4-screw mount that mates them, and the Toad in the Hole sits between them. What it does do is add an inch and a half or so of space between them, which can potentially put more stress on the vibration isolators. But in my case, it hasn’t been an issue, and I’m very happy with it. Additionally, Freefly just started selling additional “Toads”, so I bought one to put on the handlebars for handheld use. I still have to remove the legs to convert it, but it does save a little time.

 

[jfro]

Super happy with my M5. Freefly have been terrific with support, and it's been a great experience. I am mostly flying the GH4 right now on my custom heavy lift X8. I did get the Toad, and it's great. Did a huge 5 mile hike with the copter recently and would never have tried it without the Toad.

Video from the flights is here: https://vimeo.com/94484422

View attachment 22464

That's a pretty long hike with an x8, batteries, and 3axis camera. How many peeps did you use to carry all the gear?

Raw footage looks pretty darn good. Wish we all could afford 5k for a gimbal. I B jealous.

Curious as to what FC and motors your running on you x8.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[stevemaller]

That's a pretty long hike with an x8, batteries, and 3axis camera. How many peeps did you use to carry all the gear?
Raw footage looks pretty darn good. Wish we all could afford 5k for a gimbal. I B jealous.
Curious as to what FC and motors your running on you x8.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, man.
My progress is very well documented on the Freefly forum, but in a nutshell...
- X8 frame based on cinestar with 500mm booms
- KDE 4012 motors
- 16" CF props
- MK Double Quadro 2XL "cool" PDB
- MK FC 2.5
- MK NC 2.0
- was using Zippy 8000 6S batteries but I think I'm switching to Tattu and Pulse batts, which are dramatically improving flight times
- MōVI M5 with GH4 and 12-35/2.8 lens
- AUW 22-24 pounds depending on batteries
- 14+ minutes with dual 10000 Lipos
- 20+ minutes with dual 16000 Lipos

 

[econfly]

Is the Toad a standalone mount for the M5? Do you still use the Cinestar adapter plate with the Toad? What about vibration isolation? There are pictures of it on the internet but it's not super obvious what it provides in terms of mounting details.

Thanks,
Bart

It's just a socket and insert combination that allows quick mounting. For maximum flexibility you put the female/socket part (the $299 quick release) on the gimbal. Just take off the handles and screw it on. Then mount the male adapters -- one to the handles, and another to your copter. That's it. On the copter you still have to deal with isolation, etc., but just mount the adapter where you would otherwise mount the gimbal directly.

This quick release system is a very nice product apart from the M5. You could use it for a variety of things. The male adapters click into the receptacle and can be release by pushing in two opposing buttons (very easy and natural). At that point you have capture and 360 rotation so you can position the gimbal where you want it. Then there is a tension lever (adjustable) that locks the rotation.

I don't know if it mounts well to the adapter plate, but it is easy enough to drill a few holes to make it work. All you need is a mount point for the male adapter. I'm making what I need from carbon fiber sheet (the plan is to fly the M5 with my S1000 which works on paper anyway). I may need to extend the gear a bit to get enough clearance however.

The $299 item comes with a single male adapter. You will want to add another one to do what I described above.

 

[Mojave]

Is it required that the Freefly landing gear is used?

Is it required that the Freefly landing gear be used with the M5? Does anyone use other landing gear: like retractable landing gear sets or other typess?

It's just a socket and insert combination that allows quick mounting. For maximum flexibility you put the female/socket part (the $299 quick release) on the gimbal. Just take off the handles and screw it on. Then mount the male adapters -- one to the handles, and another to your copter. That's it. On the copter you still have to deal with isolation, etc., but just mount the adapter where you would otherwise mount the gimbal directly.

This quick release system is a very nice product apart from the M5. You could use it for a variety of things. The male adapters click into the receptacle and can be release by pushing in two opposing buttons (very easy and natural). At that point you have capture and 360 rotation so you can position the gimbal where you want it. Then there is a tension lever (adjustable) that locks the rotation.

I don't know if it mounts well to the adapter plate, but it is easy enough to drill a few holes to make it work. All you need is a mount point for the male adapter. I'm making what I need from carbon fiber sheet (the plan is to fly the M5 with my S1000 which works on paper anyway). I may need to extend the gear a bit to get enough clearance however.

The $299 item comes with a single male adapter. You will want to add another one to do what I described above.

 

[stevemaller]

Definitely not required to use their landing gear, but it is by far the lightest and most efficient system to use. There are certainly people using retracts. But they are heavier and add an element of complexity.

 

[henrysj]

Just placed my order for the M5 - should be here in 1-5 days
Can anyone confirm the best method of connecting it with a skyjib is the Toad and does this require the Ninja plate too?
Thanks

 

[Bartman]

Definitely not required to use their landing gear, but it is by far the lightest and most efficient system to use. There are certainly people using retracts. But they are heavier and add an element of complexity.

I have to agree with Steve. I've got retracts on a Hexacopter and they have added a lot of weight compared to my usually svelt 60g fixed gear. THey're also taking up a channel of the radio and were $450 which is cheap compared to a lot of other options!

The downside to having the gear mounted to the gimbal, and this is more of a three-axis issue than a two-axis, is that the weight of the helicopter is sitting on the mount's pan axis so I'd have to guess that landings have to be perfect and gentle lest the abuse will add up and eventually affect the pan motor. This is a wild-a$$-guess on my part but time will tell. I'm also going to try to come up with a way to stabilize the helicopter's weight when traveling and even when it's in storage so the mount will not be always carrying the dead weight of a non-airborne helicopter.

fwiw, i've never had the Freefly Cinestar frame parts in my hands so I was always a little skeptical of the cut carbon gear legs but they're surprisingly rigid and hold up the weight of the helicopter very well. my okto is going to be flying at approximately nineteen to twenty two pounds and i'm not concerned at all with their ability to hold up.

 

[henrysj]

Movi M5 just fits under Skyjib with retracts. Couldn't use the Toad and had to bolt it directly to the skyjib camera mounting bracket.
View attachment 18405

 

[Bartman]

How does it work Henry? I finally flew the new Movi/MK XY8 and it did great. FilmFly (aka Dave) flew the gimbal and everything worked great. We've got to tune the "stiffness" settings but the video is just beautiful considering it was a first flight. It was mostly of the two wankers manipulating the controls and some grassy lawn area otherwise it would have been nomination worthy!

 

[flitelab]

What are you using for an av feed with the movi setup for the GH4?

Happy with the movi overall on the x8?

Looking for a gimbal option with a bit more camera and lens flexibility over the zenmuse we have now for GH3.

 

[stevemaller]

What are you using for an av feed with the movi setup for the GH4?
Happy with the movi overall on the x8?
Looking for a gimbal option with a bit more camera and lens flexibility over the zenmuse we have now for GH3.

Right now I have an Iftron Mondo Stinger and the Freefly HDMI converter that I’ve mounted on the upper camera plate. I’m powering them off of a tap from the MōVI’s battery, which Freefly says not to do, but I’m doing, anyway. And it works great. My MōVI’s not even breaking a sweat flying the GH4, so its LiPo has plenty of extra juice, and it keeps things simple. I get 10-15 minutes flight time on a pair of 10000mAh batteries, and I change the MōVI battery after every flight, too. I could probably do two flights on one battery, but I don’t want to run them down too far.
And I couldn’t be happier with the MōVI. It’s an awesome piece of kit, and beyond that, Freefly’s support has been absolutely stellar. I’m a happy customer!
And yes, I can change lenses, filters, even cameras in just a few minutes. No problem.
I switch to a 5D Mark III sometimes to do stills or use a specialty lens (super wide, tilt/shift, etc.).

 

[flitelab]

Right now I have an Iftron Mondo Stinger and the Freefly HDMI converter that I’ve mounted on the upper camera plate. I’m powering them off of a tap from the MōVI’s battery, which Freefly says not to do, but I’m doing, anyway. And it works great. My MōVI’s not even breaking a sweat flying the GH4, so its LiPo has plenty of extra juice, and it keeps things simple. I get 10-15 minutes flight time on a pair of 10000mAh batteries, and I change the MōVI battery after every flight, too. I could probably do two flights on one battery, but I don’t want to run them down too far.
And I couldn’t be happier with the MōVI. It’s an awesome piece of kit, and beyond that, Freefly’s support has been absolutely stellar. I’m a happy customer!
And yes, I can change lenses, filters, even cameras in just a few minutes. No problem.
I switch to a 5D Mark III sometimes to do stills or use a specialty lens (super wide, tilt/shift, etc.).

Thanks.

Can an the movi be setup to provide 360 pan like zenmuse? I'm guessing if all your equipment is mounted to the movi it should be doable? Ie the pan motor would mount to the multicopter frame but all it's gear is below that point?

 

[stevemaller]

Thanks.
Can the movi be setup to provide 360 pan like zenmuse? I'm guessing if all your equipment is mounted to the movi it should be doable? Ie the pan motor would mount to the multicopter frame but all it's gear is below that point?

Yes, my MōVI can pan 360° continuously. Its only connection to the copter is through the FreeFly “Toad in the Hole” quick-mount hardware. The gimbal’s power, motors and all its electronics are all self-contained on the gimbal, and I use a separate transmitter manned by my camera operator to steer it. Here’s an example of something we did today, and you can clearly see that the gimbal is capable of pretty cool moves.

 

[Bartman]

like Steve said, yes on the full 360 degree panning.

I've got the Kopterworx HDMI converter for a GH3 and an ImmersionRC 5.8 vtx. it's best if you can attach them as close as possible to the camera itself so as to not have wires tangling up in the mount. Like Steve's I've got the HDMI converter on the camera bracket and the video tx on the U shaped arm opposite the tilt motor.

Also, like Steve, I've tapped into the battery's balancing tap for 4S power to the vtx which is then sending 5V power to the HDMI converter. Only bench tested it so far but I can't see why it wouldn't work. Downside is reduced battery life but should be a small percentage of consumption compared to the gimbal itself.

Has anyone tried attaching a larger LiPo in the battery holder? It looks like there's room in there for a bigger battery.

Steve, have you determined a mah/minute number for battery consumption?