MK to DJI..

[smartaerials]

Hi there,
After flying MK for four years I`m thinking of moving over to DJI . I´ve been doing some research but would like to get the opinion of some experienced DJI users.
My goal is to be able to fly a 5D,GH4 and my doubts are if to go for the S1000 or a SJX8 with 4014T motors.
Many thanks in advance

 

[Carapau]

I prefer the way an X8 handles over a flat 8- ie more stability in the wind. However both the S1000 and Skyjib X8 are great aircraft. The Skyjib will require a lot of work building it unless you pay extra to have it RTF from Aeronavics or whoever. Personally I think the Skyjib is the nicer airframe and is a whole lot more customisable, but in terms of them being a tool to get your camera where you need it, they both do this very well.

 

[Bartman]

why are you considering not using MK anymore?

 

[smartaerials]

@Carpau: Thanks, I,ve flown MK X8 and the same, really handeled the wind and descent much beter, but drew much more battery power and amps so it would get really hott when loaded. So X8 would handle 3kg payload no prob? I see MTOM for s1000 is 11kg wich is awesome! What do you thing about the flight controllers? I see all sorts of troubleshooting with A2,is it as bad as they say?

@Bart: I´m very very fond of my MK, 4 years and it has never let me down, but it is getting close to his limit at 6.5kg and the upgrade seams a litle deer, also for maintenance at 100€ x BL, I dont know how the v3 version copes but the Bl 2.0 are in fact fragile and get really warm. I thought of converting with standart BLs but somehow doesn´t look right. I see you are building an MKv3 and plan to hang a MOvi5, sounds like an awesome project.
Whats your recomendation for upgrading my MK v2 to a 11Kg MTOM aircraft?

Thakns

 

[MombasaFlash]

... 4 years and it has never let me down ...

Do not underestimate the importance of what you have written. The DJI FC's are by no means infallible - there is multitudinous testimony to that around these pages. There is a following for the elderly Wookong running FW 5.16, but that FC requires an upgraded IMU for an AUW in excess of 7kg. The A2 has still not achieved a guaranteed and solid status.

Of course, many folks are more than happy with their DJI systems so who's to know? Personally, I have never had a single incident with MK - other than some initial setup problems with my very first one which turned out to be an erroneous blob of solder on one of the gyro boards. Perhaps sloppy Quality Control? But after that .... not a single step wrong since August 2011.

Wookong and A2 on the other hand? Very neat and tidy with those little boxes and a much more understandable set up interface, but I do not trust a single one of my DJI controlled MR's - and there are four of them. They all fly great and then unexpectedly go bananas. Why? Haven't a clue, because then they work again.

 

[smartaerials]

Hi Mombasaflash,
I would rather stay with MK cause I know it now and been through all the setups, from a small quad to a dodeka XL, but it seams that 4s is obsolete and to upgrade everything seams like a steep hill..
I´ve just been out to check an Inspire 1,flowen by a noob and it broke my heart to se that futuristic insect record at 4k steady as a rock after all the stupid hours invested in a triple weight and size drone with an alexmoss gimbal that requires constant tunning and messing around...
I saw it as an Apple product, grab and work ,no fussing and fighting..
I feell that I`m at a crossroad and a real change and investesment has to be done, to much mucking around now tunning and retunning gear,thats more for the gimbal than for the copter,but I need a solid copter that will lift a solid gimbal and just get on with the work.I know there is allways a constant work input to keep things flowing right, but at this stage is just overwellming and restricting.
If you dont mind me asking, what settup are you flying?

 

[MombasaFlash]

...but I need a solid copter that will lift a solid gimbal and just get on with the work...

I have to both agree and sympathise. At the end of the day, if AP is your main goal, the airframe is incidental - as long as it is reliable and has the required payload capacity. It is the camera mount that is the heart of the system and should always be the starting point.

Pretty much the only reason I hardly use my MK airframes is that neither has a camera mount that comes close to the invisibility of the Zenmuse. I have made no secret of the fact that the ONLY reason I have any DJI gear at all is because of the Zenmuse camera mount. I have three DJI airframes: S800/WKM and 2x EVO/A2, with 2x Z15.

For the most part the airframes get the job done and their easy dismantle and transportability is a huge bonus - particularly for international travel - but this does incur quite a weight penalty. They are too heavy, too plastic bendy and the FC is capricious.

 

[smartaerials]

It looks like both MK and DJI have their lights and shadows, but at the end of the day it seams you are using DJI , inspight of the capricious FC, weight or frame flex..So I´m suposing that they just get the job done in a higher percentage of the ocasions and that in the footage obtained from a Zenmuse is just more stable than the Alexmoss ones, with not even a fraction of the messing around, downdrop of only be using a single camera per gimbal but, how many cameras do we have??We just shot a gig with GH4 and very impressed with the quality! we have a 5D markIII and other gear but the goal now, is to provide aerial footage in a constant flow, and I think most clients would be happyer with the GH4 footage nice and stable than with 5D with litle shakes or jitters now and then ,here and there that I can fix with some tunning but end up coming back to sulfure me..

 

[Carapau]

If you are looking at the Zenmuse gimbal- which if you are happy on being limited to one camera and one lens then they are unbeatable. However if you want to fly both the 5D and GH4 then the Movi M5 is the way to go and once tuned, which is very easy on the Movi range, it will pretty much match the Zen.

 

[MombasaFlash]

I use the DJI airframes only because I have them - by an unfortunate accumulation of necessities. It was only the Zenmuse I ever wanted - remember that it was the ONLY option two years ago. The WKM was a prerequisite for the Zen and the original S800 was a reluctant alternative to the Droidworx airframe that was not quite available when I was in a hurry.

Then the S800 did what I mentioned. Went Bananas. There were jobs waiting so in a panic I had to buy an EVO so that I could swap the compatible components one by one to establish what was up with the S800. Never did find out what it was... and then it suddenly started working perfectly anyway! The second EVO was just a complete set of spares for the first EVO - considerably less expensive than buying separate parts - because the EVO was to be discontinued.

So despite not wanting a single one I have ended up with three of the poxy things.

If starting afresh I would go for a Droidworx SJTi-X4 airframe with MK FC, Nav & GPS, Herkules 3 ESC board, KDE motors and an M5 gimbal - for a GH4/5D class unit. (KDE ESC's might be better matched to the motors and sensible because replacement of a single faulty unit is straight forward, but I just hate individual ESC's. Far too bloody untidy for me)

 

[smartaerials]

@Carapau; I just want something that works realibly, if that means only with one camera then so be it! I´m just tired of the endless retuning with alexmoss and lack of power with the MK 2.0 and 3638 motors.

@Mombassa:You would probably have a heart attack if you saw the BL CTRL disposition in my AD 8 without a PDB! I found it was really hard to desolder the BLs from the PDB so I much prefer single esc.
At this point I dont have the cash for the rig you are sugesting, its well over 11k€
My realistic options are:

1-S900+wm or A2+z15 GH4 for 3000€http://tienda.stockrc.com/epages/eb0140.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eb0140/Products/S900wmz15

2-almost new SJX4 +retracts +t-motors 4014+A2+AV200with freefly stab+DjiOSD+DJIvideo transmiter 3000€

3: Changing BLCtrl to standart esc with Abuse mark PWM converter, Tiger motors 400KV, and maybe a MOVI 5?

Budjet limited at this moment,n I need something that works around 3500€, really love that Movi gear but its soooo deer

So what would you guys go for??

 

[fltundra]

Moomba,
You really need to take a look at the SuperX V2.