Sports mode videos

[Nick R]

Want to get other people's opinion on whether I have a defective Spark.

When I put it in Sport mode and flew it.. The Camera points down and never came up..
While in GPS mode.. when I full throttle fwd.. the camera initially pointed down during acceleration, it came back up and took normal angle at regular GPS mode speed which is about 7mph.

But when I full crank it in sports mode.. I never had any video shot of anything because camera kept facing down. ..

My questions are
1) when you are in GPS mode.. and you full throttle it fwd.. Do you see camera momentarily pointed down at all.
2) when you are in sport mode.. can you get footage or your camera kept facing down .. ie behaved the same way as mine ?

Thoughts ?

 

[Mrmund]

Want to get other people's opinion on whether I have a defective Spark.

When I put it in Sport mode and flew it.. The Camera points down and never came up..
While in GPS mode.. when I full throttle fwd.. the camera initially pointed down during acceleration, it came back up and took normal angle at regular GPS mode speed which is about 7mph.

But when I full crank it in sports mode.. I never had any video shot of anything because camera kept facing down. ..

My questions are
1) when you are in GPS mode.. and you full throttle it fwd.. Do you see camera momentarily pointed down at all.
2) when you are in sport mode.. can you get footage or your camera kept facing down .. ie behaved the same way as mine ?

Thoughts ?

Try it again, make sure the camera is pointing up, switch the switch to sports mode and see it the camera pitch changes. Then fly away and back and visually check the camera again.
1. My guess is when you were flying in sports mode your left finger ended up on the "gimbal control wheel"
OR
2. Your right finger slipped down on the right hand side programmable function button and it's set up to "quick up/quick down" the camera gimbal.(some of us like it set up like that, it makes it easier to navigate)
Good luck and let me know if this works, the spark pilots on here are really knowledgeable and helpful so if that's not it they'll have some other ideas I'm sure

 

[Nick R]

Try it again, make sure the camera is pointing up, switch the switch to sports mode and see it the camera pitch changes. Then fly away and back and visually check the camera again.
1. My guess is when you were flying in sports mode your left finger ended up on the "gimbal control wheel"
OR
2. Your right finger slipped down on the right hand side programmable function button and it's set up to "quick up/quick down" the camera gimbal.(some of us like it set up like that, it makes it easier to navigate)
Good luck and let me know if this works, the spark pilots on here are really knowledgeable and helpful so if that's not it they'll have some other ideas I'm sure

Figured out what it was..
My ND filter. I took it off and it fixed the issue.

Do not buy these
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QFFH34/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Baron 2]

I think ND filters are over rated for their value vs problems. I don't even use them for stills most of the time. I can post process them as long as they are not totally blown out after I get on my computer. I have had even the good ones hang up the gimbal calibration. To get smooth video footage on bright sunny days is the only time I find them useful, especially with fast action recording.

 

[clouseau]

So far the smaller lighter weight Polar Pro ones have worked out the best for me on the Spark.

If you ever flown a TBS Disco or an older Phantom with a GoPro camera you would feel very differently about ND filters and their use, as it's almost a must have item to get any decent videos out of those cameras. I do use ND filters mostly only on my non DJI drones that use GoPros and other cameras.

As for the DJI cameras/gimbal setups on all their most recent drones, they are much better tuned at filtering out vibration and shutter from the very start, whereas other drones camera packages especially ones that use GoPros you really have to tune and work with ND filters to get the best possible footage out of them.

Circular Polarized (CP) and Ultra Violet (UV) lenses are most beneficial in still shots, however for videos, you want to use the ND filters only for full sun or partly cloudy conditions where the sun is very bright. ND filters will help reduce vibration and what is known by most as a the (jello) effect caused by rapid shutter speeds from showing up in your videos.

 

[Nick R]

I will leave the filter off my spark. Makes no sense to go spend $80 on 4 pieces of glasses on a $350 drone.

If I want to take better footage, I will fly my Mavic. My ND filters don't give me this problem on the Mavic.

 

[Nick R]

BTW.. I posted the question to DJI Support before I figured it out..
Just got their answer today.

They told me to calibrate my compass.
WTF does that have anything to do with the gimbal ?

(smh)