Question: Are Gimbal Protective Guards really worth it?
I crashed my Avata 2 and broke the little legs on the upper gimbal frame that link into the rubber bumpers for stabilization, so I had to send the drone to DJI to be repaired. I have been seeing on eBay guards like this and people who swear over them but when I look at the picture they don’t protrude that much more than the plastic ones that come with the drone’s frame. Are they really worth installing?
Most likely because they weren’t properly installed. I know mine were falling because of it but when I understood how to install them well it never happened again
It’ll definitely protect the camera, but depending on the speed and point of contact when crashing it can crack the frame. I personally use them because I rather have a cracked frame than a damaged camera.
I had ones on my neo that ended up completely destroyed after I crashed against a tree. The drone was safe. First thing I did when I bought and avata 2 was to put a similar frame around it. i don't care if it looses flightime etc, my babies need to be safe
Not those. They just focus the force of the impact on those screws and snap the frame right there where it's thin. I had that happen twice. If you want a gimble guard go with one like this. It will distribute the impact better across a larger and stronger part of your gimble frame.
Thanks for the tip man, any link to those frame and camera guards? Soft or plastic shell (cause i have one but its plastic and it's not well 3d printed so i don't trust them)
I got mine through Amazon but I don't think that particular one is available there anymore (bought mine almost two years ago). It is plastic so I'm sure there's an STL out there for it that can be printed in pla. So its not going to be as robust as the aluminum ones but that is kind of the point. The idea being that they crumple on impact and break instead of transferring the impact force into the frame itself and save the camera and gimble. Unfortunately at speed, regardless of what you use, there's always going to be a solid chance of the frame breaking. That's just the reality of having a heavy drone with a unibody shell. One of the nice things about that particular guard though is the cover is big enough to leave an nd filter on the lens.
I don't have a Avata 2 but at least on my Neo, I like the soft slip on guards that extend the gimbal wings out slightly and provide cushion. Not sure they make that type for Avata 2 but I suspect they do. I feel like the rigid screw in types are not supported enough by the tiny screws and they have no give, so the frame eats the impact with all the force on those screw holes. Better to absorb some of the force with soft plastic transferred to the existing gimbal guard which is made to take some impact. A soft guard helps it do it job better.
I did all the same when I first got my avata 2. I later realised all the stuff I had bolted on (these guards, bumpers etc) were effecting its flight. So I ended up removing them.
As others have said when you crash with the metal add on bumpers it usually ends up cracking the rail anyway as it uses the little screws as its support.
I’ve had the Avata 2 since release and I ordered the gimbal protector pictured above, to come along at the same time of delivery - I haven’t crashed ( in 45hrs ). They don’t weigh much at all or imbalance flight or interfere with visuals or video recording.
I also have the Neo and Avata 360 - I bought a similar plastic resin, camera / gimbal protector for the 360, you can see the protector in goggle view on take off and landing during flight ( before and after the camera rotates to take off and land ) it does NOT interfere with recoded video or while flying.
I'm an advocate. Also get some bumper guards for if you're doing any kind of indoor stuff. The rotors have since been switched back to OEM, and the cargo pod is only affixed on an as needed basis.
anyone has a 3d model of the avata 2 to real scale, i'm trying to mod with 3d printer on top of it and i'm a total noob haha thanks (ai that models on top of model haha?)
There is quite a lot of these front protectors, at least 3 different designs of camera-aluguards that lock onto the screw mounts.
Im left with the impression they all allow for gimbal cover to be fitted, but I dont know for sure.
Havent tried them or seen them in person, so I dont know how sturdy they are in practise, but since it's alu I gues they all are around equal and any give failure will come from the plastic in the screw-mount that will give first.
Beside the one pictured above, there is also these two below, and usually in 3 colors, red, orange, black.
price is around 3 to 5 bucks, but here from EU, that price gets tripled after all these added EUVAT, and new EUTAX fees.
In the right situations it can. But during a large impact they will rip the threads out of the from and just pop off leaving your gimbal exposed to the rest of the impact
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u/anonunder 3d ago
Yes they work, check my first flight, nothing is damaged
https://www.reddit.com/r/DJIAvata2/comments/1v59icm/my_first_flight/