There is a Problem with level cameras on Quads.
- forward flight view with a level camera
You can’t see where you are going during fast forward flight.
I have been working to figure out a fundamental problem with FPV flight on Mini Quads. When you fly these machines, you are limited to seeing what is ahead of you at a fixed angle. That means that if you have your camera working well for hovering and slow flights, as soon as you decide to do fast flights you end up just seeing the ground and not what is in front of you. This is not ideal. It is like looking at your feet while running. There is no way to make good piloting decisions when looking at the ground and not where you are going.
It is like looking at your feet while running.
On the flip side, the pilots that you see in the vids doing amazing fast flying, have their cameras fixed in a position pointing up, which is also not ideal for slow flying, hovering, or landing.
- Charpu’s quad showing extreme camera angles
The Naze32 Servo Tilt mod fixes that issue.
By attaching the FPV camera to a servo, and hinging one side of it to your frame, It is possible to adjust is position according to what type of flying you are doing.
It is possible to do this with the Naze32 if you are using PPM input and only 4 esc outputs.
The mod moves the default esc 1 output to pin 3 of the Naze32. This means that you end up with pin 1 controlling the pan servo and pin 2 controlling a tilt servo, and pin 3 to esc 1, pin 4 to esc2 pin 5 to esc3 and pin6 to esc4.
- Naze32 Servo tilt camera pinout for controlling FPV camera tilt.
- Camera tilted level for normal flight with horizon in middle of screen. Controlled by Naze32
- Camera tilted low for landing and seeing below the aircraft. Controlled by naze32
- Camera tilted up for fast forward flight. Controlled by naze32
I used a small 10g micro servo and some stiff wire to make it work. My video details the build in detail.
If this post does not help you get it done or if you have more questions about it, please post on our questions page.
[wolf_icon name=”search” scale=”1″ type=”round” align=”none” url=”http://ask.quadquestions.com/qa”]
The Servo can be controlled automatically by the naze32, thus leveling the camera, or it can be controlled by a switch or other input.
I don’t recommend using the auto gimbal feature while flying as it tends to lead to loosing orientation and it gives me vertigo. I have my camera set to a 3 position switch and I manually adjust it while I am flying. It is possible to setup camstab in the switch settings to enable the auto gimbal while flying. You will have to try it for yourself and see what you think!