DJI X5 Lens Test Olympus 14-42mm

RaptorMan · Dec 26, 2015

pixl45 said:
FYI Brian, the 12-42 is actually lighter than the DJI stock lens.

Yes, I know that, but weight isn't the only factor. In fact, the real thing here is a thing called "moment" and is the torque applied which is due to a combination of weight and the location and distribution of that weight. You can have two lenses that weigh the same and one will balance perfectly while the other will need to add weight somewhere to balance.

The problem with the 14-42 like many zoom lenses is that as the zoom position changes the lenses elements move changing the moment on the gimbal. I'd recommend that if you plan to use the lens through the whole zoom range that the lens be balanced when the lens is in the midway position. That midway position may or may not equate to the mid position of the zoom range.

Bria

pixl45 · Dec 26, 2015

RaptorMan said:
Yes, I know that, but weight isn't the only factor. In fact, the real thing here is a thing called "moment" and is the torque applied which is due to a combination of weight and the location and distribution of that weight. You can have two lenses that weigh the same and one will balance perfectly while the other will need to add weight somewhere to balance.

The problem with the 14-42 like many zoom lenses is that as the zoom position changes the lenses elements move changing the moment on the gimbal. I'd recommend that if you plan to use the lens through the whole zoom range that the lens be balanced when the lens is in the midway position. That midway position may or may not equate to the mid position of the zoom range.

Bria

AS I said earlier, I'm putting that lens away until I hear of some fixes to deal with the other shortcomings. I have the weight thing well sorted, but I'm not happy with the performance. I'm hoping the issues can be resolved in firmware.

Marvin · Dec 27, 2015

i have now no problems with zooming.i found a way to make it without problems.
at the first time i have use a sun shield and filter and the lens was perfect balancing.
but i have gimbal noise and every time i use zoome it has little jello problems.
now i use only filter and 37-46 mm ring and it work perfect.
it is not balanced now .....it goes a little bit back the gimbel.
but no gimbal noise and zooming problems and jello.

RaptorMan · Dec 27, 2015

Yeah, for a zoom lens that extends during zooming you're going to need to balance somewhere near the midpoint of the extension to split the difference between fully extended and fully retracted.

Brian

White Airwolf · Dec 27, 2015

I'm very happy with my X3 camera thank you very much.

RaptorMan · Dec 28, 2015

White Airwolf said:
I'm very happy with my X3 camera thank you very much.

And this is a thread related to the X5/X5R so not relevant to you. You have a much lighter setup that gets you longer air time and that's a good thing. The X5/X5R gives us a better camera with more lens options ...

Brian

dasko · Dec 28, 2015

RaptorMan said:
Yes, I know that, but weight isn't the only factor. In fact, the real thing here is a thing called "moment" and is the torque applied which is due to a combination of weight and the location and distribution of that weight. You can have two lenses that weigh the same and one will balance perfectly while the other will need to add weight somewhere to balance.

The problem with the 14-42 like many zoom lenses is that as the zoom position changes the lenses elements move changing the moment on the gimbal. I'd recommend that if you plan to use the lens through the whole zoom range that the lens be balanced when the lens is in the midway position. That midway position may or may not equate to the mid position of the zoom range.

Bria

I totally disagree, i just used that lens for a 4 hour event without any issue , i think going to that extreme would be like balancing your tires every time you wanted to drive it, just not needed .
The dji controller knows what lens is on and is programmed and designed to have that weight and center of gravity for optimal balance.
This is only my personal opinion with the time ive had and used mine as i did not see and signs of it being of balance.
thanks

dasko · Dec 28, 2015

the only thing i cant workout is on some battery changes i lose the manual/ auto zoom option on that lens, so you lose up top right the AF/MF selection to toggle. I do a battery change and then that shows again, without any thing else being done but the battery change.
any one else noticed this ?

RaptorMan · Dec 28, 2015

dasko said:
I totally disagree, i just used that lens for a 4 hour event without any issue , i think going to that extreme would be like balancing your tires every time you wanted to drive it, just not needed .
The dji controller knows what lens is on and is programmed and designed to have that weight and center of gravity for optimal balance.
This is only my personal opinion with the time ive had and used mine as i did not see and signs of it being of balance.
thanks

What 'extreme' are you talking about? The idea of balancing in the middle of the extension range is hardly an extreme solution it's the logical one. If you're going to balance it at all then balance it in the middle. The only case where you wouldn't do that is if you chose to operate the lens over a limited range and then you'd want to balance in the middle of that range.

Brian

dasko · Dec 28, 2015

i read your post as in literally taking the lens off, putting in that position, then balancing it with weight to achieve a perfect balance.

RaptorMan · Dec 29, 2015

I'm not even sure what you mean by that -- how would you balance the lens if it's not connected to the camera?

No, by watching which way it want to tip with the lens halfway extended and adjusting as needed is how I imagine balancing the lens/camera.

Brian

RMoura · Jan 12, 2016

RaptorMan said:
Yes, I know that, but weight isn't the only factor. In fact, the real thing here is a thing called "moment" and is the torque applied which is due to a combination of weight and the location and distribution of that weight. You can have two lenses that weigh the same and one will balance perfectly while the other will need to add weight somewhere to balance.

The problem with the 14-42 like many zoom lenses is that as the zoom position changes the lenses elements move changing the moment on the gimbal. I'd recommend that if you plan to use the lens through the whole zoom range that the lens be balanced when the lens is in the midway position. That midway position may or may not equate to the mid position of the zoom range.

Bria

I fully agree with Brian, if you want to use the zoom. the average balancing is the better option. The video clip about this lens in the Olympus web site shows the functioning of the elements along the body of the 14-42, when applies zoom, and give a good idea about the movement and the gravity center change as well. (

)

dasko · Jan 13, 2016

i kinda dont understand all the fuss over this balancing you guys are on about,
i run that lens on most jobs and i dont see it causing my setup any issues at all.

Vladimyr Merci · Jan 15, 2016

I just got the Olympus 14-42mm zoom lens too. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to retract the lens back to flat after use? DJI Inspire 1 PRO doesn't seem to retract it once i turn it off. Thanks in advance

pixl45 · Jan 15, 2016

Vladimyr Merci said:
I just got the Olympus 14-42mm zoom lens too. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to retract the lens back to flat after use? DJI Inspire 1 PRO doesn't seem to retract it once i turn it off. Thanks in advance

I had the same problem...after exhaustive research I found out that it will never return to the original pancake position again once it's extended -- unless you have a MFT camera (ie Olympus PEN) sitting around to mount it on for the purpose of retracting it.

This is a drag, since for me it spends more time off the UAV than on it -- and extended it takes up three times the space.

derkoi · Jan 26, 2016

pixl45 said:
I had the same problem...after exhaustive research I found out that it will never return to the original pancake position again once it's extended -- unless you have a MFT camera (ie Olympus PEN) sitting around to mount it on for the purpose of retracting it.

This is a drag, since for me it spends more time off the UAV than on it -- and extended it takes up three times the space.

DJI will probably fix that in a firmware update I imagine.

AtlanticAerialworX · Feb 25, 2016

pixl45 said:
I'm having a perplexing problem with the 14-42. I still haven't quite sorted out the balance issue, but did start it up for the first time, and the lens barrel extended to the default 'on' position. The design of this lens is such that it is supposed to fully retract to the pancake size when turned 'off'. But when shutting the bird down it just stays fully extended.

I'm guessing that when these lenses are used on regular camera bodies the camera enacts a shutdown procedure in order to retract the lens? Does this sound right? It's not a big deal to me that it remains extended when it's shut down, but it would be more compact for storage.

Has anyone else encountered this?

The issue is that when you power off the drone it cuts the battery off 100% so no power to pull the lens back in to travel mode. I am sure in a future update there will a button on the app when you use this lens that allows you to shrink it down before cutting the power out.

AtlanticAerialworX · Feb 25, 2016

pixl45 said:
You can adjust it inflight, but it is far from smooth. I'f you were hoping to get a great zoom action in your videos, you'll be disappointed. But yes.. focal length is adjustable inflight.

Add the new balance ring from DJI and it will help smooth out the jitters while zooming in and out. Issue will always be that the forward weight of the camera will increase as you zoom due to the lenses moving further out from the housing and visa versa when retracting

AtlanticAerialworX · Feb 25, 2016

dasko said:
I totally disagree, i just used that lens for a 4 hour event without any issue , i think going to that extreme would be like balancing your tires every time you wanted to drive it, just not needed .
The dji controller knows what lens is on and is programmed and designed to have that weight and center of gravity for optimal balance.
This is only my personal opinion with the time ive had and used mine as i did not see and signs of it being of balance.
thanks

I was thinking this at first as well but then dji is now selling a balance ring for this lens and state that one is needed...and there is no way the app would know if you have it on or off unless there is a toggle option that i don't see when we use ours.

Luis Morales · Feb 26, 2016

i just got one of this, i have a question, when i got the lense, it came in a retracted form (pancacke) when i put it in the x5 the lense got out i can focus and control zoom, but then i turn off the AC the lense does not retract. is there a way to get it to rectract?

Stupid question, just saw it got asked and answered!