Spring 2020, a long lockdown, and too much gear in the house. So I picked up my old MJX Bugs 5W, took its camera off and tried to fly it with an Insta360 One X strapped on. Don't try this at home.
A lockdown experiment
A long time in lockdown means people get bored. I didn't, actually, because I had so much gear to unpack and organise. That's how I found my old Bugs 5W, a great beginner drone. Its weak point was always the camera: no gimbal, just a shock-absorbing mount, so the footage was wobbly. So I wondered: could I fit one of my small newer cameras instead?
Building the mount
Once the original camera was safely off, I started trying things. My first idea was to attach my new DJI Osmo Pocket, but I'd only had it a couple of weeks and I didn't want to risk it, and I wasn't sure the Bugs could even lift it. So I dug out all my old GoPro accessories and a 3M mount and tried different combinations. The best one let me mount an Insta360 One X on the drone.
The big question: would it even take off with all that weight at the front? If it crashed, it would break my Insta360. So I decided to test it first with the camera still in its protective pouch.
Flight test
Outside it was really windy, more than I expected. With all the weight at the front, the drone wobbled from side to side and wasn't as stable as I'd hoped. But I really wanted some footage, so I crossed my fingers and took the pouch off. First crash.
I noticed something funny: with the pouch on, the drone got its satellites; as soon as I took the pouch off the lenses, it seemed the camera was blocking the GPS signal.
The problem was the balance. All the weight was at the front, so the drone kept compensating with the rear motors until it flipped over. It's a miracle the Insta360 didn't get scratched. Thank God I didn't try it with the Osmo Pocket.