Tarot T4-3D 3-axis gimbal: Review, Test and Comparison with Tarot T-2D gimbal

Описание: Early indications suggest that the Tarot T4-3D 3-axis gimbal may well set a new benchmark in terms of quality and performance for budget 3-axis GoPro gimbals. Testing in the field required but very impressed so far and the price-point competes with many of the capable 2-axis GoPro gimbals on the market and is significantly less than most 3-axis gimbals.
The gimbal comes ready built but it's not quite 'plug & play'. You get a cable to attach the gimbal to the flight controller and a cable loom to attach to your Rx and AV Out as well as an adapter to connect to your PC via a micro USB.
Just solder a power connector of choice and off you go, maybe...
The T4-3D is delivered with a mount that is a direct fit for the Tarot 650 quad & 680 hex (or similar). Watch the video for our alternative mount build. However, its great to see that Tarot have designed the anti-vibration mount so that it works on compressing the rubber balls. A proven setup with the T-2D gimbal in reducing/eliminating jello.
The Roll motor is physically limited to + or - 45 degrees.
The Pitch motor is physically limited to + 26 & -114 degrees from
front-level.
The Yaw motor is physically limited to ~ + or - 170 degrees.
The mini USB on the camera mount of the gimbal takes video out and also charges your GoPro.
The instructions come in Chinese and English.
Gimbal + wires = 200g, add a standard GoPro 3 = 275g.
The distance between the spacers used on the T-2D is 45mm. On the T4-3D the distance is 70mm. Hence a new mount may be required...
The 3 wire servo plug allows you to switch between FPV or 'Pan Follow' mode and can be used as an SBUS connection (not tested).
The single yellow lead servo plug allows you to alter the camera angle via the RC receiver.
The GoPro 3 does not physically balance when fitted in the gimbal, however the slightly heavier GoPro 4 sits level.
This may suggest the need for a bit of counter-balance for a GoPro3 perhaps to avoid straining the Roll motor?
That said, with the power attached the GoPro 3 does level without any apparent strain (noise) from the Roll motor.
The software.... You can download the software from the Tarot website, however it is a '.rar' file so you will need an appropriate application to unzip it...
...alternatively you can go to the www.helipal.com website where they have been kind enough to provide links to zipped files which unzip in Windows.
First install the appropriate drivers... Then install the application...
The 'T4-3D Assistant' software is not very 'dynamic' like some gimbal interfaces. However we managed to change the default start-up mode from FPV to 'Pan Follow' Mode using the drop down menu and 'Write Flash' without any problems.
Both gimbals were fitted to a Sky-Hero 450 Little Spyder Custom which can fly with 4S-6S Lipo batteries for a significantly extended flight time compared to the standard 3S setup.
RNDrones build and sell multicopters in the UK capable of radio controlled and autonomous flight. We specialise in custom building these drones based on a range of carbon fibre frames which we have selected after rigorous testing and which can be viewed on our website: www.RNDrones.com