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Imagine you’re out in the field filming, you’ve brought your drone for high-quality shots, but you cannot fly it because of FAA regulations. You want to get some ground shots, but can’t because you didn’t bring a backup camera. That’s a shame since the built-in camera on your drone would work great. Enter Dronebal — a super-simple solution to this conundrum. It’s a uniquely printed mount for the DJI Mini 4 Pro that turns your drone into a stabilized handheld camera. Dronebal is the ingenious creation of an aerospace engineering student named Tyler Staub and his brother Calvin, and the scenario above is exactly why they made it.
Staub told PetaPixel, “The idea for the adapter came directly from being in the field.” The benefit is that you don’t have to carry extra, expensive equipment; you can simply use your Mini Pro 4, which, by the way, is equipped with some solid hardware. It’s powered by a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor capable of 48-megapixel still shots and videos up to 4K resolution at 60 fps. That’s all the camera you need for pro-grade shots on a budget. The original mount, which is $35, sold out, but you can still pre-order to get one from the next batch. The mount is designed to hold the entire rig, i.e., both the drone and the controller, in a portable-use configuration. While this version is specifically for the DJI drone, Staub “absolutely” intends to create mounts for other drones too.
Can you hold your drone for ground-level shots?
The Dronebal is an excellent idea and a great concept, but it’s not the only one out there. Content creators have actually been using their drones as a makeshift camera for quite a while. The Tilta Handheld Support System for the DJI Mavic 4 Pro is another great example, albeit one with a more professional flair. The PolarPro Katana is another mount for the DJI Mavic that has been around since at least 2018. There’s also the more expensive Exodock Station by FoxFury for Exolander-equipped drones. Of course, that’s not at all meant to detract from the Staub brothers’ ingenuity with the Dronebal.
If you have a 3D printer of your own at home and you’re good with modeling tools, you might be able to make something for your drone, especially if it’s not a DJI model and has a unique design. There are a lot of cool 3D printing projects for beginners that you can try before making objects that augment your existing gear, like phone stands, handheld console grips, or drone camera mounts. It’s also possible someone else already shared a printable file on any of the best sites for free 3D printing models. A quick search on Thingiverse, for example, reveals a ton of similar projects, like various wall mounts, handles, and more.
