Disclaimer: I’ve not been given any products to endorse them or any payment to do this review.

Monitor - Tablet Holder

So you’ve bought a DJI drone and spent over a thousand pounds and you decide the mobile phone screen is just not big enough to see what you're recording or photographing. There are a few ways to go, use a tablet, monitor or DJI Smart Controller by itself or attached to a monitor.

The other thing is there a number of controls to use for flying and moving the gimbal, and you need to make everything smooth looking all at the same time. Some people are really good at this, while others have difficulty because of problems with their hands or disabled in one way or another that make the whole experience difficult.

In my situation, I'm wheelchair bound and have problems with one hand, but I still manage to do a half decent job as many in my position do. Maybe you have problems and have been put off getting a drone, but maybe this blog might help you change your mind.

Buying accessories is a learning situation. A Tutor once told me when I was doing a photography degree that I would buy one tripod, then put that in the cupboard and then buy another and do the same till I found the one that was perfect for my needs, it's very true and the same in this instance with flying drones.

I must have got through at least 4 brackets to hold my tablet. Some were cheap and other expensive, till now I have found the perfect company that has tried different materials to make brackets and found that aluminium is perfect as easy to construct and stand the test of use of time over and again, that’s Thor's Drone World based in Norway.

I’ve had two of their products, one was for the original controller for the DJI Mavic Pro 2 and the other I recently got for the DJI Smart Controller I invested in. The first one I had was the LifThor Sif XXL, which is all plastic and seemed good at the time and then I invested in the PolarPro Flight Deck that is aluminum. Have to say this is a good piece of kit but the connection between the main controller part to the tablet holder was a bit weak to take the weight of my iPad Air, but it did the job.

Lockdown

We have all struggled with lockdown and the impact of the Covid-19 through 2020 and now 2021. In my situation, I have had to shield like many but have been touched by the dreadful pandemic and lost extended family members and friends have had it, but thankfully recovered. I worked out that I had been out 8 times back in 2020 and so far this year as I write this blog, I’ve been out once.

During this time I have tried to keep myself busy with setting up a YouTube channel to interview people within the drone industry as pilots in commercial and hobby. Keeping my gear primed with recharging batteries each month, and looking at what is new and going on.

December last year, I did my A2 CofC certificate as the legislation came in that has made flying or will make flying easier to do, than what we had before. It seems so long ago now we were complaining about having to register as pilots and our drones over 250grams.

The shock of a second lockdown and the loss of over 140,000 with death certificates stating they died of Covid since the beginning is unbelievable and so sad. But also the detriment to mental health is far greater, but with the vaccine now getting to all, is a good send, because according to scientist if this had been 10 years ago, we wouldn't have had the science or technology and life as we know it would be far worse and thank god it has not affected children as we would see numbers double or more.

But there is light at the end of this dark tunnel and we just have to work together for the greater good of the world as it's in our hands now!

So looking around at new things coming out, LifThor has been working hard to design new controller brackets and more.

DJI Smart Controller

Since the release of the controller, I wasn’t convinced it would be a good investment at a price tag of £579, but with research and seeing one in person made sense to invest as it's an all in one controller with screen and quick to set up and use. If there was a downside it would be the following:

5” screen
Price
Map
Android

You may ask why. The screen for me, even though it's good, is a bit small with my eyes, but got used to it and can manage if needed. It’s a lot of money for what it is and hope that when they eventually bring out the C class drone that we can still use this controller and not another new one, as there is not much that they can improve in my view. I wish they had used Google Maps instead of MapBox. I know through research that a lot of companies from car navigation to apps use this map, but I just prefer Google. Android is not my choice as many apps using Android crash at first and take many updates to get sorted, the last thing you want is to be flying and the app crashes and you're left hanging with your drone in the air while it reboots. The Apple version has always been stable right from the start, but I guess it's all about licenses and cost.

With all that said, that battery lasts forever, a great screen like the Crystal Sky, but I’m still fingers and thumbs, but the sticks feel slightly more controllable than the original controller and overall much better feel to it.

LifThor SC Pro for DJI Smart Controller

Since my first encounter with Lifthor, I've subscribed to their website and was pleased to see one day this aluminium all-in-one bracket for the Smart Controller. It’s solid machined wrap around makes it easy to fix to the controller and makes use of the screw holes on the front side of the controller. The ability to add a tablet holder, which they also do, and is sturdy and easy to fit any size tablet and you can also add a monitor and they add a HDMI - HDMI lead in with the bracket and all the tools you need.

Now regarding cost, you have to take into account what you paid for the controller. If you were in the market for a bracket to make life easier to have the controller on a camera strap or some other form, you would want something that was solid and going to look after you Smart controller and not fall apart within a few months. So what price would you spend to protect it? £20, £40, £80? Well this bracket will cost you just over £64 plus tax since we have left the EU! So it's mid priced and in my view worth every penny as it's going to last, can’t break and could be fitted to a tripod or some other piece of gear that I will talk about later. Lifthor also gives a 2 year warranty on all its products, something you don’t see much with gear like this!

I originally bought this to fit my iPad Air using their bracket, but hit a dilemma in that I needed the Smart Controller, which is Android to talk to iPad Air that is IOS. so with a bit of research I found an app that works via WiFi to mirror the controller screen onto the iPad called ApowerMirror.

You have to have the Android version on the Smart controller that you download from the Google app store and put onto a micro SD card and then install it on there, then download the Apple version of the app onto the tablet, then open both up on each device and it does the job. It’s just a work around and even if you have an Android tablet you can do the same thing.

Going another direction, you could invest in a dedicated monitor like the Lilliput 7” 4K monitor which cost around £140 through Amazon. It’s much lighter than the iPad and has a brighter screen. Soon as you connect with the HDMI lead supplied by LifThor, it mirrors the Smart Controller screen.

The reason I did this was because the Smart controller screen is just a tad too small for my eyes and this worked for me to compose my images and flight, if you don’t have this problem, then great, but we all don’t have 20/20 vision, especially when we get older.

Lifthor do brackets for all sorts of controllers and is worth taking a look at their website as I feel they have thought outside of the box and want to produce good quality accessories that will last and be effective in what they are designed for.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better!

I’ve mentioned my disability and the problems that I have making those smooth transitions in flight with my drone, and would be great is having something stable to hold the Smart controller while I concentrate on flying and panning.

So LifThor have come to my rescue once again with their new ‘StrapThor Pro Body Tripod’. I know it's a mouth full but bare with me on this one.

This is a chest strap that allows you to connect the LifThor brackets to a chest plate that is adjustable in all sorts of ways, but it does more. It means that you can’t drop your expensive controller maybe while you're changing batteries, or having to move from one position to another. For me it gives me that platform, which means I can control my drone with procision and makes my flying better and easier. It’s such a simple idea but one that maybe many have been waiting for. Even if you’re a commercial pilot and working long periods of time and have to change batteries often, your hands are free and you don’t have to put down the controller, and if you do you can get the quick release that connects the bracket to the chest strap!

I’ve not seen anything like this on the market and LifThor has hit the nail on the head with this piece of kit and adds to the quality of their other products as they will all work with this chest strap.

No more neck ache from wearing a camera strap, no more juggling between putting the controller down safely while you change batteries.

Again with LifThor, everything is made from high grade materials and supplied with the tools to make adjustments. As for the price you have to think about how much you spent on your drone equipment in the first place and how best to protect it firstly and secondly its usability. The cost is £93.21 plus tax and I know that might seem a lot but think of it this way, you wont need to buy it again and if DJI keep to the Smart Controller when they bring out the next generation drone, you won't have to buy another bracket, but if you do, yo know LifThor will have it covered!

Having the right tools for the job, is always something we look to improve upon, so we can make the best images or video. There are two things to a drone, flying and capturing and in most cases you have to do both at the same time. This is why it takes practice to enhance our skills, and accessories just make that slightly more achievable to reach new goals, a better workspace to create more than we thought we could.

Watch The Videos For A Real View of The Gear

So I’ve explained the gear, now watch the videos to see the Smart Controller Bracket in detail and the other video is coming soon covering the StrapThor Pro Body Tripod.

Visit via link: Thor’s Drone World

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Improve The Use of Your Smart Controller