Quadcoper and Drone Video recording

[Lady Elanore]

Went to see the guys at 'Quadcopter' today (near Chorley) and had a good chat with one of their Technicians/Engineers (Lee). Got to see a customer playing with the Phantom Vision, which had an additional gimbal fitted. I didn't get to see the vid it might have shot, but the craft was astonishingly stable in a moderate cross-breeze. The guy being taught had never flown a Quad before and within 10 minutes was moving about smoothly and safely without incident thanks to some decent tuition from one of the Quadcopter guys. Compared to my bonkers mkI Hubsan x4 it seemed night and day for controllability and didn't require the skills and reactions of a Senna.

 

I know the spec that I want now and as soon as the new 3 axis gimbal is available, I'm going to pull the trigger (as they say). Unfortunately I don't have another weekend off until the end of May :( but at least I've seen the Phantom in action and I'm not so worried about flying it over water now

[trundlenut]

I came across someone the other day on LinkedIn who has a sort of agency for drones putting pilots in touch with clients, called The Drone Agency.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Lady Elanore]

I came across someone the other day on LinkedIn who has a sort of agency for drones putting pilots in touch with clients, called The Drone Agency.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

I think getting my BNUC qualifications might be a bit off yet But it's nice to know Fancy starting a company called Droning on?

[biomulv]

I had a wee shot of a Phantom 2 at the weekend. Great wee bit of kit.  Got about 20 mins out the battery.  Didn't have to use the "fly home" feature tho.

 

 

[john999boy]

There are some things which cost an awful lot more - not many though!

 

 

Which Phantom 2 did you use biomulv and more info on the 'fly home' feature please?

[Lady Elanore]

I had a wee shot of a Phantom 2 at the weekend. Great wee bit of kit.  Got about 20 mins out the battery.  Didn't have to use the "fly home" feature tho.

 

 

 

 

I'm assuming you weren't flying a fully loaded Phantom ? 20 mins would be great with the h3-3d gimbal, GoPro, Immersion Tx and iOSD bolted on. From what 've been told 20 mins would be a bit near the knuckle with all that hardware onboard :(

 

 Afaik there isn't a switch for the return home like there is on the Blade 350, you have to do something brave like turn off the control Tx etc !!!!

Edited 7 April, 2014 by Lady Elanore

[john999boy]

There's this deal on Amazon TODAY ONLY -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G7G7658/ref=xs_gb_c-1_0187_44fddbce?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=143FB8A8YAZBB524PQG4&pf_rd_i=350613011&pf_rd_p=471100187

It might give people an idea of how they'll take to the hobby.

[Lady Elanore]

The only thing I would warn against with the nano and micro-copters is they are seriously quick. Twitchy even. The Hubsan x 4 (my first Quadcopter) is a super bit of kit, but if you think you can fly it indoors then you had better get some extra props and some gaffa tape to stick stuff back together again (assuming you aren't an experienced pilot).

 

The difference between the micro sized and the medium GPS locked copters seems to be huge when you compare stability. The Nano does look fun, but you need a bit of space for them. I'd still recommend the Hubsan though

 

Anyhoo, I now know what I want, I just need the parts to start coming into the country and some time off :(

[Liger1956]

Amanda,

 

I am glad that you are doing the research and taking things a step at a time. As with all hobbies it looks simple when somebody else does it but it can have some 'buttock clenching' moments as well. Initially try to fly manually without all the electronic aids turned on. It will be a steep learning curve but you will be better placed to recover the craft if/when any thing goes wrong. Make sure that you fly safely away from people and buildings. With a camera fitted there is a tendancy to try to get some interesting shots, as I know, but you should resist the urge and hone your skills with plenty of space around you. I look forward to hearing the next chapter when you are airborne. 

Richard

[Lady Elanore]

Amanda,

 

I am glad that you are doing the research and taking things a step at a time. As with all hobbies it looks simple when somebody else does it but it can have some 'buttock clenching' moments as well. Initially try to fly manually without all the electronic aids turned on. It will be a steep learning curve but you will be better placed to recover the craft if/when any thing goes wrong. Make sure that you fly safely away from people and buildings. With a camera fitted there is a tendancy to try to get some interesting shots, as I know, but you should resist the urge and hone your skills with plenty of space around you. I look forward to hearing the next chapter when you are airborne. 

Richard

Thanks. I do already fly the 'flightly' Hubsan so have a grasp on reverse stick directions etc. As for 'interesting' shots. I'm not really after anything adventurous. I really want the Quad as a platform that will be in a open area without trees etc. Also being in Broadcasting already, I'm very aware of danger to public and this has to be my number one concern, especially after the recent Drone accident in Australia (although this might not be the pilot or drones fault). Hopefully the only danger is to my wallet if I sink the thing :( I suppose the risk of their being a high profile accident is almost a certainty, given enough time. Quads can't glide or autorotate, so you have a big lump with attached ironmongery, fall straight out of the sky. Hopefully I will get a year or twos grace before these things are banned

 

One nice thing about the Phantom and the Naza etc is, it is apparently more set up for video type of work and so it doesn't really have a full acrobatic mode and is more geared towards smoothness in flight. I don't want to be having to do too much if I am trying to be safe, glance at a FPV monitor and keep the Quad in the desired spot. The Quadcopter guys in Chorley reckon that if I can keep the Hubsan in the air and not crash it, the Phantom with all it's weighty kit on should be much easier (if a little slower) to fly.

 

The latest Phantom 2 Vision+ has a 3 way gimbal built in and also airport restrictions programmed into it's GPS software. You can't fly at all within a certain distance of an airport and it will only allow certain altitudes as you move away from this hazard. A sensible move

Edited 8 April, 2014 by Lady Elanore

[vindaloo]

Which Australian incident? The "prop in the head" one or the "flying drugs into jail" one?

[Liger1956]

A 'drone' that recently fell onto a competitor in an Australian Triathlon.  See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2141588

[Lady Elanore]

A 'drone' that recently fell onto a competitor in an Australian Triathlon.  See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2141588

The Beeb were saying that the operator claimed they had been in a tussle with an idiot, so the loss of control wasn't the operators fault. The other version was that the Drone missed the runner, but they fell over as they saw the falling drone near them.  :(

[Liger1956]

I read the BBC's report stating "Mr Abrams said his initial investigation suggested that he lost control after someone else briefly took over flying the drone. Determining who in the crowd of competitors had stolen control would be tricky, he said, because smartphones could easily be used to carry out such an attack" to mean that the pilot was blaming someone in the crowd for hacking into the drone's control system, which I consider very unlikely, and not that he had someone physically wrest the transmitter from him.  Although I could be wrong. 

 

More details here http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/river-of-blood-after-drone-hits-australian-athlete-20140407-zqruh.html which questions who was actually flying the thing.

Edited 8 April, 2014 by Liger1956

[Lady Elanore]

I read the BBC's report stating "Mr Abrams said his initial investigation suggested that he lost control after someone else briefly took over flying the drone. Determining who in the crowd of competitors had stolen control would be tricky, he said, because smartphones could easily be used to carry out such an attack" to mean that the pilot was blaming someone in the crowd for hacking into the drone's control system, which I consider very unlikely, and not that he had someone physically wrest the transmitter from him.  Although I could be wrong.

Ah, that's a much more specific story than the one I read. The early Beeb report said the police were looking into an assault and the also the possibility of the fallen Drone causing the runner to fall and cut themselves without direct contact with the Copter. They did say something about the Drone being within 10m of the runners, whereas the minimum safe distance in Australia was 30m. If that's true, then the operator really doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. They should have been so close.

[Lady Elanore]

Actually looking at the picture in the press, it is quite a big Hexacopter, perhaps a Flame Wheel 550 or something like that. That's a proper commercial device and would weigh a significant amount as well as having an awful lot of whirling blades on it. A proper operator would have to have completed a risk assessment and a Flight Ops manual for the gig wouldn't they?

 

Actually the more I read on this, the more confused I am. Mr Abrams (the pilot) says he wasn't actually flying it at the time, a person next to him was, but he was in charge of the vehicle. He also claims to have a licence, although he might only have a pilots licence which isn't the appropriate one for a Drone. He says the video shows the drone missed the runner, although the runner says it directly hit her. Blimey, its as convoluted as the Oscar Pistorius trial.

Edited 8 April, 2014 by Lady Elanore

[John T]

Not much of a stable platform granted, but a lot more fun during quiet time.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BHccJW5tJk

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scj8_XEEL1A

[john999boy]

I'm sure that with a bit of practice Amanda will be up to the challenge!

[Lady Elanore]

Good grief, that's mental. "Ye canna beat the laws of physics Cap'in"........I think he just did.

 

So it's like four mini helicopter rotors as opposed to the fixed pitch of a normal quad. Astonishing. I somehow think he would be good at making pancakes and flipping them

[John T]

Lady E.

 

You seem to be up to speed on the equipment you are looking for, please see link to the British Model Flying Assioation (BMFA) classified section for multirotor and FPV equipment, if you keep a check on the page there are often bargains to be had as people upgrade / move on / give up.

 

http://www.bmfaclassifieds.co.uk/index.php?catid=73

 

Also the BMFA site is quite up to date as far as rules and regs go for FPV flying and aerial photography.

 

http://www.bmfa.org/Home/tabid/90/Default.aspx

 

Hope it is of interest.

[Lady Elanore]

Lady E.

 

You seem to be up to speed on the equipment you are looking for, please see link to the British Model Flying Assioation (BMFA) classified section for multirotor and FPV equipment, if you keep a check on the page there are often bargains to be had as people upgrade / move on / give up.

 

http://www.bmfaclassifieds.co.uk/index.php?catid=73

 

Also the BMFA site is quite up to date as far as rules and regs go for FPV flying and aerial photography.

 

http://www.bmfa.org/Home/tabid/90/Default.aspx

 

Hope it is of interest.

Thanks for that. Great links

[FUBAR]

I know almost nothing about these things and for good reason, price! 

A friend of mine is BIG into them and has a fairly substantial hex and a couple of scary looking quad set ups. The hex one is at around the £10K mark at the moment. Just after this video the gimbal was upgraded with a third axis which has makes it SO much smoother again! It has all sorts of the things youd expect on it I am sure, he demonstrated the GPS home finding thing that when set as a default locations returns it and lands itself along a customised corridor and the way point based flight path stuff etc. It can lift about 22/23kg payload before it becomes an issue to it's climb.   

 

It was bloody windy in this one.

 

[hebby]

I love my DJI Phantom 2 vision + been into flying now for 20 odd years and quadcopters in the last 4 with RC cars one of my other hobbies along with keeping Marine reef tanks

[FUBAR]

The Iris+ looks like some out of the box package! 

 

[Lady Elanore]

Holy Thread revival Batman! ...

 

 

It's only taken 2 & 1/2  years, but I have at last bought a Drone (pre Black Friday) Sadly I've only flown it twice in the last few weeks. First go just getting to grips with settings and flying and the second go, learning a bit more and recording a bit of footage as I went. Now It's back in it's box as I am working solidly until the middle of December (self employed and need the work) and I suspect I'll be too tied up with Christmas and family to play with it again until next year now :( It's a Phantom 4 Pro - if anyone still reads these posts and is intersted   I had to download a few bits of software to edit it all, as I've just bought a new PC and all my old programs can't be installed on the second machine :( :( 

 

Anyhoo instead of photographing my friends on the Jetskis, I chose to video them for half an hour and luckily they have in their midst a Mavic Pro flyer who gave me a copy of his footage to mix with my own. 

 

So here is my first ever attempt at making a video (not counting cutting things together in windows movie maker). I would have loved to grade it, but the footage wont take it. Noise appears too quickly as does banding, but we both shot in 1080 and it was seriously overcast and late in the afternoon. I used 50p and he used 25p. Anyhoo we weren't taking it too seriously. Now I have a better idea of what I want to achieve I'll think about a shot list and do it properly, but for now, here is a none directed, mish-mash of shots, put together with some music  :D:D

 

If I am honest the music is the best bit (I edited the first piece a little but that's not why I think it's good obviously). 

 

 

 

Edited 25 November, 2017 by Lady Elanore