Helicopters/drones for filming

[Greg]

So I want to get into filming with a drone, but have to start from ground zero so I ordered a Dromida Ominus w/o the camera (as it seems to suck) from Amazon just now. I'll spend some time with this learning how to fly, then down the road pick something up in the $500-600 range with a gimbal, possibly a DJI Phantom 3 (or 4 if I'm feeling rich!) since it includes a camera. I want it for filming some the epic scenery that we come across on our 4x4 trips.

Let me know how you like it. For $40 it seems like it would be fun. I've had fun with the little quads I've played with before, and this seems like an upgrade to those.

This thing is so much fun, I wish I had bought one earlier! It's very flighty though, any slight breeze and you'll be fighting keeping it in place. Still, for $40 it's a great practice/learner drone... I've crashed many times and haven't had any damage that would keep it from flying. Learning how to control it when coming back at you is odd, still a bit backwards with the controls. The battery probably lasts 10 min, but I bought a spare and it seems to charge in 10 min, so you can fly for 20+ min at a time if you like. There have been a couple times where I got it pretty far away, enough to scare me... I'm flying in my backyard and there are trees, powerlines, etc all around. In all, I think it's a good buy and a good learner.

 

[TRD270]

I see your drone flying and raise you....

[video=youtube;qUIqJxbR2h8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUIqJxbR2h8[/video]

 

[Greg]

I see your drone flying and raise you....

Fun! I was studying Aviation Science @ UVU many years ago, took quite a few trips up in a Diamond DA20 Katana, flying around Utah Valley. I wanted to become a professional pilot, my dad & the rest of his family were all pilots. My dad owned a Cessna 140 when he got married, it got wrecked in a windstorm and he retired from flying. My dream of flying for a living came to a halt after 9/11 after the aviation industry came crashing down. I would love a small Cessna with some big dirt tires for backcountry trips!

 

[Greg]

Well, the Dromida Ominus has been fun and I feel like I've got the controls figured out pretty well, but like Curt said, it's kind of frustrating to fly. I've probably got about 3-4 hours in with the little thing. It has some issues, but what else can you expect from a cheap, toy drone? Even with the battery fully charged, it'll drop power to one or 2 rotors and it'll flutter out of control. Sometimes I can recover, sometimes I can't.

I feel like I want to step up to something real that I can do some filming with I really want a DJI Phantom 4 but at $1400 and knowing I'm just getting into this I feel like it's a bit much. I found a Phantom 2 with a gimbal and their camera, it's lightly used, in good working condition for $350. I think I'm going to get it, give me something real to practice with and I can do some actual filming. For the price, it's hard to beat. I think eventually I'll upgrade to the Phantom 4, but keep the 2 as a spare.

[video=youtube;ESKl2dza16U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESKl2dza16U[/video]

 

[Greg]

So I got my DJI Phantom 2 Vision (comes with a camera & gimbal) today, bought it lightly used for B&H Photo tonight. Unboxed it, charged the remote, battery and wifi range extender... read some of the directions, watched some intro vids and went out in the backyard and started flying! So playing with the camera... I flew up above our home, pointed the camera partially down and did a 360* spin... really neat to be able to see our home (and the neighborhood!) from that perspective! It's easy to fly, very intuitive... I dig this thing! This weekend I think I'll head out into the desert and try get some redrock canyon footage.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

It will be neat to see your vids Greg.


I spend a fair bit of time around drone pilots, long enough to know I don't have the patience for one.

[video=youtube_share;xiTd4s3M1pw]http://youtu.be/xiTd4s3M1pw[/video]

 

[Skylinerider]

It will be neat to see your vids Greg.


I spend a fair bit of time around drone pilots, long enough to know I don't have the patience for one.

[video=youtube_share;xiTd4s3M1pw]http://youtu.be/xiTd4s3M1pw[/video]

Flying over water always makes me a touch nervous, especially after Spencurai lost his Inspire in the GSL. That's some good editing in that clip.

 

[Greg]

It will be neat to see your vids Greg.


I spend a fair bit of time around drone pilots, long enough to know I don't have the patience for one.

Some amazing flying there Kurt, you work with a very talented pilot!

Here's my first real flight and video! :freak:

Spent this morning out at Rabbit Valley making some practice runs with the drone, I'm very impressed with how well this turned out! I did have a few minor mishaps, but no big crashes. I'm using the Lichi flight app on my phone, at the very beginning of the video when the Jeep is driving off the app crashed so the drone flew back to the starting point! I was way nervous, thinking it could crash on the way back. The 2nd problem I had was all me, learning how the 'Follow' feature works.... I didn't realize the app (and drone) don't account for elevation changes. I had the drone setup to follow at 50' high, then drove up a road that gradually rose.... the drone stayed horizontal, until it ran into some sagebrush! I could see it happening, but couldn't cancel it before it happened due to being unfamiliar and well....driving. Unfortunately that file was corrupt and I couldn't use it!

This thing is amazing, I need to slow down my camera movements and the spins.... and not bring the camera all the way up, to where you can see the rotors. I'm very impressed with the footage quality, and this isn't the 4k camera! I love the opening shot, following the Jeep.... IMO it looks damn near professional.

[video=youtube;FgsUVjTCPys]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgsUVjTCPys[/video]

You know whats funny Kurt? I did a fair amount of walking around today, more than I expected to! I didn't realize how much you'd want to move, find higher ground & a good vantage point to shoot from! Patience isn't my problem, being nervous about crashing somewhere hard to get is!

 

[TRD270]

Thats a pretty good first effort. Like you said little slower on the pans, and not quite as high will make some great videos

 

[Greg]

Thats a pretty good first effort. Like you said little slower on the pans, and not quite as high will make some great videos

Appreciate it Josh! After having a small crash with the 'follow me' feature, I'm more nervous about using it for close shots... I guess as long as the terrain isn't increasing and I can figure out how to cancel it, then take manual control to raise it, I'd be OK. It would really help just to have someone else driving and I run the drone myself!

Watching the FPV on my phone is OK, but it's not ideal. I can see that I'm moving a little fast, but once I was able to see it on my laptop I can see that I was making moves way too fast. Oh well, have to start somewhere, eh?

 

[TRD270]

Sorry that was a poorly worded sentence, not high elevation, high on your PTZ showing the blades. Nothing wrong with the elevation, it was an entertaining film.

 

[Greg]

Sorry that was a poorly worded sentence, not high elevation, high on your PTZ showing the blades. Nothing wrong with the elevation, it was an entertaining film.

:thumbs:

 

[sabatoa1]

Nice video Greg wish that my first video turned out half that good. What editing software did you use?

 

[Greg]

Nice video Greg wish that my first video turned out half that good. What editing software did you use?

Thanks Luke! I used super simple Windows Movie Maker, it's free and easy to use... I've been editing my GoPro vids for awhile and feel like I've got the hang it.

 

[Greg]

OK, my 2nd upload with lots of aerial filming... I'm still not super comfortable with the drone and filming, some moves weren't smooth as I'd like and you can see the blades at one point. I'm still learning, hopefully improving. I love the shots filmed while moving backwards, very cinematographic!

At one point I pulled up to the Crystal Mill and nobody was there, no ATVs, 4x4's, etc... I got the Phantom out, started flying around and about 2 minutes later an older gentleman climbed out of the creek down below (it's fenced off and posted no trespassing), fishing pole in hand. I felt bad, apologized to him and said I had no idea he was down there and that if I had known I wouldn't have been flying. He said it was no big deal, but I still felt bad.

[video=youtube;QyCQmv-AQpg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyCQmv-AQpg[/video]

 

[TRD270]

Nice second effort Greg

 

[rholbrook]

Damn Greg. I can't wait to see your videos next year. I need a drone

 

[Greg]

Damn Greg. I can't wait to see your videos next year. I need a drone

Thanks Russ! They're fun, I figure that I go to a lot of neat places, I love taking pics and videos... the drone was just the next step!

 

[Hickey]

Damn, Greg. You're getting to be one fancy dude. Love that Crystal Mill footage.

 

[Herzog]

Great footage!