Very cool. This is where I eventually want to be as a quad pilot and videographer. There are so many variables that you must keep in mind that just apply to the piloting skills of taking good aerial video. (1) Don't face the direction of the sun unless your camera is pointing down or the sun is very high in the sky. (2) Constant movement results in smoother video images. If you park the quad in a stationary position, any wind will be fighting against the GPS stabilization controls to maintain position. This can result in a jerky, wobbling image. GPS control can also be be temporarily disabled if needed. (3) Do a good pre-flight check looking for things like loose hardware or loosely tightened antennas.

I see we are learning the same things! The stationary shots are tough -but switch to ATTI mode on the Phantom (if there is little wind) will eliminate the fight to hold its position. May drift a little but hardly noticeable at altitude.

Mike

I have a 3DR hex that I was setting up to take a DSLR up, but the quality of the latest Phantom cameras made me decide to sell the hex and buy the latest Phantom.

You won't feel bad about your decision Steve. The GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition takes incredibly detailed photos and video for such a miniscule little nothing of a camera.

I'm wondering what the 'Hero 4' is going to be like. There are several rumour files out there giving specs, but there is a lot of speculation that it won't be released until early 2015.

I'm hoping they use the extra time to add stabilisation, preferably optical rather than electronic, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Yeah, they all say it will have 4K at 30 fps, but stabilisation is more important to me than 4k.

I ordered my Phantom yesterday.

Keep the tips coming because for once in my life, I'd like to learn the easy way, from others rather than the hard way..... ordering spare parts.

Excited and a little nervous, but hopefully I'll be making some videos soon.

Nice video, Mike.

I'm really disappointed that they did not include dual rates on their transmitter. It seems that it would be almost essential to get smoother movements, especially with the camera tilt switch.

Is there a setting in the Naza software that allows you to adjust the rates?

The remote control Tx/Rx is a fixed frequency. The FPV link can be set to one of 8 channels. There are two programs you should download from DPI. The first is the DJI Phantom 2 Assistant. The other is the DJI RC System Assistant. Each program allows you to download software updates and perform flight control calibration on the main Phantom 2, or the Remote Control unit. You will also have to download the USB driver in a separate setup program; why they didn't include it with the other software is a mystery.

Gary and Mike,

Congratulations on producing quad copter video that did not give me motion sickness caused by the horizon constantly rising and falling in the frame. The downside here is that you've rekindled my interest...

I get a bit of motion sickness when I'm watching video that was recorded using one of the GoPro's Wide Angle FOV settings. I have mine set to the NARROW setting, which is actually a normal 16x9 widescreen recording. Wide angle shots are fine for still photos, but I have a problem with moving fish-eye distortions.

Gary,

What frame rate do you typically shoot?

I've been using 1080 60 fps Narrow with low light enabled. The higher frame rate helps reduce blurring during movement.

Date: 9/19/2014 3:41:29 PM

With the GoPro 3. If you use the 3D gimbal you will not get any shake, vibration or distortion in the video at all, even in high winds or aggressive flight.

As far as the fish eye concern goes, you run the video files through the GoPro studio software but make sure you go into advanced and tick "remove fisheye" the result is great and you get a better file for Vegas to edit with.

Can I add a lower frame rate as in 30fps or 25fps here in the UK lets in more light. Use 60 or 50 only if you intend to use slow motion perhaps.

Steve

First flight of mine.

https://vimeo.com/106535434

I flew it about 200 m away to a neighbor's house to test out the FPV system. Max altitude was 85m. Overall, I found it unbelievably easy to fly, very stable and fun. Today, I'm going to practice with the course lock and home lock modes. Plus we have 10-12 kt winds which will be interesting to see if that makes much difference.

-Keith

Very smooth Keith; looks really good. As you've discovered flying a Phantom 2 with its GPS stabilization and magnetometer compass is almost a no-brainer. Like me, you haven't yet explored the Course Lock and Home Lock modes of the Phantom 2. These two special modes in the Phantoms Intelligent Orientation Control logic look to be the key to doing some spectacular things. I've watched these two videos that give a really good description of each. I hadn't realized it, but when I got my Phantom 2, it had not been enabled for Course and Home lock mode. This has to be enabled in the Phantoms Calibration and parameter setting software.

and

A few quick questions for Keith:

1. Any idea of what caused the horizontal strobing at the beginning of the flight? The rest of the video looks perfect.

2. What camera are you using?

3. What gimbal and FPV did you decide to use?

I really like all the low-angle shots. To me, this is where this technology really excels. With that in mind, the following has become my favorite example of how I'd like to use this technology. I find the near-ground shots to be more compelling than those taken overhead, or at great altitude.

While watching, think about how simple these shots are when using the Quadcopter, and how expensive and difficult they would be using traditional methods involving cranes, booms, helicopters, etc.

I had nothing to do with this video; I'm posting just to bring home my point about how low altitude flying produces a result that doesn't just scream "drone, and which really looks super-professional.

John, this video gives an excellent example of what can be done when flying a Phantom using Course Lock mode. The shots where the phantom is Behind, Above, and in Front of the tractor can be achieved using the standard IOC Off mode. But the shots where the Phantom is off to the side shooting at an angle can only be achieved if Course lock is enabled.

Since the camera is essentially always pointing where the phantom is pointed, in order to have the camera pointing in a different direction than where the Phantom is headed, you must first set the "Course" by pointing the Phantom in the course direction. Then switch the S-2 switch to Course Lock. From then on Phantom yaw will be independent of Phantom direction, While flying forward, the Phantom can be rotated to point towards the tractor while it maintains it's forward direction down the established course.

Then switch the S-2 switch to Course Lock. From then on Phantom yaw will be independent of Phantom direction, While flying forward, the Phantom can be rotated to point towards the tractor while it maintains it's forward direction down the established course.Wow!

Gotta get one, gotta get one, gotta get one, gotta get one ...

Makes me want to flash the credit card. Some really cool stuff!

Another tip for those of you who are thinking about getting a quadcopter. I've learned that despite careful planning and pre-flight checklist, etc., you WILL crash your drone. Probably more than once. After my first crash, I invested about $30 in a camera/gimbal guard to place at the base of the legs under the camera.

This week I did several flights, but one of them I place prop guards on the aircraft since I was going into trees. Bad mistake. Prop guards mixed with a little wind gust can cause a VRS (vortex ring state) that spirals the quad to the ground hard and fast with little chance of recovery. The Phantom broke 3 of the 4 props on the stiff bush it crashed into, yet the camera was fine (the guard was broken in four places but repairable). I suspect, without the camera guard, I'd have a dead camera.

Flew again today - without the prop guards - and all was well. I have a couple new videos on my YouTube channel if you want to see the progression of some aerial camera skills. Love the learning curve.
YouTube Link

I've been thinking about making something to protect the camera because I haven't seen anything commercially available. Where did you get yours?

John,

1. The banding is a result of the shadows of the props hitting the lens. The sun was high to the south and when I'd point that way, I would get the bands. It's a fairly well known issue. Since this was basically a Test Flight, I was not worried about which way I was pointing, but when shooting you have to plan your direction relative to the sun. It looks like you have to avoid a good 30 degrees either side of the sun unless it's below the level of your props. I'm going to play around and see if I can make some sort of lens hood for it, to minimize the effect.

2. GoPro Hero 3+ Black. I know very little about GoPros, so I'm learning that as well. I shot the first video in their version of RAW and very flat ( in ProTune). Since it was again just a test flight, I only added a little contrast and saturation, no real color grade, so I need to practice with that a bit.

3. The gimbal is the Zenmuse H3-3D. It is the true star. While the Phantom has a lot of great tech built in, but it's the gimbal that allows for the smooth video. And you are right... the low angle will really be where this thing is at. All too many times people just go up and spin around. I think of the quad as basically a stedi-cam I don't have to carry. I just wish I could afford one big enough for a DSLR. For the FPV I used the 600mW Immersion RC transmitter and the Black Pearl monitor. It was SUPPOSED to be the 7-ch, which is better suited for the Immersion transmitter, but they actually shipped me the 32-ch. Because of that, I can't use the FatShark antennas, and I'm using the stock ones. Max distance so far has been about 240 meters. I'll let you know next week when I get the new monitor if indeed there is better range.

Gary,

On my second flight, yesterday I enabled the NAZA mode and played with Course Lock and Home Lock. From flying RC my entire life, I really had to turn my brain into a different mode, but the CL is amazing and I think that's a lot of where I'll be shooting when I actually start filming something good. But it will take practice to get good, smooth shots.

The only grips I have so far is the damn yaw axis. I really can't believe they didn't give us any dual rates, or the ability to dial down the rate of the yaw. 200 degrees per second is way too fast for a camera platform.