Recent content by db4570

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    Slow-climbing F550

    Mine is 1685 g with no payload and the cheap original DJI landing gear. This morning I tried lifting a 3 lb (1375 g) dumbell weight, just, because. Not a wise experiment. It flew like an anvil, and got about 3' up before crabbing sideways. David
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    How do you know when your battery is low?

    J.James- I'd really like to know what type of buzzer this is. It sounds like exactly what I am looking for. David
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    Slow-climbing F550

    Thanks for the replies. I did the calibration and tried it again, and it was much improved. But I may have been mistaking low performance for merely low battery power. This thing sure goes through a 5200 battery fast. I'm guessing 5 minutes or so. So now I'm just learning the controls on my...
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    Slow-climbing F550

    Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it. I ran a calibration, but am not sure if I did it correctly. I got stuck unable to change the control mode settings, and don't understand them. (Did I mention I'm a total newbie?) My battery is charging right now (sloooowwww charger; waiting for the big...
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    Slow-climbing F550

    I just got my F550 assembled and working as my first-ever RC project. (If I never watch another Youtube instructional video it will be too soon.) The thing flew really nice in my first two test flights, but on the second flight, when I decided to run her through her paces a bit, I gave it full...
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    How's this for an initial plan? The guy at Atlanta Hobby recommended this "Ultimate 550" setup: http://www.atlantahobby.com/Store/pc/vi ... duct=17836 Trouble is, it doesn't have the gimbal I need, and has a lot of stuff I don't need. So I am thinking about this one...
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    Well, I talked to a guy at Atlanta Hobby, and asked him about that gimbal, and he didn't like it at all, implying it was a piece of junk that they were unhappy with.
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    That gimbal looks just about perfect, from what I understand. The weight of the Fuji camera is 525g with the lens (which I forgot to add in before) so it might be technically a little overweight for that gimbal, but for the price and light weight it might be worth a try. Thanks for the...
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    Thanks for the suggestions. Remember, I am considering two cameras: one 330g, the other 1200g, with lenses. At this point, I'll probably stick with the smaller 330g one. Also, I am only shooting stills, so the gimbal motion doesn't need to be smooth at all. And I anticipate my flight times...
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    I didn't realize the gimbal was so heavy and expensive. Is a gimbal essentially the same as a pan/tilt head? How do you guys aim the camera in general? Do you rotate the whole copter, or do it all with the gimbal? Or do you just make fine adjustments with the gimbal? I'm thinking if you do it...
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    Newbie needs bigger drone for stills w/ SLR

    I've been a professional commercial photographer for 15+ years, including aerial photography from planes and choppers, and want to get into photography with a drone. I am very obsessive about image quality, so want to use a lightweight SLR like my Nikon D7000, or perhaps try one of the Fuji X...