Check my fireworks video give me some feedback on the video, what settings did you use to shoot

Nice capture, very cool. I would have got closer, over the water's edge, looking inland. Then from directly above looking down, from about 400'.

Some big fireworks don't explode until 400 and 500 feet. I flew some this year and while I was hovering at 385ft agl i had to tilt the camera up. I don't think you could get an overhead shot.
 
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Some big fireworks don't explode until 400 and 500 feet. I flew some this year and while I was hovering at 385ft agl i had to tilt the camera up. I don't think you could get an overhead shot.
The fireworks shown on the beach were not of the 400' class. I've setup a lot of city fireworks shows, most all are 3" mortars max, which ascend to 300'. Only large venues use larger mortars due to the cost and regulations of proximity to people. Most cities are budget constrained, wanting a 20min show for under $20K, hence the 3" size for most. Regardless of size and height, consider nest time to approach the fireworks display area from the water by flying over the ocean at launch, out about 1000', then down to where the fireworks are, then fly toward land to capture the fireworks, flying inland at least to the waters edge. When done, fly back out over the ocean out 1000' (far enough so people can't follow the craft back to you), then fly parallel to the shoreline till you're even with your location, then come in and land. You know there won't be any helicopters or planes in the area of the fireworks, so it's quite safe to 400agl, even higher.

The key to aerial fireworks capture is the timing. You have about 20min of flight time, and most fireworks shows are 20min long. So taking off about 8-10min after the show starts is usually optimal so you get the finale, while saving enough flight time to return to home. However this can be difficult because you don't want to miss anything. It took me a few times to figure out the virtue of patience to get the right timing.
 
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Nice capture, very cool. I would have got closer, over the water's edge, looking inland. Then from directly above looking down, from about 400'.

Yea I was pretty far close to 2 miles out, I couldn’t move any further or I would loose signal
 
Some big fireworks don't explode until 400 and 500 feet. I flew some this year and while I was hovering at 385ft agl i had to tilt the camera up. I don't think you could get an overhead shot.

I might give a try next time I was right at 400 feet
 
The fireworks shown on the beach were not of the 400' class. I've setup a lot of city fireworks shows, most all are 3" mortars max, which ascend to 300'. Only large venues use larger mortars due to the cost and regulations of proximity to people. Most cities are budget constrained, wanting a 20min show for under $20K, hence the 3" size for most. Regardless of size and height, consider nest time to approach the fireworks display area from the water by flying over the ocean at launch, out about 1000', then down to where the fireworks are, then fly toward land to capture the fireworks, flying inland at least to the waters edge. When done, fly back out over the ocean out 1000' (far enough so people can't follow the craft back to you), then fly parallel to the shoreline till you're even with your location, then come in and land. You know there won't be any helicopters or planes in the area of the fireworks, so it's quite safe to 400agl, even higher.

The key to aerial fireworks capture is the timing. You have about 20min of flight time, and most fireworks shows are 20min long. So taking off about 8-10min after the show starts is usually optimal so you get the finale, while saving enough flight time to return to home. However this can be difficult because you don't want to miss anything. It took me a few times to figure out the virtue of patience to get the right timing.

Timing is very important in catching this shots, jish going over 1000 feet I will die but you do have a plan and that’s what you have to do set the plan before take off and know what exactly what your doing,
 
4 plus miles John!!! Wow! I've never got close to that. But of course I really don't ever try! But wow! What kind of terrain are you talking?
This is suburban Calif. I fly in mountains (as you can tell from my videos you follow) mostly, but Gadget Guy in San Diego gets 5mi with windsurfer all the time while flying over suburban San Diego. However he's flying from the roof of his house, from up on a hill, so he's got a good LOS connection all the time. That's the secret, good LOS and using a windsurfer helps a lot by shielding any interference from behind you (at least 50%). Also, since 5.8Ghz is the least popular wifi frequency, and it has trouble going through walls, there's inherently less interference above 100' AGL outside where we fly. 2.4Ghz is way more popular for WiFi, so there's more interference potential with our drones, so the range is typically less.
 
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This is suburban Calif. I fly in mountains (as you can tell from my videos you follow) mostly, but Gadget Guy in San Diego gets 5mi with windsurfer all the time while flying over suburban San Diego. However he's flying from the roof of his house, from up on a hill, so he's got a good LOS connection all the time. That's the secret, good LOS and using a windsurfer help a lot by shielding interference from behind you (at least 50%). 5.8Ghz is the least popular wifi frequency, and it has trouble going through walls, so there's inherently less interference above 100' AGL outside where we fly. 2.4Ghz is way more popular for WiFi, so there's more interference and the range is less.
Your latest Youtube vids are so dang cool man! I'm headed to Salt Lake and Southern Utah again in 10 days btw.
 
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The fireworks shown on the beach were not of the 400' class. I've setup a lot of city fireworks shows, most all are 3" mortars max, which ascend to 300'. Only large venues use larger mortars due to the cost and regulations of proximity to people. Most cities are budget constrained, wanting a 20min show for under $20K, hence the 3" size for most. Regardless of size and height, consider nest time to approach the fireworks display area from the water by flying over the ocean at launch, out about 1000', then down to where the fireworks are, then fly toward land to capture the fireworks, flying inland at least to the waters edge. When done, fly back out over the ocean out 1000' (far enough so people can't follow the craft back to you), then fly parallel to the shoreline till you're even with your location, then come in and land. You know there won't be any helicopters or planes in the area of the fireworks, so it's quite safe to 400agl, even higher.

The key to aerial fireworks capture is the timing. You have about 20min of flight time, and most fireworks shows are 20min long. So taking off about 8-10min after the show starts is usually optimal so you get the finale, while saving enough flight time to return to home. However this can be difficult because you don't want to miss anything. It took me a few times to figure out the virtue of patience to get the right timing.


The fireworks I shot this year were for a small city. Not sure what their budget was. It was solid show, but not the most amazing.

Here's some of it: Finallyw starts around 2:45.

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The fireworks I shot this year were for a small city. Not sure what their budget was. It was solid show, but not the most amazing.

Here's some of it: Finallyw starts around 2:45.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
Hey Blessed77. It was a great show. Don't be pissed at me. But do you realize that your whole show was out of focus man? I had this the first time or two that I shot at night with the P4 Pro in auto focus mode. I have since set my bird in manual focus totally and never touch it. I set it manually one tick off of infinity in the app. You'll never have to worry about focus again. Just saying.
 
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Hey Blessed77. It was a great show. Don't be pissed at me. But do you realize that your whole show was out of focus man? I had this the first time or two that I shot at night with the P4 Pro in auto focus mode. I have since set my bird in manual focus totally and never touch it. I set it manually one tick off of infinity in the app. You'll never have to worry about focus again. Just saying.
I agree with that focus strategy and do it myself as well.

It helps to know how long the show is and what the max shell size is. Generally speaking, an 18 minute show can reliably be captured in full on one p4p high capacity battery, provided your home point isn't far off from where you park the bird up there for the show. It also assumes you aren't up there for an extended time waiting for the show to start. Again, all these details are great to know before hand so you can make a wise and safe plan.

Here's some tips to consider. Enable that 30° extra tilt up for a fireworks show. You'll be glad you did. Night flying is very forgiving of the upward tilt in terms of props. This can help big time if some shells go higher than you expected and still allow you to remain at 400' agl. For the p4p camera, for every shell size, double the minimum distance from the firing zone. A 3" shell has a burst spread of approximately 300'. Tack on a minimum of 300' from the edge of that burst as a good fov. Add another 100' to that formula for each larger shell, 4" 5", etc. Remember that if you're filming in 4k, you can crop zoom in post to tighten up the fov so it's better to add distance. Too far is often not good. Too close isn't either. And never fly directly over the firing zone. Resist the temptation to film directly down over fireworks. It's not a safe move for anyone concerned, including your precious bird.
 
I agree with that focus strategy and do it myself as well.

It helps to know how long the show is and what the max shell size is. Generally speaking, an 18 minute show can reliably be captured in full on one p4p high capacity battery, provided your home point isn't far off from where you park the bird up there for the show. It also assumes you aren't up there for an extended time waiting for the show to start. Again, all these details are great to know before hand so you can make a wise and safe plan.

Here's some tips to consider. Enable that 30° extra tilt up for a fireworks show. You'll be glad you did. Night flying is very forgiving of the upward tilt in terms of props. This can help big time if some shells go higher than you expected and still allow you to remain at 400' agl. For the p4p camera, for every shell size, double the minimum distance from the firing zone. A 3" shell has a burst spread of approximately 300'. Tack on a minimum of 300' from the edge of that burst as a good fov. Add another 100' to that formula for each larger shell, 4" 5", etc. Remember that if you're filming in 4k, you can crop zoom in post to tighten up the fov so it's better to add distance. Too far is often not good. Too close isn't either. And never fly directly over the firing zone. Resist the temptation to film directly down over fireworks. It's not a safe move for anyone concerned, including your precious bird.
Agree on all your points especially about tipping camera up at night. Great tip. But I would totally love to take an old Phantom 3 or 4 and fly right through the fire just once. LOL
 
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I agree with that focus strategy and do it myself as well.

It helps to know how long the show is and what the max shell size is. Generally speaking, an 18 minute show can reliably be captured in full on one p4p high capacity battery, provided your home point isn't far off from where you park the bird up there for the show. It also assumes you aren't up there for an extended time waiting for the show to start. Again, all these details are great to know before hand so you can make a wise and safe plan.

Here's some tips to consider. Enable that 30° extra tilt up for a fireworks show. You'll be glad you did. Night flying is very forgiving of the upward tilt in terms of props. This can help big time if some shells go higher than you expected and still allow you to remain at 400' agl. For the p4p camera, for every shell size, double the minimum distance from the firing zone. A 3" shell has a burst spread of approximately 300'. Tack on a minimum of 300' from the edge of that burst as a good fov. Add another 100' to that formula for each larger shell, 4" 5", etc. Remember that if you're filming in 4k, you can crop zoom in post to tighten up the fov so it's better to add distance. Too far is often not good. Too close isn't either. And never fly directly over the firing zone. Resist the temptation to film directly down over fireworks. It's not a safe move for anyone concerned, including your precious bird.

Great advice thanks [emoji1417]
 

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