Has anyone ever flown in the rain?

[PhantomWetSuits]

As I eluded to, you're asking the wrong question. And as I answered, YES, you can get the drone a little wet without a skin. But eventually the rain will drop the lens, which will ruin the shot. Is it POSSIBLE that the lens MIGHT clear in time for the lightning to strike???? Well....I SUPPOSE SO, but HIGHLY UNLIKELY. MORE LIKELY is that that ONE DROP will stick to the lens DURING your lightning strike, which will ruin the shot.

Why do you dismiss my answer? Quite literally, it's the most important answer in this thread so far.





Because you know why? No matter "how light" you make the conversation, those water droplets are NOT going away. You're turning a logic answer into an emotional one. I don't know how to say it any more logically. Drop of water on lens = ruined photo. To assert that "maybe the lens will dry" is absolutely preposterous. Based on my experience (which I'm trying to share with you), there is a 50/50 chance that the drop will even fall off the lens in the first place. Even LESS of a chance that it will fall off in time to get the shot.





So your point is that if you want to get lightning shots in the rain, as long as you fly out of the rain and away from the lightning, the lens will dry??? Why not just ask, "Can I shoot lightning from OUTSIDE the rain area????"

With all due respect, you're making zero sense. And dismissing my experience does a disservice to those who may be watching this thread. You want pilots to BELIEVE that they can fly in the rain without a care in the world regarding the lens. Quite literally, the LENS is the most important piece of the if SHOOTING PHOTOGRAPHY equation. So stop dismissing it like "just one drop of water is no big deal." It IS a big deal.

Good day, sir.

D

Your Experience in the Rain is very limited at best compared to how many flights we have flown in the rain, the pouring rain, the hail, even the snow for that matter.
as we video record every flight and sometimes not a single drop of rain or snow even touches the Lens no matter how hard it is coming down.


As far as work demands go, I have never had an employer say a single thing about a a drop on the lens , only high Praise from flying in the rain in the first place to get the job done.

Both Wind and Drops of Rain can be Negotiated very nicely if you dont loose your head , get emotional and learn some skills that will help you.
Having the Phantom Rain Wet Suits our a good Start .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain

 

[Harleydude]

Your Experience in the Rain is very limited at best compared to how many flights we have flown in the rain, the pouring rain, the hail, even the snow for that matter.

Touché. I concede. But dollars to doughnuts my rain experience in a mission-critical situation exceeds yours. i.e. Film sets and client situations.

as we video record every flight and sometimes not a single drop of rain or snow even touches the Lens no matter how hard it is coming down.

Is this just randomly flying in the rain for fun? Or do you have a subject you have to shoot? You see, there is a PROFOUND difference in the two situations. In the former, you can "play to the rain," keeping your lens pointed down and/or fly backward. In the latter, you don't have those options. Sharing an example video would flush that out.

As far as work demands go, I have never had an employer say a single thing about a a drop on the lens , only high Praise from flying in the rain in the first place to get the job done.

Sure. But dollars to doughnuts you weren't in a production situation @ $10K/hour production costs.

I was doing a shoot for Epix. Simple shot; follow a bus. It was a simple, but important shot. We flew the drone out to the bus and the director yells, "Action!" The bus starts moving, we start to follow and BAM, drop of water on the lens. This drop did NOT just "fall off." I alert the DP who alerts the director who stops the shot. Bring the drone back. Clean the lens. Reset. At $10K/hour, that drop cost about $1,000. Now granted, not everybody is in that situation. But here's the problem... The original OP was literally about shooting lightning. Maybe this isn't considered "mission critical," but if your only objective is to shoot a given object, then a clean, clear lens is the only way to do it. 1 drop of water on the lens will ruin a lightning shot. This condition is exacerbated by the fact that you can't keep the lens tilted down.

* Even at 400' AGL (max legal limit), your lens is going to remain parallel to the horizon. All it takes is one breeze to push a drop into your lens.

* 100% of the time, shooting lightning, your drone and your lens will be facing the wind.

So....if "getting the shot" is your SECONDARY objective behind your PRIMARY objective of just "flying in the rain," then touché. The drop doesn't matter that much.

Both Wind and Drops of Rain can be Negotiated very nicely if you dont loose your head , get emotional and learn some skills that will help you.

You're kidding, right? THIS is your answer to all the data I've posted? "Don't lose your head???" Are you kidding me???? "Learn some skills????" LMAO....okay....forgive me. I was under the illusion that I was dealing with a logical, rational, reasonable, sensible person. I had no idea I was dealing with an emotional unicorn. Touché, sir.

So we're perfectly clear, your "method" (HUGE air quotes there) for keeping rain off a lens:

* Don't loose [sic] your head
* Don't get emotional
* Learn some skills

Hehehehe....you just made my day.....LMAO.... That is just hilarious.

Having the Phantom Rain Wet Suits our a good Start .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain

Yeah...no....they won't keep rain off the lens. Only "not loosing [sic] your head" can do that. LMFAO....

I'm done here. You win.

D

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Yep drops are a pain but easily removed with v2 button assigned to flick cam straight down and water drop is gone,,helps to have a cheap sun shade on which prevents drops hitting head on,,I do have my cam slightly down when in rain
It does beat not flying due to wet weather and comfortable in the car when flying in the weather.
Only downfall I have is I have crack in shell and cant really see if crack has got worse or stayed the same,,suit probably holding it together for all I know,,,,,

 

[Harleydude]

Yep drops are a pain but easily removed with v2 button assigned to flick cam straight down and water drop is gone

That didn't work for me on set. My C2 button is assigned to point the camera nadir. I tried several times with no luck.

,,helps to have a cheap sun shade on which prevents drops hitting head on,,I do have my cam slightly down when in rain

"Slightly down" creates an advantage. But as many times as I've shot lightning (the subject of this thread), I've had to shoot straight out OR slightly up because the clouds were far more interesting than the ground.

It does beat not flying due to wet weather and comfortable in the car when flying in the weather.

I eluded to this earlier citing "Flying from your living room or SUV." This assumes you're shooting somewhere that allows you to fly from inside your vehicle. In the rain. Touché that most amateur situations don't have you out on a film set, so the ability to sit in one's car IS possible...but not very comfortable when you can't see your drone (which we're technically not supposed to do). Keeping eyes on a drone through a wet, possibly foggy windshield can't be much phun.

Only downfall I have is I have crack in shell and cant really see if crack has got worse or stayed the same,,suit probably holding it together for all I know,,,,,

That crack would be a "flying in the rain" deal breaker for me.

Good luck.

D

 

[Deleted member 62848]

That's nice picture,,,yip fly from car heaps ,windows always clean and clear so I can have eyes on or I wont fly,or I sit under the rear door ,my Toyota perfect for flying,can even land inside the back after flight,which sounds easy but takes some care,,,yes must admit the crack a bit of a worrie but no water comes out of inside so that's good,,this is a new p4 which develop cracks on arms by motors aswell,I have a new wet suit ready for new shell ,no warranty,,gambled on it from pornshop to find it had only 4 flights on board so worked out good,,my p3 will wear a suit one day soon too