How to respond to a public that is convinced drones are for "peeping Tom's"?

[Pete Leare]

I call it a quadcopter when people approach me curiously. It has more of a RC helicopter sound to it. I avoid saying drone.

Agreed 100%.
We can start by stop calling them drones. People outside of our hobby think of drones as something that flies over war zones and run spying missions that can identify an ant on the floor from thousands of feet up. We don't and can't do that, but that's what people think we do.
Call them what they are - UAV's or Quadcopters and this will go a long way to dissolving the mystique.

 

[TTSupra628]

Totally agree. I mentioned this in another thread as well. I've had several interactions while I'm flying my drone and as long as I call it a Quadcopter people are very interested. I've actually convinced 3 people (including one cop) to go out and buy a P3P using this method.

 

[jackhandy]

Agreed - Never use the D word

Funny things is - If I say I'm a keen photographer, member of a camera club & it's just a flying camera, people seem quite willing to accept that

 

[GoodnNuff]

I call them drones because they are drones and it is part of our lexicon. I don't think UAV, UAS, Quadcopter, etc., will really catch on like "drone" has. So when I refer to my quads when talking on forums or to friends and family, they are drones, but whenever approached by a stranger...they become "quadcopters" lol.

 

[N017RW]

That [drone] horse left the barn a long time ago.

It's not about words or names but about people and how they act/use them..

 

[jimerb]

When people hear drone they think military surveillance with or without bombs. For a long time, that's all it was.

 

[Sabalon]

Had two different interactions today. Met a friend at a park to show what the Phantom could do vs. his "press this button to do a flip" model. Some kids saw the toy one and came over, so I launched mine as well. It was known as "the good one to get". I showed the dad and the boys what I saw on my iPhone, showed his little girls themselves on the video (albeit small) where they could wave to themselves. They guys mother came up as well and thought it was cool. Told me a story about their grandson crashing his (cheap) one into the wall and breaking it. No paranoia. While it was up in the air, some kids thought it would be fund to see if they could run and stand under it. The third time they tried this, I put it beyond the trees.

Then this evening, with my neighbor, who I've shown how it works, what it can do, etc. Friend down the road said she thought they were about to be attacked by bees, so I flew it down the road and pointed it down their driveway as they waved to me, and brought it back. Neighbor was going on about there's gotta be a way to make it quieter, how else could you sneak up on people. Told her, maybe the govt may have the ultra quiet ones, but these are not designed for that. She said that that's what people get them for, to spy on people - what else would you want it for? This is someone I've shown what the video looks like, how small people look from 200ft up, how noisy it is. Basically it is probably the worst spy tool. Then again, she doesn't seem to understand why they keep having kittens appear over there, as if the concept of getting an animal fixed is witchcraft.

Aside from that, all my reactions have been "that is so cool" or "I hate you" - though the latter comes from people I know who are jealous

 

[Skywalker]

Nonetheless, privacy is an issue which is why here in the UK, I believe we are supposed to maintain a 50m exclusion zone - from people and buildings - when filming in public areas. Not easy to do though.

Does that apply to all cameras, or just the flying ones?

 

[sohail99]

Many a times, I have been asked to open my bag during a security check at the airports!
Earlier they didn't know what it was and I had to explain and they used to be like "Cool".

More recently, when I had to open my bag to show them after an xray check, I was kinda taken aback as all of the security guys were like " Dr0ne Dr0ne"
I immediately corrected them that it was a quadcopter and thats the term we used for it!
But still he exclaimed, "Its still a drone though!" and sent me back to get it checked in!

I have a backpack which I use to carry my equipment and always try to carry it as cabin baggage and have been allowed previously.
But since recently, all airports tell me to check it in the cargo hold!
--------------

Recently, on a trip I was filming a sunset on the beach and was approached by a a few curious people including lifeguards who were enjoying seeing the quad and were impressed by it.

One of the older gentlemen comes up to me and mentions it as $py dr0ne!

I fly FPV, so I showed him my screen and asked him whether he could make out any $pyworthy material from up there!? (At that point the sun was below the horizon from ground level, but the phantom was still able to see it from that height and it looked amazing!)

I even brought it down a bit and did a few flyby's(had the wide mode on GoPro) and apart from the general landscape of the beach and waters, one couldn't make out anything. I showed it to him again and he finally seemed convinced that it was harmless.

I even got word that evening that, people were reporting on my activities to the local cops patrolling the beach!!

I guess they had nothing better to do!

During video editing of a flight, I even spotted a guy who was gesturing as if he was firing a gun at the phantom!! (you get their mindset from this single action and they are the ones cops should be looking closely at!!)

I have seen other phantoms flying at such locations and I always appreciate and applaud them and never try to seek out the pilot as he needs his concentration and doesn't need a mob gathering around and disturbing him, mid flight!

One thing that I have learned after this is, that I always seek out a remote or impossibly difficult to get to, spot, unpack my gear and then take off from there.
Hate the crowd gathering behind me!

 

[Pete Leare]

I presume when you had to check it into cargo, they asked you to pull the batteries and carry them on? Batteries cannot travel in checked baggage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sohail99]

I presume when you had to check it into cargo, they asked you to pull the batteries and carry them on? Batteries cannot travel in checked baggage
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is the weird part too!
I dont keep batteries with the phantom and once I had tried to take them in cabin luggage when I checked the phantom in.
They looked at the packs suspiciously in the cabin luggage and told me check them in as well!!

 

[Martin Smith]

Print a photo of yourself on the ground flying the "drone" taken from about 100ft up, keep it with you and show them "just how identifiable a person is from the air".

 

[RedHotPoker]

If I really wanted to spy on any people, I would rely solely on my Nikon D800: Nikon D800 D-SLR Camera | High Dynamic Range Camera with the Nikkor 80-400mm lens: AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens
With 36 megapixels... I can count the hairs.
In your eyelashes, I mean. Hahaha

RedHotPoker

 

[Skywalker]

Someone wiser than I suggested:
"If I wanted to spy on anyone, would I use a contraption that sounds like an angry beehive, is covered with flashing lights and can't recognize a face any further than 20 ft? No. I'd use an ordinary camera with a long lens...like everyone else at the beach has.

 

[Imabiggles]

I've never been approached while flying, but I've heard many comments to that effect.

If I try to explain that drones don't do closeups well (wide-angle lens, vibrations, noise, etc.) their eyes glaze over. I hate to let them keep that misconception, but I haven't found a short, convincing response.

It's like they automatically assume we're all pervs.

Send 'em a photo from 400' up of them in their backyard?

 

[Slackware]

show them the cost of a flir camera.
Infra red camera would give itself away, for 400 feet the power needed to illuminate the target will make birds flying by drone burst into flames.
After going through all the fappening pictures and movies, I didn't see one that was made by a drone.

 

[Slackware]

The only legitimate concern I would have to think about how I'd answer is that of safety from falling drones. The more driven I am to capture a given moment the more willing I am the fly too near people and property. I would clash head on with someone that thinks anyone cares enough to spy on them but the first time someone asks me if they can crash....I won't have an answer for that. I really do believe though that the hysteria will subside. People will get a drone, crash it and not buy another....X100000.

it's called a ready supply of cheap replacement parts. LETTHEM BUY 'EM.

 

[Meta4]

Take a 4K still image and you can zoom into any particular part of the photo and retain amazing clarity as you enlarge the image.

It occurred to me that yes, with the 4k resolution on offer, you can zoom right into the subject with I suspect, amazingly good results. Best not to mention it I think!

huh?
Take a screenshot from your 4K video and it's just like a still.
If you "zoom in" beyond 100% it turns to pixellated mush.
You will never find any more clarity than was already in the original image at 100%.
Here's a still to illustrate:

It's not shown here at 100% so I've enlarged a portion to 100% so you can see how much detail is in the original image.
I've also enlarged the same part to 200% and 400% to compare.

 

[GoodnNuff]

huh?
Take a screenshot from your 4K video and it's just like a still.
If you "zoom in" beyond 100% it turns to pixellated mush.
You will never find any more clarity than was already in the original image at 100%.
Here's a still to illustrate:

It's not shown here at 100% so I've enlarged a portion to 100% so you can see how much detail is in the original image.
I've also enlarged the same part to 200% and 400% to compare.

Yes, I think you illustrated that well. If two of those people were on a bed and not in the ocean, the "pixellated mush" would still allow me to tell if they were sleeping, playing a board game, or in the throes of passion. I may not be able to read the magazine cover on the night stand however. But I think there would be valid evidence of a cheating spouse if that is what the pilot photographer was aiming for...

 

[Clipper707]

huh?
Take a screenshot from your 4K video and it's just like a still.
If you "zoom in" beyond 100% it turns to pixellated mush.
You will never find any more clarity than was already in the original image at 100%.
Here's a still to illustrate:

It's not shown here at 100% so I've enlarged a portion to 100% so you can see how much detail is in the original image.
I've also enlarged the same part to 200% and 400% to compare.

That one guy with the untied Nikes has the same exact watch as I do.