p4p or less ?

[Tommy J 111]

I mostly take photos but did take some video.

Here's a couple of photos taken with a Syma X8G with a cheap 2 axis gimbal and a Xiaomi Yi action cam. All were taken using interval shooting as there is no way to control the camera or see what it is recording.

purdy

 

[FlashBuddy]

Hey, those came out better than I would have thought. I always wondered if I could fit a decent camera on a toy drone and buy a top gimbal at Gearbest or Aliexpress, would it create decent photos and videos? Your shots are nicely composed and show better detail than I would have expected - pleasant surprise. That is quite a feat considering you don't have gimbal control. They appear a little flat so I took it upon myself and did some adjustments to one in Photoshop:

...annoying, I know. Just can't help myself sometimes

 

[Chrislaf]

Hey, those came out better than I would have thought. I always wondered if I could fit a decent camera on a toy drone and buy a top gimbal at Gearbest or Aliexpress, would it create decent photos and videos? Your shots are nicely composed and show better detail than I would have expected - pleasant surprise. That is quite a feat considering you don't have gimbal control. They appear a little flat so I took it upon myself and did some adjustments to one in Photoshop:

View attachment 84559


...annoying, I know. Just can't help myself sometimes

Thanks for your positive comments about the photos and your PS adjustments to the photo. I have been using and exploring photoshop more but I still do not know how to do many things with it so I appreciate the improvements. What tools did you use in PS to make those adjustments?

Bying a toy drone was the best thing I ever did before moving on to my P3S. It did not have GPS or even altitude hold so was completely manual control. The hardest part was trying to keep it steady so that it could take a clear picture on interval shooting. Unlike a phantom even a light wind would cause it to drift or turn. There was a few times when it got turned around and all the controls were backward. But kept practicing and it got better. As for mounting the gimbal and the camera, the hardest part was descending/landing since the weight of the camera and gimbal made it come down quick even with very slight movements on the control sticks. The Xiaomi Yi cam is a great camera. It's photo quality has been rated as comparable to a GoPro 3 or 4.

Here's a photo of the drone, gimbal and action cam (SJCam).

 

[FlashBuddy]

Nice looking bird. I looked at the SJ Cam and as time went on thought I'd probably end up buying a Sony cam, even though it cost more. Really got jazzed about their built in IS and the photos/video looked great compared to SJ and GoPro.

Your flying skills only get better when you wrestle control on the non GPS drones. I keep my Syma X5C-1 around for just that reason. Don't want to go "Whoa, here comes a tree" and react incorrectly