Scotland and England

[u4na]

Having lots of fun with my Phantom

Couple of videos, one from Dalry Moor, Scotland
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18MQDVJ--L8[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18MQDVJ--L8

and one from the

Roman Wall in Northumberland, England

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGgU-gWcFZk[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGgU-gWcFZk

Just need some more fine weather to make more.

U4NA
upupupupnaway

 

[GearLoose]

Very nice videos, though as I commented on your FB page, I'd prefer soundtracks that more closely match the subject -- surely those moors have produced something that sounds more distinctly Scottish?

As I watched the Dairy Moor video I realized that my attraction to these amateur productions comes from their lack of slick polish and post-production enhancements. They feel immediate and real. The guy pumping his bike up the hill made me want to throw my own bike on a plane and head immediately to Dairy Moor.

I'd love to see more, especially of the moors. I'd also appreciate some slower panning -- so many of these quad videos move at dizzying speeds. I'm actually watching for detail so if the camera moves very quickly at all, there just isn't time to savor things.

Good flying!

 

[u4na]

Couple more videos

Knockendon Reservoir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gabkYpTw0to

Loudon Hill (historic battle site)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRSeY4msEgk

 

[pwright]

Great stuff!

 

[GearLoose]

Excellent work!

You also have a talent for choosing interesting locations. The reservoir is quite unusual, not the sort of place you're likely to see in a Tourism Board video promo.

Love the music... and also the slow, smooth panning.

 

[u4na]

You also have a talent for choosing interesting locations. The reservoir is quite unusual, not the sort of place you're likely to see in a Tourism Board video promo. Love the music... and also the slow, smooth panning.

The panning will get slower and smoother when I get a Hero 3 as I'm currently limited to 30fps at 1080p with my current camera, so have to do a bit of post smoothing.

As for the music I just pick something on youtube that I think fits.

As I say - just having fun - I'm fortunate to live in part of the world with lots of natural beauty, and with some old buildings etc. (stuff was built for looks and functionality back then, not just functionality as it is now).

I do a bit of research before I pick a site, and know what I want to try to get before I turn up - and btw it's always this sunny in Scotland

 

[GearLoose]

Yes, it is also permanently sunny here in the "Great Pacific North-wet". Unfortunately you have to be over 30,000 feet above sea level to enjoy it!

I am also limited to 30 fps with my Drift HD 170. I'd appreciate knowing more about how you've managed to get such smooth video.

 

[u4na]

Not sure I'm doing anything too special

I'm using a Contour Roam on a home made mount

I've also fixed a small mobile phone (android) to my phantom in case of a fly away - I've added tasker to it, and have it set so that if I text to it from my phone, it texts me back it's location.

Together these add a bit of weight to my phantom, and lower it's centre of gravity.

I've tried to balance my motors (didn't completely get rid of all vibration) and props.

I do my pans as slowly as I can, and go with any wind while in atti mode.
If I'm climbing I do it very slowly to avoid any judder, stick just above mid point.
I normally do climbs in atti mode too, though the slow climb showing Loudon Hill was done in gps mode as I wanted to hold the same viewpoint and not drift.

After that, I cheat
I take lots of stills (B Roll I think it's called) and mix them in my editor (KDEnlive on linux) - it has a stabilizer function, but it seems to take an awful long time and I've not used it so far.
If I want to extend a shot, eg the two people at the top of Loudoun Hill, I took the last frame from the clip and appended it as a still for an extra 2 seconds.

Finally when I upload to youtube I use their stabilizing feature. It works well, but there are a few oddities introduced in some shots (eg the climb to the sheep at the dam, I flew close to the stairs but the shot warps after stabilization).

That's all I do, and I'm still learning and trying to get better.

HTH

 

[GearLoose]

Your description of how you fly does help. I'll try the slow ATTI control, downwind. After griping about videos that pan too quickly I've learned my lesson -- my panning is way too fast, mainly because I find it difficult to make very small throttle adjustments. My Phantom often moves as if it has the hiccups, in fits and starts.

There are occasional breaks in the rain today, so perhaps I'll have the opportunity to make another try.

Thanks!

Later.....

I followed your advice on an ATTI flight just before dark, though I forgot the tip about ascending slowly to avoid juddering the image. I sent the quad up quickly and definitely got judder.

Once the Phantom was as high as I dared I was unable to see the LEDs, so I leveled off and began what I thought was a very slow 360 pan. Upon review, however, I had done no panning at all, so all I got was a nice steady view of a neighboring hilltop. It made me wish for some kind of audible feedback from the stick, to give me an idea of how fast the rotation is.

The good news is that I did get much smoother video in ATTI, as well as some more practice on flying in that mode -- my ATTI flying sessions to date haven't been so great.

 

[u4na]

I followed your advice on an ATTI flight just before dark, though I forgot the tip about ascending slowly to avoid juddering the image. I sent the quad up quickly and definitely got judder.

Once the Phantom was as high as I dared I was unable to see the LEDs, so I leveled off and began what I thought was a very slow 360 pan. Upon review, however, I had done no panning at all, so all I got was a nice steady view of a neighboring hilltop. It made me wish for some kind of audible feedback from the stick, to give me an idea of how fast the rotation is.

The good news is that I did get much smoother video in ATTI, as well as some more practice on flying in that mode -- my ATTI flying sessions to date haven't been so great.

Well I guess you've now got an excuse as to why you need a Hero and FPV kit - bound to help the framing of your shots, as it's hit and miss for me and you I guess.

I try to always fly in atti and only use gps mode sparingly (in high winds, or when catching, or for specific shots) - I'm a new flyer, and also have had to swap modes when moving to the Phantom, but it's becoming easier with practice.

I guess you could have always done a little forward and back movement to see which way it was pointing (and edit that out of any pan).

 

[GearLoose]

u4na: Yes! to fpv. In fact, you took the words (spoken to my wife) right out of my mouth.

I am finding it very difficult to determine the Phantom's orientation once it gets farther than 50-75 meters from me. I have a hideously pink foam "noodle" on the left side but that also becomes hard to see. At the altitude I described previously I couldn't detect any movement at all, even short back and forth changes.

Nervousness is also a factor, as I'm still easily confused in ATTI mode, even close up!


"Well I guess you've now got an excuse as to why you need a Hero and FPV kit - bound to help the framing of your shots, as it's hit and miss for me and you I guess.

I try to always fly in atti and only use gps mode sparingly (in high winds, or when catching, or for specific shots) - I'm a new flyer, and also have had to swap modes when moving to the Phantom, but it's becoming easier with practice.

I guess you could have always done a little forward and back movement to see which way it was pointing (and edit that out of any pan)."