Hey Phello Phantom Phliers !!
I produce a weekly sportfishing program for FOX Sports West Television (HD) which airs here in SoCal, AZ, NV and HI. I got my first Phantom (2) back in January. Got real confident in flying/filming. The Phantom is a real game changer in the video production world as all of you know.
All (not most) of my production works is on the water. From boats or beaches, all of my work is fishing related. Cutting to the chase, back in April I lost my first drone to the depths of a local lake. I can only blame myself because I was trying to stretch a flight another minute or two with about 25% battery power. LIttle did I know that it will automatically land when it gets low. And land it did, about 50 feet from home and into the water. Never saw it again.
With that, I immediately went out and got the Vision 2+ which was in my plans anyway. I have been flying the Vision 2+ now since then and really love it. As far as what I see on HD television, I can see little if any difference in the video quality of the Vision compared with the GoPro3. If anything, I like the Vision picture a little better. But that's not the reason for my post.
I am not flying with the confidence I once had with my first Phantom 2. Not even close. I just returned from filming trips to Alaska and Mexico. In Alaska, I had some issues which were resolved by the folks here in Orange County where I purchased the drone. In Mexico, things were different. It flew flawlessly. Nice !
Now here is the main reason for this post. I simply must come up with a way to be flying with a completely waterproof drone. Otherwise, I am always at risk of dunking the Phantom. I simply cannot live/film like that. I need complete confidence in order to do my best work.
I missed some really good opportunities in Mexico. I need to be able to fly from and back to a boat and film such things as wide open tuna bites from the air. Shots like this is will add a whole new dimension to my work. But I am so afraid to do that with the Phantom. One little mistake, either pilot error, loss of signal, etc., means disaster. Even failsafe is not a real good option because if the drone comes back to where it took off, that spot is where the boat was. And it has moved.
Yes, with my new Vision 2+ it can (normally) be brought back into GPS mode after returning close to home after going into failsafe. But I cannot live with that.
I am just curious what your experiences have been with the idea of a waterproof drone? I am looking seriously at http://www.quadh2o.com. I don't mind spending the extra bucks, but the problem with their drone is it has a fixed mounted camera. No way to move it up/down. And no gimbal. Totally unacceptable.
So I am open to suggestions and really appreciate any thoughts you might have on the subject.
Thanks so much !!
Danny (Santa Ana, CA)
BTW.... you can check out our show at http://www.anglerchronicles.com
I produce a weekly sportfishing program for FOX Sports West Television (HD) which airs here in SoCal, AZ, NV and HI. I got my first Phantom (2) back in January. Got real confident in flying/filming. The Phantom is a real game changer in the video production world as all of you know.
All (not most) of my production works is on the water. From boats or beaches, all of my work is fishing related. Cutting to the chase, back in April I lost my first drone to the depths of a local lake. I can only blame myself because I was trying to stretch a flight another minute or two with about 25% battery power. LIttle did I know that it will automatically land when it gets low. And land it did, about 50 feet from home and into the water. Never saw it again.
With that, I immediately went out and got the Vision 2+ which was in my plans anyway. I have been flying the Vision 2+ now since then and really love it. As far as what I see on HD television, I can see little if any difference in the video quality of the Vision compared with the GoPro3. If anything, I like the Vision picture a little better. But that's not the reason for my post.
I am not flying with the confidence I once had with my first Phantom 2. Not even close. I just returned from filming trips to Alaska and Mexico. In Alaska, I had some issues which were resolved by the folks here in Orange County where I purchased the drone. In Mexico, things were different. It flew flawlessly. Nice !
Now here is the main reason for this post. I simply must come up with a way to be flying with a completely waterproof drone. Otherwise, I am always at risk of dunking the Phantom. I simply cannot live/film like that. I need complete confidence in order to do my best work.
I missed some really good opportunities in Mexico. I need to be able to fly from and back to a boat and film such things as wide open tuna bites from the air. Shots like this is will add a whole new dimension to my work. But I am so afraid to do that with the Phantom. One little mistake, either pilot error, loss of signal, etc., means disaster. Even failsafe is not a real good option because if the drone comes back to where it took off, that spot is where the boat was. And it has moved.
Yes, with my new Vision 2+ it can (normally) be brought back into GPS mode after returning close to home after going into failsafe. But I cannot live with that.
I am just curious what your experiences have been with the idea of a waterproof drone? I am looking seriously at http://www.quadh2o.com. I don't mind spending the extra bucks, but the problem with their drone is it has a fixed mounted camera. No way to move it up/down. And no gimbal. Totally unacceptable.
So I am open to suggestions and really appreciate any thoughts you might have on the subject.
Thanks so much !!
Danny (Santa Ana, CA)
BTW.... you can check out our show at http://www.anglerchronicles.com