Drone tech these days blows me away!

[Diggs]

I dug out an old drone I've had for years. There is no FPV but it has full stabilization and GPS and does take pics and video that need to be downloaded from the microSD card after the flight. Being a retired RC airplane hobbiest for years (still have 7 planes in storage) I thought the whole idea of hover and vertical flight was pretty cool. Even then I still grew bored and quit flying it. I always thought FPV would be pretty cool if I ever got another drone.

Then I stumbled on a YouTube post detailing the state of DIY FPV (First Person View) drones today. Adding a full color high definition FPV camera was only $30. The transmitter for it was less than $20. The stuff is tiny so it tucks into the drone nicely. Headsets can be had for as little as $50 but I went with one closer to $100 because of the reviews. Last night was first flight and was made mostly with headset off as I have to snake the drone up through an opening in the trees (pucker factor here) and I don't trust my depth perception yet with the headset on. Once above the trees with headset on it's impressive. Great color and detail. Depth of field takes getting used to. A quick trip over the river and the headset started flickering. (I haven't received the long-distance antennas that I ordered.) Not a good place to lose it so I head home. Everything worked first time pretty much plug and play. I was impressed. It was just a matter of fitting things into the drone and securing. The headset scanned and found the drone's FPV transmitter. I just had to push the button to confirm.

Phase 2 of this project may be to mount a digital 4K stabilized cinematic camera on the drone that records the flights. I'm also working on a hack to use the Tesla Mod S Lithium battery cells I have (extra from the e-bikes) in the drone. Weight would stay the same but it would go from 1800mah battery pack to 3400mah increasing run times considerably.

Anyways, it's nice to have the time to go down the rabbit hole on some things that have been sitting for a long time. Thought I'd share.

 

[Diggs]

Thought I'd stop by and revisit this thread now that I've been flying the drone for a bit with its 4K camera. Started editing the videos with Davinci Resolve but it's a bit cumbersome due to its vast capabilities. I used MS Clipchamp on this video but have since moved on to Openshot. Here's fall colors on the Wisconsin River -

@add - I should mention this is my second drone as the first one was attacked by a bird out over the water, tumbled in and sank. I got to the water's edge quickly and there were Turkey Vultures circling right where I was flying (you can see one at 1:05 in this video) but they aren't known for being aggressive - Hmmm....

 

[ThatPlace928]

Very nice! There's a guy out here in Arizona with a YouTube channel whose drone videos are quite spectacular. HIs name is ToddTodd and he gets into the most amazing places. You have incredible views, as well.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Wow the cameras are crazy cool now.....
I have some videos I took with an old DJ Mavic that was probably, oh, 10 years ago? I borrowed it from a buddy to do some treeline flying/surveying on an island offshore...for another point to point wireless shot we were thinking about next to the tiny airport out there. I still have the videos somewhere...but recalling those, compared to what you posted...WOW.

 

[Diggs]

Considering what I'm flying is 10% the cost of Mavic 3 I'm happy with the results. Adds a whole other dimension to the drone. The FPV is on 5ghz so I lose vision if there are heavy trees. When I was doing @vanlife travels last month I was along the Mississippi River and could travel a mile or so before vision/control became a problem as there were no obstructions. The previous video was 1080HD as that is all MS will let you do with their free version of Clipchamp. This is true 4K (although I don't see much of a difference) and you may have to bump your YouTube settings to see it.

 

[frase]

I dug out an old drone I've had for years. There is no FPV but it has full stabilization and GPS and does take pics and video that need to be downloaded from the microSD card after the flight. Being a retired RC airplane hobbiest for years (still have 7 planes in storage) I thought the whole idea of hover and vertical flight was pretty cool. Even then I still grew bored and quit flying it. I always thought FPV would be pretty cool if I ever got another drone.

Then I stumbled on a YouTube post detailing the state of DIY FPV (First Person View) drones today. Adding a full color high definition FPV camera was only $30. The transmitter for it was less than $20. The stuff is tiny so it tucks into the drone nicely. Headsets can be had for as little as $50 but I went with one closer to $100 because of the reviews. Last night was first flight and was made mostly with headset off as I have to snake the drone up through an opening in the trees (pucker factor here) and I don't trust my depth perception yet with the headset on. Once above the trees with headset on it's impressive. Great color and detail. Depth of field takes getting used to. A quick trip over the river and the headset started flickering. (I haven't received the long-distance antennas that I ordered.) Not a good place to lose it so I head home. Everything worked first time pretty much plug and play. I was impressed. It was just a matter of fitting things into the drone and securing. The headset scanned and found the drone's FPV transmitter. I just had to push the button to confirm.

Phase 2 of this project may be to mount a digital 4K stabilized cinematic camera on the drone that records the flights. I'm also working on a hack to use the Tesla Mod S Lithium battery cells I have (extra from the e-bikes) in the drone. Weight would stay the same but it would go from 1800mah battery pack to 3400mah increasing run times considerably.

Anyways, it's nice to have the time to go down the rabbit hole on some things that have been sitting for a long time. Thought I'd share.

Needs Lasers.

 

[Diggs]

I spent 6 weeks or so along the Texas gulf coast this winter doing the vanlife thing again. I brought my drone this time and captured 4K video on every flight (~25 flights?). Now I find out I hate video editing. Doesn't matter what editor I use it's just so tedious. I've been trying to put together a mashup/synopsis video of the trip and just can't get there. Regardless, here's a quick video from a flight when I stayed at Magnolia Beach (south of Port Lavaca). Nice place to chill for a while. They allow free camping for up to 2 weeks.

 

[britechguy]

Now I find out I hate video editing. Doesn't matter what editor I use it's just so tedious.

So think about how awful it is to put together TV episodes or, heaven forbid, a movie!

Interesting from-the-air views, though. I notice these days just how much more drone footage is being used in television productions, in particular, but even movies as well. There are all kinds of long, cruising shots from the air that just were not possible in times past. Helicopters had to be much further away than drones do.

 

[Diggs]

So think about how awful it is to put together TV episodes

...and YouTube content creators? Really? (Get a life....

 

[frase]

Influencer Island a new TV series, all of them with tech like Gilligans Island.

 

[GTP]

Drones are so cheap now. I guess you get what you pay for though...

 

[Diggs]

Drones are so cheap now. I guess you get what you pay for though...

Agreed! I can't believe how cheap they have gotten. I'm tempted to buy a few just to check out the hardware inside. I get frustrated occasionally with the 1/2 mile range on my drone but all I use it for is an elevated camera platform and don't really go exploring with it. A mechanically stabilized mount for the 4K camera would be nice.

Just an FYI for those interested. The little 4K Thumb Cam Pro camera I use creates 2 files every time it's run. One is the picture but the second one records GPS, inertia and movement and is used by a program called Gyroflow to stabilize it in post processing. Works OK but tends to have strange artifacts (shimmering and studdering). The zooming you see in the above video is Gyroflow during heavy stabilization.