Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

The_Abyss · 25 May 2017 at 22:34

Beautiful evening for flying, with the low, late sun.

I was out on the motorbike, stowing the Mavic in the tank bag. The portability is so good. I can stop, helmet and gloves off, Mavic out and powered up, controller and app powered up, get GPS and be in the air in under 3 minutes. I still find that very cool.

Yas786 · 25 May 2017 at 23:20

Very nice Abyss.

Took mine out for a spin today, took a few pics and videos but when I had a look at them...they weren't that great.

For instance I had the video set to 1080p 30fps but as the sun was setting I found lights had some weird red tinge to them :/. Pics were blurry as well.

Any ideas or tips to get better pics/vids from the Mavic??

wez130 · 25 May 2017 at 23:27

Get some filters Yas.

Yas786 · 25 May 2017 at 23:32

wez130 said:
Get some filters Yas.

Any particular ones??

The_Abyss · 25 May 2017 at 23:43

I use the Polar Pro ND filters. They seem to work pretty well.

The_Abyss · 25 May 2017 at 23:50

Yas786 said:
Very nice Abyss.

Took mine out for a spin today, took a few pics and videos but when I had a look at them...they weren't that great.

For instance I had the video set to 1080p 30fps but as the sun was setting I found lights had some weird red tinge to them :/. Pics were blurry as well.

Any ideas or tips to get better pics/vids from the Mavic??

I haven't done much video lately, as I've been concentrating on photography instead.

If the sun is setting then you will find that focus can be tricky if you're looking into the sun. I always try and focus on an area of the image where there's some good contrast - on the image above I focussed on the trees at the top of the shot - which is ok when you're shooting a subject that's some distance away. The Mavic's camera is ok, but it can't work miracles so there's a good deal of trial and error to find out how to work with it. Just don't forget to tap to focus - forgetting that has been one of the most common problems for most Mavic users.

The red colouring might be a bi-product of the poor focus. But if not then take some test shots of a neutral colour - a wall in your house might work. Some users have reported a red tinge in the middle of the sensor, which seems to be a production fault for some units.

wez130 · 25 May 2017 at 23:54

There are some good videos on YouTube to help with settings for getting the best from the mavics camera. However, an ND filter is pretty essential for pics/video in direct sunlight. I need to find some myself yet.

Duo · 26 May 2017 at 00:14

Very nice image there abyss. Being out with the mavic during the sun rise/set must yield some very cool shots. Can you set it to hover and take a time lapse? Whats the battery life like?

The_Abyss · 26 May 2017 at 00:39

Yes, hands off the controls and the Mavic hovers really well. Selecting tripod mode gives it even more stability, to the point where you can get some cool shots at night too.

The longest usable exposure I've used yet is around 2 seconds. It is a bit hit and miss though - at that shutter speed I reckon I'm only keeping 1 in 5 of the shots I've taken.

I haven't done a time-lapse yet, but there are plenty of examples online. It seems to work ok, but you do need to set the camera up manually, rather than auto, for best results.

Edit - I should also say that, obviously, these shots aren't 'straight out of the camera'. They need some processing but nothing complex. Being able to shoot raw images is very helpful.

d_brennen · 26 May 2017 at 08:51

Duo said:
ah yes betaflight. i'm still trying to get my head around how to use it properly. Random question...I don't suppose you know how I can invert the pitch?

I'd do that on the TX to be honest. What have you got?

wez130 · 26 May 2017 at 09:07

How many of you have public liability insurance? Also, I want the DJI care refresh package for my mavic, but i'm moving to NZ, i don't know how that would work, anyone know?

Thanks

Cyclone · 26 May 2017 at 15:13

Yas786 said:
Nice, I've had mine for a couple of days and enjoying it immensely.

Just make sure you read or watch the mavic tips videos. So informative and quite helpful.

Thanks, it turned up an hour ago

I just connected it up at home (minus the props, just incase

) and I think I may already have a problem. I have an issue with my S7 Edge where certain cables come out of phone easily, and the Mavic cable did the same causing a loss of connection.
Its something I dont want to happen while flying so Ill see if I can use a different usb lead.

First impressions of the Mavic are good but wont get my first flight in until tomorrow at least. Just need to decide what to do with my P3P now.

Rilot · 26 May 2017 at 15:48

I so wish I could justify a Mavic but I barely have the time to fly the Inspire 1 Pro so it would likely just sit with my other flying things, unused. I do wonder though if I had one I might fly more often due to its ease of deployment when compared to the Inspire. Thinking I might move the Inspire on actually as it's a lot of cash just sitting there.

Cyclone · 26 May 2017 at 16:06

I love my P3P but the portability of the Mavic was probably the main decision in buying it.

Yas786 · 26 May 2017 at 16:53

Cyclone said:
Thanks, it turned up an hour ago

I just connected it up at home (minus the props, just incase ) and I think I may already have a problem. I have an issue with my S7 Edge where certain cables come out of phone easily, and the Mavic cable did the same causing a loss of connection.
Its something I dont want to happen while flying so Ill see if I can use a different usb lead.

First impressions of the Mavic are good but wont get my first flight in until tomorrow at least. Just need to decide what to do with my P3P now.

Good stuff, yeh I heard that the cables could be an issue. Luckily for me my iPhone 6s fits snug as a bug although a minor annoyance is the side arm on the left side of the controller makes it difficult to press the home button.

Unless I'm doing it wrong lol

wez130 · 26 May 2017 at 22:58

It arrived...

I need to get insured before i fly though - not that i can fly until at least next sunday anyway.

dalepearson · 27 May 2017 at 07:39

I have public liability cover. The reason for this is that I am concerned about component failure rather than my piloting skills.
I used to fly Nitro RC Helicopters, and had a really near miss once due to a component failure, and was so glad to be insured, so now I always have it, and its so cheap its crazy not to in my opinion.

I love my Mavic, but not had to much time to use it, but did make this little Lotus Evora 400 montage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOeUwRMBCFg

wez130 · 27 May 2017 at 08:27

Who did you use for public liability? FPV UK or BMFA? In a nutshell, what advantages are there paying the extra for BMFA?

Thanks

Bigpops · 27 May 2017 at 09:58

Ask anyone who's had to claim from FPV UK. I've heard it's not that straight forward.

BMFA is also a larger amount - £25M vs £5M, and includes personal accident cover for yourself.

wez130 · 27 May 2017 at 14:18

I've been doing some research. I've just got the FPV insurance for now till i k ow better, itwas only £4 odd till July anyway. However, even better, I read a few people on mavicpilots have insured their mavic with aviva against loss / accidental damage so I emailed them and I received this reply...

Dear Wesley

Thanks for your email.

Provided the drone is pedestrian controlled (e.g remote controlled), they are automatically covered under the personal belongings section of our polices. These only need to be specified if they exceed £2000

Personal Liability under the Contents section automatically provides legal liability for damage or injury caused by these items.

The Civil Aviation Authority has regulations in place for drones (or UAV’s - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which you should comply with. If you require further information regarding these regulations, please refer to the civil aviation authority website which is www.caa.co.uk.

If the drone is carrying attachments, for example a camera this would be classed as a separate item and would therefore need to be covered under the relevant section. For example if a camera has been attached this would be covered under unspecified personal belongings and would only need to be specified if over the single article limit as above or used for business use.

Business use requests will be considered on a case by case basis. This would need to be referred to our underwriters.

Any other queries, please don't hesitate to contact me or one of the team again.

Regards,

David

E-Comm Customer Advisor

Aviva Insurance
[\quote]

So I've just cancelled my AA policy and signed up to Aviva.

Now I can fly my mavic without worrying.