Glad you liked it Jim. I found out they sold off the Hawk Convertible prototype they had. Shocked, to say the least. Hopefully that firm gets back to you quickly. Just got my bathrobe delivered today for the hospital journey. Didn't want "my better half" flapping in the breeze once they make me get out of bed and start walking the halls again. Feb 4th is coming up fast and the nerves are starting to kick in.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
That's a great story Laura, very interesting history. The design firm that scheduled my Ohio shoot hasn't gotten back to me to confirm that the project is going to be finished later this month. They need to figure it out fairly quickly because I received several emails over the weekend lining out projects that will take me well into Spring to complete. Great way to begin 2019, I always like a good solid backlog!
You are in my thoughts and more importantly prayers. Praying all to go smoothly and a quick recovery with positive news. I'm sorry you are going through this, 2019 was supposed to be an up year for you, hope it is once you get this behind you.
Time to pay for my drone a couple more times Several clients have been after me for some intricate drone missions was soon as things turn green down here, so I thought I better knock the rust off both of us and get back in the groove. I flew off six batteries this afternoon and shot a little video.
My batteries are holding about 50% of the 30 minute flight time they claim when new. I do have them programmed for a low battery warning at 25%. Think I'll pick up several knew ones and begin to rotate my original ones out, I flew surprisingly well given the fact that it's been at least 6 months since I've done anything but top off the batteries and update the firmware. Sheila was surprised when I came home, I wasn't even bleeding.......
Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) {0x829A} = 1/92 second ===> 0.01087 second
Lens F-Number / F-Stop {0x829D} = 12/5 ===> ƒ/2.4
Exposure Program {0x8822} = normal program (2)
ISO Speed Ratings {0x8827} = 25
JWilsonphoto wrote:
How about those over rated full discs?
Jim, I thought you would have moved up to the Inspire series by now. The X5 camera with the micro four thirds mount is a big step up from the 1” sensor on the P4P. I still have the P4P but it gets neglected while I attempt to master my Inspire 1 Pro. Buying DJI batteries is like buying av-gas. I still get the adrenaline flowing every time I fly. Stay safe and don’t let it bite you👍👍
I am tempted when I see some of the stuff the i2 produces with that camera, but I've restrained myself. As I mentioned, I haven't had the P4P out of the case in six months except to top off the batteries and keep the firmware updated, so I took it to a wide open and empty soccer field yesterday to polish up my flying technique. I have the batteries set to warn me at 20% and a couple of times the P4P initiated the precautionary landing sequence due to low battery. I'm getting about 15 minutes out of them, maybe if I fly them a couple of times this week and recycle them the capacity will come up a bit. I charge enough for drone work that I can include a battery or two in the upcoming assignments without it being a big hit.
Yesterday it only took a battery to get back in the swing of things, I was manually flying orbits around myself and rotating the drone 30 degrees as it went around me. Only had a couple of twinges of panic when I thought it wasn't responding to my commands, but it was just a bit sluggish in the wind which was 10-15 at the surface.
I'll bet the Inspire is a solid craft to fly. Much of the footage I see, really from the Inspire and the Phantoms, has a jerky feel, like dropped frames but not. What causes that?
I'm going to fly all my batteries off again tomorrow because it's supposed to be beautiful with winds 5-10.
Thanks for your encouragement! Hoping to expand the envelope a little more this year, only without the blood, sweat and tears
Your wisdom always impresses me Jim. Most of us would skip the practice and cut corners on the prep for a job. Battery life is a real issue with our toys. The Inspire 1 Package I purchased came with 5 batteries. 2 of them were DOA. The other 3 have reduced capacity. Considering the bigger TB48 is good for a max of ~18 minutes at full capacity has made for some very careful flights monitoring battery health. My warning has always been kept at 30% with 10% for drop dead, I’m coming down. Like you, I charge enough to buy batteries so am waiting for our PNW weather to clear to enjoy a few decent flights with the new batteries that arrived this week.
Video is really not my forte considering my passion is stills. I try to shoot video in manual with frame rate double the shutter speed. I turn my gains way down trying to smooth things out. Many say 24fps is the best but I prefer 30fps. I do find a sweetness to the video from the X5 mft camera. On the other hand, it is a completely different bird to fly. Your fear of wind gusts is reduced and with the landing gear raised can spin the camera 360 degrees. My kit came with a second controller just for the cameraman. I need a good wingman for that. Here is a first video attempt with Mt. St. Helens peaking over the hill.
That's really nice Mike! There's none of that effect I mentioned in your footage. What do you hear about the 7K version of the I2? I can never get a handle on what is or isn't a problem with stuff on the forums just because so much of it is clouded by inept operators. Difficult to believe anything could be higher quality than the footage you just linked me to, just wonderful!
I noticed yesterday that once the emergency low power sequence actually began, the P4P landed itself and I didn't have any input (one of my mild panic moments) is that the case or was I imagining it?
Thanks for your admiration of my caution, very kind, it, like so much in life, was preceded by disappointment and blood I guess at 4 months shy of 70 I am still "teachable"
Keep me posted on your adventures, love your work!!
JW
P.S. I came very close to beating feet up to The Skagit River last week to shoot Eagles, while Sheila was in Israel. The weather just looked so dismal I waved off on that plan. Thought a couple of days with one of those Skagit guide guys would be some fun.
Caution comes with experience. We’ve all drawn a little blood and learned from our mistakes.
I put my 45mm Olympus on the camera without balancing it and got footage to make a sailor seasick. This was with the DJI 15mm lens.
The X7 camera on the Inspire 2 (redundant batteries, longer flight time, collision avoidance, etc.) is the cream of the crop but way out of my league. I had my hands on an Inspire 2 with the X5S camera last week but sadly had to walk away. The X7 has proprietary lenses and a premium price to match. I saw yesterday someone has come out with a lens in that mount. Hopefully pricing will drift down.
Yes, when you reach 10% it is coming down wherever it is ready or not. These batteries don’t like deep discharges on a regular basis.
We built a bridge over the Skagit River about 15 years ago. I’m sure a Texas boy like you would freeze sitting in a drift boat all day in the drizzle. Another grand eagle gathering is on the east end of Lake Coeur’dalene up in North Idaho in December and early January. No guide required and you can sit in your vehicle and watch them feed. I think if you did that, Sheila would say you were unsupervised🤣🤣
I shot in that area of Idaho several years ago, some kind of beautiful country you live in. I could probably handle the drift boat experience because of my Chicago winter experiences, but the guide I spoke with had heated boats
I love North Idaho. My wife and I were raised in NW Montana so the Idaho Panhandle is home country for us. We’ll pass through it next week on our way to Cranbrook, BC. to check on my wife’s 97 year old mother.
I’ve seen Peoria in the winter a few times so you are right about the cold but... we do get climatized quickly. We worked on Oahu for two years and found the Oregon Coast brutally cold for a few years after we came back to the Mainland.
Boy that is true Mike, 50 Texas summers have thinned my blood considerably. I used to stand out on a construction site talking to clients while the snow blew horizontally and I never gave it a second thought, don't think I could do that now.
I woke up about 2 this morning and could not get back to sleep so I headed upstairs to my office to back up some files on a new RAID. Somehow I found myself on the DJI Inspire forum reading posts. Looking at the classified section I found countless opportunities to buy X5 and X7 I2 set ups for thousands off retail. Folks who bought them as back ups, a guy who bought his and flew it a couple of times then was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers, another was a moment who lost her husband suddenly and he had just purchased an X7S complete deluxe set up. Lots of tempting stuff there, probably a scam or two as well, but I think it bears watching.
I have an update on the GoPro Hero7 from Gunny Perdue, a hands on review if you will. Gunny bought several of them for a series he is creating on flying techniques and he loves them. I see no rolling shutter jello in any of his clips and the imagery looks very good. What really peaked my interest were his comments about using an app on his iPhone to monitor them and turn them on and off. You can even switch between multiple cameras in the app to control them and monitor them individually.
I haven't used my Sony POV's for some applications because the wifi interface is kind of clumsy and I would have to start them before we launch and just let them run out of battery, the Hero 7 gets rid of that concern. What got me thinking about all of this again was an email from a client asking for drone like fly over perspectives but the properties are in controlled air space and the views he wants will require at least double the 400' ceiling along with making visual contact at all times next to impossible.
Soooo, bottom line is I ordered a Hero 7 from B&H to do some testing with. This series of assignments will begin in the Spring as soon as things green up and will run through fall "color" (a relative thing here in The Lone Star). Interestingly, there is a company that makes a vibration dampening mount specifically for the tow ball underneath the nose of Robinson helicopters. The whole set up just might create a "poor man's" Shotover of sorts, for low level fly over clips. The relatively low price of admission sure makes it worth taking a look at what can be done anyway.
Don't know if Mark pulled the trigger on his Hero 7 purchase, but based upon what Gunny tells me, it's a winner.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
I have an update on the GoPro Hero7 from Gunny Perdue, a hands on review if you will. Gunny bought several of them for a series he is creating on flying techniques and he loves them. I see no rolling shutter jello in any of his clips and the imagery looks very good. What really peaked my interest were his comments about using an app on his iPhone to monitor them and turn them on and off. You can even switch between multiple cameras in the app to control them and monitor them individually.
I haven't used my Sony POV's for some applications because the wifi interface is kind of clumsy and I would have to start them before we launch and just let them run out of battery, the Hero 7 gets rid of that concern. What got me thinking about all of this again was an email from a client asking for drone like fly over perspectives but the properties are in controlled air space and the views he wants will require at least double the 400' ceiling along with making visual contact at all times next to impossible.
Soooo, bottom line is I ordered a Hero 7 from B&H to do some testing with. This series of assignments will begin in the Spring as soon as things green up and will run through fall "color" (a relative thing here in The Lone Star). Interestingly, there is a company that makes a vibration dampening mount specifically for the tow ball underneath the nose of Robinson helicopters. The whole set up just might create a "poor man's" Shotover of sorts, for low level fly over clips. The relatively low price of admission sure makes it worth taking a look at what can be done anyway.
Don't know if Mark pulled the trigger on his Hero 7 purchase, but based upon what Gunny tells me, it's a winner....Show more →
Yep, I did. I'm just not very adept with it. And I haven't gotten around to trying to edit any of the videos. It was mostly for my daughter's final college hockey season, and now it's a little over halfway done.
About the phone app. Let us know how you make out. I found the wifi range very short - maybe 20 ft. Beyond that it would drop, and sometimes it seems the camera will stop recording when that happens. When I get back in range it often has trouble reconnecting to the camera, and I have to shut the camera off and restart. Not a huge problem for my usage, as I can get about 2 periods out of each battery. I just let it record the whole ice, rather than just the end where it is mounted. The porthole I use to shoot stills is too far from the best camera location, so I can't use the app to control it anyway.
