Category Archives: UAV Photography

Take the camera to the sky

Take the camera to the sky

Take the camera to the sky is  a creative way to enhance your world view, to see the environment from above. This can be used for many practical reasons as well for the artistic purpose of photography.  Here are some practical ideas as  to why you may want to take the camera to the sky:

VIDEO.

  1. Check the house roof for any damage.
  2. Check the rain gutters for blockages by tree leaves and bird nests.
  3. Do your neighbors a service by inspecting their roof for a fee.
  4. To see and photograph the house and the yard from above.
  5. To view and film the neighborhood block from 300 yards above.
  6. Video film from above while walking on a beach, boating on a lake, kayaking on a river or cycling on a country road, or maybe skiing or snowboarding down a slope.
  7. Photograph steep cliffs with a flying camera without endangering yourself.
  8. Get to take pictures of precarious places where no man (maybe) have gone or seen before.
  9. Video film big surf board riders from a high up in the sky without getting wiped out (not for beginners) Learn how to fly on land first before going over water.
  10. Scout and photograph wild birds and game animals over wet in accessible swamp lands  without putting on the waders.

Take the camera to the sky

Take the camera to the sky with a DJI Phantom Vision 2.

DJI Phantom Vision 2 is a great entry level UAV platform to start from, it offers practical flying control and quality video and still photography.

Here are some links provided for more details.

DJI Phantom Vision 2.

Practical accessories for Phantom Vision 2.

  • Set of propeller guards ( must have).
  • Extra batteries for field trips.
  • 64 MB memory card.
  • Protective carry case.
  • Set of spare propeller blades.
  • Optional 3-axis Gimbal for additional camera.
  • DJI Accessories.

The above list of items are for practical reasons to have if you can afford to buy them.  The propeller guards will save a lot of pain because the propeller guards will stop the drone from falling out of the sky it fit bumps against a wall,  a tree or similar object. The blades will not be stopped by the object, they keep rotating and powering the vehicle to stay up in the air.

The extra batteries are needed when going on a field trip away from a power source to recharge batteries.  Also extra batteries will enable filming when the occasion provides the moment for video and still photography.  Morning sunrise, the offshore breeze, the surf and the birds in nature, wild game and the sunlight will not wait for anybody to recharge their batteries, they just keep, keep on rolling on.

Have a plan before committing to it.

Know what opportunities you will have for the DJI Phantom Vision drone, think of the different seasons and various places that provide opportunity for scenic video footage and still photography.  It may be a cove of the ocean, a calm morning at the lake shore, a field filled with wild flowers, and orchard with fruit trees, a unique tree forest or whatever your interest is in, what motivates you to go outdoors and to explore the great outdoors.  It can be any season of the year it really depends where on where on the planet the locations is and what interests and motivates you.  Have a clear plan as to what how and when you have opportunities for the learning phase of taking the camera to the sky and where the highlights are for extraordinary video footage and for the still photography.  Take the camera to the sky has many creative applications it is only limited to the creativity of the UAV camera pilot.

UAV Photography

Is UAV photography the new way to fly and to view the world at a fraction of the cost.

UAV photography is becoming more popular as new affordable quality products become available, and as the new industry gets more momentum by the opening up of new technology and by the demands of the users.

There are many fine products available for UAV photography, just like in any other new innovative industry, some are made and designed for the competitive hard core professionals, aerial photography, festivals and events, advertising purposes and for marketing destinations and tourism at a less of over all cost than booking, hiring a helicopter and crew for a scenic photo shoot.

There are a lot less helicopters and small planes than there are UAV drones, and the cost of maintenance is a lot less in this time and age of willful carbon omission reductions.  If only the experience of remote flying a UAV with a live video screening, and UAV photography, could take away the need of so many millions of people to fly abroad several times per year.  If not a UAV photography drone, then maybe a solar powered glider could do the trick and save many barrels of crude oil per person each year.

UAV Photography is here to stay, the new innovations and technology has made it  possible to do that which was beyond the reach of the common hobbyist only 10 years ago.

Digital cameras only flourished globally around and after year 2000, and then became affordable items just like the mobile phones did around 1990.  I got my first mobile phone around that time, and the digital camera came some 10 years later.

Watch this space, i will be adding some important brand names to watch out for, there are many brands that have products ready on the market.  Some of them are inexpensive toys, available on Amazon, others are more expensive and only available from their brand representatives.

Here is one sample product, of what is affordable, at the middle price level range, with a camera it cost less than $1000. at Amazon.

Watch this Video for more live action and spec details. UAV Photography.

The DSLRPros – DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter for GoPro.

Here is an action camera from Amazon, it is called the GoPro 3. Specially designed for outdoors and action shots.  There is a new multi-axis camera gimbal bracket coming out by DJI in May 2013, it is a smart device connected with software to the drone flight control, keeping camera direction and level regardless whether the drone is pitching, turning, ascending or descending.  There are 2 way axis gimbals and also 3 way axis gimbals, that enable panning of the camera remotely. It improves the quality of the camera video footage by making it more steady and level even if the drone is not flying perfectly level.  The GoPro camera range is a multipurpose camera, which can be mounted for filming many types of sports; cycling, skateboarding, surfing, motor sports and more.

These are as a sample to see what price range one wants to aim at, or maybe to start with a product at the lower end and to learn the skills needed first to be able to fly and control the UAV within a controlled risk and the environment. Even at the above price range the UAV drone are loaded with very bright technologies and a GPS systems that detect satellites for navigation from the sky above.

UAV Photography has a promising bright future that adds the third dimension of seeing the environment from the birds eye view.

UAV photography
GoPro camera mounted.

Propeller guards.

The Phantom’s battery is said to last under 15 minutes of flying, you would want to have a second one for back up especially if flying the UAV drone away from home base. The stock DJI Phantom package only includes a single 2,200mAh battery and a charger.  Flying with a camera mounted does add weight to a UAV drone, therefore using up more power during the flight. The Hero 3 black edition weighs 2.6 ounces.

Here are some specs on this new camera.

The Wi-Fi enabled HERO3: Black Edition is the most advanced GoPro, ever. No expense was spared during its development, resulting in a GoPro that is 30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful than previous models. Wearable and gear mountable, waterproof to 197′ (60m), capable of capturing ultra-wide 1440p 48fps, 1080p 60 fps and 720p 120 fps video and 12MP photos at a rate of 30 photos per second, the HERO3: Black Edition is the world’s most versatile camera. Built-in Wi-Fi, GoPro App compatibility and the included Wi-Fi Remote (normally a separate $79.99 accessory) make the HERO3: Black Edition all the more versatile, still.