RE: Drone attacks

[Stuart]

Worth noting that PH (alright, Harris) has been getting in on the drone action. One was used to film the startling overhead footage of the Deltawing when he drove it.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

[jon-]

So is the DJI Phantom the best entry level quadcopter?

I've some more filming to do, the Hero 3 is good enough quality for now and the DJI has a reasonable price point.

[UltimaCH]

Great shots and amazing results indeed. I hope the joy stick operator doesn't get his controls mixed up or we may end up with the first collision with a drone camera and a WRC....

[Super Slo Mo]

Rumblestripe said:

Those little drones explain a lot of the shots we see on telly. I was admiring something the other day and thinking how did they get permission to fly a chopper THAT low over/near a crowd and of course this is the answer!

I want one. I guess that you could rig one up pretty cheaply with a cheapy camcorder and just switch it on and away you go?

I think CAA rules prevent them from being flown over a crowd.

Much of the stuff you see on TV, particularly sports, will be on suspended cable systems.

[Adz The Rat]

carsnapper said:

Before anyone commits to a £20K purchase, you might want to try this kit out

http://quadcopters.co.uk/dji-phantom-ready-to-fly-...

Also, keep an eye out for the new Top Gear starting on Sunday with the new Africa Special, all the aerial footage was shot with a similar rig in the WRC video. Amazing bit of kit to have in the field, stunning results!

I have a quadcopter on order for use with the GoPro

£459??

That aint bad at all!!

I want one

I love this video, done by Copter Kids......

http://vimeo.com/13774420

[STiG911]

I give the R32 a 7/10 for Hoonage. Would have been an 8, but that soundtrack choice was a bit gay.

[Fetchez la vache]

filski666 said:

I just need a cat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePNdcdNm9fY

That is one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. Sounds like it was a real cat as well...

[Hugh23]

For anyone interested, Horizon AP based near Newcastle are capable of some amazing things with these systems, have a look at;

http://www.horizonap.com/

[ukaskew]

The Copter Kids stuff is amazing, you need confidence in your equipment to suspend very very expensive Canon gear under one of those as I believe they can fly upwards of 70mph.

Watching this one: http://vimeo.com/45762381 helped me appreciate the skill of the operator, some serious talent required to pilot the thing, control the camera and keep it out of the way of the subject.

Edited by ukaskew on Friday 25th January 13:12

[jon-]

ukaskew said:

The Copter Kids stuff is amazing, you need confidence in your equipment to suspend very very expensive Canon gear under one of those as I believe they can fly upwards of 70mph.

Watching this one: http://vimeo.com/45762381 helped me appreciate the skill of the operator, some serious talent required to pilot the thing, control the camera and keep it out of the way of the subject.

That is fantatically cool - and sod expensive Canon gear, that Sony cam is ~£7k!

All this is making me think of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs_OacEq2Sk

[Stew2000]

The hardest part will be finding a radio setup that ignores all unwanted communication signals. The smallest interference can bring them down really badly.
Spending a few hundred pounds on one is only good for a quick run in a car park like the R32 vid.

[Super Slo Mo]

jon- said:

That is fantatically cool - and sod expensive Canon gear, that Sony cam is ~£7k!

Which is still cheap, when you start looking at the price of Broadcast kit.

Those Sony's give a decent image actually, we stuck a proper Canon lens (costing circa twice that of the camera) on one and integrated it into a SKY rugby match last year (over a radio link). Image quality was easily on a par with a Sony Broadcast camera, and it didn't have any noise issues even with a lot of gain dialed in.

The big snag with the Sony cam in that linked video is that they don't handle very well (at least, hand-held). The viewfinder is right at the back, so it has to be held out at arms length, which is not really ideal.

[jon-]

Super Slo Mo said:

jon- said:

That is fantatically cool - and sod expensive Canon gear, that Sony cam is ~£7k!

Which is still cheap, when you start looking at the price of Broadcast kit.

Those Sony's give a decent image actually, we stuck a proper Canon lens (costing circa twice that of the camera) on one and integrated it into a SKY rugby match last year (over a radio link). Image quality was easily on a par with a Sony Broadcast camera, and it didn't have any noise issues even with a lot of gain dialed in.

The big snag with the Sony cam in that linked video is that they don't handle very well (at least, hand-held). The viewfinder is right at the back, so it has to be held out at arms length, which is not really ideal.

Would the majority of traditional broadcast stuff be too heavy to remote chopper mount?

Ignoring broadcast, the things you can do for youtube with the likes of cheap SLRs and the new Go Pro is getting insane. 120fps at 720p on the hero 3 and the lighting control is just about OK for youtube. Isn't most of drive shot with SLRs and go pros?

[AsifG]

This is pretty cool too, and very easy to fly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPBM9CCZOF8

[300bhp/ton]

Anyone wanting to have a go with one of these try this out:

http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Wltoys-V959-2_4g...

£44.89 inc delivery and ready to fly.

[livinthedream]

Adz The Rat said:

carsnapper said:

Before anyone commits to a £20K purchase, you might want to try this kit out

http://quadcopters.co.uk/dji-phantom-ready-to-fly-...

Also, keep an eye out for the new Top Gear starting on Sunday with the new Africa Special, all the aerial footage was shot with a similar rig in the WRC video. Amazing bit of kit to have in the field, stunning results!

I have a quadcopter on order for use with the GoPro

£459??

That aint bad at all!!

I want one


I love this video, done by Copter Kids......

http://vimeo.com/13774420

You may want one but avoid that supplier. The guy pitches himself as helpful but basically gives up on your 3rd or 4th email if you get issues and takes an age to reply, fails to call back when you leave phone messages etc.

Edited by livinthedream on Friday 25th January 13:45

[Super Slo Mo]

jon- said:

Would the majority of traditional broadcast stuff be too heavy to remote chopper mount?

Ignoring broadcast, the things you can do for youtube with the likes of cheap SLRs and the new Go Pro is getting insane. 120fps at 720p on the hero 3 and the lighting control is just about OK for youtube. Isn't most of drive shot with SLRs and go pros?

Yup, most of it's too heavy for the wimpy cameramen too , especially with radio transmission kit bolted on. Having said that, I wouldn't like to run up and down a touchline for 90 minutes lugging 8-10kg's of camera around.

That Sony FS700 that was used in the previous link is a lovely system, in terms of the image quality it can get ( and the slo-mo functionality), and works brilliantly on a jib, or tripod. It's just difficult to hand hold that's all.

Yes, the quality of image available now from relatively cheap cameras is astonishing. The only issue really is that 'rolling shutter' effect you sometimes get when doing a fast pan, or shooting rotor blades/turning wheels etc, where the subject appears to bend.

Go-pro's are almost good enough to compared with mini-cameras costing ££££, although there's no preview screen, so framing can be tricky. The lens quality isn't so good, but they are still capable of being integrated into a TV show which, for a cheap camera, is something that would have been unthinkable even 5 years ago.

[AbarthChris]

Adz The Rat said:

£459??

That aint bad at all!!

I want one

I love this video, done by Copter Kids......

http://vimeo.com/13774420

That is properly cool...

Great video

[jon-]

Super Slo Mo said:

Go-pro's are almost good enough to compared with mini-cameras costing ££££, although there's no preview screen, so framing can be tricky. The lens quality isn't so good, but they are still capable of being integrated into a TV show which, for a cheap camera, is something that would have been unthinkable even 5 years ago.

I've noticed a few Go Pro shots even appearing in top gear from time to time, which as you say is insane.

The new Hero 3 Black has Wifi, which allows you to frame the shot from your phone over huge distances - it's such a useful feature! The other draw back of the new black (other than those you've mentioned) is the battery life, which is sub 1h it seems. God knows what it is if you try and shoot 4K (which is next to useless thanks to the slow FPS)

[ManaghGB]

Would I be right in thinking that these big developments in photography and filming have been due to the current redbull/go-pro/extreme sports that's been going on for a while.

I take it the extra money and sponsorship from big drinks companies helps fund and creates a market for these types of things?