Boat photography with drones?

[Privleoplag]

https://www.facebook.com/fred.martin...218152/?type=3

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Privleoplag

https://www.facebook.com/fred.martin...218152/?type=3

That's a great video! Very impressive the way the drone keeps flying after the collisions.

Fred must have been seriously thinking the drone was going swimming.

[Jolly Roger]

I previously looked at these drones but I couldn’t justify $1700 for a first time buy. Maybe, if I ever get a commercial license and can do shots for money…
Anyway, if I over-reached, knowing if it crashes it would float, and I must retrieve it at that price, how do I do that with six sails flying, including a squaresail? It would take a half mile to roll them all in, then motor back to the crash site, assuming I can find it…
Lowering the dinghy and trying to retrace the location is just as bad.
How about fitting an automatic inflating lifejacket on a regular drone .
JR

[frozenhawaiian]

once the drone is launched it's easy as can be, the trick is getting the launched and recovered, launching it with one person is easy enough but recovering the drone really is a 2 person job.

[Privleoplag]

Know this.. YOU WILL CRASH. Especially when learning to fly. Then, when you think you know how to fly, YOU WILL CRASH.

Depending on your boat, it will make a big difference in how you are able to retrieve the drone, especially if single handing. If you have the Queen Mary, it might not be to bad, if you have a 27ft. sloop, it might be bad. Fly it out when the weather is mild not wild.

It's surprising how much abuse they will take. I think I crashed about 8 times before the Mavic hit so hard it actually broke. The crashes mostly occur when trying to fly it towards you, and than glancing down at the screen and back at the drone. It's best to turn it around and back in to you you rather than try to run the controls reversed to get it back. That's my suggestion, but then, I've crashed a lot, so maybe don't listen to me.

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks Privleoplag, I’m listening to everyone.
I’m still practicing with a cheap ($20) tiny model, which only has basic controls. I keep crashing that and I haven’t even been outside yet!
There will come a time when I will need to decide which of the many machines to buy, to take shots of my boat under full sail. Hence this thread.
Even so, I’m not going to spend a fortune, for the reason you expound because when I get out on the water there may be only one crash…
JR

[frozenhawaiian]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Thanks Privleoplag, I’m listening to everyone.
I’m still practicing with a cheap ($20) tiny model, which only has basic controls. I keep crashing that and I haven’t even been outside yet!
There will come a time when I will need to decide which of the many machines to buy, to take shots of my boat under full sail. Hence this thread.
Even so, I’m not going to spend a fortune, for the reason you expound because when I get out on the water there may be only one crash…
JR

believe it or not a higher end drone is actually a lot easier to fly. all the DJI drones are fully gyro stabilized and GPS enabled so when you take your fingers off the sticks the drone hovers and maintains position.

[CharlzO]

Just a few points after reading some of these:

Not all drones require a smartphone to operate, and there are plenty of high-end drones that don't need one. Some, like the Yuneec drones, have built-in screens on their controllers that do the same function, giving you real time views and telemetry without the need to use your own phone or worry about pairing, or apps crashing.

Likewise, some of the higher end drones also have a Smart function of sorts. Normally you need to reverse your controls based on if the craft is facing towards you versus away. But a lot of them now have a mode that will change that. In these modes, moving the stick to the left, moves the craft to YOUR left as you see it, regardless of which direction it faces. It's better explained in video form and there are plenty of reviews online to watch it.

For my own experience, I have a Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K drone that I bought about two years ago now. It has the functions as I mentioned above, at the expense of some of the range you get with DJI units. The first flight I took over water off the boat with it, I had attached cut-down pool noodle floats to the legs of it, so in the event it splashed, I could at least have a better chance of recovery even if it was rendered useless from water. I had a solar panel mounted horizontally on my stern rail that I used to launch from, but retrieval had to be by hand. MUCH easier with multiple people. Even if you have someone else steering the boat, it's a lot of coordination to man BOTH joysticks, and yet still have a way to grab the drone from flight. And that was at only a few knots of boat speed. The best way is with three people - one to steer the boat, one to pilot the drone, and a dedicated person to catch it.

On a side note: Many have a follow-me, or watch-me mode, which makes them great to shadow your path for great video. But they ALSO usually have a Return-to-home button. That's one that I recommend against using. I've seen some that the "home" point was marked at the point of takeoff, obviously not somewhere you want it to go. Others try to home in on the controller, but that can also cause hiccups as it gets closer, and you're moving. On mine, the Return to home will set it down outside a predetermined radius for safety - they don't want the drone to literally set down on your head. Of course, that radius would also put it down outside the boat. You definitely need manual control for landing.

I do agree though, that the upper range adds a LOT more stability and safety built in for flight, than the cheaper ones. Most all that have GPS-enhanced flight, have the ability to do as was just mentioned - if you panic, and just let go of the sticks, they'll stop moving and hover in place, letting you get your breath and wits about you. That doesn't work if it's a lesser model without those features. That's part of why I bought the one I did. I didn't think I needed the range of a DJI off-hand, I liked the built-in screen on the controller, and it came with a handheld gimbal for the camera that I can use when I'm not on board too. But the Mavic is a game-changer for size and convenience, at the cost of a little weight for being blown around a tad more in higher winds. But with practice, they'll all be excellent unless you happen to get wet.

[frozenhawaiian]

Originally Posted by CharlzO

Just a few points after reading some of these:

Not all drones require a smartphone to operate, and there are plenty of high-end drones that don't need one. Some, like the Yuneec drones, have built-in screens on their controllers that do the same function, giving you real time views and telemetry without the need to use your own phone or worry about pairing, or apps crashing.

Likewise, some of the higher end drones also have a Smart function of sorts. Normally you need to reverse your controls based on if the craft is facing towards you versus away. But a lot of them now have a mode that will change that. In these modes, moving the stick to the left, moves the craft to YOUR left as you see it, regardless of which direction it faces. It's better explained in video form and there are plenty of reviews online to watch it.

For my own experience, I have a Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K drone that I bought about two years ago now. It has the functions as I mentioned above, at the expense of some of the range you get with DJI units. The first flight I took over water off the boat with it, I had attached cut-down pool noodle floats to the legs of it, so in the event it splashed, I could at least have a better chance of recovery even if it was rendered useless from water. I had a solar panel mounted horizontally on my stern rail that I used to launch from, but retrieval had to be by hand. MUCH easier with multiple people. Even if you have someone else steering the boat, it's a lot of coordination to man BOTH joysticks, and yet still have a way to grab the drone from flight. And that was at only a few knots of boat speed. The best way is with three people - one to steer the boat, one to pilot the drone, and a dedicated person to catch it.

On a side note: Many have a follow-me, or watch-me mode, which makes them great to shadow your path for great video. But they ALSO usually have a Return-to-home button. That's one that I recommend against using. I've seen some that the "home" point was marked at the point of takeoff, obviously not somewhere you want it to go. Others try to home in on the controller, but that can also cause hiccups as it gets closer, and you're moving. On mine, the Return to home will set it down outside a predetermined radius for safety - they don't want the drone to literally set down on your head. Of course, that radius would also put it down outside the boat. You definitely need manual control for landing.

I do agree though, that the upper range adds a LOT more stability and safety built in for flight, than the cheaper ones. Most all that have GPS-enhanced flight, have the ability to do as was just mentioned - if you panic, and just let go of the sticks, they'll stop moving and hover in place, letting you get your breath and wits about you. That doesn't work if it's a lesser model without those features. That's part of why I bought the one I did. I didn't think I needed the range of a DJI off-hand, I liked the built-in screen on the controller, and it came with a handheld gimbal for the camera that I can use when I'm not on board too. But the Mavic is a game-changer for size and convenience, at the cost of a little weight for being blown around a tad more in higher winds. But with practice, they'll all be excellent unless you happen to get wet.

yeah the mavic really changed the game, and I think it free'd DJI up to make the next iteration of the phantom series a much more powerful, capable and thus expensive aircraft without DJI losing market share because people can't afford it, they'll just buy a mavic instead.

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks for the feedback CharlzO.
I’ve seen the Typhoon Q5000 at Best Buys and it’s an impressive looking monster, about five times bigger than the little baby I’m practicing with today. It’s also the very maximum I wanted to pay.
I’m heartened to hear the bigger machines are easier to fly, because I’m having a hard time controlling this little one, which has non of the automatic controls you mention and practically uncontrollable in any sort of breeze.
I assume all auto-return functions can be switched off from your controller, then with a full battery you just watch your flying time?
I won’t anticipate a crew problem as our autopilot will steer under any conditions.
My main worry is retrieving the drone back to Britannia under full sail. There is much more standing and running rigging on my brigantine schooner than even a ketch. The only place which is unobstructed is the stern, which is also clear of any downdraft from the six sails. Whether I can land it in the dinghy on davits, or it can be hand caught, remains to be tested.
I had also thought of fitting some sort of floats to the landing gear. Then, if it did auto land or I made a mistake and it ditched, it might remain upright and could perhaps be retrieved using the dinghy, which we can lower fairly quickly with the outboard attached. There is no way we could quickly go about and head back in the boat.
It also occurred to me that I might obviate all this anxiety and cost by just employing a skilled drone pilot to come on the boat with us, and take stills and a video. Is anyone near Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the skill to do this?
JR.
P.S. Charles, you should put some drone shots on your blog.

[Davy J]

I haven't read the whole thread so maybe it's been covered. It seems that the DJI Phantom 3 standard is being discontinued. I just picked up a brand new one on ebay for just over 400.00.

I've only flown it three times, but have found it pretty easy to control. It has auto take-off and auto-land, but it's pretty easy to manually take off and land. At least in an open field.......

[frozenhawaiian]

Originally Posted by Davy J

I haven't read the whole thread so maybe it's been covered. It seems that the DJI Phantom 3 standard is being discontinued. I just picked up a brand new one on ebay for just over 400.00.

I've only flown it three times, but have found it pretty easy to control. It has auto take-off and auto-land, but it's pretty easy to manually take off and land. At least in an open field.......

the P3 series can be found for a steal these days. I have a P3 pro and I love it.

[OrinocoFlo]

We purchased a Splash Drone 3 including the fisherman payload release and standard gimbaled camera. One two-purpose drone that's waterproof. Also looking at the Trident underwater drone for photography down to 90 meters. A gift my husband and I gave to each other for Xmas. We took out the crash insurance policy for $200.

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

[No_Agenda]

I have a Mavic Pro which should do what you want but getting it back on board could be a problem under sail unless you are a very good pilot. It is possible to fly it over you and grab it but that would take 2 people on a moving boat. It has a range of 4 miles so if you had someone on shore they could retrieve it. A feature of the Mavic drones is that they fold up very small.