A question for the videographers here...

[Soul Patch Films]

Well, now I can't find it anywhere! Please somebody else back me up on this! I'm almost certain the Knowbeforeyoufly.org site among others had a daylight hour limitation - I'm quite sure I saw it in several places. Maybe it was retracted. Does anybody else remember seeing that restriction?

You are correct, rules state "daylight only operation, official sunrise to official sunset"

 

[DroneNerd702]

I think the best time for night aerial video footage is at sunset, and if later hours, with a full moon and at a location that is well lit (reference lights to give the scenes the depth it needs) and at an area where the elements in the sky allow for a really good penetration of ambient light from the stars. I've shot three videos and need to shoot just a few more for a decent comparison.

• Here is last night's NYE footage:
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• Partial moon. No visible stars. 12 midnight. Dry winter cold conditions.
  
• The neighborhood I was at is probably 1000 feet at the intersection between two Drone No-Fly zones
• Location: Paul Meyer Park. Community Park.
  
• Location was verified slightly past the 5 mile marker from McCarran Int'l Airport (straight line distance)
  
• Park probably had a policy regarding curfew and access but, I saw no visible sign at the entrance
  • There was a woman on the swings
  • There was an elderly couple walking their dog with their dog shitting all over the park grounds doing more damage than my drone. Assuming the owner didn't pick up the dog's waste-matter. hehe.
• The neighborhood is saturated with Wi-Fi signals
  
• Las Vegas laws say flying below 250 feet is illegal. I stayed at an altitude of 60 to 80 feet and hovered in place. I hardly consider hovering in place as flying but technically, it is flying.
  
• Also saw as many of you did the notice regarding flying at night
  
• Video footage details: GoPro Silver in 4k. Sliced in GoPro Studio. The original lighting was somewhat bland and boring to me. I applied the Hot Day effect which lit the bottom play ground a nice warm color instead of a cold blue (reference lights, for lack of a better term)

I could've brought the footage into CyberLink PowerDirector to try and use filters to lighten up the dark areas but, eh, the effort would not have been worth it and probably would've made it worse by bringing out video noise. You compare footage like this to the footage where I mounted the GoPro on the front of the car and drove through the Las Vegas strip and it's just obvious that when it comes to the GoPro, location + lighting and the GoPro's proximity to both are key. One thing about the car and strip footage was a scene I had to cut out where the noise was just noticeable as I drove between areas where the strip lights was dimmer than the rest. Seems that the natural transition isn't handled well by the GoPro. Probably true for the other cameras given the same conditions.

Your mileage is going to vary. There is a shopping area about 25 minutes from my location that I wanted to get to film an hour after sundown. It's nicely lit and has this beautifully lit tree display in the middle of their entrance. The reference material probably would have looked nice with 1080 and 4k GoPro settings given its proximity to the main and surrounding light sources. I think the rules to video filming are the same as that of still photography: Pick your location and application well, as a way to reduce the amount of effort you need to do in post with the least amount of filters and adjustments made to the original raw image/film.

My two cents.

Edit: Forgot to mention, slower shutter speeds allow more light to "come in". Why shooting in 4k with low light assistance on in the GoPro yields better results.

 

[J R]

Edit: Forgot to mention, slower shutter speeds allow more light to "come in". Why shooting in 4k with low light assistance on in the GoPro yields better results.

You've come a long way Nerd! The info and the detail you provided about your scenario will surely provide insight to many. Well done!

Jerry

 

[DroneNerd702]

You've come a long way Nerd! The info and the detail you provided about your scenario will surely provide insight to many. Well done!

Jerry

Thank you. I have come a ways a bit in the past 2 months of first time Solo flying and filming. Still have a lot to learn. The helpful info gleaned from members on this site got me through some newbee humps and I'm sure will continue being a valuable resource thanks to all willing to teach and share.

3DR did a bang up job with the Solo and I'm proud to be an owner. That said, I've made a foray into FPV quad racing and own a used ZMR 250 which I'm currently rebuilding, and purchased a completely built Open 250 racer. In this venue I'm still 2 weeks young and when it comes to flying, I have a humongous lot to learn about flying. Last night was my first night I was actually able to fly decently in FreeRider. Not quite there yet though. The Solo is a wonderful piece of equipment and 3DR put a whole lot into making it user-friendly. The "ease-of-use" however, does shield one from what many in the FPV and Model Aircraft community consider as, real flying. It shouldn't be looked at as a put down but perhaps an encouragement to expand ones horizons which I am more than excited to do.

I'm loving this industry. A lot!

Edit: What I mean by expanding ones horizons is that by having forayed into quad racing, and buying a used one that I can rebuild, I am actually increasing my knowledge about the internals that went into the Solo. Such as ESCs, power distribution, flight controller. I am learning a lot and this particular avenue is an opportunity to dust of long forgotten high school electronics education. Hence, tools! I am the proud owner of a Soldering iron and a Desoldering pump! haha. It is quite fun to rebuild a used quad racer and I am sure the skills I am learning is going to go a long ways towards making sure my investment in 3DR's Solo remains worthwhile. Imagine that. In a few months, I'll be able to mechanic my own Solo. Whereas when I first unboxed the Solo and started, I didn't know Jack! hehe

 

[pyrate]

it is amazing isn't it. Looking at building one myself just to learn more about what makes them tick.
I have seen much more expensive platforms with jitter in the video and think wow, folks who own a solo would be really pissed if they spent as much as some do, stabilization in post is more commonplace than many realize, and on professional rigs.
Getting solo got me in the air fast. maybe too fast. Have been practicing now with a beginner quad just to develop my pilot skills.

that was a great post my friend