Skatepark Footage and a crash into a tree!

[Pie]

So another weekend, another video.

Thought I'd try something different this time and get in closer to the action with a work colleague who does some skateboarding.
He's no Tony Hawk but can find his way around a Skatepark.

I knew straight away this would be a challenging flight given I'd be very close to the subject - kinda goes against the whole point of aerial videography but just wanted to see how it turned out.

We agreed to turn up early in the morning when its a lot quieter with kids etc.

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Unfortunately I misjudged how close I was getting to this tree as I was trying to shoot a manual orbit.

It was a fairly low speed collision into small branches but enough to unsettle Solo and send it tumbling to the (thankfully soft) ground from around 15ft.

One of the LED Covers popped off but the clips remained intact.
Battery was spat out and 3 props were destroyed - only had 2 spare with me and another 2 at home so that was the end of flying.
Quick systems check immediately after and all 4 motors are powering up without any GPS lock issues, no damage to Gimbal or GoPro.
Haven't actually had a chance to fly yet but all appears to be ok.

 

[Maddog]

Sorry about your bird Pie- hope the damage is limited to the props.
You did a great job keeping your friend in frame while flying around- clearly you have some flying skills!

You might consider an ND or polarized filter to tame the sun blasting through the trees but aside from that it looks great!

What GoPro settings did you use?

 

[Pie]

Thanks Maddog, I used to race R/C Cars when I was a kid so the drone is similar but different in that its going from 2D to 3D - so an extra direction of travel to consider.

Would fitting a filter have an impact on the Gimbal motors or are they almost negligible in weight?

GoPro was shooting in 720, 60FPS and Medium FOV - still need to fit a sunshade to cut down on glare.

 

[DodgeP]

3DR Solo Prop Guards

 

[Pie]

3DR Solo Prop Guards

Do these have any impact on flight characteristics? Additional weight etc?

I think in my particular case yesterday, the twigs of the branches would still have breached the prop guards and brought the Solo down but it may well have protected them when they hit the ground.
Can certainly see how these would be useful against a more uniform object such as a wall or tree trunk.

 

[Acroduster]

I agree - I don't think the prop guards would have helped in this situation. Plus, they do add weight and a reduction in aerodynamic lift, so flight times will suffer.

The video is great, although I also suggest using an ND4 filter in that light. There are two camps on this site about the balance - to counter-balance or not. I have not and it has posed no problems.

BTW, I do like Aberdeen. I lived in Cults for a while and attended St. Joseph's.

 

[Maddog]

Thanks Maddog, I used to race R/C Cars when I was a kid so the drone is similar but different in that its going from 2D to 3D - so an extra direction of travel to consider.

Would fitting a filter have an impact on the Gimbal motors or are they almost negligible in weight?

GoPro was shooting in 720, 60FPS and Medium FOV - still need to fit a sunshade to cut down on glare.

There has been much discussion here about counterbalancing the gimbal with filters. Generally the gimbal functions fine with filters, but some folks are concerned about long term wear & tear on the gimbal motors.

I just started using PolarPro filters and haven't added any weight yet. If you search "filters" here you will find more info. The filters are very light. I got a set of 6 on Amazon for $99.99.

The prop guards will affect flight performance and battery life because they add weight. Hard to tell how much benefit they will provide.you might consider shooting in 2.7K or 1080 to improve the resolution of your finished video.

 

[Raybro]

So another weekend, another video.

Thought I'd try something different this time and get in closer to the action with a work colleague who does some skateboarding.
He's no Tony Hawk but can find his way around a Skatepark.

I knew straight away this would be a challenging flight given I'd be very close to the subject - kinda goes against the whole point of aerial videography but just wanted to see how it turned out.

We agreed to turn up early in the morning when its a lot quieter with kids etc.

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Unfortunately I misjudged how close I was getting to this tree as I was trying to shoot a manual orbit.

It was a fairly low speed collision into small branches but enough to unsettle Solo and send it tumbling to the (thankfully soft) ground from around 15ft.

One of the LED Covers popped off but the clips remained intact.
Battery was spat out and 3 props were destroyed - only had 2 spare with me and another 2 at home so that was the end of flying.
Quick systems check immediately after and all 4 motors are powering up without any GPS lock issues, no damage to Gimbal or GoPro.
Haven't actually had a chance to fly yet but all appears to be ok.

Backed mine up into a tree when I first got it. I couldn't see it because it was behind me and above the roof of my house. I could hear it chopping away and the small branches. I thought I was going to have to get on my roof and retrieve it. It lost controller connection and initiated RTH and popped out of the tree in front of me. No damage, just some scuffed up props. No crashes yet...knock on wood.
She's a tough bird. Any other quad and you might end up with a broken landing gear, bent gimbal arm. Thanks for the share.

 

[Maddog]

Backed mine up into a tree when I first got it. I couldn't see it because it was behind me and above the roof of my house. I could hear it chopping away and the small branches. I thought I was going to have to get on my roof and retrieve it. It lost controller connection and initiated RTH and popped out of the tree in front of me. No damage, just some scuffed up props. No crashes yet...knock on wood.
She's a tough bird. Any other quad and you might end up with a broken landing gear, bent gimbal arm. Thanks for the share.

Wow- lucky!