WARNING: CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME, ESPECIALLY PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO HAVE FELT THE PAIN OF GEAR LOSS.
In the days before my trip to Iceland, I had the chance to play with the DJI Phantom, an affordable, out-of-the-box quadcopter for budding aerial videographers. As I establish in that test flight post, the footage you yield from the DJI Phantom + GoPro combo may not be pro quality, but it’s perfectly serviceable for BTS material, AND it gives a person the opportunity to cut their teeth on a rig that comes in under a grand (or just slightly over, if you include the camera).
Ever the hacks, we tried to circumvent the GoPro limitation and mount a Sony RX 100 II, for three reasons:
1. The RX 100 II has image stabilizations (many commented on the shakiness of the GoPro footage on our first test flight).
2. It has a nice sensor and shoots RAW images.
3. Built-in Wifi. Our plan was to use the iPad Mini with the Sony app and control the camera shutter from the ground.
Seem pretty reasonable, right?
When you watch the video, know this: It brings us no joy to lose expensive gear, ever. I don’t encourage people to go out and perform needless hacks and unsanctioned upgrades, especially if you’re not insured, like we were. In our case we had a legit interest in yielding some higher end footage with a DJI Phantom we had invested in.
Couple UPDATE points… any assumption that i was just goofing around at tourist site just plyaing with my camera couldn’t be further from the truth. we had chartered the entire site for the shoot, been out on boats there at the site earlier – were working with the management there, paying high fees to be there with permits for very specific objectives. We also sought to potentially recover the unit out of concern for the environment but were discouraged from pursuing that option because of danger to divers due to swift current, big tides and huge floating chunks of dangerous ice.
Thanks again for going on this journey – and others – with me. And I hope you don’t mind my sharing all the stuff – even things like this that suck.
Chase – just wanted to add a big thank you for your experimenting with the DJI + RX100. I’ve recently acquired a Phantom 2 Vision and am already on to researching options for capturing high quality stills from above. I am elated with the controllability of the Phantom system and have high hopes to find a solution to use it with the RX100 or similar. Was wondering if you and your team have had any further attempts after the above incident? I’ve been following the dronexperts mod, but recently saw a review indicating shotty craftsmanship and some drawbacks. Hopefully there’s a reliable solution out there. Thanks again! Huge source of knowledge for the community!
I’ve had numerous close calls with the DJI F550. Just starting out it’s a lot to learn and lots of practice is needed to be co fident flying these things! At the end of the day you have to accept your risks and keep moving forward.
Hi!
I had the same experience with my Phantom II. Even though GoPro was mounted it. just went tight down, no wifi,
no nothing. Sometimes they just crasch apparently. Flying these funny quads is actually quite filled with anxiety,
But you get amazing pictures, espevially for videos.
Now with the gimbal the GoPro isnt shaky, and gives beatiful videos (sometimes). Still I hate the feeling
of crashing, bit I guess it is part of flying these quads, and hexas.
Great blog! Looking forward to more Phantom quad pictures/videos.
I’m about to purchase a Phantom 2 and was also thinking of putting an RX100 II for the upgrade in picture quality and small size. Sorry it didn’t work out but it was great seeing your video. It gives me some ideas on how to move forward with the idea.
You should bring Grant with you next time. He’d figure out a way to “Macgyver” it.
Hope to see the sequel soon.
Chase –
Late to this discussion and surprised by all of the negative feedback. This is an awesome video demonstrating some of the many reasons that you’re where you are — positive attitude, willingness to break the rules, and more importantly, your ability to have fun.
All I want to know is … where did you get those hats? The wardrobe alone makes this video a classic.