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.
Thanks Chase – I always appreciate the BTS you provide us. I look forward to your next one.
Better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all. Would have loved to see the images if that had work.
Hello Chase, I’m trying to do almost the same thing you did with the Phantom and RX100II, in my case the camera is the RX100 and does not have Wi-fi. I made two flights, the first was successful and the second, after an unsuccessful update, not finished properly the calibration, the Phantom totally lost control hitting a wall at full speed and falling from a height of three meters above a cement floor. The good news is that the Phantom did not break and the camera was very easy to resolve damage, But even if it had broken I would use the broken camera in the Phantom to be sure whether or not it was possible to fly with this set. I will continue testing the possibilities in search of the best result, taking my risks, without putting people in danger, knowing that is how you make discoveries! I appreciate the video showing great presence of mind!
Amazed at all the hate on here. Chase couldn’t have been more clear about the situation.
All this amounts to is jealousy… its these kind of idiotic responses that make bloggers never share anything REAL about their experiences and life. I guess Chase just needs to conform to the mold everyone wants him to showing only the little bits of perfection that happen from countless hours of accidents and failures.
The video is entertaining, thanks for posting Chase.
The hate on display and quotation of user manuals is quite the loud beacon as to why all these losers aren’t top photographers themselves. A lot of people talk about creativity and risk, but few understand it by experience.
I think what has made most people angry though is how you didn’t throw a temper tantrum when it crashed and get angry with the situation and your crew. You know, because that’s what really successful people do… not. You can only laugh about the uncontrollable and what is already happened and out of your hands! The response would have been the same without insurance I’m sure.
Wow — really surprised at all the hate (envy?) out there on this one. Just because a warning label tells you not to do something doesn’t mean it can’t be done — those are often just CYA clauses put in by lawyers.
Thanks for sharing the test, Chase — if we didn’t push our equipment (or ourselves) beyond the recommendations and warnings, we’d never get anywhere.