1 Week in - add ons and lessons learned so far.

[SimonD]

So after a week I've learned so much already trying to get the best footage from the drone, some of my assumptions busted and previous filming experience out of the window.

1/ I already knew as with any photographic device Manual Settings are a must but a few settings I have had to consider differently like shutter speed vs drone speed settings, also using the flat cinelike profile gives me more options in post..

2/ ND Filters, I have only ever needed them in my photography for effects especially polarising filters, but found even in cloudy conditions I already need them for slow shutter speeds with it's wide aperture.

3/ Landing Pad, after my drone converting into a lawn mower and grass wrapping around the props a landing pad is a must (using a DIY garden kneeling pad for now).

4/ Kit bag, though I got the Combo pack the cases are trash so got a decent all in 1 padded shoulder bag so I can fit all my gear and extras in making life a lot easier to setup and pack away.

5/ Speed isn't king, though the Mavic Air is fast I've had to slow down a few settings to get better camera movements ESC and gimbal speeds in particular.

6/ RTH is a bit scary, I've changed it to 'Hover' for now unless I am in a large field.

7/ Sun Shade, using an iPhone 6 I'm struggling to see it so ordered a cheap screen until I can afford a tablet.

8/ Flying skills, a figure of 8 is harder than I thought! but I will get there as muscle memory kicks in, apart from that I am finding it easy to fly though at altitude I sometime loose orientation.

9/ Setting it up indoors is a challenge, trying to prep for an outdoor flight and updating firmware I'm having to take it outdoors to set it up, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.

10/ Beginner mode was fine for all of 5 minutes, I learned more quickly by turning it off.

11/ Overfilming, I filmed far too much and found it's best to rehearse the shot first then repeat it while filming so I get less poor shots.

12/ IT'S SO MUCH FUN! - no regrets at all and had so much pleasure flying it and also when I get home to review the jaw dropping quality!

Still got plenty to learn but it's one of the best pieces of filming equipment I've bought, not only does it do the job well it's also great fun to use (unlike my full Steadicam and Vest setup which is exhausting).

 

[SimonD]

13/ Mavic Air and brick walls don't get on - 1st crash while trying to tweak settings ?
(thankfully the Mavic won that battle and no damage)

 

[Moose1967]

I would rethink that RTH one - think of different situations where you would not want it to hover and then land if you could not get to it to reconnect in time - like over a lake and in real tough terrain - what is more important is that you consider the surroundings to get it to RTH - sometimes when I fly I alter the RTH height mid flight.

Just rethink it over - RTH can work very effectively !!

 

[SimonD]

I can see it's value of RTH as I get more used to it, but the default height caught me out, I was low flying and the battery warning went off, selected RTH and it shot up really high, I will tweak the settings next time.

 

[Moose1967]

Always set the RTH Height above the highest obstacle - I use 50 meters a lot - now if the drone it flying at 100 meters and the RTH Height is set to 50m - the drone will return at 100m to a point above the RTH point then descend to 50 meters then to the ground.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

So after a week I've learned so much already trying to get the best footage from the drone, some of my assumptions busted and previous filming experience out of the window.

1/ I already knew as with any photographic device Manual Settings are a must but a few settings I have had to consider differently like shutter speed vs drone speed settings, also using the flat cinelike profile gives me more options in post..

2/ ND Filters, I have only ever needed them in my photography for effects especially polarising filters, but found even in cloudy conditions I already need them for slow shutter speeds with it's wide aperture.

3/ Landing Pad, after my drone converting into a lawn mower and grass wrapping around the props a landing pad is a must (using a DIY garden kneeling pad for now).

4/ Kit bag, though I got the Combo pack the cases are trash so got a decent all in 1 padded shoulder bag so I can fit all my gear and extras in making life a lot easier to setup and pack away.

5/ Speed isn't king, though the Mavic Air is fast I've had to slow down a few settings to get better camera movements ESC and gimbal speeds in particular.

6/ RTH is a bit scary, I've changed it to 'Hover' for now unless I am in a large field.

7/ Sun Shade, using an iPhone 6 I'm struggling to see it so ordered a cheap screen until I can afford a tablet.

8/ Flying skills, a figure of 8 is harder than I thought! but I will get there as muscle memory kicks in, apart from that I am finding it easy to fly though at altitude I sometime loose orientation.

9/ Setting it up indoors is a challenge, trying to prep for an outdoor flight and updating firmware I'm having to take it outdoors to set it up, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.

10/ Beginner mode was fine for all of 5 minutes, I learned more quickly by turning it off.

11/ Overfilming, I filmed far too much and found it's best to rehearse the shot first then repeat it while filming so I get less poor shots.

12/ IT'S SO MUCH FUN! - no regrets at all and had so much pleasure flying it and also when I get home to review the jaw dropping quality!

Still got plenty to learn but it's one of the best pieces of filming equipment I've bought, not only does it do the job well it's also great fun to use (unlike my full Steadicam and Vest setup which is exhausting).

This is a cool breakdown, so i gave you the heads up on the Lunar Landing Pad which I think is a game changer .
The other tip I have for you is to use the RTH not to bring your drone home but to give you immediate orientation of your drone and than shut it off , I abuse the RTH because many times in a single flight just to get my drone coming back in the direction to me and than cancel it. This will allow you get comfortable with the RTH quicker.

 

[Dale D]

I have been tweaking the RTH for a while now. At first, it went up so high I got nervous, and watched the two readings (distance and height) like a laser! So I have been gradually decreasing the RTH height depending on the environment. I'm at around 30-40 meters now for most flights. I'm really fearful of changing anything during a flight, especially the RTH! I'd have my sphincter really straining if I did.

 

[Mglakner]

I'm curious what bag you bought. I also bought the combo and am looking for a bigger bag to hold everything

 

[SimonD]

I'm curious what bag you bought. I also bought the combo and am looking for a bigger bag to hold everything

I bought the:
RLSOCO Hard Shell Carrying Case for DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo
From Amazon after reading the reviews and comparing others, it's superb, there are cheaper similar ones but the divider is worth the extra as it protects the drone perfectly and has pockets on the other side.
RLSOCO Hard Shell Carrying Case for DJI Mavic Air Fly: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

 

[Hegemone]

I bought a hard case from harbor freight with pick foam and made a case for all my stuff. Under 50$.

 

[Mavic Mac]

13/ Mavic Air and brick walls don't get on - 1st crash while trying to tweak settings ?
(thankfully the Mavic won that battle and no damage)

Nor do radio antennas on a pickup truck. Brand new aftermarket props + 1 pickup truck radio antenna = ordering new props ?

 

[MavicFlyer]

I bought the:
RLSOCO Hard Shell Carrying Case for DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo
From Amazon after reading the reviews and comparing others, it's superb, there are cheaper similar ones but the divider is worth the extra as it protects the drone perfectly and has pockets on the other side.
RLSOCO Hard Shell Carrying Case for DJI Mavic Air Fly: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

I have the same case, purchased in USA. It's a huge improvement over the one that's DJI includes in the FMC, mostly in that you don't have to remove something to get to something else - e.g. remove drone, without having to remove remote controller. The biggest problem I have is that if I put the DJI prop guards into the large space to the right of the drone, they pretty much hog it all...it gets tight trying to put the tablet holder in there too. Fit for the RC, MA, and batteries is perfect, and not having to remove the sticks from the RC is a huge blessing!

 

[MavicFlyer]

I have been tweaking the RTH for a while now. At first, it went up so high I got nervous, and watched the two readings (distance and height) like a laser! So I have been gradually decreasing the RTH height depending on the environment. I'm at around 30-40 meters now for most flights. I'm really fearful of changing anything during a flight, especially the RTH! I'd have my sphincter really straining if I did.

Remember that you don't want loss of signal to result in RTH when you're flying in an area where there is something above you...you have no CA sensors pointing up. For those situations, select "Hover" instead of "RTH".

 

[Bruce Lythe]

RTH @ 50m saved my a** on multiple occasions - reed bed blocking signal as I was taking bird low up a river valley, a go4 crash, being too ambitious tracking a boat and going too far out over the sea, and a weird one where a factory got between me and the bird even though I had vlos and video and controller went down.... Ok perhaps I am more reckless than most I love pushing the technology envelope

 

[Bruce Lythe]

As to bags, I take my bird with me all the time. I have a cheap daybag rucksack into which I throw my flymore case and all the other gubbins for a typical day. If I am walking with the day bag having sandwiches anorak etc I put the MA in its small case with the controller and cable in the pouch into the rucksack loose. Heavy duty landing pad, tablet stand, tablet, tablet sunshade and ND filters, lanyard and two spare batteries go loose in the rucksack also. SD cards in my wallet. Ready to rock and roll!

 

[SimonD]

I have the same case, purchased in USA. It's a huge improvement over the one that's DJI includes in the FMC, mostly in that you don't have to remove something to get to something else - e.g. remove drone, without having to remove remote controller. The biggest problem I have is that if I put the DJI prop guards into the large space to the right of the drone, they pretty much hog it all...it gets tight trying to put the tablet holder in there too. Fit for the RC, MA, and batteries is perfect, and not having to remove the sticks from the RC is a huge blessing!

Yeah first thing I ditched were the prop guards from the case, I can fit my sun shade and other bits in that space now, I shove my iPhone into the pockets.

 

[Dakarenduro]

I bought a hard case from harbor freight with pick foam and made a case for all my stuff. Under 50$.

I have a Smatree hard case and love it. Foam precut for the Air Fly More Combo pieces. Build quality is close to a pelican hardcase. Waterproof. $49 at amazon. LINK HERE

I use it when I want something more protective than a soft case (chucking in the trunk with other luggage. Etc).

 

[Chopperhopper]

#11 for sure! I have WAY too much video on my hard drive. Don't think I'll do anything with 90% of it.

 

[Brettric]

If you’re like me you’ll end up getting the Litchi app as well for the “waypoint” ability. Great app, just pay attention to making sure it starts recording, even though I set it at a waypoint activity to start recording, it didn’t. I lost a flight because of it. Apparently it’s a known issue by those in the know. Now I know, and select the record icon manually.

 

[Dakarenduro]

#11 for sure! I have WAY too much video on my hard drive. Don't think I'll do anything with 90% of it.

I have found I end up editing out about 80-90% of all footage to get to a final cut. Both with my helmet cams and the drone. No one wants to watch epic drone footage for more than 5 or 10 seconds before it gets boring.

Example, I went and filmed some surfing on the coast last weekend. Out of the 20 mins of footage I found a 10 second clip of a surfer riding a wave that I will likely use. The rest, although great footage, will probably never be used. Maybe I will use some of it for a filler in another video, but probably only a few secs worth if that.

Multiple storage harddrives are a mandatory addition to your setup if you are making videos!