DANGER FLYING AT NIGHT

[E90RAW]

So, I have to admit it. I love flying my M2P/M2Z at night. The sound of the blades slicing through the night air as it passes overhead, the scintillating lights blinking like a twinkling star in the distance, the glaring landing light illuminating the the surrounding sky like a UFO. I love it. Don't get me wrong, I'm nervous, and I know its bad. I know what your thinking, "youre gonna crash man, don't do it". But I can't help it. Those lights draw me in like a twinkling star. Red for come, green for go. It's the one time of the day when you can fly without the screen, the lights guiding the way. Am I gonna crash?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I’d like to fly at night, but we aren’t allowed under Australia’s CASA drone rules.
I have flown very remote at night over one if our campsites, nice to get the campfire light and people’s shadows etc.
I’d like to do some straight up, city lights photos, down again for that sort of shooting in urban, with all other flight parameters being ok to fly etc.
Maybe we’ll get the oknon that.

 

[slup]

With proper pre-planning & day time scouting of the area ... why not. Sweden haven't any regulations regarding night flying so of course tried out with my trusty MA

 

[E90RAW]

With proper pre-planning & day time scouting of the area ... why not. Sweden haven't any regulations regarding night flying so of course tried out with my trusty MA

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WOW, terrific photos.

 

[E90RAW]

I’d like to fly at night, but we aren’t allowed under Australia’s CASA drone rules.
I have flown very remote at night over one if our campsites, nice to get the campfire light and people’s shadows etc.
I’d like to do some straight up, city lights photos, down again for that sort of shooting in urban, with all other flight parameters being ok to fly etc.
Maybe we’ll get the oknon that.

Thats too bad as it's REALLY cool.

 

[PS01]

I haven't been flying at night because I tried it once and to me the pics were very noisy. Not up to my expectation. Not a fan of crushed black areas in vids or pics, so I prefer sunset.

 

[TTP]

With proper pre-planning & day time scouting of the area ... why not. Sweden haven't any regulations regarding night flying so of course tried out with my trusty MA

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Örebro Slott

 

[JohnChap]

I don't get why night flying is so dangerous either. Lights easier to see, less people around. What's the issue for the likes of CASA (in Australia) to ban such night flying? I have asked them, but no response. I asked them numerous other questions also such as why keep 30m distant from any person, why 5.5 km from an airport, why VLOS.

 

[Gindra]

Scouting your flying area and all of its obstacles ahead of time is crucial. If you thing day flying can produce surprises, just imagine guy wires, power lines, tree limbs at night. In applying for my Daylight Waiver I had to describe all the precautions I would take to mitigate risk. Such things as actually flying the proposed route in the daytime, noting all obstructions, having a trained VO (or more than one VO if needed) and more. And, of course, appropriate Strobe Lighting that could be seen 3 miles away.

All flying areas are unique and if I was only flying on my rural property, out in a field, I wouldn't need to take the same precautions I would take in an unfamiliar area.

Having said all this though, @E90RAW's OP got me all revved up to get out there at night sooner rather than later! .

 

[Bebopperoo]

It is evident from the op that night flying is pure poetry.

 

[Bebopperoo]

I don't get why night flying is so dangerous either. Lights easier to see, less people around. What's the issue for the likes of CASA (in Australia) to ban such night flying? I have asked them, but no response. I asked them numerous other questions also such as why keep 30m distant from any person, why 5.5 km from an airport, why VLOS.

In my land you have to be 50 m from people,10 km from an airport, no night flying allowed, not even allowed within 50m of a road, let alone fly over it, can't fly higher than 50 m, can't fly higher than the highest object within 300 m, drone attached by safety line, etc.

 

[E90RAW]

In my land you have to be 50 m from people,10 km from an airport, no night flying allowed, not even allowed within 50m of a road, let alone fly over it, can't fly higher than 50 m, can't fly higher than the highest object within 300 m, drone attached by safety line, etc.

It sounds safer from the perspective of "incidents" with drones, hence the government wont mandate oppressive rules like the FAA going forward.

 

[slup]

Örebro Slott

Yeah ... on the limit (just a few meters) to the hospital helipad NFZ (1000m circumference =NFZ)

 

[bonmot]

With proper pre-planning & day time scouting of the area ... why not. Sweden haven't any regulations regarding night flying so of course tried out with my trusty MA

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Does Mavic air have a better camera than Mavic 2 Zoom? How come my night time pictures aren’t as good????????

 

[slup]

Does Mavic air have a better camera than Mavic 2 Zoom? How come my night time pictures aren’t as good????????

We can swap if you like, have a Canadian at work that can handle the exchange ... no, joke aside, all pics needs some gentle touches after they're taken. Took these in RAW of course as I didn't want to mix in any Chinese engineers feeling of how my end pic should look like, shutter at maximum 2sec, then some noise wash, color/contrast enhancements & final sharpening in Adobe Lightroom.

*EDIT*

The misunderstanding in general I think ... is that the more expensive a camera is the better the pics will be straight out from the camera. It's true to a degree ... for those that don't have enough knowledge around photography it will most probably be a disappointment thinking that shooting jpeg's with auto settings with a expensive camera will be MUCH better then compered with a cheaper camera. It's actually the opposite if you stick to in camera processed jpeg & auto settings. On high grade cameras it's only raw & full manual that counts... the auto modes are in fact, if they exists pretty basic. Put a high grade camera in the hands of somebody that can handle the technique & the end result will easily overtake even the best auto produced in camera jpeg.

 

[bonmot]

We can swap if you like, have a Canadian at work that can handle the exchange ... no, joke aside, all pics needs some gentle touches after they're taken. Took these in RAW of course as I didn't want to mix in any Chinese engineers feeling of how my end pic should look like, shutter at maximum 2sec, then some noise wash, color/contrast enhancements & final sharpening in Adobe Lightroom.

*EDIT*

The misunderstanding in general I think ... is that the more expensive a camera is the better the pics will be straight out from the camera. It's true to a degree ... for those that don't have enough knowledge around photography it will most probably be a disappointment thinking that shooting jpeg's with auto settings with a expensive camera will be MUCH better then compered with a cheaper camera. It's actually the opposite if you stick to in camera processed jpeg & auto settings. On high grade cameras it's only raw & full manual that counts... the auto modes are in fact, if they exists pretty basic. Put a high grade camera in the hands of somebody that can handle the technique & the end result will easily overtake even the best auto produced in camera jpeg.

The major purpose of buying my M2Z is to get into drone photography and videos. I have a lot of other RC toys for "flying" or "driving".

I have zero knowledge of photography. And I didn't like photography until I was amazed by those drone photos and videos.

Those things you are talking about is exactly what I am trying to learn.

2 sec shutter would me my first thing to try! I have photoshop and iMovie on my macbookPro. Is that pretty much I will need to start?

 

[slup]

The major purpose of buying my M2Z is to get into drone photography and videos. I have a lot of other RC toys for "flying" or "driving".

I have zero knowledge of photography. And I didn't like photography until I was amazed by those drone photos and videos.

Those things you are talking about is exactly what I am trying to learn.

2 sec shutter would me my first thing to try! I have photoshop and iMovie on my macbookPro. Is that pretty much I will need to start?

Yeah ... the best with digital photography is that you can try & error how many times as you want without spending on more film roles

Dig into YT for tutorials both regarding photography/manual settings/histograms & Photoshop edit ... it's tons out there. I advise you to get serious first with stills ... as with filming many more parameters come into play, like story, cut lengths, motion blur, changing exposure circumstances, sound, bigger files, more advanced edits, & greater demands on you computer equipment. Once on top with the stills it will be easier to make the transition to film.

Just to spin on from those 2sec shutter time vs a better camera (actually better sensor) ...

It's max 2sec due to drone movement & trying to avoid motion blur. If that shutter anyhow is to fast to let enough light in for a proper exposure you need to go for a higher ISO value. That will create more noise ... & this will be worse with a cheap camera with a small sensor ... equals harder to clean up without degrading the pic. If I could go crazy with drones I would go for a M2P as it have the biggest, noise cleanest sensor ... for me that would be the benefit of shelling out more money.

 

[E90RAW]

The major purpose of buying my M2Z is to get into drone photography and videos. I have a lot of other RC toys for "flying" or "driving".

I have zero knowledge of photography. And I didn't like photography until I was amazed by those drone photos and videos.

Those things you are talking about is exactly what I am trying to learn.

2 sec shutter would me my first thing to try! I have photoshop and iMovie on my macbookPro. Is that pretty much I will need to start?

I think the M2Z and M2P are different, both with their strengths. The M2P is amazing, but the M2Z offers great photography. I really like the M2Z over my M2P for photography. Just my PP. The 2X visual zoom is very cool, and I would like to see a 4X visual. I see the Mavic enetrprise has a 2X visual and and 4X digital zoom, so Im sure that will come over to the next Mavic 2. The best is taking a photo of the M2P in mid air by the M2Z.

 

[slup]

I think the M2Z and M2P are different, both with their strengths. The M2P is amazing, but the M2Z offers great photography. I really like the M2Z over my M2P for photography. Just my PP. The 2X visual zoom is very cool, and I would like to see a 4X visual. I see the Mavic enetrprise has a 2X visual and and 4X digital zoom, so Im sure that will come over to the next Mavic 2. The best is taking a photo of the M2P in mid air by the M2Z.

I'm probably a nerd & a pixel peeper when it comes to photography ... have transitioned from zoom's to all fixed lenses in my camera kit due to simpler lens design therefore better optical quality. I'm thinking ... I was born with two legs ... if I want to come closer I walk or put on my 400mm tele lens (which cost is completely unknown for my wife ) And every time I hear people value digital zoom I can't stop thinking ... why not just cut into the pic in post?

But that's me ...

 

[bonmot]

I think the M2Z and M2P are different, both with their strengths. The M2P is amazing, but the M2Z offers great photography. I really like the M2Z over my M2P for photography. Just my PP. The 2X visual zoom is very cool, and I would like to see a 4X visual. I see the Mavic enetrprise has a 2X visual and and 4X digital zoom, so Im sure that will come over to the next Mavic 2. The best is taking a photo of the M2P in mid air by the M2Z.

Have you tried active tracking one with the other?