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feel sick.. the one that got away

Grazuncle

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Location
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Hi all

another familiar (to you all?) newbie situation..

Went to a local canal spot to actually take something proper.. meaningful. I'm taking some footage over water but higher than me for safety.. 8-9 ft? and flying along the length of the canal very slowly. I see a narrowboat far in the distance and think. I'll put the Mini high up out of earshot and face the camera down and let the boat motor through the frame.. and I did position it perfectly and yes it did pass exactly through the still frame and out of it. was pleased up to that point when i noticed

a) not recording
b) was in photo mode anyway.. would have lost the moment even if I decided to change it.

So.. gone!

this was an after shot (still)
DJI_0012.JPG


Something else was a little disconcerting though.. as i was on the canal tow path with my wife an elderly lady came close by us, near to the path exit to the road ... We just exchanged pleasantries. she then started conversing.. The drone is out of earshot and she it partially sighted with a White Stick! (yes by the canal side!!!) I left the Mini hovering way up high and the minutes went by and after 10 minutes had to let her know what i wanted to do.... Land the blessed thing without frightening the dear old lady! I asked he to move just slightly for a landing place and be prepared for a little noise...

Didn't even bat an eyelid and carried on chatting.. LOL however when i got home the file was there for the video (time stamped) but would not play back like the rest of the files.. Tried SanDisk recovery and it did get a some things previously deleted but not this 66Mb file.. nothing special on there.. 10 mins hovering mostly but let down by that experience not being able to see what was there..

Still a nice hour or so out of the house and it was mostly bright and sunny
 
Have done this myself a few times, what you feel would have been an epic scene, go to turn video off, and instead turn it on and unintentionally recorded some boring footage after the fact.
I'm sure the majority of pilots have done this too.

I used to start video at take off, record a whole flight, but to avoid loads of editing, and get used to turning video on and off, I am filming specific things now.
This also helps me think more of a planned flight, like film this item from this angle from A to B, then over here for a quick vertical rise shot, orbit, etc.
I'm getting more conscious of turning on video and watching it start, then same when finished a bit of filming.

I have a good customer in Birmingham, might get there one day to see them if travel ever starts up for us again.
 
I'm not sure if this is relevant to your experience, but one thing you must make sure to do is TURN THE VIDEO OFF BEFORE POWERING DOWN THE DRONE! The Mini doesn't finish the file when you power down without stopping the recording. I think sometimes you can recover unfinished files it by powering up the drone and reinserting your disk.
 
I'm not sure if this is relevant to your experience, but one thing you must make sure to do is TURN THE VIDEO OFF BEFORE POWERING DOWN THE DRONE! The Mini doesn't finish the file when you power down without stopping the recording. I think sometimes you can recover unfinished files it by powering up the drone and reinserting your disk.
I'm pretty sure I didn't think to turn it off before landing and turning off.. Talking to that lady I was just intent on getting it down before the battery went too low. I might just try that tip. The Sandisk recovery didn't do anything.
 
Hi all

another familiar (to you all?) newbie situation..

Went to a local canal spot to actually take something proper.. meaningful. I'm taking some footage over water but higher than me for safety.. 8-9 ft? and flying along the length of the canal very slowly. I see a narrowboat far in the distance and think. I'll put the Mini high up out of earshot and face the camera down and let the boat motor through the frame.. and I did position it perfectly and yes it did pass exactly through the still frame and out of it. was pleased up to that point when i noticed

a) not recording
b) was in photo mode anyway.. would have lost the moment even if I decided to change it.

So.. gone!

this was an after shot (still)
View attachment 127797


Something else was a little disconcerting though.. as i was on the canal tow path with my wife an elderly lady came close by us, near to the path exit to the road ... We just exchanged pleasantries. she then started conversing.. The drone is out of earshot and she it partially sighted with a White Stick! (yes by the canal side!!!) I left the Mini hovering way up high and the minutes went by and after 10 minutes had to let her know what i wanted to do.... Land the blessed thing without frightening the dear old lady! I asked he to move just slightly for a landing place and be prepared for a little noise...

Didn't even bat an eyelid and carried on chatting.. LOL however when i got home the file was there for the video (time stamped) but would not play back like the rest of the files.. Tried SanDisk recovery and it did get a some things previously deleted but not this 66Mb file.. nothing special on there.. 10 mins hovering mostly but let down by that experience not being able to see what was there..

Still a nice hour or so out of the house and it was mostly bright and sunny
I have a checklist before I every shoot, but sometimes, I still forget to press the **** record button. It's called human nature ?
 
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Hi all

another familiar (to you all?) newbie situation..
Hi Granzuncle,
Oh yeah, I it also happened to me and I think that happens to every drone pilot from time to time!
Anyway, I had a good laugh reading your story ?? Thanks and have a nice day...And never forget to "pull the trigger" when you´r flying ?
cheers Paul
 
Hi all

another familiar (to you all?) newbie situation..

Went to a local canal spot to actually take something proper.. meaningful. I'm taking some footage over water but higher than me for safety.. 8-9 ft? and flying along the length of the canal very slowly. I see a narrowboat far in the distance and think. I'll put the Mini high up out of earshot and face the camera down and let the boat motor through the frame.. and I did position it perfectly and yes it did pass exactly through the still frame and out of it. was pleased up to that point when i noticed

a) not recording
b) was in photo mode anyway.. would have lost the moment even if I decided to change it.

So.. gone!

this was an after shot (still)
View attachment 127797


Something else was a little disconcerting though.. as i was on the canal tow path with my wife an elderly lady came close by us, near to the path exit to the road ... We just exchanged pleasantries. she then started conversing.. The drone is out of earshot and she it partially sighted with a White Stick! (yes by the canal side!!!) I left the Mini hovering way up high and the minutes went by and after 10 minutes had to let her know what i wanted to do.... Land the blessed thing without frightening the dear old lady! I asked he to move just slightly for a landing place and be prepared for a little noise...

Didn't even bat an eyelid and carried on chatting.. LOL however when i got home the file was there for the video (time stamped) but would not play back like the rest of the files.. Tried SanDisk recovery and it did get a some things previously deleted but not this 66Mb file.. nothing special on there.. 10 mins hovering mostly but let down by that experience not being able to see what was there..

Still a nice hour or so out of the house and it was mostly bright and sunny
 
I wish when you are in record mode the button would change colour or flash to remind you that it is recording .

I have turn record off by mistake a few times.

Bill
 
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at least i didn't drown the Mini 2 in the canal which would have made this slip up look trivial.
This was what I was expecting, but very pleased for you that this wasn't the case.
Trust me, I have great thoughts about the footage I've just taken to find I hadn't pressed record but then think to myself, it wasn't meant to be.
I've now gotten into a routine of thinking about shots and taking the time to check prior to filming, turn on, check, turn off check.
This too, isn't totally full proof. A little distraction, particularly one involving excitement, can often lead to failures.
To be ability to continue flying without the loss of your done and record future footage/photos far exceeds lost recordings, this I tell myself to ease the pain.
 
This was what I was expecting, but very pleased for you that this wasn't the case.
Trust me, I have great thoughts about the footage I've just taken to find I hadn't pressed record but then think to myself, it wasn't meant to be.
I've now gotten into a routine of thinking about shots and taking the time to check prior to filming, turn on, check, turn off check.
This too, isn't totally full proof. A little distraction, particularly one involving excitement, can often lead to failures.
To be ability to continue flying without the loss of your done and record future footage/photos far exceeds lost recordings, this I tell myself to ease the pain.
Agree entirely.

It was my first real outing.. And as you say.. The Mini survived me.. And the water??
 
I'll try that!
It worked.. my footage is reclaimed after reinserting the card and powering up again.. can't believe it!

However, although most of that capture was stationary hovering guess what i discovered!!! I was looking to land this Mini and concentrating so much on the drone coming down i didn't see this potential near miss?
biker.JPG

He was absolutely flying and nearly hit the old lady we were talking to... I didn't see him but my wife said he was reckless. I guess another 20 seconds and he'd have hit the drone or run over it.

In a way i'm glad I didn't see him.. ?
 
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Hi all

another familiar (to you all?) newbie situation..

Went to a local canal spot to actually take something proper.. meaningful. I'm taking some footage over water but higher than me for safety.. 8-9 ft? and flying along the length of the canal very slowly. I see a narrowboat far in the distance and think. I'll put the Mini high up out of earshot and face the camera down and let the boat motor through the frame.. and I did position it perfectly and yes it did pass exactly through the still frame and out of it. was pleased up to that point when i noticed

a) not recording
b) was in photo mode anyway.. would have lost the moment even if I decided to change it.

So.. gone!

this was an after shot (still)
View attachment 127797


Something else was a little disconcerting though.. as i was on the canal tow path with my wife an elderly lady came close by us, near to the path exit to the road ... We just exchanged pleasantries. she then started conversing.. The drone is out of earshot and she it partially sighted with a White Stick! (yes by the canal side!!!) I left the Mini hovering way up high and the minutes went by and after 10 minutes had to let her know what i wanted to do.... Land the blessed thing without frightening the dear old lady! I asked he to move just slightly for a landing place and be prepared for a little noise...

Didn't even bat an eyelid and carried on chatting.. LOL however when i got home the file was there for the video (time stamped) but would not play back like the rest of the files.. Tried SanDisk recovery and it did get a some things previously deleted but not this 66Mb file.. nothing special on there.. 10 mins hovering mostly but let down by that experience not being able to see what was there..

Still a nice hour or so out of the house and it was mostly bright and sunny
 
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