Is this a dumb idea?

[NG Wildman]

I'm sure you will not be doing this on a windy day,

Not no but hell no, I don't like to fly over dry land if the wind is over 10 mph

...but with those floats, landing on much more than a ripple or two on the surface can be hairy...I have them and have used them for my Mini and my M2Pro.
There is another float system here in the forum that is much broader and they show drones landing on waves etc.

Does anyone know which floats Mr Wildman is referring to?
I admit I was a little concerned when I saw in the demo video they cut right as the drone touched the water...I would have liked to see it sit there idling for a couple seconds.

Phantomrain.org. Rescue suit.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Heating up the popcorn, for the thrilling videos to follow!

 

[clinghoffer]

I have the One X2. Great little camera. This should work.

A couple thoughts for you...

Add the camera to your State Farm policy. It should not increase your premium. I have my X2, MA2, 2 GoPros and a tablet insured for the $60.

Check out the dive case for the X2. It will have the attachment point you need. It will protect the lenses on the camera (which are not replaceable) and it has dedicated anti-fog inserts.

The dive case will also allow you to have a proper stitching line in your videos. Water changes the way light hits the lenses and creates a poor overlap of the front and back. There's a setting in the app and desktop software to make use of the dive case.

The Air 2 will easily carry the weight of the X2. There are quite a few videos of people flying with the 360 camera attached to it.

 

[Dmcvey]

Amazon.com : gladius MINI Underwater Drone, 4K UHD Underwater Camera for Real Time Viewing, Remote Controller and APP Remote Control, Dive to 330ft, Live Stream, Adjustable Tilt-Lock, Fish Finder, ROV : Electronics

Amazon.com : gladius MINI Underwater Drone, 4K UHD Underwater Camera for Real Time Viewing, Remote Controller and APP Remote Control, Dive to 330ft, Live Stream, Adjustable Tilt-Lock, Fish Finder, ROV : Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

[NG Wildman]

Amazon.com : gladius MINI Underwater Drone, 4K UHD Underwater Camera for Real Time Viewing, Remote Controller and APP Remote Control, Dive to 330ft, Live Stream, Adjustable Tilt-Lock, Fish Finder, ROV : Electronics

Amazon.com : gladius MINI Underwater Drone, 4K UHD Underwater Camera for Real Time Viewing, Remote Controller and APP Remote Control, Dive to 330ft, Live Stream, Adjustable Tilt-Lock, Fish Finder, ROV : Electronics

www.amazon.com

These are nice. I have a chasing M2 with the 200M cable and claw too, but I think he wants to utilize the new waterproof camera that he got.

 

[DavidT_ NZ]

If you are not going out too far, why not just rig your underwater camera to a float, fit a sail and attach it to a lightweight fishing line and let it blow out from the shore? I would not risk an expensive drone tied to an expensive camera. Tethered to the float you can simply reel it back in. If you want to get more elaborate, consider buying a small remote controlled model boat and get the suspended camera out that way. Then film it all from your drone. ????

 

[Spectre22]

How are you planning to keep the camera from spinning? Once in the water will the direction the camera is facing matter?

 

[MA2 317]

How are you planning to keep the camera from spinning? Once in the water will the direction the camera is facing matter?

He's using a 360 degree camera.

The position will be selected in post production.

 

[Andym123]

I just ordered a Insta360 One X2 which is waterproof up to 33 feet.
I'm thinking about buying these floats and tethering the camera to my MA2 with about 10 feet of fishing line to get some underwater shots out in a lake...has anyone tried it or is it just a bad idea?
Thanks,
Randy

Why not just buy a cheap remote control boat and tie the camera to that ? Drones are for above land / water. U can also get underwater sub drones

 

[rstyles]

Lots of good inputs, I'm an insta360x2 owner, I find that just being underwater I loose the preview feature so I wouldn't count on that, particularly with all the other things involved, you will loose focus on the drone if you try to monitor the Insta camera too. Maybe a simpler approach, a kayak and a long fishing pole that you can use to extend the camera so you're not shadowing the under water and just reel it in, use a bobber / buoy that you can paddle out of camera range, get your shots and reel back in this would keep you at a consistent depth, try the weight under the cam and try a slow troll. IMHO, adding the drone is un needed complexity, stress and possible financial loss. Keep it simple.

 

[Luckyguy9]

Lots of good inputs, I'm an insta360x2 owner, I find that just being underwater I loose the preview feature so I wouldn't count on that, particularly with all the other things involved, you will loose focus on the drone if you try to monitor the Insta camera too. Maybe a simpler approach, a kayak and a long fishing pole that you can use to extend the camera so you're not shadowing the under water and just reel it in, use a bobber / buoy that you can paddle out of camera range, get your shots and reel back in this would keep you at a consistent depth, try the weight under the cam and try a slow troll. IMHO, adding the drone is un needed complexity, stress and possible financial loss. Keep it simple.

All very interesting but I’m wondering what is the initial goal? What are you trying to film? Lake Fish? The lake bed?
Loch Ness monster?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Lots of good inputs, I'm an insta360x2 owner, I find that just being underwater I loose the preview feature so I wouldn't count on that, particularly with all the other things involved, you will loose focus on the drone if you try to monitor the Insta camera too. Maybe a simpler approach, a kayak and a long fishing pole that you can use to extend the camera so you're not shadowing the under water and just reel it in, use a bobber / buoy that you can paddle out of camera range, get your shots and reel back in this would keep you at a consistent depth, try the weight under the cam and try a slow troll. IMHO, adding the drone is un needed complexity, stress and possible financial loss. Keep it simple.

Agreed! As stated previously, the preview live Insta360 2 view uses either BT or Wifi, neither of which work underwater, which explains why one loses the live preview feature, essential to the usefulness of the whole operation.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Thank you, these are the kind of points I was hoping to be brought up to help determine if it would be worth the risk or not.

You may well get splashes of water up onto your camera and ingested into the air intakes of the drone.

How could that happen if the camera is 10 feet away from the MA2?
time and they seem to all agree

You said you would be floating the mavic on the water. Just don't do it if the water is rough. Definitely don't do it on salt water. That really messes electronics up, if they get exposed to it.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

All very interesting but I’m wondering what is the initial goal? What are you trying to film? Lake Fish? The lake bed?
Loch Ness monster?

I guess it's like fishing. You really don't know what your goona get. It's "like a box of chocolates."

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Of course the camera would spin around a lot if I tried to drag/tow it thru the water but I don't plan on dragging it thru the water...I'm talking about lowering the camera str8 down, give it time to quit moving and record for a couple of minutes (long enuf to give me time to choose my angles in post) and then move to another spot and repeat.
Regarding monitoring, I have 3 devices I can use (2 phones and a 10" tablet) that I wouldn't be holding onto...they would be laying on a music stand I bought specifically for the tablet (with a Hoodman) enabling me to hold only the controller while sitting in a camping chair (very comfortably).

Promise to post the video camera results.

 

[Steel63]

I'm sure you will not be doing this on a windy day,

Not no but hell no, I don't like to fly over dry land if the wind is over 10 mph

...but with those floats, landing on much more than a ripple or two on the surface can be hairy...I have them and have used them for my Mini and my M2Pro.
There is another float system here in the forum that is much broader and they show drones landing on waves etc.

Does anyone know which floats Mr Wildman is referring to?
I admit I was a little concerned when I saw in the demo video they cut right as the drone touched the water...I would have liked to see it sit there idling for a couple seconds.

It's the rescue jacket made by phantom rain I have the wetsuit for flying in the rain but I don't have the rescue jacket so I'm not sure how it works but the wetsuit is awesome !

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

I have had 2 drones fall into fresh water twice in my illustrious carrer. One a DJI Mavic Air 2, the other an Autel Evo 2 Pro. They both fell into water under the same conditions. They essentially made a splash down from less than one foot. They both landed in 1 foot of water totally submerged. Finally, both were removed from the water in less than one minute. The batteries were immediately removed in both cases. Both were dried in the same manner, by hot blow dryer. Both would not function properly during the first 48 hours. After 72 hours there were no issues or changes in both of the drones' functions. After months of flight, both still show no signs of prior submersion. DJI and EVO drones or most electronics can survive temporary shallow submersion. With the proper after care, ie immediate battery removal and drying, they will most likely survive a dunk in fresh water.

 

[G Randy Brown]

Yes I will line myself up with it and watch closely as I leave the shoreline keeping the camera at least a couple feet from the surface.
Judging by what I've seen on the google machine so far it doesn't look like it will float but I'll test it in a sink as soon as I get it.

sinks like a rock ?

 

[G Randy Brown]

Firstly not a dumb idea…
With the Insta360 OneX2 camera you don’t need to keep it vertical under water any angle will produce a perfect video. That’s the advantage of a 360 camera it records absolutely everything In every direction.
I’m keen to see what footage you can produce!

I haven't bought the other items and gone to try shooting like I mentioned but I just got back from a 3 day motorcycle road trip with a buddy and blown away with this camera.
I mounted it with a 3 suction cup mounted to my fairing and hit record and we traversed thru the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico.
In post I'm able to look at all the beauty I missed!

 

[G Randy Brown]

I have the One X2. Great little camera. This should work.

A couple thoughts for you...

Add the camera to your State Farm policy. It should not increase your premium. I have my X2, MA2, 2 GoPros and a tablet insured for the $60.

Check out the dive case for the X2. It will have the attachment point you need. It will protect the lenses on the camera (which are not replaceable) and it has dedicated anti-fog inserts.

The dive case will also allow you to have a proper stitching line in your videos. Water changes the way light hits the lenses and creates a poor overlap of the front and back. There's a setting in the app and desktop software to make use of the dive case.

The Air 2 will easily carry the weight of the X2. There are quite a few videos of people flying with the 360 camera attached to it.

I wonder why I didnt get email notifications on these new posts?
Anyway, good info thanks...I'll check into adding the 360, Pocket 2 and Hero 9 added.
I'll also check out the dive case even tho I don't plan on diving more than a few feet...it sounds like it has other benefits I didn't realize...thanks!