Long exposure photos

[john2k]

If I wanted to take a long exposure photo and the drone moves round a bit because of things like wind and other factors. So lets say it has movements in all angles, will the gimbal correct this to get a steady shot? How much movement can it hande?

 

[Thomas B]

With my M2P I have never had this issue. It is steady as a rock at hover as long as the wind is not high... ie, wind < 20-22 mph w/o excessive gusts.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Not so much with the Mavic Air; the most I have been able to get out of it is a 1" exposure. Anything above that gets too blurry even under calm conditions.

 

[brett8883]

If I wanted to take a long exposure photo and the drone moves round a bit because of things like wind and other factors. So lets say it has movements in all angles, will the gimbal correct this to get a steady shot? How much movement can it hande?

I’m not sure about the Mavic Air but here’s an 8 second exposure with the Mavic Pro

 

[ZX14-R]

Nice Pic

 

[brett8883]

Nice Pic

Thanks!

 

[SpitFire]

Yes, Very nice picture.

 

[john2k]

I’m not sure about the Mavic Air but here’s an 8 second exposure with the Mavic Pro

View attachment 80335

Amazing. Out of curiousity how did you fly it at night? I know the general rule is that you can't fly in the dark. But let's say I was over private land and I wanted to just hover to try out long exposure night shot, will the Mavic air be able to actually fly and take off and hover in the dark? Or will it go crazy and crash? Before my DJI I had a parrot bebop drone and I tried taking off in the dark on private land and it just went crazy crashing into things and I was told that's because the sensors used for positioning don't really work in the dark

 

[Meta4]

But let's say I was over private land and I wanted to just hover to try out long exposure night shot, will the Mavic air be able to actually fly and take off and hover in the dark? Or will it go crazy and crash?
Before my DJI I had a parrot bebop drone and I tried taking off in the dark on private land and it just went crazy crashing into things and I was told that's because the sensors used for positioning don't really work in the dark

Private land or not makes no difference to regulations.

GPS, the IMU sensors and barometer work just as well in the dark as in daylight.
Obstacle avoidance sensors will have trouble.
A bigger problem is poor depth perception and difficulty seeing obstacles for the pilot in the dark.
But the drone can fly just perfectly well in the dark.

 

[jeplane]

It may very well be that the picture on post 4 is taken at dusk, not quite night yet. About sunset +-30 minutes, depending of your latitude.
Let's hope strobes were installed when this shot was taken.

Flying at night doesn't serve much purpose. The sky will be dark and have no details. The exposure will be longer, and therefore, more prompt at being blurry. Obstacles will be more difficult to discern.
Best to shoot at dusk or dawn. More oranges tint in the sky, and it keeps you legal!

This is Columbus, OH, about 25 minutes before sunrise...

 

[brett8883]

Amazing. Out of curiousity how did you fly it at night? I know the general rule is that you can't fly in the dark. But let's say I was over private land and I wanted to just hover to try out long exposure night shot, will the Mavic air be able to actually fly and take off and hover in the dark? Or will it go crazy and crash? Before my DJI I had a parrot bebop drone and I tried taking off in the dark on private land and it just went crazy crashing into things and I was told that's because the sensors used for positioning don't really work in the dark

This was taken within 30 minutes of civilian dusk as defined by NOAA in accordance with regulations. The mountains in the background serve to cause “twilight” conditions prematurely.

The vision sensors really only help close to the ground this was maybe 200’ AGL. Well out of range of the vision sensors

 

[dannybgoode]

I’ve got 8” exposures out of my MP2 in reasonable winds. The image stabilisation is ridiculously good. The key is to take a few shots and at least one is likely to be spot on. It’s also important to remember not to move the drone until the exposure is complete. I forget this from time to time .

Note I live in the UK and night flying is perfectly legal so I get plenty of practice.