Mavic rubbish at night they say....

NickB · Nov 5, 2017

I beg to differ....with a little research and experimentation i think it worked quite well

I shot 3 displays in 3 nights and each time got better.
Here's last nights effort.
4k 24fps 400 iso shutter 25. Shot in D-log with manual focus and a little work in Davinci.

NickB · Nov 5, 2017

And another one from today

tictag · Nov 5, 2017

Really nice! I think you and your Mavic have done an outstanding job! Really inspiring.

I must ask, was the music chosen the actual display music? It seems to be perfectly matched then I doubt it for some reason, then again it's bang on! < see what I did there?

I think the shows and your coverage of them is truly outstanding. I felt first of all you weren't moving much but this got better as the show went on. Your panning and movements was smooth as silk, gimbal movements could have maybe been a bit slower. I loved that at some parts during the show you were far back taking it all in then in others you appeared to be in the middle of a supernova!

Really very good, and you've inspired me for one

NickB · Nov 6, 2017

I did try to edit with some music timing but with fireworks it's quite tricky.

Some of the erratic gimbal movements shouldn't have made the cuts but i didn't want to leave too much out....it seems you either go in close and have to be ready on tilt for the ones that go 200m up after shooting the ones at low level or back out and get the lot with minimum effort on tilt.
I shot this one Thursday, i was quite far away and just stood there like a lemon with not much to do

mildim · Nov 6, 2017

Nice work

What did you do in DaVinci ?

KiterTodd · Nov 6, 2017

Very great color/contrast. I'm surprised the camera could do that.

How do you manual focus on a small screen? I have found when I try that, the video ends up being blurry when I later look at it for editing on a larger screen.

I only looked at the first video, but unless you are flying around the fireworks (not in them, of course) then it's no different than having a camera on a tripod. I love the fireworks shows where the drones are panning around the display, filming from above, etc. I'm sure you have some of that (didn't watch in entirety)

NickB · Nov 6, 2017

mildim said:
Nice work What did you do in DaVinci ?

Just lowering lift to darken the sky and raise the gain to sharpen the fireworks.

NickB · Nov 6, 2017

KiterTodd said:
Very great color/contrast. I'm surprised the camera could do that.

How do you manual focus on a small screen? I have found when I try that, the video ends up being blurry when I later look at it for editing on a larger screen.

I only looked at the first video, but unless you are flying around the fireworks (not in them, of course) then it's no different than having a camera on a tripod. I love the fireworks shows where the drones are panning around the display, filming from above, etc. I'm sure you have some of that (didn't watch in entirety)

I use an ipad mini so it wasn't to difficult, should imagine it's quite tricky on a smaller phone screen.
I did find once you focus from about 80m away it stays good for 30-150m ranges.

mildim · Nov 6, 2017

NickB said:
Just lowering lift to darken the sky and raise the gain to sharpen the fireworks.

Thanks.

ICHOTT · Nov 6, 2017

NickB said:
I beg to differ....with a little research and experimentation i think it worked quite well
I shot 3 displays in 3 nights and each time got better.
Here's last nights effort.
4k 24fps 400 iso shutter 25. Shot in D-log with manual focus and a little work in Davinci.

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Excellent vids, thanks for the tips and now to put it in practise.
Can you elaborate please on getting your mavicpro up and back home please.
I assume all on gps but any particular settings and take off/landing tips? Thanks.

NickB · Nov 6, 2017

Ic_hoTT said:
Excellent vids, thanks for the tips and now to put it in practise.
Can you elaborate please on getting your mavicpro up and back home please.
I assume all on gps but any particular settings and take off/landing tips? Thanks.

I have not really travelled any further than 100m, I looked for the best spots to take off from using Google earth beforehand looking for any power lines and trees etc then I get to the spot an hour before the planned start time and take a walk to the spot and suss it out using a torch. Go back to van and have a vape and listen to radio for 20 minutes and then head back to the spot with 15- 20 mins, get everything ready and fire up the mavic to get sats, once i have 13+ i switch off, and put battery in pocket to keep it from getting cold...as soon as the first FW goes up I'm away in less than a minute as the MP keeps sats locked in for a while even when off.
I use the radar and GPS lights to guide it back, you could use RTH but I like to stay stealthy, no front leds and keep the GPS light away from where people can see it.

The display I filmed last night was sent to one of the women who runs the school FB page and said she had no idea there was a drone up

ICHOTT · Nov 7, 2017

NickB said:
I have not really travelled any further than 100m, I looked for the best spots to take off from using Google earth beforehand looking for any power lines and trees etc then I get to the spot an hour before the planned start time and take a walk to the spot and suss it out using a torch. Go back to van and have a vape and listen to radio for 20 minutes and then head back to the spot with 15- 20 mins, get everything ready and fire up the mavic to get sats, once i have 13+ i switch off, and put battery in pocket to keep it from getting cold...as soon as the first FW goes up I'm away in less than a minute as the MP keeps sats locked in for a while even when off.
I use the radar and GPS lights to guide it back, you could use RTH but I like to stay stealthy, no front leds and keep the GPS light away from where people can see it.

The display I filmed last night was sent to one of the women who runs the school FB page and said she had no idea there was a drone up

Thanks nick, I’ll give it a go very soon, you given me confidence and I agree about the lights on/off, cheers

Regulator247 · Nov 11, 2017

NickB said:
I beg to differ....with a little research and experimentation i think it worked quite well
I shot 3 displays in 3 nights and each time got better.
Here's last nights effort.
4k 24fps 400 iso shutter 25. Shot in D-log with manual focus and a little work in Davinci.

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NickB · Nov 12, 2017

You could of got a better image if you had played with manual focus a bit

Riveratdave · Nov 13, 2017

Great videos NickB. Just a thought; have you tried portrait mode for fireworks? The MP has a good camera, but without optical zoom, we have to rely heavily on post processing for cropping, which will lower resolution . Here's a comparison, (my dslr pics) to illustrate composition. Portrait for fireworks as main subject, and landscape if a desireable background/foreground is present. Btw, I’m very anxious to shoot fireworks with my Mavic Pro! Keep flyin’ & shootin’

Blind T · Nov 13, 2017

This is my attempt at fireworks. 2 details to report, first I was over a golf course so no where near people, 2nd, I used my Parrot Bebop 2 because the camera is enclosed and because I love my Mavic too much to risk anything happening to it. I also put electrical tape over the lights so it wouldn't be noticed.

iSilentP · Nov 13, 2017

Here’s my first attempt at fireworks

NickB · Nov 13, 2017

iSilentP said:
Here’s my first attempt at fireworks

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Very nice

Riveratdave · Nov 13, 2017

It’s funny how the uninformed public is afraid of drones falling from the sky, and yet will park their cars and camp out underneath aerial bombs, exploding overhead. Humans, smh.