Monitor Sunshades

[WoodstockNick]

I went out with my Mavic Air over the Hudson River. Highland Landing Park for those of you Hudson Valley folks.
Beautiful crystal clear day but the bright afternoon sun made my display so I couldn’t see a **** thing. Very frustrating. I like using my iPad but the sun washed everything out. Couldn’t see the menus, status or anything. I switched to my iPhone which is a bit brighter but it wasn’t much better.
I ordered this on Amazon and I hope it works. Anyone have luck with these?
https://www.amazon.com/Favrison-9-7inch-Monitor-Tablets-Controller/dp/B074795G2M

Just as I’m adjusting to the impossible-to-see display a guy shows up with his Spark. He couldn’t see a **** thing either and I was busy trying to pick a different altitude to avoid him.
Then every other launch after that I was getting compass calibration errors and he was too. I didn’t have compass problems until he showed up. Weird. Overall a frustrating afternoon at Highland Landing.

The one good thing that came out of it was a couple walked up to me and was asking all kinds of questions. This used to annoy me, but now I like showing people how drones work. Helps tamp town the fear people have of drones in general and they realize you’re not some Peeping Tom lurking in the neighborhood.

 

[wbrownj]

I have used those shades before and they definitely do help but I modded mine with some cardboard and Velcro as shown so it had a top shade as well. This helped enormously.

Also consider adding a matte screen protector onto the iPad

J

 

[Irish-apple]

Just bought s shade for my iPad tell you the truth theres not much difference as per @wbrownj ? Did you use a matte screen before do they work ?

 

[cronemeister]

I bought one of these the other day so I could use my new ipad with the tablet mount I bought...worked really well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B076X3L49S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had a few people come up to me asking questions as well which was great, they seemed really interested and very impressed.

 

[ScubaBob]

In my opinion, the absolutely worst part of owning an MP is my inability to see ANYTHING on my iPhone when I am flying unless I put a towel over my head or get into the shade. I have put an anti-glare film on my phone. No real help. I bought the DJI sunshade. No help. I wear sunglasses. No help. I wear just my reading glasses. No help. I did see, several months ago, a posting where the writer explained that the problem is due to the angle of the display and he modified a sunshade but the design only worked on iPads, not iPhones. I even bought Googles and they are great BUT (big BUT) you need to have a spotter with you unless you are in wide open spaces. Very frustrating.

 

[skadee]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XZQ9HR2?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title


This one works really well, even with nexus 7.

 

[BerndM]

About the only thing that would work really well is a very dark colored beach towel over your head and controller, sort of like the old time big box camera photographers used.

 

[bentbrent]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9+. I have had a terrible experience trying to see the screen. I tried DJIs sunscreen. It didn't help. I tried a sunshade from Drone Fans. It wasn't much better. I cut up the DJI shade and modded it together with the other one. That helped a bit. Finally, I bought an Ipad mini 4. I haven't been into Apple before, but this one works well. It has a built in anti reflective glare property that finally lets me see the screen well.

 

[theDRONEranger]

The standard sun shades don't really work worth a **** on those really bright sunny days. Some of the mods shown on this issue work so much better than standard. Throwing a towel over your head might help considerably but you chance losing VLOS, so just for a moment! Probably the best thing to do is visit your local stationary store, i.e., Office Depot, Office Max, and pick up some sturdy material (preferably black in color) and experiment in differing designs to maximize the shade and minimize the the sun glare. Do this at home before flying. so you could easily modify until you find something suitable. I use (DJI Mavic Air) a Samsung Tab A (2017 model) for flying with LITCHI and use my cell Samsung Note 8+ with DJI Go4 App for all other flights, and would be very interested in knowing your success if you try experimenting. I do have a stock shade but love to learn what others have and experiment with as well.

 

[bushie]

I have a Samsung S8. Can see the screen even in brihht sunlight.

 

[pobox1067]

I have a samsung Note8, essentially the same phone. Difficult to see anything in the sun. Interestingly, my Garmin Oregon GPS is excellent in the sun. The more sun, the better the picture. why can't they apply the same technology to call phones and tablets?

 

[Bill Ludwig]

My iPhone 7 works great in direct Arizona sunlight....except in the summer. You have to keep the sun off the screen, or the heat makes the display turn black. I rarely fly when it's over 90 degrees F, but when I do, I lay an ice pack on the phone when not flying, which keeps it cool enough to use for another flight, then it's back under the ice pack agin, etc...

 

[dfb]

I went out with my Mavic Air over the Hudson River. Highland Landing Park for those of you Hudson Valley folks.
Beautiful crystal clear day but the bright afternoon sun made my display so I couldn’t see a **** thing. Very frustrating. I like using my iPad but the sun washed everything out. Couldn’t see the menus, status or anything. I switched to my iPhone which is a bit brighter but it wasn’t much better.
I ordered this on Amazon and I hope it works. Anyone have luck with these?
https://www.amazon.com/Favrison-9-7inch-Monitor-Tablets-Controller/dp/B074795G2M

Just as I’m adjusting to the impossible-to-see display a guy shows up with his Spark. He couldn’t see a **** thing either and I was busy trying to pick a different altitude to avoid him.
Then every other launch after that I was getting compass calibration errors and he was too. I didn’t have compass problems until he showed up. Weird. Overall a frustrating afternoon at Highland Landing.

The one good thing that came out of it was a couple walked up to me and was asking all kinds of questions. This used to annoy me, but now I like showing people how drones work. Helps tamp town the fear people have of drones in general and they realize you’re not some Peeping Tom lurking in the neighborhood.

Sorry, you can put a black bath towel over your head or buy a crystal sky monitor. I've done both. I prefer the crystal sky, but it's a lot more expensive.

 

[rkyleh]

Here is a shade that works very well.
HOME

 

[Rubicon]

You could try wearing a burka ? Might just replace one set of problems with another, however.

 

[WoodstockNick]

UPDATE: I tried using the standard sunshade today and it helped except for the **** reflection of my face. I hate putting anti-glare films on my screens, but I might have to break down and do it.
I draped my Smart Cover over the top of the shade and it helped a lot.
Anyone use the Hoodman shades?
https://www.amazon.com/Hoodman-Drone-Aviator-Hood-iPad/dp/B01CEP215A

 

[rkyleh]

I use this and it works great

 

[Aerial West]

Sunshades are so important. Even with the high brightness monitors we've used on film cameras for ages, and now the crystal sky, it doesnt matter when you are in bright areas. If you can see the screen to expose properly, you're wasting a flight.

i use a hoodman hoods professionally. There are knockoffs, but nothing is as good. The 'half' hoods are junk.

if you are not blocking the light all the way to the eye, then you WILL see your face on the screen,and thats just as bad, maybe even worse. Id rather be under a tree than in the sun with a half hood.

here are options for just about ever size of tablet device. (i am a distributor). You can see me using one flying an inspire in the video on my signature.

DJI Mavic, Air, and Spark Drone Accessories Archives | MavMount

 

[WoodstockNick]

Sunshades are so important. Even with the high brightness monitors we've used on film cameras for ages, and now the crystal sky, it doesnt matter when you are in bright areas. If you can see the screen to expose properly, you're wasting a flight.

i use a hoodman hoods professionally. There are knockoffs, but nothing is as good. The 'half' hoods are junk.

if you are not blocking the light all the way to the eye, then you WILL see your face on the screen,and thats just as bad, maybe even worse. Id rather be under a tree than in the sun with a half hood.

here are options for just about ever size of tablet device. (i am a distributor). You can see me using one flying an inspire in the video on my signature.

DJI Mavic, Air, and Spark Drone Accessories Archives | MavMount

I ordered a Pad Hat. It’s shaded such that you view the iPad at a 70 degree angle, eliminating the reflection (in theory). I’ll report back this weekend on the results.
I definitely don’t like the things you drape over your head. I need to be able to quickly glance up and look out for any low flying planes, helicopters or obstacles.
https://www.hoodivision.com/products-new

 

[Aerial West]

I ordered a Pad Hat. It’s shaded such that you view the iPad at a 70 degree angle, eliminating the reflection (in theory). I’ll report back this weekend on the results.
I definitely don’t like the things you drape over your head. I need to be able to quickly glance up and look out for any low flying planes, helicopters or obstacles.
https://www.hoodivision.com/products-new

I had two of those. Pretty worthless for reasons stated above.

it's also floppy, and will bend in wind.