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New Member to the Zoom club

Romer

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Jan 23, 2020
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Age
62
Location
Centennial, Colorado
I just bought a Mavic 2 Zoom, and smart controller. They were open box with full warranty on ebay for $1350. I also bought a landing pad, fly more kit, set of 3 filters, screen protector for the Smart Controller and hard case

Anything else I need?

I registered for $5 with the FAA. Doesnt look like they have the required knowledge test out yet

I downloaded the kittyhawk and B4ufly app and am learning about zones and where you could fly

I have been reading on how to fly the drone

All my stuff will be here by next Saturday

Any other accessories I would need?

Anything else I should do or learn while waiting?

I am new to this and there seems to be a lot to keep track of to be responsible

I am an avid off-roader and one of the things I want is to video while I am off road
 
One other question I have is I want to download the video and photos directly to my computer. Do I take the memory card out to do this or is there another way?
 
Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
I do recommend reading the full online only DJI manual for your new drone... get it here and other good stuff.
 
One other question I have is I want to download the video and photos directly to my computer. Do I take the memory card out to do this or is there another way?
There’s several ways discussed on the forum. You could use the search function to find some.

Personally, I remove the card from the drone and use a card reader on my computer.
 
Welcome to Mavic Pilots! :) Enjoy the forum!Thumbswayup
 
Welcome to the forum and drones.

What is it that got you interest and willing to pay over $1K for a drone given the negative press flying has been receiving and the proposed rules the FAA has put forward regarding restrictions on airspace?
 
Off roading my toyota Land Cruisers is my primary hobby and I wanted to be able to do the follow me and record part of our runs. I have been very impressed with what others have done

Drone photo/Videos would have made these so much better
Gamiviti.JPGGami3.JPG20160904_110653.jpg
 
Charging batteries off road is something to work out if you don’t run an inverter for mains level power on the road.
I also love 4x4 here in Australia, trips up to 5 weeks or so with no mains.
With my M1P, the power from the cR charger was unreliable if the vehicle wasn’t running, so I bought a simple 12v to 13.8v step converter and can charge as needed (2nd battery) in camp etc while parked up.
Enjoy the trips, epic how drones and 4wd work so well together.
 
Off roading my toyota Land Cruisers is my primary hobby and I wanted to be able to do the follow me and record part of our runs. I have been very impressed with what others have done

Drone photo/Videos would have made these so much better
View attachment 91936View attachment 91937View attachment 91938

WOW!

Colorado is a beautiful place. I use to visit Estes Park every summer for about ten years to participate in a conference. Amazing sights to see.

That said, enjoy the new Mavic and drone experience.
 
Charging batteries off road is something to work out if you don’t run an inverter for mains level power on the road.
I also love 4x4 here in Australia, trips up to 5 weeks or so with no mains.
With my M1P, the power from the cR charger was unreliable if the vehicle wasn’t running, so I bought a simple 12v to 13.8v step converter and can charge as needed (2nd battery) in camp etc while parked up.
Enjoy the trips, epic how drones and 4wd work so well together.

Thanks. I bought 3 batteries. I did get the 12V charger and also have an inverter in my truck. I have an Australian Kimberley Karavan pictured above which I also can charge it from. I typically wouldnt do more than 15 minutes at a time so thinking I will be OK. I will adjust as I get more into it if needed
 
Thanks. I bought 3 batteries. I did get the 12V charger and also have an inverter in my truck. I have an Australian Kimberley Karavan pictured above which I also can charge it from. I typically wouldnt do more than 15 minutes at a time so thinking I will be OK. I will adjust as I get more into it if needed

Ah you have plenty of options there to charge.
Kimberley Kampers / Karavans have a great reputation here.
Didn’t realise they exported them too.
 
One other question I have is I want to download the video and photos directly to my computer. Do I take the memory card out to do this or is there another way?
Welcome to the forum. Well, you'll need a second job to pay for all of that (g)

You can usb cable between the Zoom and computer and copy files between them. That way you can copy all of the files. The drone must be powered on.

You can also download some files from the drone wirelessly to the Smart Controller. When connected to the drone, there's a Preview/Review icon along the right side under the Camera Settings icon (you'll learn all of this stuff). It looks like the icons on digital cameras to look at "taken pictures/videos". Again, drone must be on. Tap it and a review screen of pictures and videos appears. You can look at individual items. There's another little icon representing DOWNLOAD. Tap that and some files will transfer from drone to SC (internal or sd card). That method only transfers a fully compiled Panorama and not the individual component images of the pan. It will also transfer videos. Be WARNED, while pictures transfer wirelessly pretty fast, videos can take minutes. You can do it while flying or once landed. But again, while flying, transferring videos is time consuming and the drone is UP THERE. Land and transfer. Also, these transfers take battery power, too.

Or you can move the card to a card reader and transfer to computer or smart controller.

One issue for the left-right dyslexic among us - when the drone is flying away from you, left and right are very straight forward. When facing you and returning, it can be a bit confusing. Some folks have absolutely no issue, others (ME!) do. And before you take the drone into corner climbs like the jeepie, practice in wide open areas. Rock is very unforgiving. Also, the gps may be limited in tight canyons.

Those offroad shots are WOW!

I've spent time in Durango, Pagosa Springs and Ridgway.
 
I just bought a Mavic 2 Zoom, and smart controller. They were open box with full warranty on ebay for $1350. I also bought a landing pad, fly more kit, set of 3 filters, screen protector for the Smart Controller and hard case

Anything else I need?

I registered for $5 with the FAA. Doesnt look like they have the required knowledge test out yet

I downloaded the kittyhawk and B4ufly app and am learning about zones and where you could fly

I have been reading on how to fly the drone

All my stuff will be here by next Saturday

Any other accessories I would need?

Anything else I should do or learn while waiting?

I am new to this and there seems to be a lot to keep track of to be responsible

I am an avid off-roader and one of the things I want is to video while I am off road
There are numerous YouTube videos of the basic operation of most drones around today. Check out Ed Ricker.
 
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One tip I have is to use palm take off and landing. Looks like you aren't going to be anywhere flat, and take off does tend to blow a lot of dust about, and the motors are open to the air.

It does mean you can take off from absolutely anywhere. I use an ipad mini and have perfected doing the take off swipe with one hand and holding the drone in the other. A neck strap round the controller would make this easier but I'm used to it now. Same with the landing - you can hold out your palm and let it float down and land gently. Plenty of videos on youtube on how to do it.
 
Alrighty then. I got all my stuff. Modified my case slightly to turn two battery holders into a place for the car charger and filters

Been reading on filters, I bought the set of 3 figuring I can get a better set later if I decide I need it

Again, I am looking to do the out doors follow me active track mode while I am 4wheeling. I wont be using the drone in the rain :)

Does anyone put the ND4 filter on always as a lens protector?
IMG_0199.jpg
 
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Does anyone put the ND4 filter on always as a lens protector?

You could do so, for video at least even down to a sunset scenario.
ND filters aren't usually used for photos though, they keep the shutter open longer and you risk images not being sharp.
You'd be better to get an NC-UV or MC-UV (most are multicoated anyway) to leave on all the time, then put on the correct ND for the job when videoing.
 
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Aren't they the filters for the Mavic 2 Pro? The zoom filters are round. The Zoom has a lens filter on it that acts as a protector. It's a bugger to unscrew the first time to change lenses! I just swap that for whatever ND filter I am using so the lens is always protected. You do get to know which filter to pick quite quickly, the histogram is your friend here. My procedure is to guess from experience which filter to use, point at what you are filming and observe the exposure on the histogram. Change to a lower/higher filter if needs be.

I would say that I've had very good results on Adobe Premiere Pro (and Filmora) where I have corrected exposure, so learning how to edit your results is a must. However, if it's a choice between slight over, or slight under exposure go for under exposure as there will be some detail there as opposed to a bleached out blob.

Manual exposure is a good thing to learn as when the drone is flying around sometimes it catches the sun in the image, or bright objects and whops down the brightness. That looks rather obvious and you can't correct that in post.

I know it's early days yet, but consider filming in D-Cinelike. you get a lower contrast image you can do more with in post production.

Also, yep - if it's on manual shutter speed and you zoom in then the exposure changes. I have programmed one of the buttons to bring up the camera settings page so I can change the ASA if I need to.
 
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