Newbie Help

[Onx1327]

Hi all

Just joined the forum so please be gentle...

Im thinking about getting a DJI with Active track to film football (soccer) games.

I have looked into the ACTIVE TRACK feature and my main questions are:

Can the ACTIVE TRACK feature lock onto the ball and follow it around to film a match?

Which Drone would be best recommended for filming football games?

Any help would be really appreciated.

Apologies in advance if i have posted this incorrectly.

 

[lannes]

I'd think a soccer ball would be too much of a task for active track to work it would not be able to keep up from a tracking point of view as the ball would be moving too fast. It's more designed for larger slower moving objects e.g people, cars etc. If it was a staged playing footage you could track it and speed it up in post (like you see on commercials etc.)

You could film the game from the side/above flying an orbit, but without specifically tracking anything
The drone laws in the UK also prevent you from flying within 50m of people, that includes from above

The most capable tracking drones are the Skydio 2 and the Mavic Air 2

 

[jimlips]

I agree with @lannes ; I've got a Skydio 2 and nothing compares to its tracking abilities for the price ($999 US).

The Skydio 2 can track three ways:

#1 (preferred) Beacon ($150 extra)
#2 your phone or iPad (which must have GPS to track)
#3 using its camera.

While #3 works pretty well, it can get "lost" if you dart in and out of the frame. With the Beacon, that can't happen. You would have to have one of the soccer players carry the beacon, and that would be an issue in itself. It has buttons on it that you would not want them to touch, so they can't just put it in their pocket unprotected. A pouch hung around their neck may work. Also, remember that the maximum flight time on the Skydio 2 is about 23 minutes per battery. You would have to stop to the game to retrieve the beacon to land it, then change the battery, and take off again.

You could also purchase the Remote Controller ($150) and try to track them manually, but it would be difficult.

If you could find someone with an FPV drove, that would be probably give the best results, but also the most dangerous.

Don't forget the safety issue. A miscalculation could easily have the props slicing flesh.

 

[Onx1327]

I'd think a soccer ball would be too much of a task for active track to work it would not be able to keep up from a tracking point of view as the ball would be moving too fast. It's more designed for larger slower moving objects e.g people, cars etc. If it was a staged playing footage you could track it and speed it up in post (like you see on commercials etc.)

You could film the game from the side/above flying an orbit, but without specifically tracking anything
The drone laws in the UK also prevent you from flying within 50m of people, that includes from above

The most capable tracking drones are the Skydio 2 and the Mavic Air 2

@lannes

Thanks for your reply

Im thinking now that this may be the way to go in that case...to film from the side...my only concern her is how good the lense/camera is as i'd need to zoom in either during the filming or in the editing suite in post and not loose too much quality.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

Following a ball that size I think is not going to get reliable results with a current DJI product... the bigger question is at what altitude and distance from people?.... flying directly overhead of people is a big no-no. One mis-hap and you have a big problem on your hands... potentially a big legal problem unless all the participants have signed waivers specifically allowing this... and even then you are at great risk. This is why 99.9% of the time the FAA denies a 107.39 request. Only the big boys with lots of money ever get those waivers. Just a "heads up" so to speak