Newbie needs expert advice

SkyIScrape · Aug 12, 2017

Folks,

Any help answering these questions would be appreciated.

1) Where the hell can I fly?

I've flown my new Mavic Pro a total of three times. Each time I'm nervous as hell. Not for the fact that the only thing between me and a $1000 investment is gravity and 98 feet (beginner mode), but rather all these **** maps and differing advisories, warnings, etc. I'm using 3 maps: 1) B4UFly, 2) Kittyhark and 3) DJI Go 4. B4UFly makes the N.F.L. (No Fun League) look like a no-holds-barred frat party. They list "private airstrips" that are refuge dumps, trailer parks and one, per satellite view was in the middle of a dense forest. It's a no brainer to stay away from actual airports, hospitals, anywhere you often see actual aircraft. I want to be responsible but these maps leave you very little room for error. What say you?

2) I need feedback on my first "real" flight (where I just didnt take it up turn a few times and come back down). Here's the vid: My apologies in advance for a good chunk of this video just suspended in air. I was trying to get oriented with the 1,000 little icons and sounds.

a) Where'd my audio go?
When I played it back for the first time on my iPhone from the DJI Go 4 app, I had audio. Took out the flash card and uploaded it to personal computer...now there's no audio. I go back to my DJI Go 4 app and try to view again, now its just giving me the overview of the flight and no video. (I thought everything was saved in DJI's cloud.) Kittyhawk, which I've yet to find any real value, even upgraded to Plus, says everything is synced, but media = None. In fact the **** thing doesnt pull in all the data of the flight no matter how many times I "sync" or "import".
So, where's my audio? Is Kittyhawk worth using?

b) What could I have done better with video settings?
I've watched numerous "best video settings" video posts and I'm trying to soak it all in. My footage is 2.7k, D-Log color. Those were the only two settings I felt comfortable changing. I have PolarPro filters but did not use them on this cloudy day. The video seems a bit "choppy" at 3:17 and a bit "blurry" when panning left to right. I had another short clip of a second flight where it was completely blurry for the first two minutes. Then it seemed to auto focus. Either that or I accidently did whatever I needed to do to get in focus.

3) Do I need to calibrate compass before every flight? I'm assuming no, unless I shut it down and start back up.

Jammcg · Aug 12, 2017

SkyIScrape said:
Folks,

Any help answering these questions would be appreciated.

1) Where the **** can I fly?

I've flown my new Mavic Pro a total of three times. Each time I'm nervous as ****. Not for the fact that the only thing between me and a $1000 investment is gravity and 98 feet (beginner mode), but rather all these **** maps and differing advisories, warnings, etc. I'm using 3 maps: 1) B4UFly, 2) Kittyhark and 3) DJI Go 4. B4UFly makes the N.F.L. (No Fun League) look like a no-holds-barred frat party. They list "private airstrips" that are refuge dumps, trailer parks and one, per satellite view was in the middle of a dense forest. It's a no brainer to stay away from actual airports, hospitals, anywhere you often see actual aircraft. I want to be responsible but these maps leave you very little room for error. What say you?

2) I need feedback on my first "real" flight (where I just didnt take it up turn a few times and come back down). Here's the vid:

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My apologies in advance for a good chunk of this video just suspended in air. I was trying to get oriented with the 1,000 little icons and sounds.

a) Where'd my audio go?
When I played it back for the first time on my iPhone from the DJI Go 4 app, I had audio. Took out the flash card and uploaded it to personal computer...now there's no audio. I go back to my DJI Go 4 app and try to view again, now its just giving me the overview of the flight and no video. (I thought everything was saved in DJI's cloud.) Kittyhawk, which I've yet to find any real value, even upgraded to Plus, says everything is synced, but media = None. In fact the **** thing doesnt pull in all the data of the flight no matter how many times I "sync" or "import".
So, where's my audio? Is Kittyhawk worth using?

b) What could I have done better with video settings?
I've watched numerous "best video settings" video posts and I'm trying to soak it all in. My footage is 2.7k, D-Log color. Those were the only two settings I felt comfortable changing. I have PolarPro filters but did not use them on this cloudy day. The video seems a bit "choppy" at 3:17 and a bit "blurry" when panning left to right. I had another short clip of a second flight where it was completely blurry for the first two minutes. Then it seemed to auto focus. Either that or I accidently did whatever I needed to do to get in focus.

3) Do I need to calibrate compass before every flight? I'm assuming no, unless I shut it down and start back up.

I'm having the same problem blurry video the first minute or so of video. I'll be wTching for anyone who has an answer

Bazzam · Aug 12, 2017

The audio is stored locally on your phone(this can be disabled in the app settings), audio can not be recorded on the SD card on the mavic. The mavic does not have a mic , as all you would hear is the motors running. The 2.7k or 4k video (or whatever video settings you use) is stored on the mavic sd card. A 1080p copy is stored on your phone with audio. Only your flight record (distance/flight route, flight telemetry etc ) is stored to the DJI cloud.

SkyIScrape · Aug 12, 2017

Bazzam said:
The audio is stored locally on your phone(this can be disabled in the app settings), audio can not be recorded on the SD card on the mavic. The mavic does not have a mic , as all you would hear is the motors running. The 2.7k or 4k video (or whatever video settings you use) is stored on the mavic sd card. A 1080p copy is stored on your phone with audio. Only your flight record (distance/flight route, flight telemetry etc ) is stored to the DJI cloud.

Thanks for the reply. Hope you can help me understand why the audio is no longer there when I play it on my phone. Like I mentioned, I heard it once, but can't get it to work again. Thanks

SkyIScrape · Aug 12, 2017

SkyIScrape said:
Thanks for the reply. Hope you can help me understand why the audio is no longer there when I play it on my phone. Like I mentioned, I heard it once, but can't get it to work again. Thanks

I just found it! When I go to the Editor in Go 4, the video has the audio.

Bazzam · Aug 12, 2017

3) Do I need to calibrate compass before every flight? I'm assuming no, unless I shut it down and start back up.[/QUOTE]

You only need to recalibrate the compass went the app prompt you...so far I have 200+ flights and only recalibrate once. (You can check the quality/accuracy of the compass in the app)

Sometimes I find when preparing to launch the drone I get a compass warning, this is due to magnetic interference from environment and not an issue with the mavic. ( if you try too launch from your car roof/ metal gate !!)
When this happens just try a different location - a couple of meter away from what may be causing the interference

that_guy · Aug 12, 2017

My advice is go through this course @ Remote Pilot 101 | which trains you to become a part 107 pilot. Even if you don't get your cert you learn to on how to be a better pilot and where you can fly. I highly recommend it.