Night traffic photos

[mangospoops]

I have take. These also. No gimbal lock no issues just manual camera control.

 

[Porto]

The usual reason to lock the gimbal is if, for instance, you were flying through trees or some other obstacle course and wanted that fighter jet look of rolling right and left while flying around things. (Ya know I can picture that a whole lot better than I can describe it [emoji41])

Unfortunately that's not the meaning for Lock Gimbal When Capture. It only relates to taking picture, not flying.

 

[Porto]

I have take. These also. No gimbal lock no issues just manual camera control.

If you didn't change the Lock Gimbal When Capture option, I believe the default is On, and therefore the pictures were taken with that option On.

 

[mangospoops]

If you didn't change the Lock Gimbal When Capture option, I believe the default is On, and therefore the pictures were taken with that option On.

You might have a good point there

 

[ykwarks]

gimbal lock on
manual setting: iso100, 3 sec
focus: fly up to 50m, adjust iso to 1600, aim camera straight down to a lit area and use auto focus, switch to manual focus and don’t touch the focus for the rest of your flight (it’s not easy to manual focus at night unless you’re using an ipad or similar in size), adjust iso to 100 and shutter speed to 1-3sec depending on your lighting condition.

 

[Porto]

Thank you ykwarks. Initially I tried to avoid mentioning about parameter as best I can as we are not allowed to talk about it here. But I think this confirm my theory, or better just call it suspicion.

There is a parameter in the AC that seemingly will give gimbal priority over flight. I need others to confirm my finding about this. Setting this Lock Gimbal When Capture will lock the AC, the AC will try to maintain position. Indeed the wording is kind of confusing, but I believe all it means is the AC will try to keep the gimbal in place instead of the gimbal smoothing out the movement of the AC.

Thank you ykwarks for your post.

 

[Mike_Jaxson]

I never thought about turning off the gimbal lock I'll have to try that. These were taking not far from home so it's a route I've flown many times.

 

[BadRad]

Fun stuff .... but I'm surprised nobody has cautioned here that its illegal to fly at night in hobby class in the US.

 

[The_IanN]

Great shot! Did you edit in post via Lightroom or other similar software?

I actually tried this for the first time yesterday. Was flying around sunset and noticed the shuttertime getting longer quite rapidly.
Took this picture with 3 seconds shuttertime, ISO 100. It's the JPEG the Mavic produces.

It wasn't very dark yet, but you can see the lights as lines down the road and at the highway. First few pics came out blurry as the gimbal was still centering itself, so when you want
to take a picture of traffic or anything else at night, make sure to hover for a few seconds prior to taking the picture so the gimbal is completely level and centered.

 

[angusc]

Fun stuff .... but I'm surprised nobody has cautioned here that its illegal to fly at night in hobby class in the US.

Come on did you have to?

 

[56_kruiser]

Fun stuff .... but I'm surprised nobody has cautioned here that its illegal to fly at night in hobby class in the US.

I was going to ask if there are any exceptions to that.I'm studying for the FAA test and I understand you are limited to 30 minutes each side of sunset/sunrise.

 

[Alastair]

View attachment 24658 View attachment 24659

These are fabulous photos ykwarks.

 

[BLSPro]

I have take. These also. No gimbal lock no issues just manual camera control.

That's really cool lighting on the facility. Where/what is it?

 

[sevenpointed]

Here’s a long exposure shot of traffic lights taken with my Mavic. View attachment 24474

Looks a lot like the north end of the sandia mountains

 

[@idofuel]

300ft above the strip

 

[Jesseg138]

I was going to ask if there are any exceptions to that.I'm studying for the FAA test and I understand you are limited to 30 minutes each side of sunset/sunrise.

The only exception to night flying is IF you have your part 107 certificate then you can get a waiver giving you the freedom to fly any time at night with the use of anti collision lights...the same anti collision lights we are supposed to use to fly within 30 minutes of sunrise and sunset.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Can anyone tell me how to take a pic above traffic at night so it looks like the lights are just streaks? Do I turn shutter speed way up? Thanks

2-4 second exposure should get the shot you want. Use AEB to get several different Exposure Values for the same photo. Makes sure it's not too windy.

 

[Hitec_NL]

Great shot! Did you edit in post via Lightroom or other similar software?

No editting at all! This is the pure JPEG as it is produced by the Mavic. ISO at 100, 3" shuttertime, whitebalance was at auto or 7800k, don't remember...
I am quite impressed with the Mavic it's own processing as well!

 

[Alastair]

Are there precautions to take with the Mavic itself when night flying? Should ground sensors be disabled?

 

[Andie]

one of the first pics i ever took with my mavic...