Night traffic photos

[keith00]

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

Can you provide a link to that rule? I don't see the restriction on the FAA site. There is actually a regulation for Part 107 flyers, but I don't see anything for hobbyists.

 

[Roverone]

Hawaii , Aiea Heights @ night .

 

[Roverone]

Hawaii , Aiea Heights @ night .

HD Equalizer

 

[mangospoops]

I know the wording is counter intuitive, but if I switch it off I can hardly get usable picture (for long exposure shot).

Maybe you might want to experiment with this Lock Gimbal When Capture and see whether enabling or disabling it will give you better result? I tested with both Mavic and P4P. I won't get usable result if I disable it.

If you do the test, I would appreciate it if you post your findings here

I will

View attachment 24658 View attachment 24659

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.

Wow. Love this. Where was this.

 

[mangospoops]

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

Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem,Pa. old decommissioned steel plant

 

[ykwarks]

I will

Wow. Love this. Where was this.

thanks! in Hong Kong

 

[Starz]

Can you provide a link to that rule? I don't see the restriction on the FAA site. There is actually a regulation for Part 107 flyers, but I don't see anything for hobbyists.

No link available because it doesn't exist.

 

[Clampoid]

Here’s one I took recently

 

[contactpete]

Here is a few I did, I live near a major Freeway intersection in Sydney.
I found manual focus abit hard at first but soon got better.

Hope you enjoy my results

I too love the light streams on a road, or in the sky

 

[wels7]

Here is a few I did, I live near a major Freeway intersection in Sydney.
I found manual focus abit hard at first but soon got better.

Hope you enjoy my results

I too love the light streams on a road, or in the sky

I think you forgot to link the Pictures?![emoji6]

 

[Starz]

 

[mangospoops]

The key to focusing at night is turning focus peaking on so you know what is in focus

 

[f3honda4me]

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

No it's not...

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.

Ignore the incorrect post you read. Hobbyist flight has no night time restriction in the US.

 

[maven4336]

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

Slow shutter/60 FPS

 

[f3honda4me]

Can you provide a link to that rule? I don't see the restriction on the FAA site. There is actually a regulation for Part 107 flyers, but I don't see anything for hobbyists.

Correct. Part 107 have to get an exception. Hobbyists can fly day or night. There are actually less restrictions on hobbyist flight than commercial.

 

[Starz]

No link available because it doesn't exist.

I think he probably got the message. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see may be appropriate here. The google is a wonderful tool for weeding out inaccuracies when needed for those that didn't know.

 

[Floater]

Great suggestions! May be useful for hand held shots as well; then you can hold the camera steady for seconds at a time.

 

[Floater]

in a moving drone i honestly don't see how locking the gimbal would help to keep the camera steady.

The "Lock Gimbal When Capture" means that the camera is controlling the gimbal itself to "lock" the image on the focal plane.
"If this is toggled on then the gimbal will try to keep the camera pointing in the same direction when you take a photo. If it is turned off then the gimbal will follow the movement of the aircraft."
DJI Go 4 Manual: The Pilot’s Handbook

 

[Mossiback]

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

Lots of precautions. The sensors will not work (a message will even pop up telling you so), you will not see wires or bare branches before hitting them, and focusing can be a challenge. Other than that, have fun!

 

[Porto]

The "Lock Gimbal When Capture" means that the camera is controlling the gimbal itself to "lock" the image on the focal plane.
"If this is toggled on then the gimbal will try to keep the camera pointing in the same direction when you take a photo. If it is turned off then the gimbal will follow the movement of the aircraft."
DJI Go 4 Manual: The Pilot’s Handbook

I should have read the manual instead of trying to find it out myself!

Edit: but when I am bored and have some free time, it's fun to try to find out what certain parameters mean