Put Your Mavic to Work

Robert Mitchell · Feb 5, 2018

shaunmichaelj said:
Professional footage for my own use? They can't do me if I'm recording myself no?

In the U.S., any footage used in the furtherance of a business interest, whether it’s of yourself, for yourself, or otherwise. Have no idea about other countries.

Business Users | Know Before You Fly

Is it ridiculous? Maybe. Are they serious? Yes.

HighlandsVideo · Feb 5, 2018

I thought I would be able to use my drones for close range aerial shooting, real estate, video commercials, footage sales, etc. (! am a 107 certified RPI). But, alas without the very costly liability insurance, no one has yet been willing to give me a gig. (plus I'm a geezer which I suspect may have been a factor on occasion.)

I don't blame them, mind you. I'd want to be covered too, I just have not been willing to justify the up to $2000/year for insurance I don't really believe I would likely ever need. So given the fact that it would be difficult to recoup that kind of money with my drone, I've been quite discouraged.

I've been building and flying camera drones for fun for 5 yrs now and have always been able to manage my flying safely. That's not to say I cannot make a mistake, but the possibility that an experience pilot is likely to cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages with a tiny MP seems unrealistic to me. My car can cause that kind of damage and more, yet it's liability insurance is cheap ???

What do you guys pay for liability insurance and if it's not expensive, where did you buy it?

Robert Mitchell · Feb 5, 2018

HighlandsVideo said:
I thought I would be able to use my drones for close range aerial shooting, real estate, video commercials, footage sales, etc. (! am a 107 certified RPI). But, alas without the very costly liability insurance, no one has yet been willing to give me a gig. (plus I'm a geezer which I suspect may have been a factor on occasion.)

I don't blame them, mind you. I'd want to be covered too, I just have not been willing to justify the up to $2000/year for insurance I don't really believe I would likely ever need. So given the fact that it would be difficult to recoup that kind of money with my drone, I've been quite discouraged.

I've been building and flying camera drones for fun for 5 yrs now and have always been able to manage my flying safely. That's not to say I cannot make a mistake, but the possibility that an experience pilot is likely to cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages with a tiny MP seems unrealistic to me. My car can cause that kind of damage and more, yet it's liability insurance is cheap ???

What do you guys pay for liability insurance and if it's not expensive, where did you buy it?

The jobs I've had, no one has ever asked, and I've simply taken my chances. I'm not flying over anything I'd damage anyway. But, if your client insists, or you are doing higher risk flights, check this out: Verifly – On-demand Drone Insurance

HighlandsVideo · Feb 5, 2018

Many thanks Robert! This seems like it would be the perfect affordable solution in my case. I'll get right now!

HighlandsVideo · Feb 6, 2018

Capt Drone said:
No one wants to see your drone videos.

So, just out of curiosity, do you guys think no one would want to see this drone footage?

BLZE02 · Feb 6, 2018

HighlandsVideo said:
So, just out of curiosity, do you guys think no one would want to see this drone footage?

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Probably just national geography... it’s a really nice video but not everyone would be interested.

HighlandsVideo · Feb 6, 2018

BLZE02 said:
Probably just national geography.

Well, just to be clear it is not national geographic. It's all mine and all original. all shot in my neck of the woods, so to speak, in the last year and it will become by demo reel whether anyone is interested or not.

I do appreciate you feedback though.

Robert Mitchell · Feb 6, 2018

HighlandsVideo said:
So, just out of curiosity, do you guys think no one would want to see this drone footage?

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Nice work.

ScubaBob · Feb 10, 2018

BLZE02 said:
Many purchased their Mavic for hobby purposes. Like for example I like to use mine for traveling to record where I go and get an awesome views of the area. Also to take pictures of my family and track my son while he walks around the beach, park, etc. You know there’s also the usual checking your roof, looking at your neighbors backyards, sunsets.

Just want to see what uses have you put your Mavic through. Also mention any jobs like photo shoots, tower inspections etc. Any creative uses?

I use mine in the summer months to capture videos and photos of whale sharks. (Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean and they live on the smallest critters in the ocean--plankton. They are filter feeders, not carnivores.) You need special permits from the Mexican government to do this and it is a pain in the butt to get the permits but you can get some awesome videos. Last year was my first attempt--right after I got my MP, so I was a little hesitant to get too near the water. Plus we were nearly 600 feet (200 meters) away so it was hard to keep visuals on the drone.

ReadyKilowatt · Feb 10, 2018

I'm looking to get into the tower inspection business because it dovetails nicely with my job and other hobby (ham radio). One of my worksites has a tower and I regularly use it for practice. The Mavic is NOT a good choice for inspections. You really can't get close enough for detail due to the wide field of view, and if you have collision avoidance on the darn remote just beeps at you the whole time.

My other photography drone is an Inspire 1 Pro. It's much better than the Mavic because I can fit it with the Olympus 14-42 zoom lens, but really hard to control when zoomed in because of the single IMU. If/when I start doing this professionally I plan on getting either a Matrice 200/600 or Inspire 2 for the added stability.

Sir Francisc · Feb 10, 2018

BLZE02 said:
Many purchased their Mavic for hobby purposes. Like for example I like to use mine for traveling to record where I go and get an awesome views of the area. Also to take pictures of my family and track my son while he walks around the beach, park, etc. You know there’s also the usual checking your roof, looking at your neighbors backyards, sunsets.

Just want to see what uses have you put your Mavic through. Also mention any jobs like photo shoots, tower inspections etc. Any creative uses?

I use it for all the same reasons you mentioned. I live near the ocean (Caribbean) and love to fly my MP in for the sunrise and sunset. I have found that it is very useful for my business. I'm a contractor and at the beginning i used to take pictures of my projects for my own personal use. Later the owners (clients) would ask me to show them the pictures/vids etc...and they loved it. They all said the same thing "I'll hire you to take periodical pictures of my properties, activities...etc...) the MP is an extremely useful work tool. It just so happens to be fun too.

I already got the FAA books to study for the 107 test. Gonna take it this year.

Mymgb · Feb 10, 2018

Great subject material as I enjoyed your video and music however, thee picture quality at least on my iPad Pro is a bit fuzzy. But, keep it up

john07989 · Feb 10, 2018

FuzLogix said:
I use mine for creating ultra hi-def, stabilized porn shots! I can get some amazing angles and I don't have to worry about kicking the tripod over!

Can get a bit drafty though..

Yeah I can wish....

Nah, I pretty much use mine the same as yours.

I was just going to ask to see your footage... Doh!

WIMMPYIII · Feb 10, 2018

I use mine to evaluate trees before climbing. Ive also used it to set my throw line (small string used to pull rope through). I also work with a small WISP and we use them to evaluate trees and towers for line of site connections.

baddog · Feb 10, 2018

BLZE02 said:
Many purchased their Mavic for hobby purposes. Like for example I like to use mine for traveling to record where I go and get an awesome views of the area. Also to take pictures of my family and track my son while he walks around the beach, park, etc. You know there’s also the usual checking your roof, looking at your neighbors backyards, sunsets.

Just want to see what uses have you put your Mavic through. Also mention any jobs like photo shoots, tower inspections etc. Any creative uses?

I have not had any paid gigs except for travel expenses. I did just shoot a simulated lava pour at 720p, 120fps (Super Slow Motion) in Syracuse NY. I have also done some scenic state park cinematography for notoriety only.

Riteguy · Feb 10, 2018

HighlandsVideo said:
So, just out of curiosity, do you guys think no one would want to see this drone footage?

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Nicely done!

Golfnut · Feb 10, 2018

Real estate stuff. Mostly farms and large properties but I've done a few where the property had a lovely but small back yard. The only way to show off the property is from the air. Also done video flyovers of the holes on the golf course as well as stills for their website. I find many golf courses are interested in contra. ie golf green fees for drone pics.

Classic flyer · Feb 10, 2018

I'm using mine for pre-storm pictures of property (houses, boats, business, etc) here in Florida during Hurricane season for insurance purposes.

Wayno1 · Feb 10, 2018

FuzLogix said:
I use mine for creating ultra hi-def, stabilized porn shots! I can get some amazing angles and I don't have to worry about kicking the tripod over!

Can get a bit drafty though..

Yeah I can wish....

Nah, I pretty much use mine the same as yours.

LMFAO

TyotaTerry · Feb 10, 2018

We offroad and camp alot, and recently We've been incorporating drone footage into vids, and luckily now have been asked to do passive ads for events and locations. Heres one we did for Karamu Trails NZ. Immediatley after the vid was shared around, the location had 3 bookings from 3 clubs, so drone footage is a game changer.