Drones

[gavroche]

Has any one on here got one? I bought one from Temu about one month ago and have not used it yet. Are they easy to fly as there are lots of buttons on the remote and it worries me a bit .
I think I will test it indoors first in case I crash it.
My intention is to take aerial shots when I ride my bike . Wish me luck.

 

[briantrumpet]

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/drone-choice-for-walking-and-riding.302034/

 

[briantrumpet]

tl;dr I'm taking a while to learn to learn how to use all the controls smoothly (a teenager who does gaming would have no problem), how to use the editing software (MS Clipchamp is largely intuitive and pretty good for a very basic user), and what kind of shots make up an interesting video.

You probably already know that you need to register yourself and the drone (if it's under 250g you don't need to take the online 'pilot quiz'), and there are lots of specific exclusion zones (e.g around airports and National Trust) and general no-go areas (over housing/buildings etc).

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I would take it to a large open areas first to try it out

a park would be good as the short grass makes it easy to find it it "land unexpectedly"

I have though of getting one for important things like checking the gutters

and not at all as a toy

 

[briantrumpet]

What sort you've got will make a difference to how easy/time consuming it is for you. If you've got one of the clever ones that will track you, it'll be easier than mine when filing your own rides... the only way for me to do it solo is to set up the drone filing from the angle I want a shot, set it recording, then ride the bit I want to film and then return to the control to change the shot... so no tracking footage (as per below). I'm hoping to get some of the latter when friends stay with my in August.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

ANyone know how tracking ones deal with trees - especially overhanging trees??

 

[briantrumpet]

I would take it to a large open areas first to try it out

a park would be good as the short grass makes it easy to find it it "land unexpectedly"

I have though of getting one for important things like checking the gutters

and not at all as a toy

My Potensic Atom has an auto return function which is reassuring, but I still get nervous when it's a long way away. As part of the regs it should always be in sight of the operator, but the sub-250g ones are so tiny, they are quite hard to spot when even 'just' 100m away.

 

[briantrumpet]

ANyone know how tracking ones deal with trees - especially overhanging trees??

I *think* you can get ones with obstruction avoidance function, but even with that I'd get very twitchy about flying mine without being able to see what it needs to avoid, either through its camera or by eyeballing the drone itself.

 

[Beebo]

A Temu one is probably very basic and harder to control.

 

[fossyant]

A Temu one is probably very basic and harder to control.

And the battery will either not last long, burn the house down, or both.

 

[briantrumpet]

And the battery will either not last long, burn the house down, or both.

I've got two batteries for my Potensic, and though in theory (in still weather) they are supposed to last c.30 mins each, in practice they are about half of that, so once I've edited out all the boring bits, I'm happy if I get a five-minute video... but to be honest, that's more than enough for most viewers. I've seen to many drone videos which are very repetitive & overly-long for the material.

 

[Donger]

Don't want to be a killjoy, but I just can't shake the feeling that ownership and operation of drones will soon have to be strongly regulated .... if not banned outright. The Ukraine war has shown just how much of a threat they are to security. You no longer have to get up close to a target to take it out, you can hide miles away and unleash havoc without putting yourself at significant risk. There have already been disruptions to airports in the UK. Just a matter of time before a major incident in Europe.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Don't want to be a killjoy, but I just can't shake the feeling that ownership and operation of drones will soon have to be strongly regulated .... if not banned outright. The Ukraine war has shown just how much of a threat they are to security. You no longer have to get up close to a target to take it out, you can hide miles away and unleash havoc without putting yourself at significant risk. There have already been disruptions to airports in the UK. Just a matter of time before a major incident in Europe.

They are also a major problem in terms of deliveries of drugs and phones to prisons

so something will need to be done for many reasons

but it will be a bit like ebikes and the like
too late to start so they will be chasing a problem rather than being ahead of the game

 

[briantrumpet]

They are also a major problem in terms of deliveries of drugs and phones to prisons

so something will need to be done for many reasons

but it will be a bit like ebikes and the like
too late to start so they will be chasing a problem rather than being ahead of the game

Yes, agree to all of that - they can be misused in many ways, and their potential uses, given the capabilities of them even when operated by a mobile phone connected to joysticks, are mind boggling.

For my own part, I try to do any filming away from any people or habitations within ear- or eye-shot of the drone.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I do wonder about privacy
Most of the Estate Agents seem to automatically use drone shots of the houses as part of the advert

There is one for sale 2 up from ours - so, of course, we looked
both of us has the same first reaction
"Wow - our new patio looks really good in that!!"

but in reality they have launched a drone and taken photos of a private non-overlooked area of several other houses without any notification of permissions
We are not at all bothered
but other might be


I presume that they would not use shots with people in them - or edit them out in some way
but you could see how some people might have a problem with the concept