Complete noob with P4

Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
7
Age
80
I'm an absolute rookie to drones and actually made my first ever flight a few hours ago. It was also the maiden voyage of my newly acquired Phantom 4. All went well, I'm glad to say, with gentle landings exactly where I intended. The video footage of the first flight was nice and smooth but a bit dull as I'm still in Beginner mode.
I'm a photographer by profession (well, in practice, I suppose these days I'm a wordsmith and picture-jack) and am looking forward to aerial photography and videography. I live in the UK... right in the middle, in Burton-on-Trent (famous for its beer brewing heritage). Derbyshire's Peak District National Park is not far away which should provide some good drone footage opportunities. Semi-retired aged 73, I am really looking forward to a new activity. I hope to incorporate a drone capability into my self-employed photography and graphic design business in due course.
I shall follow the forum with interest in the hope that a few gems of knowledge emerge. I have no doubt that they will.
Tony.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loomster
Hi Tony , I am not getting my Dji Phantom 4 till this next weekend, I am in the UK as well and have never used one before. I am also a photographer and I'm get near to 68 but think it is time to move to try new technology. Did you have any problems setting up your drone or any other issues. Cheers, Michael


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loomster
Welcome aboard. Read, read and then read some more! Watch videos and tutorials. Start out with short flights in good conditions, preferably a large open area! You'll find that almost all crashes are pilot error. Relax and don't panic!

Now go have some fun!! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Teejay41
Hi Tony , I am not getting my Dji Phantom 4 till this next weekend, I am in the UK as well and have never used one before. I am also a photographer and I'm get near to 68 but think it is time to move to try new technology. Did you have any problems setting up your drone or any other issues. Cheers, Michael


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
Hi Michael, I had a modest issue with a firmware update... unsuccessful from iPad but OK in the end from a PC running DJI Assist (or some such name like that). Apparently it's due to the tablet updating the remote controller first before the drone itself - which needs to be done before the RC. After a bit of a faff it all turned out OK. Browse around for Phantom 4 firmware update failure and you'll find loads. Make sure you run a calibration on the drone's IMU, and it's a good idea to calibrate the compass at every flight location before takeoff. That's the one where you pirouette like a Wally while clutching the 'copter in front of you. Be careful with the auto return to home facility. It ascends to a nominated RTH height then flies to directly above its home point before descending to land. I remembered in the nick of time that I and the home point were partially under a large widespread tree when I heard it directly above. I aborted and landed manually. So its Maiden flight nearly ended in a crunch! Apart from that, no probs. Keep it in Beginner mode to start with and it can't go very far away. Best of luck, Tony.
 
Welcome to the world of Phantom pilots chums. I purchased mine bout 5 months ago n LOVE IT[emoji7]. The people in this forum bloody rock, super knowledgeable and willing to help with anything (special thanks to msinger) who is a huge help with a boat load of knowledge. If you really want to have fun get FPV goggles n fly in sport mode, it's a hoot[emoji41]. Cheerio [emoji112]


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Hi
I'm an absolute rookie to drones and actually made my first ever flight a few hours ago. It was also the maiden voyage of my newly acquired Phantom 4. All went well, I'm glad to say, with gentle landings exactly where I intended. The video footage of the first flight was nice and smooth but a bit dull as I'm still in Beginner mode.
I'm a photographer by profession (well, in practice, I suppose these days I'm a wordsmith and picture-jack) and am looking forward to aerial photography and videography. I live in the UK... right in the middle, in Burton-on-Trent (famous for its beer brewing heritage). Derbyshire's Peak District National Park is not far away which should provide some good drone footage opportunities. Semi-retired aged 73, I am really looking forward to a new activity. I hope to incorporate a drone capability into my self-employed photography and graphic design business in due course.
I shall follow the forum with interest in the hope that a few gems of knowledge emerge. I have no doubt that they will.
Tony.
Hi Tony, I'm looking at getting a P4 soon, just a word of caution, if you are going to use your P4 for your business you will have to get a PFAW which involves a 4 day course and flight test. I really want to do it but it's around £1200 then insurance on top.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Teejay41
Hi
Hi Tony, I'm looking at getting a P4 soon, just a word of caution, if you are going to use your P4 for your business you will have to get a PFAW which involves a 4 day course and flight test. I really want to do it but it's around £1200 then insurance on top.
Thanks jskdog for the info.
I had realised it took something like that to become commercially licensed, but wasn't aware of the high cost. I'll look at the potential market before coming to a decision. I think insurance is a good thing to have anyway if the premium is not too prohibitive. Presumably it's cheaper for PFAW holders. That would be well into the future anyway as I am far from proficient at the mo.
Tony.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jskdog
Look at joining the bmfa Tony, it's £33 for the year which includes insurance and abroad, I took my P3A to France, emailed the bmfa and they said I'm covered in Europe for 3 weeks a year (might be longer can't quite remember) but you also get magazines which keep you up to date on latest laws and events. Well worth the money.
 
Look at joining the bmfa Tony, it's £33 for the year which includes insurance and abroad, I took my P3A to France, emailed the bmfa and they said I'm covered in Europe for 3 weeks a year (might be longer can't quite remember) but you also get magazines which keep you up to date on latest laws and events. Well worth the money.
Many thanks 'dog. I've just joined for the rest of the year. As you said, excellent value. Tony.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jskdog
On the P4, which I've owned for some five days now (!), directly above the camera is a flat circular face at the bottom of a vertical rotating component of the gimbal. This appears to have a piece of self-adhesive protective film applied to it, with a little pull-off tag protruding from the edge. Nowhere, however, can I find any reference to it, so I am unsure whether to remove it or leave it on. I can't actually see any obvious reason why it is there in the first place. Any guidance please anyone, whether or not to remove it? Thanks, Tony.

Addendum: I've just spotted a couple of photos which show the thing I'm trying to describe - complete with the little orange 'pull-off' tab I mentioned. The photos are from an eBay listing. Any thoughts, anyone?
 

Attachments

  • P4 camera gimbal protective film.png
    P4 camera gimbal protective film.png
    457.7 KB · Views: 348
Last edited:
I took it off, just figured it was plastic wrapping... Don't think it has an actual purpose, hopefully...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Teejay41
I thought I would take a moment to plug this Phantom 4 carry-bag as I'm so impressed with it. It's a tight, exact fit around the polystyrene case that comes with the P4, and it's brilliant. It has a cut-out for the carrying handle and another for the latch mechanism. It's well made and
Ant bag for P4.png
fits exactly onto the polystyrene case and lid, with a zip right round the join line of the case and the lid. It also has extra pockets, one easily big enough to take a full-size iPad and viewing-hood, another ideal for filters etc. and a third which appears, from its size, to have been designed for the P4 charger and cable. It can be carried like a suitcase or worn as a backpack. The bag is claimed to be waterproof; not quite IP67, but IP54 at least. I cannot recommend it highly enough! And at twenty-eight quid from Amazon, it doesn't exactly break the bank. Next-day delivery for Prime members too.
Tony.
 
Last edited:
Really nice bag and a good deal. I got one slightly more expensive... Only because it's hard shell. Thought it may come in handy to stop people bumping into it damaging the phantom if I'm in a packed Area
fc0f682552d613086660780e726bba3b.jpg
7704fcc3e145310a790658344ef1dca7.jpg


Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I thought I would take a moment to plug this Phantom 4 carry-bag as I'm so impressed with it. It's a tight, exact fit around the polystyrene case that comes with the P4, and it's brilliant. It has a cut-out for the carrying handle and another for the latch mechanism. It's well made andView attachment 64735 fits exactly onto the polystyrene case and lid, with a zip right round the join line of the case and the lid. It also has extra pockets, one easily big enough to take a full-size iPad and viewing-hood, another ideal for filters etc. and a third which appears, from its size, to have been designed for the P4 charger and cable. It can be carried like a suitcase or worn as a backpack. The bag is claimed to be waterproof; not quite IP67, but IP54 at least. I cannot recommend it highly enough! And at twenty-eight quid from Amazon, it doesn't exactly break the bank. Next-day delivery for Prime members too.
Tony.

Do you have a link ?
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,054
Messages
1,467,297
Members
104,919
Latest member
BobDan