Howdy!

[Tuff Adams]

Howdy!

New to the DJI Phantom world. I've had mine for about a week now. I haven't fired it up yet. I updated the software and downloaded the NAZM Assistant. I purchased 5 extra Mad Dog batteries and I am now about to start asking questions. Not really interested in flying it until I have a pretty good idea as to what I am doing. Seems like a lot of guys go half cocked right out of the box and lose their quads in short order.

I will search the forums before I ask too many questions but I will give you guys a short version as to what I have and why I want it:

I am a rancher and a realtor. My ranch is currently for sale and after looking at some videos online of other ranches for sale, I discovered that some realtors used drones to take aerial videos of ranches for their websites. I'm retiring to Idaho next year and thought I might try my hand at real estate. I thought this would be a very useful tool for marketing houses.

I have a GoPro Hero 3 that I use to make videos of me and my buddies when we fly fish and ride mountain bikes. After watching videos of drones, I discovered that most of these were made using a Phantom. My quad is completely stock so I would like some feedback as to what I might need to purchase in order to use the Phantom as I have a need for it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Tuff

 

[Phantom_Menace66]

Howdy!

New to the DJI Phantom world. I've had mine for about a week now. I haven't fired it up yet. I updated the software and downloaded the NAZM Assistant. I purchased 5 extra Mad Dog batteries and I am now about to start asking questions. Not really interested in flying it until I have a pretty good idea as to what I am doing. Seems like a lot of guys go half cocked right out of the box and lose their quads in short order.

I will search the forums before I ask too many questions but I will give you guys a short version as to what I have and why I want it:

I am a rancher and a realtor. My ranch is currently for sale and after looking at some videos online of other ranches for sale, I discovered that some realtors used drones to take aerial videos of ranches for their websites. I'm retiring to Idaho next year and thought I might try my hand at real estate. I thought this would be a very useful tool for marketing houses.

I have a GoPro Hero 3 that I use to make videos of me and my buddies when we fly fish and ride mountain bikes. After watching videos of drones, I discovered that most of these were made using a Phantom. My quad is completely stock so I would like some feedback as to what I might need to purchase in order to use the Phantom as I have a need for it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Tuff

Ahhhh... Another one, eh? New to this sort of thing, hasn't been off the ground yet and right off the bat making assumptions as to the cause of lost Phantoms.... Really hope yours doesn't do a nose dive into the pavement (NOT).

 

[Tuff Adams]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I came to my conclusion by reading and lurking in this very forum. I can see that you must be the warm and fuzzy member of the group.

 

[OI Photography]

Ahhhh... Another one, eh? New to this sort of thing, hasn't been off the ground yet and right off the bat making assumptions as to the cause of lost Phantoms.... Really hope yours doesn't do a nose dive into the pavement (NOT).

I'm not sure why that rubbed you so wrong, but please take a step back and reconsider before you attack someone like that again without any cause. Nowhere did the OP state or insinuate that all Phantoms are lost to pilot error, and he is absolutely correct that many are. No need to take it personally if yours was lost to some other means.

Tuff, are you considering a gimbal? Even if you're only doing pics, a 2-axis gimbal can make a big difference.

 

[Gotcher6]

That WAS a very snarky comment. Way to make a newcomer feel welcome, menace.

 

[Tuff Adams]

No harm done. After reading his comment I saw that he has only been a member of these forums for a month. Like a new dog pissing on a bush when a newer dog comes around.

I fired it up this morning and took it for a test flight. Very happy that I lurked and read before I flew the quad. I can see how it could get away from a new pilot. I am also very happy that I purchased the rotor guards. I feel that those might take a bit of the bite from the rotors but they saved me twice when I flew into a barbed wire fence. No damage at all to my Phantom.

I am absolutely going to get a gimbel. I have a Go Pro Black and I would like some feedback on what would be best. I also have a spare Nexus Asus that I am not using that I thought I could incorporate into a photography setup. Of course I am a complete novice at this so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[QYV]

assuming you're talking about a Phantom 2, my opinion on a gimbal would be to stick with the one that the manufacturer designed and built to go with the Phantom and GoPro... that would be the Zenmuse H3-2D or the newer model H3-3D. I feel like that option is the most widely adopted, and that's what most of the documentation, youtube videos, etc are geared toward... as in, you'll have the most support for when watching training/installation videos, or asking around here.

but you say "mad dog batteries" which I don't think the Phantom 2's appreciate aftermarket batteries so you might be referring to a Phantom 1? If so disregard my post I don't really know anything about gimbal on P1.

 

[Tuff Adams]

I have the Phantom 1. I am having some issues charging the batteries with the factory charger, though. I need to research that before I go too far. How long is it supposed to take to charge the factory battery? I have heard 45 minutes. When I plug a battery into the charger, I get a blinking green light. It never goes solid. Is that the way it's supposed to be?

 

[kydan]

I have the Phantom 1. I am having some issues charging the batteries with the factory charger, though. I need to research that before I go too far. How long is it supposed to take to charge the factory battery? I have heard 45 minutes. When I plug a battery into the charger, I get a blinking green light. It never goes solid. Is that the way it's supposed to be?

Does your Phantom 1 have the self tightening props? If so, you more than likely have version 1.1.1 (the newest).

Ditch that factory battery charger! Go for a more precise battery charger (I have the Thunder AC6 [<$50] which works for a low budget--if you think you will stay in this hobby for a while, you might want a better charger like a Hyperion [can't remember the model #] that costs near $200).

My factory battery charger did exactly what you mentioned. I already had the Thunder AC6 so I just bought an XT60 charger connector and started using that.



As far as a gimbal, if you can afford it, go with the Zenmuse 2 or 3 axis. I bought one for about half the price and it's taking *a lot* of time setting it up and it's still not 100%. I get jello still at certain moments. All my equipment is on my signature.

Welcome to the fun world of quad flying!!

 

[Tuff Adams]

Thanks for the response. Yes, it has self tightening blades. I didn't know the difference. I'm not really a technophile but I am slowly becoming one. I'm probably 20 years older than most of you but I'm patient and will learn as I go. I can already see me getting something that has a longer flight time in the near future so all of my purchases will have that in mind.

In my younger years, I had the pleasure of being ferried around by the best helicopter pilots in the world and have always had a fascination with helos. Of course I purchased the mall helicopters which lasted all of a week before they were rendered useless or just plain stopped working. When I had the opportunity to purchase this a Phantom on the cheap, I jumped at the chance. I spent about an hour flying it this morning and I am indeed hooked. I'm not sure what "jello" means but I assume it's the wiggle that is involved with using your camera with the stock base. I tried it today but the mount has me positioning my camera upside down so I just decided to wait and get a proper mount. I will look into the gimbal you mentioned and probably order one tomorrow. I'm ready to get some pictures up of my farm. Once I do, I will post a link to my YouTube video.

Again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.

 

[kydan]

Thanks for the response. Yes, it has self tightening blades. I didn't know the difference. I'm not really a technophile but I am slowly becoming one. I'm probably 20 years older than most of you but I'm patient and will learn as I go. I can already see me getting something that has a longer flight time in the near future so all of my purchases will have that in mind.

In my younger years, I had the pleasure of being ferried around by the best helicopter pilots in the world and have always had a fascination with helos. Of course I purchased the mall helicopters which lasted all of a week before they were rendered useless or just plain stopped working. When I had the opportunity to purchase this a Phantom on the cheap, I jumped at the chance. I spent about an hour flying it this morning and I am indeed hooked. I'm not sure what "jello" means but I assume it's the wiggle that is involved with using your camera with the stock base. I tried it today but the mount has me positioning my camera upside down so I just decided to wait and get a proper mount. I will look into the gimbal you mentioned and probably order one tomorrow. I'm ready to get some pictures up of my farm. Once I do, I will post a link to my YouTube video.

Again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.

The GoPro has an option on it to "flip" the image so it records upside down to counter your mount having the GoPro upside down.

Yes, jello is when the phantom moves and the camera wiggles causing a sort of jello effect.


The Phantom 1 would be a great stepping stone to a Phantom 2 or higher version model. In fact, from my experience, I almost wish I skipped the Phantom 1 and bought the 2 with a zenmuse gimbal. The 2 allows for longer flight times.


Please keep us posted on your endeavors!

 

[madsonp]

Howdy neighbor, Montana here.

 

[paddypaws]

HI welcome to the board,
the Jello thing is down to fast shutter speed you can use a Neutral Density Filter
there is a clip on youtube of a guy shooting on the same day with the filter on and off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAVfnKB2ENY

it's not a fix all solution but if your shooting in good sunlight you might wanna consider have one in your kit case

this really sold me on a ND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxpmrj-LDwY

 

[Tuff Adams]

Howdy neighbor, Montana here.

Hello, Big Sky! If I didn't live in the Gem State, that's where I'd be.

 

[Tuff Adams]

HI welcome to the board,
the Jello thing is down to fast shutter speed you can use a Neutral Density Filter
there is a clip on youtube of a guy shooting on the same day with the filter on and off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAVfnKB2ENY

it's not a fix all solution but if your shooting in good sunlight you might wanna consider have one in your kit case

this really sold me on a ND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxpmrj-LDwY

Thanks for the links. I like that filter but I priced that gimbral and about craped my pants. Any lower cost alternatives? How do you control the tilt and pan from the ground?

 

[steveeds]

Tuff, on a side note keep in mind .. if in doubt and flying low hit the up arrow on the controller, if in even slight panic mode when at distance turn that controller off, we oldies need simple and need to protect our adrenaline levels. I am presuming the P1 has a return to home here.

 

[kydan]

HI welcome to the board,
the Jello thing is down to fast shutter speed you can use a Neutral Density Filter
there is a clip on youtube of a guy shooting on the same day with the filter on and off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAVfnKB2ENY

it's not a fix all solution but if your shooting in good sunlight you might wanna consider have one in your kit case

this really sold me on a ND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxpmrj-LDwY

Thanks for the links. I like that filter but I priced that gimbral and about craped my pants. Any lower cost alternatives? How do you control the tilt and pan from the ground?

You can get what I had which is a about $169 (in my signature), but you sacrifice quality. I have a heck of a time adjusting it and getting it to work without jello.

I just ordered that Gopro neutral density filter hoping that will help some (thanks for posting that above paddypaws)

 

[Tuff Adams]

I just ordered the Go Pro Neutral Density Filter. Thanks for the advice. I am still up in the air about the gimbral. I think my timidity is based on my lack of knowledge about setting it up. I don't want to solder anything. I prefer plug and play when it comes to electronics.

On a side note, having a lot of open pastures gives me the opportunity to take the Phantom out at night. That is something everyone should do. It is absolutely an amazing experience to fly this at night. We have actually been having a little fun with our neighbors with it. They are very good friends of ours and invited us to a cookout so I had my wife drop me off by the road and I walked to the woodline about 50 yards from their back yard. I started the Phantom up and flew it over to where everyone was standing around talking. Nobody had a clue as to who it was or what it was. I hovered around for a few minutes and then flew off. I snuck around to my car and packed it up quickly and acted like I knew nothing. So much fun.

 

[paddypaws]

The guys at http://www.polarprofilters.com/ are excellent if your thinking of buying a ND, I ordered the wrong filter and they had no problem replacing it and did not charge me the extra shipping and they were really on the ball with their customer service and helping me pick the right filter and advice in general.