Props in Video

[ghinson]

New P2 (gimbal + GoPro). Two flights with video recording (1080-60-wide).

Flown with camera pointing straight ahead (to minimize distortion), and in about 80% of the recording, I can see the propellors or the two front arms/lights.

Both times it was pretty windy (20mph), so the phantom was pushing hard to fly forward.

But, can you give me some tips as to how to best avoid seeing the quad while filming?

Thanks.

 

[ghinson]

Here's an edit from today's hour of flights.

Conditions: bright, sunny. 20-25 mph winds. 20 degrees.

Shot 1080 - 60fps - wide (GoPro 3+B).

And Props! Lots of props.

Is it because the Phantom was just having to lean in to the winds?

 

[Gizmo3000]

Yes,. if the phantom is flying forward fast, you're going to see props. simple as that.
the only way to not see props is to tilt the camera down little bit, crop the video, shoot in medium resolution, add letterbox (black bars on top and bottom to mimic widescreen.
-Or, don't try to fly forward so fast!

 

[ghinson]

Yeah. Okay. It was a naive question, in retrospect. I'm new at this and am really excited about the technology. I'll probably have a few more silly questions until I get to the level of being able to confidently smirk at newbies.

In fact, here's another question. Be gentle with me...

Flying the P2 with the Zenmuse gimbal, and using the tilt controller on the remote Tx, I'm not too happy with how easy it is to move the lever without knowing it, and it feels like it is pretty much an all the way up or all the way down thing. How does one (without FPV at this point) reliably tilt the camera down 20%, for example, and keep it steadily there without doing something like bringing tape?

Thanks...

 

[tlalford]

As a relative newby myself and having recently installed the phantom upgrade kit along with the Zenmuse gimbal, I experienced the same situation. I have not yet jumped into FPV so getting the right camera angle was trial and error at best. However, I determined the best way, for me, is to adjust the angle of the camera while the phantom is locating satellites. I walk around to the side and using the lever on the Tx, I move the camera to where I want it. A little practice and you can get this right every time. Of course, making adjustments during flight is risky at best. But I've found that the Zenmuse, because it actually lowers the camera, will give you a fairly wide range of angle without getting props or landing gear in the frame. During flight just make sure you keep you hand away from the tilt lever. Hope this helps. Happy flying.

 

[ghinson]

Good suggestion, I've been keeping my finger on the lever, holding it in place (with camera all the way up).

Next flight, I will lower 10-15 degrees prior to taking off, and then try not to touch it.

 

[ghinson]

Let me bring this back up. Have shot quite a bit with my Phantom 2, Zen Muse, and GoPro 3+ since first posting this. And this really is an ongoing problem for me.

Let me show you an example: https://vimeo.com/85627492

Can't help but wonder if I have something set up wrong.

This was a minimally windy day (not much lean needed), and I was flying slowly forward, as you can see.

And yet the props are there. I don't want to crop the 1080 video down to 720 just to get rid of this.

Also, I want, if at all possible, to keep the GoPro looking straight ahead, i.e., parallel to the ground, if possible to minimize the camera's wide distortion.

Is there a fix for this? Can the camera be lowered?

Thanks for looking.

 

[HeliRy]

Unless you really need to shoot above 30fps, why not try 2.7k @ 30? That way you can crop out the props and still be able to render the final project at 1080.

If you need a higher frame rate, I would suggest lowering the view from SuperWide or Wide to Narrow. It will still be 1080 that way, show less distortion and hopefully eliminate the props.

No clue myself on the rigging of the Zenmuse though, haven't gotten one yet.

 

[LeoS]

Have you got an FPV system on it?
At least with the FPV you can see the props when they're being recorded and do the correction right away; same with unintentional tilting.

Love the video, btw. Great subject

 

[tknquad]

Great video.. it shows the real potential of the Phantom...
I see also no jello at all, did you do anything about it or it is just like this, standard props, bumpers, zenmuse, go pro?

 

[ghinson]

Thanks re the video. Did nothing to it. Stock setup. No FPV yet. Soon though. Soon!

I have trouble with the GoPro menu. But I don't think this was Superwide. Was only wide.

Next time I fly, I will try the 2.7k.

I could be wrong, but I think one of the ways I have gotten steady footage, has been to shoot 60fps and be really selective about the clips I use. Seems to me (and I am by no means an expert on this) that 5 sec of 60 fps slowed down looks better than 10 sec of 30 fps.

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

One of the better videos, good music, good filming, nice and short, resisted the temptation to include several re-runs of the same but slightly different clips. Thanks for posting.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

You could also try lowering your attitude gains by 10% or so. Basic gains = how the craft reacts to wind, etc.. Atti gains = how the craft reacts to stick inputs. By lowering Atti pitch input gain you should see less of props in forward movement (provided you're not moving at full throttle)

 

[DKDarkness]

This guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTUSqNtt ... 0&index=86 moved the controls to the front, maybe that could help you too?

Depending on what I want to film, my ultimate solution to the props problem is... to fly "backwards"

 

[ghinson]

One of the better videos, good music, good filming, nice and short, resisted the temptation to include several re-runs of the same but slightly different clips. Thanks for posting.

Thanks! I learned in the first week of filming with this thing that editing is more important than flying, if you're trying to make a video someone else will want to watch! And the temptation is tough. I had two batteries full of this scene. Hard to leave a lot of that behind.

 

[ghinson]

You could also try lowering your attitude gains by 10% or so. Basic gains = how the craft reacts to wind, etc.. Atti gains = how the craft reacts to stick inputs. By lowering Atti pitch input gain you should see less of props in forward movement (provided you're not moving at full throttle)

Excellent suggestion. I was wondering about something like this, but find the controls offered in the software a little daunting. I will try this!

 

[Seahorse]

Is it not possible to limit the gimbals travel in the vertical plane? Failing that what about some spacers on the front mounts?

 

[lgeist]

I've discovered through trial and error that flying backwards works great (preferably in CL or HL) for getting the props out of the frame, since the quad is always leaning into the direction of flight. I can then always reverse the video clip if I want it to look like forward motion.

 

[DattaGroover]

One of the better videos, good music, good filming, nice and short, resisted the temptation to include several re-runs of the same but slightly different clips. Thanks for posting.

+1

 

[mikemitch1967]

"Re: Props in Video

Postby Gizmo3000 » Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:57 pm
Yes,. if the phantom is flying forward fast, you're going to see props. simple as that.
the only way to not see props is to tilt the camera down little bit, crop the video, shoot in medium resolution, add letterbox (black bars on top and bottom to mimic widescreen.
-Or, don't try to fly forward so fast!"

What type of software are you using? Are you using Premier and After Effects? I was thinking there was a way to mask or use the clone tool in After Effects to remove the prop in the top of the footage.