12 Mar 2020
Well, the journey continues… I have three short clips to share from the last couple of days as I continue to try and figure this thing out! Looking over the shots as I prep to write this I am amazed all over again at how much gets packed into such a small and relatively inexpensive package.
First stop a wide open field to try out the four QuickShots shooting modes that allow the drone to lock on a subject and fly a set pattern. The options are Dronie, Rocket, Circle, and Helix. No real surprise here, it behaves as advertised. Here is the result…
Next stop is a return to Gilbert Run Park. It’s much calmer today, the winds are down so flying out in the open is no problem. I came after work thinking the that having the sun lower in the west would highlight the far shore to give some dramatic shots. Turns out that’s somewhat true, but it also means a more muted water color, so it was not the stunning blue, and that kinda offsets the scene.
Ever have one of those thoughts along the lines of ‘one more’ and then regret what came next? Well, after several good flights I wanted to try one more out and back through the opening over the pond, and… yep. Caught a branch on the way back in and the drone went down, as in down in several feet of water!!! Don’t do this at home kids :-). Clearly a bit of electronics like is is not designed for a bath, I was a little, how to say it, bummed. Kicked the boots off and walked out, oh oh, it gets deep fast, out of reach. Now a hard choice: is it ‘gone’ gone or is it worth a chilly dip to go retrieve and try to recover???
Its cold, the water is cold, sun is going down, I’m riding…. it’s probably toast…. but… never know until you try right? Plus I imagine the memory card will probably survive and there is video on that thing I want! So strip down to my drawers and go in! Lucky for any late afternoon hikers I had underarmor on ;-). The water was pretty murky so I didn’t find it on the first dip, but got it on try two. Not a good feeling about this at all, stink!
Got home and watched a bunch of YouTube, as expected I suppose, this is a rather common ‘problem’, and many have had good results recovering. So, put a blow dryer on it, low and far enough away for very gentle heat, for hours. Rotate around, open the battery bay, front, back, sides. Then, the moment of truth. Battery in. Power on. And??? It worked! Simply amazing. So, I have been pretty impressed to this point anyway, now, off the chart. Well done DJI. Seriously.
Next flight was Tilgman Lake. I enjoy a little exercise here, and after a couple of loops I spent a few minutes flying. Trying to get a little better and chewing gum and walking, ah, I mean moving the camera and flying at the same time. Sounds funny to say, but clearly my fine motor skills need a little work ;-). Again, turned out reasonably well, still a long way to go!
Well, I hope you enjoyed coming along, sure am glad that we are still flying after that last bit of misadventure! This flight over water again was a little nerve wracking for sure, but a lot more open space means far less chance for issues. Its always a lot of fun to learn something new and experimenting, even when it doesn’t go quite as planned. I am finding that I really enjoy flying and taking pictures from this new vantage point, even more than I expected. Having this camera option certainly opens up a lot of opportunity.