What happens when you combine a GoPro Hero +3, a DJI Phantom II, an actor dressed as Superman, and some clever video editing? How about one awesome simulation of what it must be like to be Superman as he flies through Los Angeles. If you were upset with our recent Phantom 2 Gopro height test last week, you are definitely not going to want to watch this video. Be sure to check out Sam and Niko's behind the scenes video to see exactly how they came up with the concept and the creative problems they had to overcome to produce this fun video.
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That was so awesome!
I knew superman is real!!!
Awesome video!
I don't feel that it is Fstoppers job to police what people are doing with their equipment. In this case, they are merely sharing great content. If you want to help educate people on your concerns, perhaps you should be educating those who create these videos. This is a news outlet just like CNN or the New York Times. You wouldn't tell them to stop reporting on murders in an attempt to make the streets safer, would you? Just my two cents. Not trying to troll or start a battle.
The laws will have to be written for sure but I find it strange how outraged everyone gets about this when at the moment it seems like a highly unlikely event someone will get hurt or injured compared to other activities we do everyday.
Compare it to bicycles, mopeds, and drivers. Not every state requires you to have a license and insurance to drive a moped, but every state does requires this for a car. This is the case of all three though, there are people acting reckless every day and putting arguably more people at danger than the few people flying drones throughout the week. Getting side swiped by a cyclist, motorcycle, or car is way more likely and probably way more fatal than anything else you are in contact with day to day yet they are legal and relatively unregulated (how many teens and elders probably shouldn't have a license to begin with?).
Now if a quadcopter hits a commercial airliner then yes, the chances of catastrophic casualties are greater than anything else on land but hitting a private jet, helicopter, or anything else in the sky doesn't seem that much more dangerous than some teenager texting and driving into a semi truck, mini van, or bridge. We live in a dangerous world and unfortunate things happen.
My hope is that insurance, fines, and awareness will help make flying these copters more like driving a moped or car than some evil US drone. We also need better performance and quality builds out of these units but considering how well the DJI performs and safety systems like the "gps go home" feature, I don't think we are that far off.
Obviously it is a scary place for some people and it is a whole new area we have never thought about. If you do not have the insurance or know how to fly these then maybe the average person shouldn't fly them but to say they should be outlawed is a bit like saying Marijuana is a dangerous drug but alcohol is okay don't you think? Of course I'm playing a bit of devil's advocate here but there are def two sides to this argument.
Great, another person in our society shifting blame and personal responsibility away from the actual person. Why should a company censor themselves in the off chance that some outsider will harm someone?
Instead of your ridiculous idea, it would be better to use our efforts not in censorship, but in education. Post the video, but if you really want, add in some information regarding possible safety/legal issues with something like this.
Punish the person who actually harms someone with such techniques. Don't punish the 99.9% (and likely much higher) of people who simply enjoy the video. What is with all this blame shifting these days? Sadly, it seems another by-product of the trophies-for-participating crowd.
I think this is a very difficult thing to ask of any publisher. People like seeing other people do ridiculous stuff. From America's funniest video, to Tosh.0, and the whole Jackass series, people like seeing unexpected, dangerous, funny, marvelous, the ground breaking footage. It is in our nature. Obviously there are lines that are drawn such as showing death, perverse nudity or sexuality, evading privacy, etc but I don't think anything we've published on FS goes past that line. In the case of this video, it has already been viewed over a million times and will likely hit millions by the end of the week.
When I said "If you were upset with our recent...." I simply meant those who did like it will love this, and those who were up in arms should probably not watch this.
There's a legal gray area with these things right now. Just like E-cigs, a time will come when regulations will need to be applied. Flying one over an active constructions site (Wilshire Grand Center) with cranes in operation is extremely irresponsible, and just try to do that during a Dodger game and see what happens. Comparing them to real helicopters falling out of the sky is ridiculous (from the article they "pulled"). Hundreds of hours of training aside, the shear limited access to one sets it apart. Drones are semi-affordable, helicopters certainly are not. That said, great video, but I fear their days are numbered. Electronics are not infallible. It's only going to take one incident to end the fun.
I understand your points, and do agree with them in principle, but it's all a bit presumptuous. You have no idea if he had filed a flight plan(s) or not. Let's find that out first, then make such remarks. Thank you.
Is this about the e-cigs or another comment?
The regulations were regarding where they can be used. In California they just passed regulations holding them to the same restrictions regular cigs have. People smoke them in public spaces and indoors, not everyone is OK with that.
Veld: I'd be willing to bet they had no flight plan filed. If they did, every drone flier from now on would have to do the same, wouldn't they?
I'm curious, what is the grey area with E-cigs? As someone who has a degree in biology, I personally think the E-cig could be the greatest invention of the last 8 years. If we can infact get addicts off of combustible nicotine (cigarettes) and onto a safe vaporized alternative (ecigs), I think this could change the health field industry in a huge way. Heart Disease is a leading cause of death in the US and cancers caused by burning cigarettes are far too common especially in the baby boomer generation. If the e-cig can curb those stats and alleviate the costs associated with treating these diseases then that is a HUGE step in the right direction. Unfortunately pharmaceuticals aren't happy that this invention will take away from their strong hold in the "stop smoking drugs" like Chantix, and they will do a lot to regulate the E-cig.
I don't follow the politics as closely as I should but I'd be interested in hearing why the E-cig is needing regulations. Are people smoking too much nicotine?
I think he means public use of them. Some places allow them and some don't. Also, some people who don't smoke still associate the act of smoking with the bad smell and the general uncouth behavior of doing it in public. They still look down on people using e-cigs in restaurants and such even though there are literally no downsides other than looking like they're smoking.
That was really awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I have a friend that owns a drone flying service (about 40 people in the company) and he has to file flight plans for each flight regardless of the altitude. They carry millions in liability insurance and almost never allowed to fly over a city. He has mentioned it's getting really hard to compete with the one man operations using Phantoms. At any rate it was an impressive video.
Freaken love Sam and Niko.
Excellent article just came to my inbox from B&H about Radio control aircraft.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/video/features/are-quadcopters-legal
I bet Lawyers can't wait for one of these to cause a traffic accident or land on top of some poor old lady watering her garden.
Man, I must say that made me feel like a kid lol. sweet. [stop the politics just enjoy the dam content.]