As a newcomer to drones and drone photography, it can be a little overwhelming in the beginning. Learning all there is to know about maneuvering your new toy through the air is enough to give you a few grey hairs before you even get it off the ground. Once you’re up there, you better believe there’s some extra tension in your muscles the first few times you fly. Once you finally get the hang of this element, it’s about time to start learning how to make great images or videos from this new perspective you’ve gained. That’s a whole new set of complications for you to deal with. It might seem cool just to have that new viewpoint for a while, but you’ll soon be wanting more. Thomas Heaton addresses that in this video about composing from the sky.
Rather than teach us the technical aspects of controlling the drone or a formula for creating the perfect aerial photo, he asks us to draw on our existing knowledge and make photographs the same way we always have. This small piece of advice, along with the examples and other tidbits he sprinkles throughout the video serve to remind us that it’s just a camera. Sure, it’s a flying camera, but it’s still the exact same machine we’re used to using on the ground. Sound advice, to be sure. If you're new to drone photography, this video is well and truly worth the few minutes it takes to watch.
For those of you who shoot stills with drones regularly, would you rather (1) have the quality of the 1” 20mp sensor but the bulk of the Phantom 4 Advanced/Pro and it’s massive controller, or (2) the convenience of carrying the Mavic and its controller but with the lower-quality 1/2.3” 12mp sensor?
I keep going back and forth mainly because I shoot a lot of hunting and fishing photography where I pack my gear in by hiking or being cramped on a boat.
Definitely the P4P. The sensor is massive compared to the Mavic. If you want to take great pictures then quality capture is key. It never pays to be lazy with carrying gear unless you're just shooting for instagram!
I use the mavic, got the one with extra battery and adapter. Everything can be in the bag. On a longer trip you can use the rest power on the batteries to charge the controller - the controller charge your phone. So you are able to fly more. But don't forget to buy some extra proppellers ;-).