Don't worry. They're using crash test dummies. By using biomechanics and crash test science, Virginia Tech is hoping to help develop regulations that would allow drones to be flown over people in the future.
As the farming industry continues to modernize and turn to automation, the role and importance of drones are exploding in the industry – so much so that the agricultural drone market is supposed to quadruple in value in just four short years.
From the "this is why we have rules" department comes news that a drone pilot has been been convicted of reckless endangerment in a 2015 crash that knocked a Seattle woman unconscious.
"NASA Supercomputer" and "DJI Phantom 3" are not words I ever expected to hear in the same sentence. Nonetheless, using advanced computer analysis, the agency has created this simulation of a drone's aerodynamics to help design better models in the future. It's pretty neat to watch.
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany is one of the world's most advanced concert halls and is an absolute sight to behold. To commemorate its opening and showcase its grandeur, this video tour was created, which used drones to provide some unique views of the hall.
File this one under things not to do with your drone. A Seattle drone pilot is facing possible charges after crashing their device on top of the iconic Space Needle.
Despite $34 million in pre-orders, the Lily drone will not see the light of day. After three years of development, the team has announced that they have run out of funds and will be refunding anyone who pre-ordered the device.
Nope, I'm not kidding. If the plain white styling of your Phantom 4 just isn't fashionable enough, or if like me, you find it difficult to see it amongst the snow, you can now purchase a custom-made knit sweater to wrap your drone in.
The Inspire 2 came out a few months back and is a drone any aerial photographer would love to have because of it's portability, set up time, and overall quality compared to other high end drones on the market. I remember when this drone first came out and I was right by my computer to watch it be announced along with its little brother, the Phantom 4 Pro. I was blown away by the specs on the Inspire 2, however when both of these products came out, there was no video content to see aside from what DJI had produced because no one had access to these drones quite yet.
This past weekend, I spent numerous hours with my partner looking through garden seed catalogs selecting and ordering what we wanted to grow this season. I wanted anything with "dragon" in the name. She wanted some unique looking poppies. We both wanted some cool looking "Black Tomatoes." But when I later Googled "black tomatoes," I found something else. I found that you can now pay someone to go on vacation with you and follow you around with a drone to document the trip. What?
With most of the gift giving now over with, some of us were lucky enough to receive a new drone over the holidays… or if you were like me, you gifted yourself one. With this being my first drone, I have not had to register a drone with the FAA before. It's actually a simple process that can be completed online.
Drones are a lot of fun, but they're made for fair weather. Winter weather is generally not the friendliest, but with a little thought and preparation, you can capture the beauty of winter landscapes from above.
For about a year now I have been shooting with my DJI Phantom 3 and it has really been an eye opener for me. I have shot people, cars, landscapes, real estate, and so much more. Learning how to fly and shoot from an aerial perspective was probably the harder part of things, which is why I needed a place I could go to fly freely. Luckily, I went to school at Monmouth University in Long Branch, New Jersey which is only about a mile away from the beach.
My entire senior year of college, I would take my drone out in the morning, day or even dusk just...
It's not exactly a secret that Casey Neistat loves drones. And so, when you've explored all the glorious facets of flying a drone from the ground, what do you do next? You let the drone fly you, naturally.
The Nerdwriter is a Youtube channel run by a guy called Evan Puschak. He uploads great analysis video essays about movies, writers, and most recently, about one of the great vloggers of our time, Casey Neistat. Now although Casey finished his daily vlog, it’s still important to analyze and see how Casey as an editor of his vlog went about shooting, and most importantly, how he edited his vlogs to make it entertaining and fun to watch.
It's winter here in Cleveland. Snow is flying, and there's a space heater under my desk. But while I'm moaning about being cold incessantly, a group of filmmakers did something so neat and innovative that it inspired to me to go out and find my own creativity in that winter wonderland.
After initially refusing to allow Photojournalist Robert Levine permission to use a drone to document the events surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, the FAA has reversed their position, allowing him a three-day waiver.
As work slows down for me in the off season, I wonder where I can go to create something new. For me, traveling is an awesome thing, and being able to explore our world is really amazing. After watching some of these aerial videos on Vimeo, I am really interested in flying across the country with all my gear and creating the most memorable trip I have ever had. Even though this may not happen soon, there are plenty of places that are within driving distance that I myself can go explore. I am going to make these trips a more common thing not only for the sake of creating new content, but for the sake of seeing more of the beauty in nature.
There’s no denying the uprising of drone use in both photography and videography over recent years. Now, one company has created a pocket-sized device that coincides perfectly with usage on your smartphone: AirSelfie. Backed by a $3 million investment, the miniature drone will launch in March 2017.
Drones have grown into a standard item to own not only for videographers, but also for many photographers. Most have used them to capture images from the sky or places hardly accessible otherwise. A few have played around with these small machines to light their subject in a unique way, just like our very own Patrick Hall did when lighting a lighthouse with a DJI Phantom and a Nikon strobe. Photographer David Robinson took this to the next level and strapped an Elinchrom ELB 400 to an octocopter.
We have all heard about drones being used to spy on people. Which is extremely difficult, as most drones don't even have a zoom lens;,unless we invest the money into a drone that can use different lenses or one with a larger resolution to crop the image. After hearing about the GoPro Karma failing to fly, and the awesome new announcements by DJI, this has nothing to do with any type of drone news aside from a little humor.
It's been a few years now since DJI has come out with a new drone for high end filming. Today is the day they released the Inspire 2, a newer, much better version of the Inspire 1, has taken people by shock. The Inspire 2 has a sleek build with tons of added features, and also a new camera with some amazing quality and lens choices.
If you haven't heard yet, the new GoPro Karma drones have officially been recalled due to sudden lost of power while in flight. This isn’t very good news for GoPro.
GoPro has not been having a good run for this year’s launch of new products. Since its third-quarter earnings report, GoPro lost nearly $500 million in market capitalization. That time period also included the announcement of the DJI Mavic Pro within days of GoPro's Karma announcement, the timing of which of which could have been better for GoPro's Karma launch. Now, GoPro is every one of its Karma orders due to unexpected power loss.
A photo series to me was always just another project in school; whether it was for my digital photography class or film photography class, there was always something that had to be done in a series. Being done with school and not having any projects assigned eliminated the need to think about creating a series of work, but now I realize that a series of photos can be a pretty cool personal project. So one year out of college, I challenged myself to start working on a personal aerial series. This time there was no project that needed to be done, no deadline, no rules, I was free to do whatever I wanted to do. The only hard part was actually doing it, but I do believe that this is something that can help any photographer out.
When they are out at night, wanting to shoot some astrophotography, the trickiest thing photographers usually worry about is getting enough light to highlight the nightscape for it come out well-exposed in a shot. Some make use of the available light, some wait for the full moon, and some get creative with torch or car lights. But Paul Heran and Ryland West came up with yet another ingenious method to light up their landscapes: drone lighting.
When GoPro first announced the new Karma drone, many of us were excited and had high hopes for this new drone. Right after that, DJI announced their compact Mavic Pro drone, creating even more hype and confusion for those who were interested in buying a drone, myself included. Which one should I get?
I recently earned my Remote Pilot Certification, which allows me to fly a small UAS (drone) for paid photo and video work in the USA, under the FAA’s Part 107 rule. With no background in aviation, passing the test was no easy feat for me. If you’re considering taking the test yourself, read about my experiences to make sure you’re well prepared.
While there are many insurance companies that are out there for photographers and drone pilots, Verifly is the first drone liability insurance company that protects pilots and allows them to pay on demand. I recently interviewed Verifly CEO Jay Bregman to find out more about his new company and what they are doing to help drone pilots all around the country. One of the first things you will see about Verifly is that they cover up to $1,000,000 in liability within a flight radius of a quarter of a mile with any drone under 15 pounds. All operators have to do is select their area, after which they are instantly approved and provided with on-the-spot insurance to fly and proof of coverage to show to anyone who needs to see it.
Bad news for drone owners in Sweden! The country has now effectively ban camera drones in its airspace. And if you thought you could bring your drone on your next trip to Sweden, well you better think twice unless you’ve got a permit.
Along with drone technology and the advancement of user-modified drones, another thing that has also been evolving is LED technology and the way people use it. In this four-minute video, you will see a good example of the combination of these two technologies, as Stratus Productions mounted a 1000-watt LED light to a Freefly Systems Alta 8 drone.
Affectionately known as the Land of Fire and Ice, Iceland has become a widely popular photography hotspot. It seems like everywhere you turn, there are photographers and videographers talking, fantasizing, planning, and shooting all things Iceland. But what's with all the fuss? For those who have yet to pack their photo gear and travel to the island, the recently released short film, "Ice and Fire," shows what you are missing and continues to kindle Iceland's "photo rush."
I've been shooting real estate for about two years now. Today, I am shooting for my company, Simply Visual Productions, and another company, Jump Visual, which has been around for many years, and because of them, I have learned so much about working in this field. I have shot hundreds of homes and met many new people and worked with them to create photos that sell a home or space. I think it is funny that I do this because when someone thinks photography, I feel like real estate photography is the last thing they would think of. Aside from the photography aspect, I see aerial and video becoming more and more popular, which is one reason I have such an interest in it.
With the new reviews of the DJI Mavic Pro, there’s been one popular concern from many of us: the quality wasn’t quite 100 percent and looked a bit blurry, especially when compared with other drones. Then we shared the 4K comparison with the Phantom 4, and even though the camera specs are very close between the two, it was apparent that the Mavic quality was not quite there. The Phantom 4 was the clear winner here, but the size still made the Mavic a viable contender for many of us who would compromise portability over quality and sharpness.
DJI announced their newest drone to the world this week, and it’s creating quite a buzz. If you haven’t heard about it yet, jump over to our article on the announcement of this new compact drone. At first, I thought the GoPro Karma looked great, then DJI swooped in with their Mavic which looks amazing as well.
In the past week or so we have seen a lot of big things happening in the drone industry. It seems that there is almost a battle for portability, where drones should be able to be used anywhere by anyone. That being said, GoPro came out with an awesome new system that packs into one slim bag and can be brought and flown just about anywhere. The GoPro Karma folds up and packs into one small bag fitting the drone with the props on, the batteries, the remote, and the camera attached to the gimbal. On top of their drone idea, they decided a consumer may not always want to fly, but might still want to film some stable footage. In this case, they made the gimbal on the Karma removable so it can also be hand held and steady.
Drones are becoming more popular, cheaper, smaller, and overall better than the ones released years ago. Many more are being sold each day. With that comes new experiences for many of us. Recently, Mike Rowe took to Facebook with his recent experience, or should I say recent invasion. We all know when it comes to celebrities, privacy is always being pushed to the limits. They usually experience cameras sneaking into their daily and private lives, but this is a particularly intrusive instance.
Yesterday GoPro announced their new drone Karma along with the Hero5 action camera, and the additional handheld gimbal. Casey Neistat was also able to get his hands on and test out the early prototype of the GoPro Karma in New York City.
GoPro has brilliantly teased us with its careful, controlled releases of Karma drone videos. Today, they've launched the new Karma alongside a pair of Hero5 cameras that are as wonderful to see as the Karma itself. Advanced stabilization looks impressive in the videos (see the mountain biking scene at 1:53), but something to note is how cinematic the image quality now looks. It won't be as easy to tell GoPro footage from other high-quality cameras. And about that Karma: does $799, remote, backpack case, and gimbal handgrip included get you excited?
The more accessible, powerful, and lightweight drones become, the more we are going to see crafty individuals multipurpose them for their own whims. We've seen drones used to cut down trees, deliver products, and now here we have one pulling a surfer along a coast.
Now admittedly, this particular device probably won't see much use in a commercial sense due to a few limiting factors. However, that being said, for those in need of fast moving aerial footage in the 1080p range, this may be worth checking out. The Parrot Disco is a fixed wing, single operator, first-person perspective flight drone that can record up to 32 GB of 1080p video on an internal storage system. It's able to reach speeds up to 80 km/h, a 2 kilometer range, and 45 minutes of flight time. This could be an interesting step forward in the direction of other high-speed aerial recording that won't require the use of full-size planes or helicopters.
As most of us know, those who would like to fly for commercial use (any flying where the pilot will be paid) must now pass a test from the FAA and score 70% or over to fly legally. Now, I am a few days into studying for the test and realize that there is really a decent amount to know.
The original Game Boy is one of the most iconic gaming systems of all time and as such, continues to inspire the internet to utilize both its aesthetic and its hardware in new and creative ways. There's just something about it, the weight, the feel of the buttons, watching the Nintendo logo scroll down that screen when you first boot up a game, that can't quite be described if you weren't able to experience it as a kid. That same nostalgia is what led Gautier Hattenberger to give his old Game Boy a breath of fresh air.
A little while back, I wrote an article called, “The Power of Overshooting,” where I explained how it can never hurt to take more photos than you need to. Now this article got plenty of hate from all the people who love film out there, but the article wasn’t written to bash the people who put time and effort into shooting their photos.
Lofoten, Norway has been getting a lot of attention in the last few years, and rightfully so. Known for its incredible mountains, open waters, and unspoiled lands, it has quickly become a favorite for photographers looking to capture dramatic landscape images. Australian filmmaker Michael Fletcher took two trips here recently and came away with a fantastic aerial film, captured during the season of the midnight sun.
It’s videos like this that inspire me to fly more and capture the beauty in this world. I myself haven’t done much traveling, but there are a lot of awesome places out there to see. Karim Iliya captured a lot of amazing content out in Pachamama and put together this video in a very fun and entertaining way.
I can say I have seen a lot of weird things in my life, though nothing to this extent. Having a drone and flying it is one thing, but to mount a dead animal on it and make it fly is beyond me.
20 people were searching for a grandfather and his granddaughter in Iowa in dense woods, as sunset approached and made the rescue effort all the more difficult. Luckily, Emergency Management Coordinator David Penton had a clever idea: he called a colleague who owned a drone and told him to bring it to the site as quickly as possible.
As I continue to dwell about upgrading my drone and having more creative freedom and quality with the Zenmuse X5 and choice of lenses, I am stuck thinking about all the content that I could be out creating with these amazing tools.
