When I went out to fly FPV the other day, I planned on flying through a playground area that is usually deserted on weekends. Well, it was deserted, but I forgot a cable to connect one of the five batteries I use in my FPV setup. Oops! After loading up most of the long list of items required to fly FPV, I was out of luck without this cable. So, I decided to go ahead and fly around within my line of sight walking through the playground. I am still a rookie pilot, so when I downloaded the video, I was surprised by the results. There are places where it looks pretty good and like an FPV video. In fact, it looks a lot better than any FPV flying I have done to date. Notice that about 1:15 I lose sight of the quad and have to land it, then do a few circles in a field, before flying back through the playground.
Aerial Videos vs. Pilot in the Cockpit
The results made me question why I was doing FPV in the first place. What got me interested in quadcopters were the cool FPV videos. I thought, hey, I would like to do that. Who knows, eventually, I might be able to make some cool FPV videos, but for now I get a lot better results just walking around behind the quad with the camera turned on and recording. Also, it is so much easier. I don’t need antennas, a video tx/rx, goggles, lots of batteries or a ham radio license (which I have). Granted, to do the really cool stuff, I would have a hard time staying within the line of sight of my quadcopter and would have to use FPV.
Another great thing about flying FPV is feeling that you are the pilot in the cockpit, although, I have read that it makes some people feel queasy. While I think the cockpit effect is cool, I am not sure FPV is worth the trouble just for that. For me, the amazing videos are the biggest selling point for investing in FPV, but it takes a lot of practice to be good at it.
Conclusion
I will continue to learn to be a better FPV pilot so I can make better videos, but it is great to be able to get some good video results flying line of sight.
Hey, did you see this video, also a great example that a quad + cam = cool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8KZAIL_wsk
Great video! I would be too scared to do that. I really need to do a best videos post.
Hi Britt,
i just want to share my last flight experience from Cuba.
Exciting views from the most exciting island in the caribbean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWkPoEJFQ4M
Hey Hagen, Wow, that is really beautiful. You are an amazing professional videographer. What great job. Maybe when I get good enough, you can hire me for your Texas branch, ha. What kind of flight controller, camera, and gimbal?
Have you ever created your own Cloverleaf antenna? People seem pretty positive about these types of antenna’s.
And are you using an OSD?
I am using a vee antenna on my tx and a patch on the rx. They seem to work well. I am doing 910mhz, so the cloverleafs are kinda big. They are smaller on the higher frequencies and I think work really well. I don’t have an osd yet.
My goal is also FPV, but I’m not convinced that non real-time video is better then real-time video. The first one is pretty static the other you can control immediately. Perhaps I’m just not there yet to understand the full concept of it all
If you want some quality FPV you need to invest in some quality products. Weird thing is that all the sensors the Naza has, you probably also want on your OSD, to bad you cant connect the 2. Image wise real-time is less then non real-time I guess. Most vids online show the HD version and not the real-time version.
Hey Ido, Yep, FPV is expensive and there are a lot of components. But, it does give you real-time control. However, a GoPro recording video while flying LOS can give some pretty nice results with a lot less work and money. Cheers!