Originally Posted by Glenstr

Thanks Art - yes I have been able to fund the "hobby account" quite a bit with doing some freelance stuff like that, and have put quite a few clips on stock video sites, which has also contributed a few $$ to the account. Enough that I am considering upgrading to a Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic 2 Pro. I always had it in my mind to build a heavy lift hexacopter that could carry my Sony Nex-5n camera, but with the DJI offerings that do such a good job in one complete package there's really no point.

I do have enough airmiles for a GoPro 6 though, and the temptation to get one for my big plane is pretty strong right now..

A friend has a mavic 2 and it is simply amazing . The zoom on it will have the paparazzi salivating with envy...careful with the word fund ...it could get some layer excited

I've been taking a good look at the Mavic 2 pro, but was leaning towards the one with the Hasselblad camera with 1" sensor rather than the one with the zoom. It has a mechanical aperture which is real cool, but the Phantom 4 Pro has mechanical shutter on its camera, which also has 1" sensor. The Mavic aperture is really good for controlling light etc and could eliminate the need for ND filters, and the mechanical shutter on the P4P is great for still photos. However the sensor on the P4P is supposed to be a lot better for sideways and panning video, which is a shortfall I notice on my Phantom 4.

I really like the compactness of the Mavic Pro and some of its other features, but those are "nice to haves" not "need to haves" for me. I'm leaning towards the Phantom because it has a few more options on the video like 4K60fps, and the sensor that handles side movement better. Plus I already have 3 batteries that will work with it.

Speaking of cameras, was playing with my wife's Sony A5100's star trails app for timelapses. First part of this video is just a timelapse with 30 second exposures on one of my cheapo Canon's with CHDK firmware, the second part is with the Sony app.

Sept 15 Star lapse & Star trails (1 min 6 sec)

Originally Posted by Glenstr

I've been taking a good look at the Mavic 2 pro, but was leaning towards the one with the Hasselblad camera with 1" sensor rather than the one with the zoom. It has a mechanical aperture which is real cool, but the Phantom 4 Pro has mechanical shutter on its camera, which also has 1" sensor. The Mavic aperture is really good for controlling light etc and could eliminate the need for ND filters, and the mechanical shutter on the P4P is great for still photos. However the sensor on the P4P is supposed to be a lot better for sideways and panning video, which is a shortfall I notice on my Phantom 4.

I really like the compactness of the Mavic Pro and some of its other features, but those are "nice to haves" not "need to haves" for me. I'm leaning towards the Phantom because it has a few more options on the video like 4K60fps, and the sensor that handles side movement better. Plus I already have 3 batteries that will work with it.

Speaking of cameras, was playing with my wife's Sony A5100's star trails app for timelapses. First part of this video is just a timelapse with 30 second exposures on one of my cheapo Canon's with CHDK firmware, the second part is with the Sony app.

https://youtu.be/KCcj_FUYR3E

OMG Glen !!!!! absolutely beautiful mesmerising and fascinating... Bravo !!!!

Pretty darn cool Glen. How often do you see the Northern Lights?
We've had some good flying weather lately and I've been trying to take advantage of it before it slips away for the winter. One thing about moving, you get a chance to take a look at all your rc junk and take a bit of an inventory. I bought this cheap foamy and added some old tiny FPV gear.

3D Foamy Fun (4 min 17 sec)

Rob has had some good flights on his FT Explorer.

robs ft explorer (0 min 58 sec)

Originally Posted by Art Newland

Pretty darn cool Glen. How often do you see the Northern Lights?
We've had some good flying weather lately and I've been trying to take advantage of it before it slips away for the winter. One thing about moving, you get a chance to take a look at all your rc junk and take a bit of an inventory. I bought this cheap foamy and added some old tiny FPV gear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6a82Mm2pjM

I thought you moved flying fields as well.... never under estimate the fun factor in cheap models

Originally Posted by rcmonster99

I thought you moved flying fields as well.... never under estimate the fun factor in cheap models

Indeed! Everything on this foamy came from the parts bin, put it all to good use. It is quite fun and low stress. I really am enjoying my new goggles, bulkier than my old Skyzones but I can get a much clearer image with my glasses on. I can also see the HD view from my 3DR Solo with them.

Originally Posted by Art Newland

Indeed! Everything on this foamy came from the parts bin, put it all to good use. It is quite fun and low stress. I really am enjoying my new goggles, bulkier than my old Skyzones but I can get a much clearer image with my glasses on. I can also see the HD view from my 3DR Solo with them.

those goggles are really getting my attention.... are you saying they are better than the Skyzones ?

They are more of a "box style" goggle, so they certainly aren't as small and sleek as the Skyzones. Take a look at some of the reveiws on YouTube, AndyRC has a good one. The 3D plane video was recorded with the goggle's DVR, the reception is very good, the screen is pretty high resolution (has a HDMI input too). I can easily wear my reader glasses and get a perfectly clear image.

That 3D foamy looks like a blast Art! Cool vid.

We get northern lights pretty well every month of the year, but usually more so in the winter months. The most spectacular are usually in the coldest weather. The video somewhat exaggerates them as the shutter is open for 30 seconds, but in many ways they look better in real life than long exposures show.

Here's a video I did a couple of days ago, compiled some clips that I took for Getty stock video and put some music to them, also playing with Davinci Resolve colour grading and keyframes

Autumn Colours (4 min 12 sec)

More cheapo FPV. VISUO XS809S with Eachine TX 03 AIO camera. Pulled the wifi camera out and installed an AIO FPV camera. This has an 1800 single cell battery and this thing can stay in the air for 17 plus minutes.

VISUO XS809S with Eachine TX 03 (3 min 12 sec)

Originally Posted by Art Newland

More cheapo FPV. VISUO XS809S with Eachine TX 03 AIO camera. Pulled the wifi camera out and installed an AIO FPV camera. This has an 1800 single cell battery and this thing can stay in the air for 17 plus minutes.

What range do you get ? Can you get spare batteries?

Originally Posted by rcmonster99

What range do you get ? Can you get spare batteries?

I bought the cheapest version for $45, I knew I'd remove the wifi camera. You can buy it with 1, 2, or 3 batteries.
https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopt...63#goodsDetail

This looks like the proper battery;
https://www.banggood.com/VISUO-XS809...AaAhaFEALw_wcB

So far I doubt I've flown more that 150 feet away, that's plenty for buzzing around the house. The little AIO camera works pretty good, was hardly optimal lighting, the sun was already back behind the trees.