How-to: perfect aerial photography

When I started writing this post, I was still a junior in university, and now I have a job, it means I have been a salaryman for half a year. At the beginning of this year, I asked my company for a Mavic Pro. That is so exciting that I want to share my happiness with each of you here. Please show some support.

Like many of you people, I have never played unmanned drone before so I didn’t know that much about them until Dajiang issued Mavic Pro last September. It is so fantastic, isn’t it？ Mavic impressed me in three ways: First, it seems easy to learn to control; Second, the three-axis mechanical cloud platform ＆4k camera lens are very good; And third, the appearance is extremely cool and you can put it into bag. I am so plipped, but can’t afford…

I remember last May when I watched the live broadcast that Mi company issued their unmanned plane, with my classmates in the dorm, I was ready to buy one for fun. However, it is so hot that after it is on sale I can’t grab one at all. And later, its horrible explosion scandal finally stopped me from wanting to get one. Until now(February in 2017), I got an unmanned plane finally for the first time. So, let fly you to the moon.

I will give very detailed description the function and using methods of the plane from a perspective of a freshman, don’t attack me even if you don’t agree with me.

Category

1. A compete unpacking of Mavic

2. First flight in the open air

3. Use Mavic to create

4. Summary

Unpacking: a masterpiece-level unmanned plane

The Mavic I got is a packed F-TYPE Project, so I need to take a good unpacking photo carefully to memorize my first unmanned plane. When you unpack the box, you can see the plane, the remote controller as well as the wire rod box. Totally band-new!

It would be better if the color is black, coz I don’t really like the cement-gray. You can take them out one by one, with respect and courtesy, slowly…

To connect the remote controller and your phone, you need use wires, which could be iPhone wires, USB Type-C and ordinary Android wires, so you can use every kind of phones.

Here is our star— Mavic Pro. The gray plane body is gleamy under light. That is so cool and shows its beautiful side of science, which is my favorite.

The front gray cover is to protect the UV lens of the camera.The is the label that only belongs to new products, and next is battery.Mavic Pro still follows Dajiang’ s tradition and uses the smart battery. You maybe be wondering what is smart battery. With a short press, you can see the left electric quantity and with a long press on the on-off button, you can see the electric quantity under a warning light. The smart battery can cut off the electricity automatically when you charge it, protect the electrical wire and release electricity if you don’t use it in a long time. This is what smart battery does.

You have to pay attention to the black and white dynamos, which are different because their directions of rotation differ. The white airscrew with a white round cap must be installed on the black dynamo and the black one with a black round cap must be installed on the black dynamo, otherwise you can’t get them matched with each other. Mavic adopts a “quick-disassembling” airscrew design that is not is not connected with screws but clipped, so you can just press down the airscrews when you assemble the plane and then rotate it to finish assembling the four airscrews.The advantage of this design is simplifying the assembling and disassembling process and preventing the airscrews from flying away (which means the airscrews will part from the plane during a high-speed rotation). For unmanned planes, the airscrews’ flying-away will cause the explosion of the plane (which means the plane will fall from high).

Moreover, Mavic Pro is the first version of Dajiang unmanned planes that use folding airscrews, which make them easy to take in and at the same time, work properly. You don’t have to worry about anything because the airscrews will unfold automatically when it takes off.

Mavic Pro adopts the folding structure like the Transformers, which is the reason why its body is so small. And next, let us have a look at its main function carrier, the cloud-platform camera. This is this cloud-platform camera of Mavic. On the outside is a lens protector, which could protect the lens and has no effects on its video shooting.Take off the UV lens. (be careful about the way I do)This object that holds the cloud platform is its holder, which must be took off when you use it. Or the camera would be shaking and easy to get harmed. But after you have done using, it would be better to put it back to protecting it from getting broken, coz the cloud platform is very fragile.

Mavic adopts triaxial-machinery cloud platform, which is shaking-avoiding in its all rotations and prevents the shot videos from looking like shaking. With the 12-million pixel and 4k video-shooting lens, its air photography has reached a professional level.

See, the Mavic in the pic looks like having two nostrils, which actually are two cameras used for avoiding shaking.

The stuff like producing information and serial number is printed under the battery, so the Mavic body is very neat and clean.

You need to press the buttons on the both sides when you take off the battery, and spread the two upper arms crosswise and then unfold the two nether ones down-forward.Like this, do not wrestle crosswise, unfold the down-forward instead.

This is how it looks when it is flying. The distance between the two dynamos on one diagonal is 330, which is not a bit worse while comparing with the middle-size unmanned planes like Elf4.

And see the belly part of it. There are four circles from top to bottom, and among them, the two on both laterals are cameras used for helping find a location point and sensing the landing surroundings; and two in the middle are ultrasonic wave sensors used for helping measure height. If unmanned planes can fly steadily in the sky depends on all data from sensors, among which cameras and ultrasonic wave are very important, so don’t shelter them while suing.

There is a 16G storage card in the card slot under the dam-board, and by pressing the movable button below, you can switch the controller from the remote controller to your phone. There are two little raised parts on the bottom of the body to work as the holders to avoid the its belly from touching the land while landing.Yes, Mavic can be controlled with WIFI on your phone within 100 meters. It is so awesome, isn’t it?Then let’s show off~

My first outdoor flight.

You can play with you Spark mini-version unmanned plane in your backyard, but Mavic, no, unless you live in a villa with a big yard.

Please bear this in your mind: the first element in using the unmanned planes is safety.

I went to a University with my Manfrotto bag, which is very useful to carry all the plane, two batteries, a camera and a Sony A7 plus two lenses. You can download the software named DJI GO4, which is an official APP of Dajiang unmanned planes. You can only enjoy your flight with it.

The preparations you need to do before you use the plane for the first time:

1. Choose an open environment without shelters and electromagnetic wave, such as playground;

2. Make sure that your plane, the remote controller and phone are in good conditions, your battery has been well charged and the airscrews are assembled correctly.;

3. The operating steps are as following: turn on the plane, check the signal(connect the remote controller and the plane), activate the machine, make sure the versions of the firmware and DJI GO4 are latest and take off after the noticing sound;

4. Read the introduction carefully, and then check if the airscrews are assembled correctly. I strongly recommend you use the American Hand. Click the start button to take off;

5. Then it is time for free-flying and picture taking.

This is the picture of DJI GO4. There is a lot of words and stickers on it, I will explain more to you if you don’t understand.

Understand now? Is it a bit complicated? Doesn’t matter, you will be an expert after some more times of controlling. You don’t have to fly so high at the first flight, just keep it around you. Don’t rush it and slow down.

Mavic is able to sense the environment and avoid barriers, so if you are too lazy to fly it back, you can just click the Return button and it will return automatically and avoid front barriers. It is such a black tech, isn’t it?

The first flight was a big success!

Bring the Mavic to a creation

Mavic has a triaxial-machinery cloud platform camera, which is capable of a 12 million-pixel static photograph and a 4k video shooting. For one flying, the electric quantity is adequate to work for over 20 minutes, cover a max distance of 500 meters high and 7000 meters far… It is a very mighty air-shooting device. Therefore, I often take it out with me, and take pics and shoot videos with it, here is some of them following.

The following pics are taken with Mavic and have been polished.

How about it, quite cool, right? Mavic is a good choice to take photos of persons as well as views.

Here is a video I shot with Mavic, the theme is an air-shooting in Shenzhen University.

How do you think of this, good, right? Use the Mavic to shoot, the Pro to edit and Spark APP to polish… Mavic can satisfy the needs to do some normal air-shooting and is very easy to carry with.

Summary: it is suitable air-shooting unmanned plane for freshmen.

I just gave a detailed introduction of the unpacking and initial flight, but didn’t talk too much about the tricks of trade about the controlling and shooting, nor the advanced technologies of Mavic like visional barriers avoiding, punctual returning and smart track. Do not hash things up, I will give you more about them, so do bear a first impression of Mavic in your mind.

With the progress in the unmanned planes’ technology, air-shooting is not a tough or expensive thing any more. If you want to try, you can buy one. Mavic is easy-taken, omnipotent and easy-operating, so I think it is suitable for the freshmen to try. And I, myself, am a fan of it.

The advantages of the Mavic:

1. Small, easy to carry with, functional and safe to use;\

2. Good steadiness of the cloud platform and good image quality of aerial photography;

3. Comprehensive functions like sensing the environment, avoiding barriers, tracking flexibly, finger-selfie and so on;

4. The DJI GO4 can not only show the pictures but also edit videos;

5. The electric quantity can last at least 25 minutes and the battery is easy to change;

6. The max height of flying is 500 meters and distance is 7000 meters;

7. The most is important: easy to get your hands on.

Something that should be improved about Mavic:

1. There is faint yellow in the center of the picture;

2. The price is not that unacceptable for many people like me;

3. It is incapable of the one-key-shot function like Spark.

DJI issued another unmanned plane named Spark when Mavic is still hot, and I got one.

Compared to Mavic, Spark is smaller and less expensive, but its functions and side devices don’t make any progress. For example, the machinery cloud platform became biaxial, incapable of 4k shooting, unable to avoid visional barriers and reductive in duration of flight (only a little more than 10 minutes). After a period of using them, you will find out that both the planes are worthy of their prices. Like we all know, it is reasonable that the more expensive, the better.

And then I will refresh more content about unmanned planes, so you are welcome to give your comments below and I will reply as long as I can. Recently, a series of policies about unmanned planes have been issued gradually, so be careful of your flying ways, try to stay within the circle.