Dave E Posted at 2015-4-21 18:11
Hi Jim. From my research and your comments, Final Cut Pro seems to be the dogs doodahs. My wife ha ...

Heh, who could argue with that logic?!!!  

Sounds great, I'm sure you'll love it, plenty of power in there.

All the best,

Jim

jimhare Posted at 2015-4-21 15:46
Thanks Rodger, always good to hear from you!

Jim, Lightroom 6 is out. Just ordered mine from B&H. I do the CD instead of the Download. Would rather have something in my hand to use in the future instead of the reload hassle.
Rodger

Love this and love the pace of the video. well done

Wow! I'll bet if you look up "rugged beauty" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Bondi Beach. I've heard of it but never seen it.

Gorgeous!

jimhare Posted at 2015-4-6 15:12
Exactly!  It's all about having a great time and coming home with footage that you're happy with.

...

Took my wife to the Grand Canyon a number of years ago. I'd been bragging about how good my Canon DSLR was. At the end of the first day we were reviewing my pictures. Everything was kind of blue! A sort of washed out blue at that. I was heartbroken - at first. Back then, I was taking pics almost exclusively in RAW mode. The cards weren't very expensive and I tend to take along two or three external USB drives to backup pics/data. Dumped the boo-boos into Photoshop and essentially "reset" the pics.

Technology saved the day. Then I changed the white balance away from "indoor!"

Ever been to the IMAX theater at Tusuyan (the small village just south of the south rim)? How'd you like to get some pics like the guy in the ultra-light going over those cliffs? Takes your breath away.

use spellchecker.  other than that, what comes next?

Nice piece Jim.   noticed the vignetting in some of the short footage, was this done in post or did you rig a lens shade on the IN1?  Asking cause I've thought about a lens shade but it doesn't seem practical a 200' flying at 20 mph.  I tend to shoot away from the sun just because of this.
Do you know if others working with DaVinci have a problem with the processor bogging down?  I watched your tutorials and thought to give it a try.  I have Adobe CC and 16 G's  of Ram on the macbook, it's a breeze in most cases, but DaV has a problematic lag.  Or is it just me not familiar with this software or does the free (trial) perform slow?  Thanks for any help in advance.  May I also say when I do log into the forum I first check issues with new firmware, then my second look is at whatever you may have posted.  Great job keeping us informed!    richard

zackski@live.co Posted at 2015-5-14 06:13
Nice piece Jim.   noticed the vignetting in some of the short footage, was this done in post or did  ...

Hey Richard,

All vignetting was done in post, it was shot with the standard lens and ND.

Da Vinci is top end and designed to work at its best with multiple GPU cards installed.  The free version is no slower than the paid one, it's just power hungry as it's 10x more powerful than Premiere, FPC or any of the NLEs.   For me the immense power and flexibility is worth the lag.   In my main machine I have a Quadra 4000 specifically for DaVinci, but my MBP Retina is stock standard.   So I know the lag you're referring to but I think it's totally worth it.   

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-14 07:55
Hey Richard,

All vignetting was done in post, it was shot with the standard lens and ND.

Hey Jim,
Much appreciate your reply.  You saved me lots of time trying to figure Da Vinci out, inasmuch, the secret is patience using the MBP.  I know the program is power hunger but didn't to that degree.  The main issue is that it's workable.  Thanks for your help.
Richard

zackski@live.co Posted at 2015-5-14 10:50
Hey Jim,
Much appreciate your reply.  You saved me lots of time trying to figure Da Vinci out, ina ...

Good stuff.   The thing about grading is it is generally done on while the image is still, so while it can work as an editor you are much better editing in Premiere or FCPx and sending an XML to DaVinci for finishing.   Then you basically keep the image paused while you color correct each bit.   Spot check through it but don't worry about performance.   

Then render out, watch and see if it needs tweaking.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-14 11:07
Good stuff.   The thing about grading is it is generally done on while the image is still, so while ...

Ahhh, believe I'm getting the hang of your great tips.  Beginning to notice improvements and editing time has lessened.  Want to refine my post work for an upcoming trip off of the gulf of Mexico.  Wish I could grasp it all in one day, yeah rite...lol.  Purchased a set of ND filters 8 thru 64 (on the extreme end) from Renaat-- figuring they'd come in handy shooting bright beach footage. Anxious to test them out...  

Some really cool shots in there!  If you're looking for feedback I'd definitely take it down a notch on the intense vignetting, to me that never really looks good in video, more in still images. I also thought the little light leak/bokeh flares looks sorta artificial. Would love to see a little more variety in shots & flying close to ground/water too

Awesome video!!!! Speechless...

info@rossfeighe Posted at 2015-5-24 17:32
Some really cool shots in there!  If you're looking for feedback I'd definitely take it down a notch ...

That's cool, to each their own!     When my wife watched my FOG video she said everything cut too fast and I should have more in the cemetery.  I handed her the remote and said "go shoot your own video exactly how you want!"   

zackski@live.co Posted at 2015-5-24 13:46
Ahhh, believe I'm getting the hang of your great tips.  Beginning to notice improvements and editi ...

Awesome!  Be sure to post your videos when you're happy!   

Hi Jim, are you still happy with your Inspire? Or do you have any errors and crashes? Can you recomend this drone for aerial working?

Tom Adamec Posted at 2015-5-26 16:40
Hi Jim, are you still happy with your Inspire? Or do you have any errors and crashes? Can you recome ...

Hi Tom,

Have loved my Inspire from day 1.   Never had any problems or scary moments, other than a couple of close calls when I was first learning to fly.   But those were just pilot challenges.

I think the Inspire is fantastic and can happily recommend it.   Having said that it's important to know exactly what it's capable of and where its limitations lie.

There are pros and cons:

PROS
Turnkey solution
Retractable landing gear for 360° fiiming
Second remote for camera control
Easy to fly
Impressive 4k image
Portable and easy to get fantastic results with single pilot, no fuss

CONS
Expensive and time consuming to fix if you crash
Highly compressed H.264 means many shots are unusable professionally


So as long as it suits your needs I say go for it.   I have had so much fun since getting it.   Always been a dream of mine to do high quality aerial filming and this is the first time it's been practical.  

For me I'm not interested in the top end, spending $10k to then put my $20k Epic camera on and hope I don't smash it.

The Inspire is a fantastic balance between quality, features, price, stability and everything else.   I think they got it right.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-27 08:22
Hi Tom,

Have loved my Inspire from day 1.   Never had any problems or scary moments, other than a ...

thank you Jim !!

Inspire look fantastic, but I watch "inverted flight" and others... and it's little bit scary...

Tom Adamec Posted at 2015-5-28 08:10
thank you Jim !!

Inspire look fantastic, but I watch "inverted flight" and others... and it's lit ...

Of course.  But search hard enough and you'll probably find a video of the Pope punching a polar bear.  

Any product can malfunction or have a manufacturing defect.   The real question is are there any inherent problems that may cause concern and from perspective the answer is "no."

The majority of us have never had an issue with our Inspires so the key is to test it heavily and send it back if you think you got a (rare) dud.     

Trust me, if there were tens of thousands of out-of-control Inspires out there we would definitely know about it!   

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-28 08:20
Of course.  But search hard enough and you'll probably find a video of the Pope punching a polar b ...

It looks just as I remember seeing it.  I was there in July of 1970.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-28 08:20
Of course.  But search hard enough and you'll probably find a video of the Pope punching a polar b ...

just one accident = lose all investment...
it's not so good. I am too much pessimistic... maybe

Tom Adamec Posted at 2015-5-28 08:48
just one accident = lose all investment...
it's not so good. I am too much pessimistic... maybe : ...

No risk no gain.   I took the opinion when I first got it that each flight may be my last, but since my goal was to get amazing footage, it would be a totally wasted investment if I spent all my time flying 6 feet above grass!

My advice is if you are worried about flying it, don't buy it.    For me I've already had $3k worth of fun plus all the footage I have collected would cost about $50k to acquire using traditional means.

If you buy a Lamborghini and never drive it to ensure no one ever bumps into you with a shopping cart, that's a wasted investment as well.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-28 08:20
Of course.  But search hard enough and you'll probably find a video of the Pope punching a polar b ...

I second your comment, more pros than cons.  I find it has it's quirks like battery status indications, nevertheless, I've been able to deal with it and it certainly pays off.

jimhare Posted at 2015-4-10 14:25
I see you're up my way!   Do get to Sydney's North Shore ever?   If so we should get togeether and d ...

Hi Jim, I'm based in Balmain. Also I'm keen to meet up with like minded people for some drone action. Chat soon. Alex

monsirto Posted at 2015-6-10 10:58
Hi Jim, I'm based in Balmain. Also I'm keen to meet up with like minded people for some drone acti ...

Hey Alex,  

Absolutely, count me in.    Maybe we can put a small group together.  I know 4 or 5 local owners but we've never managed to come together.

Jim

jimhare Posted at 2015-6-10 11:01
Hey Alex,  

Absolutely, count me in.    Maybe we can put a small group together.  I know 4 or 5 l ...

Hi Jim, my email address is info@alexperic.com. Let's get a group together. I am all for knowledge sharing and of course the fun of flying drones.

monsirto Posted at 2015-6-10 11:18
Hi Jim, my email address is . Let's get a group together. I am all for knowledge sharing and of co ...

Will do Alex!

monsirto Posted at 2015-6-10 11:18
Hi Jim, my email address is . Let's get a group together. I am all for knowledge sharing and of co ...

Sydney meet up thread!

http://forum.dji.com/thread-19854-1-1.html

great super great video! which nd filter did you use in this video? ND4 or nothing? I noticed that at sunset nd8 is too much because i get underexpoded image (30fps iso 100 shutter 100)....

NIce shots Jim!

I don't know how you picked a day where the wind didn't give you problems!

You were flying low and hugging the edge of the cliff so you probably are already aware but for others doing the same, be aware of Victor One which is the light aircraft lane where aircraft enter at Barrenjoey and travel down the coast below 500' above sea level to remain under Sydney Airport approach and departure traffic.

You can be closer to fast moving aircraft here more than anywhere else other than near an airport  :-)

http://www.airservicesaustralia. ... hotspots_Sydney.pdf

Highranger Posted at 2016-1-12 13:00
NIce shots Jim!

I don't know how you picked a day where the wind didn't give you problems!

Thanks for that!  Yeah, I stayed pretty close and low and if I even sensed there was a helicopter or light aircraft approaching I would bring it in immediately.

Wind always there and always strong but the Inspire 1 is a beast and eats wind for breakfast!  ;-)

All the best

Superbaso Posted at 2015-11-6 05:04
great super great video! which nd filter did you use in this video? ND4 or nothing? I noticed that a ...

Thanks Superbaso!  I don't exactly remember but my guess it was the included ND4.  Not sure I had other ones at that time.

Yes, there is a time around golden hour when you are better off with no ND.  Use the overexposure meters and histogram whenever possible to determine exposure.

All the best,

Jim

Wow, just got a chance to check it out. Great Video!!!


Dave

DJI-Dave Posted at 2016-1-15 06:39
Wow, just got a chance to check it out. Great Video!!!

Thanks Dave, was a lot of fun to shoot!

Flying out for awesome shoots with the chance to lose your UAV is akin to firing out big bets at Blackjack because the math (and the count) say to.... great reward or negative EV and disaster LOL

metronome Posted at 2016-1-15 12:01
Flying out for awesome shoots with the chance to lose your UAV is akin to firing out big bets at Bla ...

The day I got my Inspire I took the attitude that each flight may be my last, but that needs to be okay.  The alternative is to never fly it and never go the extra mile to get the killer shot.

I've been incredibly lucky and am very happy I still have it, but am at peace with the idea that one day I may not get it back.

Jim,
Amazing video and awesome shots!!
Kinda held my breath hoping you didn't have a fatal error and drown your drone....but nope!
You brought her right home and posted an excellent video.

Gory Lori Posted at 2016-1-18 10:45
Jim,
Amazing video and awesome shots!!
Kinda held my breath hoping you didn't have a fatal error and ...

Thanks Gory Lori!  Yeah, took me three or four goes to work up the courage to go over the cliff.  But I took on the opinion that each flight may be my last and that has to be okay.  Gotta go for the shot!

Jim,

From memory there is a cricket ground near there (Christinson Park or something like that) and I always wanted to shoot some video up from the centre of the pitch looking back to the tiny grandstand then out over the cliff and north to the old lighthouse. Ahh maybe next time I'm in Sydney it won't be raining and a 25kt SE'ly for the entire week. Richard.

RAEParkes Posted at 2016-1-20 00:03
Jim,

From memory there is a cricket ground near there (Christinson Park or something like that) and ...

Sounds pretty cool, I'll have to look out for it.  Didn't know there was a lighthouse around there either.  ;-)