Went mountain biking yesterday and took the Spark.  Only a couple of open areas and lots of horses around, so I only had time to get one follow shot.

This is the whole video: (skip to the 9:00 mark to see the drone follow shot.)





Thanks for watching.

Nice one.
In the following shot the AC went kind of close to the ground at the end, were you going up a hill (it looked like you were pedaling faster)? If yes, does that mean the AC keeps a steady altitude in follow mode? If the hill was higher could it have hit the ground?

Antipaxi Posted at 2018-5-6 06:23
Nice one.
In the following shot the AC went kind of close to the ground at the end, were you going up a hill (it looked like you were pedaling faster)? If yes, does that mean the AC keeps a steady altitude in follow mode? If the hill was higher could it have hit the ground?

Thanks.  Yes it was a little down then up trail.  I was keeping tabs on it with my phone on my handlebars and I did see it getting close to the grass.  However at the end it seemed to rise up as I slowed down.  I'm not sure what it would have done had the hill been higher.  I had it in the profile mode but I guess I went too fast for that mode and it lagged behind me.

Nice following footage, but I'd be worried the drone might hit the ground on hillier terrain. Thanks for the share.

Nice footage, work very well the tracking mode.

cool video!
   

Blériot53 Posted at 2018-5-6 09:34
Nice following footage, but I'd be worried the drone might hit the ground on hillier terrain. Thanks for the share.

Thanks.  The grass was very tall and thick so I figured it would have slowed it down some before it hit the ground.   Plus I was watching it on my phone as I rode.

Next time I'll start it a little higher up but since I was doing it in profile mode I wanted it right next to me.

Aurelian (Spark) Posted at 2018-5-6 09:59
Nice footage, work very well the tracking mode.

Thanks!  It really does.  I'm still impressed by how well it tracks.

dj_dread Posted at 2018-5-6 10:16
cool video!

Thanks!

Nice use of AC!

Cool video

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-5-6 22:33
Cool video

Thanks!  I appreciate it!

HTWEELZ Posted at 2018-5-7 06:34
Thanks!  I appreciate it!

You're welcome!

Cool!

thanks for sharing your video, looks good

Nice ride and video of beautiful single track.  The follow along was spot on with an interesting angle.  Your chest mount GoPro(?) was very smooth, little or no body motion, nice. I use my GoPro on my seat post most of the most of the time. Check out my  MTN bike videos here in California. Keep the rubber side down!
https://www.youtube.com/dandevoto

Dan DeVoto Posted at 2018-5-8 05:29
Nice ride and video of beautiful single track.  The follow along was spot on with an interesting angle.  Your chest mount GoPro(?) was very smooth, little or no body motion, nice. I use my GoPro on my seat post most of the most of the time. Check out my  MTN bike videos here in California. Keep the rubber side down!
https://www.youtube.com/dandevoto

Thanks I'll check them out!   I use my GoPro Hero3 Black attached to an EVO SS Gimbal on a GoPro chest mount.  The gimbal takes out all of bumps and vibration and makes it nice and smooth.  Before I bought the gimbal the majority of my footage was useless.

There is no GPS positioning stability or avoiding obstacles around the drone when it is camera tracking a subject.  The drone just flies to keep the subject centered and keep its height (or dronie).  Pilots have to watch what the drone is doing because Sparks have been known to full reverse while happily keeping the subject centered.  Sparks ability to keep a set distance is iffy and needs to be monitored.  It doesn't have radar ranging after all.

The EVO (Zhiyun rebrand?) looks good on the Chestie.  I didn't think it would smooth it out that well.  The GoPro Chestie, as it is, is useless unless the person is holding still.  I have used it on a segway and it looked good but I am standing still as I glide.  My wife's horse ride with the Chestie was unrecognizable.  I just mount the camera to my helmet when on a dirtbike since the head is a natural gimbal.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-5-8 07:35
There is no GPS positioning stability or avoiding obstacles around the drone when it is camera tracking a subject.  The drone just flies to keep the subject centered and keep its height (or dronie).  Pilots have to watch what the drone is doing because Sparks have been known to full reverse while happily keeping the subject centered.  Sparks ability to keep a set distance is iffy and needs to be monitored.  It doesn't have radar ranging after all.

The EVO (Zhiyun rebrand?) looks good on the Chestie.  I didn't think it would smooth it out that well.  The GoPro Chestie, as it is, is useless unless the person is holding still.  I have used it on a segway and it looked good but I am standing still as I glide.  My wife's horse ride with the Chestie was unrecognizable.  I just mount the camera to my helmet when on a dirtbike since the head is a natural gimbal.

Yeah I usually do the follow shots from up high but wanted to try a profile one so I kept it low.  The field was clear of everything but the grass.  I have had it do some funky things while following like you said.  It's just trying to keep the subject in view.

I'm very impressed with my gimbal.  I saw another Mountain Biker YouTuber reviewing the one I bought and was blown away by how great the video came out.  I use it even just walking around so the video is always smooth.  It's great for hand-held panning, rising and lowering shots.  The only problem I had was when I upgraded the firmware and it made it glitch and was very noisey.  I loaded the previous version and it was back it's normal self.  It might be a Zhiyun rebrand.  They all look very similar and are all chinese.

Nice Video.  The follow footage is fantastic.  I haven't tried doing that yet.  (first because most of the mountain biking I do is in the trees, but more importantly I broke my collarbone in October and got my Spark after that accident.   ...I'm still healing.)

Anyway, your gimbal footage looks great.  I know features always look easy on gopro video but those trails look super smooth - except for the area around the stream crossings.  It looks like a great place to ride.  Night riding would be awesome there as well.

Although I am still injured, I literally just finally out with my mountain bike group and did some filming.  The crew wasn't going to wait up for me so I just hiked in to a few spots where I knew they were going and set up my gopro and waited.  My buddy called me from the top of the trail and I launched the drone and waited.  But they move so fast I didn't get a lot of usable footage from the drone.  ...and some if it's a bit shaky - especially the part where I nearly crashed the Spark into some branches about 30-40 feet up.  (I think I should get the blade protectors for this kind of flying.  It might save a branch in the props.)  

Here's my moutain bike video as well if you are interested.  ...no on-board video because I can't ride yet.  But that would be really nice to add to the  mix.   The intro and outro footage is obviously from the Spark as is the follow drone footage at about 5 sec.  The rest is short clips mixed in looking down on the rock roller.   At about 30 sec is where I nearly crashed into branches when flying backward.

...it's not letting me add a link to my video.  It says i'm trying to post inappropriate content.  Weird ???  Oh well whatever.

HTWEELZ Posted at 2018-5-8 07:41
Yeah I usually do the follow shots from up high but wanted to try a profile one so I kept it low.  The field was clear of everything but the grass.  I have had it do some funky things while following like you said.  It's just trying to keep the subject in view.

I'm very impressed with my gimbal.  I saw another Mountain Biker YouTuber reviewing the one I bought and was blown away by how great the video came out.  I use it even just walking around so the video is always smooth.  It's great for hand-held panning, rising and lowering shots.  The only problem I had was when I upgraded the firmware and it made it glitch and was very noisey.  I loaded the previous version and it was back it's normal self.  It might be a Zhiyun rebrand.  They all look very similar and are all chinese.

I have two gimbals.  One for my cell phone/GoPro and one for my DSLR.  They can't be mounted to GoPro mounts or the chesty.  The cell phone one only made noises one time with the GoPro and it was because somehow it didn't like the balance.  It was balanced but somehow not correctly for the motors.  Maybe how high it was, was wrong?  Rebalanced it and all was fine.


I have one Youtube video using a gimbal, riding a segway, drinking coffee, and riding into stores with it.  The opposite of exercise.  The little gimbal worked great.  I used the Spark like you did to just add a touch of environment to the end of the video.

Outlier22 Posted at 2018-5-8 08:22
Nice Video.  The follow footage is fantastic.  I haven't tried doing that yet.  (first because most of the mountain biking I do is in the trees, but more importantly I broke my collarbone in October and got my Spark after that accident.   ...I'm still healing.)

Anyway, your gimbal footage looks great.  I know features always look easy on gopro video but those trails look super smooth - except for the area around the stream crossings.  It looks like a great place to ride.  Night riding would be awesome there as well.

What is your YouTube username?  I'll look it up.

Oh man sorry to hear about your collarbone. Last year I hit a rock in a ditch and hurt my shoulder.  It's been getting better and better but I can still ride. Getting older (48) and takes longer to heal up.

That's the bad part about the GoPro and gimbal everything looks so flat and easy.  Meanwhile the bike is under you like a bucking bronco.  HAHA!

Most times I'm in the woods also but most places I ride have some wide open fields so that's where I try and get them.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-5-8 08:35
I have two gimbals.  One for my cell phone/GoPro and one for my DSLR.  They can't be mounted to GoPro mounts or the chesty.  The cell phone one only made noises one time with the GoPro and it was because somehow it didn't like the balance.  It was balanced but somehow not correctly for the motors.  Maybe how high it was, was wrong?  Rebalanced it and all was fine.

That's awesome!  I'd love to have one for my DSLR.  I just do more with my GoPro so that's where I invested the money.

Sounds very relaxing on the segway.

HTWEELZ Posted at 2018-5-8 15:27
What is your YouTube username?  I'll look it up.

Oh man sorry to hear about your collarbone. Last year I hit a rock in a ditch and hurt my shoulder.  It's been getting better and better but I can still ride. Getting older (48) and takes longer to heal up.

Ok I tried again but I still get the error message about inappropriate content.  

...Most videos I post are unlisted and I send the link out to friends but I just changed this one to public so you can search for it.  My user name is just my name I think (Erich Harvey).  The name of the video is "Ride4Beers Lincoln Woods"  Hopefully you can find it

Outlier22 Posted at 2018-5-15 11:24
Ok I tried again but I still get the error message about inappropriate content.  

...Most videos I post are unlisted and I send the link out to friends but I just changed this one to public so you can search for it.  My user name is just my name I think (Erich Harvey).  The name of the video is "Ride4Beers Lincoln Woods"  Hopefully you can find it

I found it!  That looks like a fun trail!

HTWEELZ Posted at 2018-5-15 11:35
I found it!  That looks like a fun trail!

yeah the trail (and all the trails there) are pretty intense.  Fun AND often scary!

nice one keep it up

Interesting with the Active Track,,, went a bit low then gained height?. However lovely video ,,

Flighty Posted at 2018-6-18 08:08
Interesting with the Active Track,,, went a bit low then gained height?. However lovely video ,,

It didn't really go down.  I was riding up a small hill and it just didn't gain altitude until I stopped and then it had to correct I guess.