This was my first experience flying over water and shooting video of dolphins. Major issue was shooting with my iPhone7 without any type of shade and dealing with glare. Nevertheless, I'm quite pleased with what I was able to capture. Thinking maybe some FPV Goggles will be good.

Very well done. Dolphins are such show offs lol

Very nice!

Good times,..


RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 2018-9-26 17:46
Good times,..

RHP

Such a tease!  

rwynant V1 Posted at 2018-9-26 18:21
RHP

Such a tease!

Do I get an Upvote? Haha




RedHotPoker

Well done

I would be way too scared to be flying over the water like this but im sure after a while id like it. Great shots!

Awesome capture

Magnificent.  Nice bit of filming too !  

Fantastic !!

Dennis D.  
Can I ask which editing software you used ?  
I am always interested in what's going about.  I have been using the Basic Pinnacle 21 and find it pretty good - but then I am no expert,  that's for sure.

Aloha Dennis,

     Nice video!  It seems they did notice your P4 Pro so you might want to watch out for that and keep a greater distance in the future unless you have a permit or fly for a researcher that has a permit.  If you record in 4K, you can record at a greater distance and use cropping of the video during editing to digitally zoom on the pod and avoid changing their behavior.

     Is that family pod resident or are there a number of family pods that frequent that area?  You did indicate that dolphins are regularly there.  Has anyone been able to identify individual dolphins?  Are you aware of anyone studying them?  If they interest you, you can offer assistance to researchers but you may have to be certificated.  There are a lot of papers being written these days about how to integrate drones into cetacean research.  They even have special drones flying through blows to identify lung pathogens in whales.

     If you like recording dolphins and you regularly see those dolphins, you may want to check with the closest NOAA office about the rules you would have to follow.  If someone gets busted violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is a very big fine so it may be worth the effort.  Currently, the drone rules are the same as if you approach them in a boat or swimming.  At a minimum, NOAA, or their web site, would have those rules for you.  Fly safe!

Aloha and Drone On!

Wow, this is very good. Thanks for sharing.

Manxmann Posted at 2018-9-27 01:33
Dennis D.  
Can I ask which editing software you used ?  
I am always interested in what's going about.  I have been using the Basic Pinnacle 21 and find it pretty good - but then I am no expert,  that's for sure.

Manxmann, I use Adobe Premier.  I do more digital photography than video so I pay $49.99 a month for access to all of Adobe's software products.

Cetacean Posted at 2018-9-27 02:40
Aloha Dennis,

     Nice video!  It seems they did notice your P4 Pro so you might want to watch out for that and keep a greater distance in the future unless you have a permit or fly for a researcher that has a permit.  If you record in 4K, you can record at a greater distance and use cropping of the video during editing to digitally zoom on the pod and avoid changing their behavior.

Cetacean,

Excellent advice and I will definitely follow-up on your suggestions.  I didn't get below 20' and focused on staying in front of or behind the pods. I also shot at 4K and found that zooming in (the one of the dolphin turning over) produced jpeg artifacts. I use Adobe Premier and exported using YouTube 2160 settings. However, I'm not an expert with Adobe Premier so I may be missing a setting.

Again, thanks for the advice!

Dennis

Cetacean Posted at 2018-9-27 02:40
Aloha Dennis,

     Nice video!  It seems they did notice your P4 Pro so you might want to watch out for that and keep a greater distance in the future unless you have a permit or fly for a researcher that has a permit.  If you record in 4K, you can record at a greater distance and use cropping of the video during editing to digitally zoom on the pod and avoid changing their behavior.

(Follow up)

As you suggested, I did some research on NOAA's site where they talked about the use of drones. I found it a little comical that they recommend drones maintain a minimum altitude of 1,000

Again, thanks for the information.

Dennis

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-27 09:11
(Follow up)

As you suggested, I did some research on NOAA's site where they talked about the use of drones. I found it a little comical that they recommend drones maintain a minimum altitude of 1,000

Aloha Dennis,

     The 1000 feet might also apply to boats and swimmers.  They keep making changes to stand-off distances and that hurts enforcement.  Sometimes I wonder what they are thinking.

     As far as I can tell from the literature, 100 to 150 feet is the detection distance cetaceans have for drones depending on species and drone designs.  The indication is if the drone, swimmer or boat changes the behavior of the dolphin (or Cetacean).  Recently, three swimmers got busted over here and were hit with hefty fines.  First bust in ages but that population is really burdened.

     You might want to check, that 1000 foot stand-off may apply to boats and swimmers to.  If it is the distance, then the rule is if you see dolphins, leave them alone and do not even look at them.  How can that work?  Dolphins surfing, you cannot even watch them from the beach.  That is not a workable distance.  Like I said, sometimes I wonder.

Aloha and Drone On!

I think they knew you were filming.  Showoffs  

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-27 09:11
(Follow up)

As you suggested, I did some research on NOAA's site where they talked about the use of drones. I found it a little comical that they recommend drones maintain a minimum altitude of 1,000

1,000 ft - Altitude or horizontal distance ?

Even as a horizontal clearance,  it's a helluva long way out ..............  

Please excuse my ignorance.  But,  how do you zoom a P4P+ camera ?

Manxmann Posted at 2018-9-28 02:03
Please excuse my ignorance.  But,  how do you zoom a P4P+ camera ?

Aloha Manx,

     You would have to zoom in post if the P4P+ does not have the 2X digital zoom.  Sorry, but I cannot remember which product uses that DJI GO 4 option and even if it is for iOS devices only, which would preclude the P4P+.

     In Post, you crop a 4K video and publish it as a 1080p video.  Most video editors have those options.  I must say I have not tried it yet, but I have those options available to me in my editing programs.  I have used the technique for photos though.  A recent thread even mentioned it the other day.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2018-9-27 17:02
Aloha Dennis,

     The 1000 feet might also apply to boats and swimmers.  They keep making changes to stand-off distances and that hurts enforcement.  Sometimes I wonder what they are thinking.

Here's where I saw the 1000' statement: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/i ... drones-with-caution

Operate drones with caution
The noise and close proximity of drones can disturb marine wildlife. When viewing marine mammals from the air using a drone:

Maintain a 1,000-foot minimum altitude.
Avoid buzzing, hovering, landing, taking off, or taxiing near marine mammals (on land or in the water), as these actions may alter animal behavior.

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-28 07:01
Here's where I saw the 1000' statement: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/viewing-marine-life#operate-drones-with-caution

Operate drones with caution

The NOAA had better check with the FAA, because last I heard, drones are not allowed to fly above 400 feet altitude. So basically this rule by the NOAA is a roundabout way of banning drone photography.

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-28 07:01
Here's where I saw the 1000' statement: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/viewing-marine-life#operate-drones-with-caution

Operate drones with caution

Aloha Dennis,

     Well, it is worse than I expected.  Of course they are not specifying distance for drone size and drones can be almost as big as a manned plane.  This is the important part to try and not do since it would obviously cause a problem;

Whales, dolphins, and porpoises;
     Changes in swimming, such as rapid changes in direction or speed.
    Escape tactics such as prolonged diving, underwater exhalation, underwater course changes, or rapid swimming at the surface.
     A female attempting to shield a calf with her body or by her movements.
     Surface displays like tail slapping or lateral tail swishing at the surface.

Seals and sea lions;
     Increased movements away from the disturbance; hurried entry into the water by many animals, or herd movement toward the water.
     Increased vocalization, aggressive behavior by many animals towards the disturbance, and/or several individuals raising their heads simultaneously.
     A mother leaving her pup.

If you, or any of our members, can maintain and support these guidelines, there should be no problems.  The big problem is changing a dolphin or their pod's behavior.  Not good.  

     Having an unreasonable distance for a five pound drone only encourages law-breaking.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2018-9-28 15:52
Aloha Dennis,

     Well, it is worse than I expected.  Of course they are not specifying distance for drone size and drones can be almost as big as a manned plane.  This is the important part to try and not do since it would obviously cause a problem;

Howdy Cetacean (that's we say in the south),

I read those same comments and they have definitely shaped my attitude on shooting drone video of any mammal or animal. I think I can safely say that the presence of my drone did not result in any hardship and I will now on be extremely cognizant of how those in the wild are reacting to the drone.

I truly appreciate your comments.

Dennis

Cetacean Posted at 2018-9-28 02:30
Aloha Manx,

     You would have to zoom in post if the P4P+ does not have the 2X digital zoom.  Sorry, but I cannot remember which product uses that DJI GO 4 option and even if it is for iOS devices only, which would preclude the P4P+.

Thanks Cretacean.  That explains why I couldn't find it on the device itself !

Cheers

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-28 18:18
Howdy Cetacean (that's we say in the south),

I read those same comments and they have definitely shaped my attitude on shooting drone video of any mammal or animal. I think I can safely say that the presence of my drone did not result in any hardship and I will now on be extremely cognizant of how those in the wild are reacting to the drone.

Howdy Cetacean (that's we say in the south),


......  or "G'day" from Oz !

Dennis D Posted at 2018-9-28 18:18
Howdy Cetacean (that's we say in the south),

I read those same comments and they have definitely shaped my attitude on shooting drone video of any mammal or animal. I think I can safely say that the presence of my drone did not result in any hardship and I will now on be extremely cognizant of how those in the wild are reacting to the drone.

Aloha Dennis,

     Here is one that will bend your mind a little bit.  Elephants are scared, really scared, of bees.  Our quadcopters sound like a swarm of bees.  The ears of elephants are very sensitive to sound at any distance and our quads spook them and freak them out.  If I had not read the research and seen evidence in videos on this Forum, I would have never believed it.  Some countries that are having issues with elephants have started using bee hives as deterrent strategies.

     You never know how what we do will affect those we share space with.  I am constantly amazed.

Aloha and Drone On!

Mark Weiss Posted at 2018-9-28 13:42
The NOAA had better check with the FAA, because last I heard, drones are not allowed to fly above 400 feet altitude. So basically this rule by the NOAA is a roundabout way of banning drone photography.

Aloha Mark,

     Very good point!  The guideline was written in a manner totally oblivious to the FAA regulations.  Hmm, interesting.  Mahalo for bringing that to my attention.

Aloha and Drone On!