Hi all,

I took the Air3 out for it's maiden flight this morning. It was lots of fun and I ran for around 30 mins it seems....


I just saw this video on the Mini 3 Pro and was wondering if the Air3 had a similar capability using the Pro controller? There is only one USB-C port on the controller so will the Mic2 work with that I wonder? It just sounds like a great way to do narration I feel.




After seeing this posting: https://forum.dji.com/thread-297395-1-1.html

I was curious as to what the Air3 would actually get for me and my use case....



Still struggling to find out what is allowed and what isn't allowed despite now working on the A2 certification intrinsic to my locale. Just uploaded a video to my GDrive though I probably have violated many things I guess?? Sigh!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/ ... view?usp=drive_link
[EDIT] Previous link was not open access so permissions have been fixed

I shot in Nightmode using HLG as described per the above forum post.


Though I must admit that it is a little worrying when someone drives up to you at 1am in the morning when you are out in the middle of nowhere trying to keep clear of buildings and people and anywhere else that you would potentially be considered interfering with. I basically landed packed up, and especially locked my doors to be safe, then moved on as I didn't feel comfortable!


But what I can take away from the experience is that I need loads of practice... just not sure how easy it is to get without international travel and locations that are more drone friendly?

Going over the content of my own video, it looks really noisy and almost blocky at times....

Is this normal for the light available or I wonder if the video from @dalethrip was post processed with denoiser and LUTs or was it straight out of the camera?

Basically how to get content looking -that good-?

Now this is interesting. I have a Mini 3 Pro with the RC, so I think I could do this.
Fun fact, he is talking about syncing audio and video in post but failed to do so in his first walking shot.

Montfrooij Posted at 3-21 10:12
Now this is interesting. I have a Mini 3 Pro with the RC, so I think I could do this.
Fun fact, he is talking about syncing audio and video in post but failed to do so in his first walking shot.

I think I got the controller wrong as the Air3 that I have has the RC2 if I'm correct.... sorry too much going on at the moment

What is discussed is basically plugging the DJI Mic into the USB transfer port rather then the charging port - it seems...?

Then all you have to do is just do a screen record while talking.

I will be getting a Mic2 soon, it is on order so I can play around with it then.

Sync'ing in post shouldn't be too much hassle unless there is latency or lag in the audio from the Mic1/2?
Then you just need to fudge things till they are in sync..... either using a video editing software or audio editing software like ProTools or Ardour.

I have lots of experimentation to do but I have no idea if my parts will arrive before I head up to the north country.....

kayasaman Posted at 3-21 10:28
I think I got the controller wrong as the Air3 that I have has the RC2 if I'm correct.... sorry too much going on at the moment

What is discussed is basically plugging the DJI Mic into the USB transfer port rather then the charging port - it seems...?

I'm thinking about either getting a Pocket 3 creator combo (which does only have a transmitter). I feel that will be enough, but maybe I'll go for the simple package and add a Mic 2 (1Transmitter package).

Syncing is not difficult, but you have to do it correctly (he explains how, but failed to do it himself)

Montfrooij Posted at 3-21 10:30
I'm thinking about either getting a Pocket 3 creator combo (which does only have a transmitter). I feel that will be enough, but maybe I'll go for the simple package and add a Mic 2 (1Transmitter package).

Syncing is not difficult, but you have to do it correctly (he explains how, but failed to do it himself)

Actually for me the Pocket3 full package is on order... I wonder if that's the 'creator combo'?

It basically is the one that comes with everything.

I need to also understand how to sync my various DJI cameras now.... they have a timecode embed function though I'm not sure what type of timecode it is.... definitely not SMTPE I think......
I have read that you need to sync them all to a phone first which probably syncs the system time provided by NTP over cellular connection then use the "real world" time stamp?
- this would be for both audio and video of different cameras like if you recorded the Action4 and Pocket3 together, then you use say the A4 as an ambient track while using the P3 for narration or so....

kayasaman Posted at 3-21 11:04
Actually for me the Pocket3 full package is on order... I wonder if that's the 'creator combo'?

It basically is the one that comes with everything.

Yeah, that's the one.
I am not familiar with time code. I just use the slate technique.
So I make sure all my microphones pick up a sharp transient (clap or something) and use that to align the files in post.

Montfrooij Posted at 3-21 11:08
Yeah, that's the one.
I am not familiar with time code. I just use the slate technique.
So I make sure all my microphones pick up a sharp transient (clap or something) and use that to align the files in post.

Easiest way to do it.... :-)

Unless you're shooting a large budget blockbuster or something, sometimes practical solutions are the best

kayasaman Posted at 3-21 11:15
Easiest way to do it.... :-)

Unless you're shooting a large budget blockbuster or something, sometimes practical solutions are the best

Indeed.
I usually have a maximum of 3 files I need to combine. (2x camera, 1x mic or recorded music)

Montfrooij Posted at 3-21 11:31
Indeed.
I usually have a maximum of 3 files I need to combine. (2x camera, 1x mic or recorded music)

Agreed....

I'm accustom to audio editing but very new to video editing so recently when I got to try out my Action4 for a vblog style scenario it was really difficult to balance things in the image domain. I do photography too but this was way different as the lighting can change dramatically between scenes then getting the most out of the recorded video becomes challenging.

Just compiling things now in fact and almost done.... after around 4.5 hours of rendering. Then I'll start working on the audio. The A4's mics aren't bad by any means but they are prone to wind noise and thudding with nothing to attenuate the low frequencies....

Let's see what happens..... :-)

kayasaman Posted at 3-21 11:37
Agreed....

I'm accustom to audio editing but very new to video editing so recently when I got to try out my Action4 for a vblog style scenario it was really difficult to balance things in the image domain. I do photography too but this was way different as the lighting can change dramatically between scenes then getting the most out of the recorded video becomes challenging.

Yeah, it's another world for sure.
I grew up with hobby cameras around me, so I have found out myself how I want to use them. (learning by doing)
And music making too. Played in some bands and still do.
And I have a small synth setup at home where I record videos.
This is my last video. No talking in this one as my mic is in the rehearsal room (and I feel these type of videos work best with captions so you don't get distracted by my voice)


So I'm not very good at something, but I know a bit of everything.
Which can help sometimes

Montfrooij Posted at 3-21 23:37
Yeah, it's another world for sure.
I grew up with hobby cameras around me, so I have found out myself how I want to use them. (learning by doing)
And music making too. Played in some bands and still do.

Wow!! That is a really cool setup.....

Lots of analog synths there. Unfortunately my studio is all in boxes now but mainly all digital stuff with the nearest thing to analog being the Novation Nova desktop synth which uses modelling.

I bet you make your own soundtracks to drone videos. Well, if you have the equipment and talent and time then it's better then using 'ready made' content any day.

I just finished up my video using the Action4; first ever vlog style thing. I extracted the audio and then whacked some compression and parametric EQ on it to cut out the low end 'rumble' and boost the speech a bit.
Hopefully will improve further when the Mic2 arrives....



Word of warning though.... please don't laugh haha

fansde3165ee Posted at 3-22 06:23
Wow!! That is a really cool setup.....

Lots of analog synths there. Unfortunately my studio is all in boxes now but mainly all digital stuff with the nearest thing to analog being the Novation Nova desktop synth which uses modelling.

Yeah, I'm feeling fortunate every time I turn those on
And yes, I always make my own backing tracks.
Double the fun (just takes a lot more time)

Oh wow, that is quite a lengthy video.
The audio feels good enough, but I'm not sure if the video is not too bouncy / shaky etc. to keep watching for a longer period of time.
I'm probably not the targeted audience, but I think it needs some work on getting nice stable shots and probably keeping it max 10 minutes or something.
A Pocket could do this, but it's quite tiresome to hold super steady when walking (ninja walking is needed for that).  

This is somewhat in the direction of a 'walking' video done with the Pocket 2 when I was out with my sister, nephew and daughter.
It's a different style, but you can see how relatively stable the walking shots are.
Speeding the footage down 50% helped a lot, but the ninja walk helps a lot too (bending your knees while walking, keeping your hips as much on the same height as possible).

Montfrooij Posted at 3-22 08:12
Yeah, I'm feeling fortunate every time I turn those on
And yes, I always make my own backing tracks.
Double the fun (just takes a lot more time)

Yeah... that's super stable!!

I had the Action4 mounted on my head using a Telsin headband mount and used 1/50 frame rate with 1/1000 or higher shutter as I didn't put any ND filter on the camera.

I also had RockSteady+ turned on which might have contributed?

Lots to learn... it's my first one so can't get right there and then especially with no experience.

I need to start thinking about many things and hopefully that will come over time and from everyone's advice :-) :-)

ps. I really appreciate the input you're giving!!

fansde3165ee Posted at 3-22 08:21
Yeah... that's super stable!!

I had the Action4 mounted on my head using a Telsin headband mount and used 1/50 frame rate with 1/1000 or higher shutter as I didn't put any ND filter on the camera.

Yeah, it's a never ending journey of learning
Love it!