Stevieob
lvl.2
Flight distance : 8287 ft
Ireland
Offline
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Well I’ve never had a drone before but fancied the idea for a while now, especially as I was on holiday. But it was only with a with a few days left when I managed to pick one up for about €330 in Dubai. Since then I realise now what the Fly more bundle brings to the table and already I regret not getting one of them. But I think I got a pretty good deal and there was actually no bundles to be found that day in any of the shops I visited.
I immediately tried to sign up here, but unfortunately there were technical issues with the site, so I wasn't able to get my questions in before now so I was really totally winging it!
I soon realised that I made a rookie mistake of not getting an SD card so I thought I wouldn't be able to take pictures or video. I took to the sky anyway the following morning as I was keen to try it out before heading back out to the shops for the SD card. I actually looked for a remote but nobody had them in stock. I got a SanDisk Extreme 64 GB. What are peoples thoughts on that? I think that should be more than good enough. However I subsequently realised that it did appear to save the video to my phone from the first couple of flights I did. I haven't had a chance to really play around with all the footage I took yet, but the quality seems pretty good. Is it really much better straight from the SD card? What does the SD card offer you over just using your phone?
So a couple of beginner flights later and my first obsevations are that I found it really easy to use as a first timer. I found it difficult to see the screen on my phone with the sun. 2 small flights, nearly 4 minutes and then 6:30 and started to get a warning of low battery...... I was about to land it anyway but I don't believe the claim of 16 minutes, I think 12 is a fairer number. I think the battery drains very quick as soon as you power it on, so being a beginner I needed to power it on and start to get a feel for it before taking to the sky, so powere was well down before lift off each time. I do regret not picking up the bundle. Battery life is pretty poor, but that’s fine I’m sure, that’s just what it is. The problem is, first time flying, you want and need to muck around with it a good bit to get the hang of it, so having to charge the battery after every 15 minutes is a pita and results in slow learning.
Of course having to charge it up meant I watched a few YouTube videos. I figured I would try the Active track mode with the kids but it was not great. It didn't work very well and half way through circling them as they were standing still it just stopped and my phone lost connection with the drone (I was within 50 yards and it was not high at all) and I actually had it hovering over the sea so I was bricking it for a minute! Luckily connection restored and I was able to fly it back in. It did loose connection a few times though and week or poor connections.... and I was standing right underneath it.
Also, during my active track flight, half way through, I realised I had forgotten to hit the record button. So no video saved anywhere, not even on the phone. I thought it was supposed to cache somewhere? Can anyone help me find my footage or is it never to be found? I notice also I'm pretty sure I took a few pictures that don't appear to have saved to my phone. Hoping they are on the SD card. I need to unpack still so once I do, I'll put together a video of my footage and put it up here.
I find the app a bit flawed as it seems to default to Mavic Air and connection to the Spark is slow and doesn't happen automatically, I have to go into my wifi settings and link it up.
I’ve also just downloaded the software to my iPad (as I see a lot on YouTube seem to use that over a phone) so that might be easier to use for navigation as I found the phone a bit jumpy. It was easier after a few goes, but the small screen doesn't help for smooth movement. I'm sure the only way to combat that is a remote so I'm definately gonna keep my eye out for a one and spare battery.... or even 2. Does anyone know if they do the fly more bundle separate to the drone at all?
Speaking of the iPad, I tried to sync my flight records but it only synced my experience points, no flight records synced at all. Why would that be?
Another thing that I find odd is that the simulator thing looks pretty cool, but I can't just try it out ... I have to connect up the Spark first ... what is the logic behind that? would be ideal to try the simulator while the battery is charging, or of a dark evening sitting on the couch.
I noticed once or twice my screen froze, so would I be correct in presuming that the video on the SD card wouln't actually freeze in these instances?
Finally any tips for a newbie? |
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