Krissie Pearse
lvl.1
New Zealand
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So, I saw this advert on facebook, and well....
I tried to experience simplified flying, but the drone doesn't have an active tracking feature of any sort. This means that while cycling along, I need to have the controls strapped to the handlebars and fly as I ride, watching the drone and watching the footage simultaneously as I attempt to ride my bike and pilot the drone while keeping myself center frame. Needless to say, that's a bit too risky.
So I tried having someone else ride my bike, and being able to simultaneously control altitude, yaw and direction while watching the drone to avoid obstacles, and simultaneously keeping the subject in the center of the frame? Well, it's just not that simple, is it?
DJI needs to include at least a basic "keep the subject in the center of frame", if not some form of basic "track the object in the rectangle" if you're in any way serious about this being a "simplified" flight experience. As it stands, you have to be a pro pilot just to get simple shots that contain anything that actually moves at all.
Indeed, some manner of active tracking, or at least some form of active subject-centering, takes pressure off the pilot and allows more attention to be switched to other things... like, for example, flying the drone safely.
Now, while you wouldn't want to be looking over your shoulder all the time while walking through a forest to check that your drone isn't about to hit a tree, not every desirable simple shot involves taking video of yourself, and not every desirable simple shot involves not looking at your drone. Indeed, some countries have the not-exactly-insensible requirement that the drone be within the line (and extent) of sight of its pilot at all times.
So... yeah... this is not a simple flying experience unless all you want is the same old shots of people being still, or for that matter, no people at all. In actual fact, it's quite an advanced flying experience that requires a considerable amount of practice, by which time a competitor will have released a drone that isn't as difficult to use at the same price point.
Oh wait... they did. So I guess we're just waiting until DJI doesn't quite have the same reputation to trade on and a competitor picks up the slack. But surely they'd have to make some serious mistakes for that to happen?
Oh wait... they did. They released the Mavic Mini without something that even some toy drones have. (I assumed, and I shouldn't have. Never the less, I am a deeply unimpressed new DJI customer. I may be somebody elses customer soon, however.) |
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