First fine sunny flying day for a while!

Taken over Mill O Benholm, Scotland. Click on image to get interactive version

Litchi or what app?

gtokarsk Posted at 2016-5-1 04:37
Litchi or what app?

I used DJI Go and manually took the photos with around 25% overlap. Stitching app was Kolor Autopano Giga.

Awesome, a drone makes a perfect platform for this.  Is it possible to get more subtle control over the image when viewing?

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-1 12:58
Awesome, a drone makes a perfect platform for this.  Is it possible to get more subtle control over  ...

Thank you! I've got the same image up on Google Maps - the url is https://goo.gl/maps/pr77sH3AT4P2

Google's viewer is a bit friendlier to use.
Incidentally I just discovered today why there are so many fallen trees around the Mill in that image; Dutch Elm disease has taken hold

I have found that stitching software usually does not do well if you camera is pointed somewhat down, i guess because of perspective... but this is different as it's not your standard panorama. Pretty cool! Will have to give it a try!

oh heck! the one on google maps is good!

gtokarsk Posted at 2016-5-1 18:34
oh heck! the one on google maps is good!

That's very kind of you to say!

I wish I had a bit more resolution than the 12MP from the Phantom 4; 20-24MP would be nice just to give that bit more detail to zoom in on. It's time consuming but I feel the results are worthwhile and unlike a video or still, it can be explored to your heart's desire!

You might enjoy the St.Cyrus one at https://goo.gl/maps/PE8CTWz5nE52

Give aerial photospheres a try - they can be fun!

I need to get my google cardboard vr back out and give it a try again.. Yes, understand your point on res. but then again, even 2-3 years  ago, what you made was simply not achievable by any of us, mear mortals... it required so much more to produce! But yes, an optical zoom option on the dji cam would have been frigging nice! even if just 3x!Hmm.. I wonder if dmg format will have more detail than jpg? I think dmg has no, or very small compression ratio....
GT

davidson_g Posted at 2016-5-1 14:58
Thank you! I've got the same image up on Google Maps - the url is https://goo.gl/maps/pr77sH3AT4P2
...

Wow, the Google one's brilliant!  Must have a go at that.  I expect it takes a fair bit of planning to get a good result.  Not sure if it'll work well just after sunrise when I normally shoot though, with the speed shadows & light levels change at that time of day.

It's not good about the Dutch Elm disease.  I always assumed it had been & gone, but it seems it's still spreading north through Scotland.

gtokarsk Posted at 2016-5-1 19:57
I need to get my google cardboard vr back out and give it a try again.. Yes, understand your point o ...

Google cardboard may bring about some vertigo with the aerial shots, especially when looking down!
Drone technology and cost has made incredible advancements in the last few years. It was only last December that drones caught my  attention as a viable photography platform albeit the resolution needs a bump for still imagery.

Definitely use DNG (RAW) files; they allow details to be recovered in highlights and shadows to be recovered that would otherwise be lost in JPEG.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-1 20:16
Wow, the Google one's brilliant!  Must have a go at that.  I expect it takes a fair bit of plannin ...

Thank you!

My biggest headache, would you believe, is finding a location I can legally fly and have an interesting subject within range. Then there's the weather... sometimes cloud is welcome, sometimes not so much. An interesting problem with stitching when near the sea is that about half the horizon may contain no detail for the stitcher to detect overlapping parts. In this instance, clouds (even if they are moving) can make useful anchor points. This can mean altering the shooting pattern to get in as much of the moving stuff in as short a possible time.

I haven't had any trouble with shadows moving  on aerial images yet. If there were to be something with a shadow I was worried about, I'd be sure to get it all in one image so that I don't have moving shadows across the seams.

I think at sunrise, the biggest challenge would be the longer shutter speeds and the substantial change in exposure across the entire panorama.

I was contemplating getting a PfAW to open up access to more interesting locations but the overheads etc are a bit crippling for a hobby!

Graeme

davidson_g Posted at 2016-5-1 20:51
Thank you!

My biggest headache, would you believe, is finding a location I can legally fly and ha ...

I'm going through the same decision process regarding PfAW, but I'm not sure why you think it'll open up access...presumably so you can offer your services to private landowners?

There aren't many places in the UK where it's illegal to fly as such, once you're operating within CAA guidelines.  You're possibly more restricted if doing it for reward than for a hobby.

I know the National Trust don't want people flying from their land for example, supposedly because most hobbyists don't have adequate training or insurance, but it's a bit like wild camping in England, it's not legal, but it happens everywhere & no-one gets prosecuted, or even stopped.  I was even told by an NT park ranger they generally ignore it if there's no problem.  It's more a case of trying not to encourage it rather than actually preventing it.

I'm not sure under what laws you can be prosecuted for it either.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-1 21:24
I'm going through the same decision process regarding PfAW, but I'm not sure why you think it'll o ...

It's the 150m away from "congested areas" part of the regs that I'm finding an issue with. If I could get closer with care, it would certainly help. I live next to the sea and I'd love to get aerial images of the  coastal fishing villages which are generally at the foot of a hill. The ideal viewpoint is looking from the sea towards the village which would give an uncommon and interesting view. The view from the hill behind the village is essentially already "aerial" given its height.

I'd like to take such an image of my hometown but to abide by the regs, I can't work out how to do it as I can't get 150m away from the coast without a boat to start the flight. I also can't launch it further along the coast, and fly out 150m over the sea as I'd be more than 500m from the craft when it reaches the viewpoint. Also in the event of signal loss, RTH could bring the craft over the town.

This morning at low tide I was out on the coastal rocks with a laser rangefinder to see if I could get a rock far enough to launch from but it's not looking too promising unless we get a really low tide . It's frustrating to know I could launch from the outer harbour wall, go out 50m and be 150m away from buildings etc.

PfAW could make this legal to do but the administrative overheads seem disproportionate.

Oops - I've gone on about that a bit too much!

I'm perhaps being too paranoid but I know how quickly things can go wrong!

I saw a few posts regards National Trust properties lately which I found rather disheartening. I've no qualms asking for permission and choosing times when nobody is around but a blanket ban is a shame. I'm mulling over the idea of a tethered drone (Fotokite?) as photospheres are generally from a fixed point ovrehead and I wonder if the rules are somewhat more relaxed.

davidson_g Posted at 2016-5-1 22:07
It's the 150m away from "congested areas" part of the regs that I'm finding an issue with. If I cou ...

I think you can over-think the legalities.  I'm still unsure where the CAA rules stop & byelaws start with regards permission to take off etc. & what would happen if you broke a civil trespass law rather than CAA rules.  According to the NT you're not allowed to do any kind of commercial photography on their land, but in reality, everyone does it openly & as long as the usage isn't advertising they don't mind (that's on their land, not paid for entry properties).  I've sold many images to magazines as have many others.

FWIW, prices just dropped to £999 (from £1500) for the Icarus course by Aerial Motion Pictures, which is the one I'll be going for.  One of the good things about the course is you get a proper insight into what really matters.  That, & if you do get anything worthwhile, you can legally charge people for usage rights or even just prints.  Think large panoramic prints from unusual viewpoints for example.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-1 22:23
I think you can over-think the legalities.  I'm still unsure where the CAA rules stop & byelaws sta ...

I completely agree - the CAA regs are there to encourage safety by isolation for hobbyists and safety by training/responsibility/insurance for commercial operators. The distance/isolation part of the rules were always going to be tricky to define in a cast iron way as flying on the edge of a busy city is very different from skirting outside a quiet village. Personally I feel the flight can be made safely but if something were to go wrong with the craft...

In the event of a flyaway, it could go miles before coming down (could even get to the next village!) which makes the 150m separation rule rather moot!

The Icarus course sounds better value for money. Wish there were training centres in the Aberdeenshire area.