Mavic high altude and low temperature flight
3013 27 2016-11-23
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WolfgangStiller
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I have been flying the heck out of my new Mavic since I received it less than a week ago. It has been flawless and performs amazingly.  It's a total game-changer for me since filming in remote mountain locations is my thing.  This was my high altitude and cold temperature testof the Mavic. This was taken just above 14,000 ft msl (4267 meters) below the summit of Mt. Democrat in Colorado. I wasn't really going for good video and was mostly testing out the DJI Mavic to see how it would perform at 15 degrees F (-9 centigrade) and 14,000 elevation (it was amazingly stable). The Mavic was very stable so you'd have no clue that it was flying in a somewhat gusty wind based on the video. I ran it through Power Director to pull out the clip and add some music but other than that it was raw footage with the default video settings on the Mavic. I am still learning but I am delighted at how well this performs. I kept the Mavic, cell phone, and controller warm inside my pack and used the formed materials from the orginal Mavic retail box to protect the quad and the controller.  A warmed up gel pack and a down jacket kept everything warm on the eight hour hike.  Once the Mavic started flying at the low temps it generates its own heat so it was still reasonably warm when it landed.





2016-11-23
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Great_Cookie
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Great video there! I'm constantly amazed at how stable the Mavic is under various conditions.

Think it's fairly safe to say you've won the award for the "Max Take-off Altitude" for the Mavic thus far.
2016-11-23
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WolfgangStiller
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Great_Cookie Posted at 2016-11-23 19:39
Great video there! I'm constantly amazed at how stable the Mavic is under various conditions.

Think ...

I would be surprised if someone hasn't beaten me on the high altitude.  I could go almost another 800 meters high before hitting the 5,000 meter service ceiling.
2016-11-23
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Mooney
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Did you happen to test max forward speed in Sport mode?  I'll bet you would have seen a 20% increase over sea level.
2016-11-23
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WolfgangStiller
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Mooney Posted at 2016-11-23 20:09
Did you happen to test max forward speed in Sport mode?  I'll bet you would have seen a 20% increase ...

I did a brief sport mode flight but I didn't notice the speed.
2016-11-23
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sanuk
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Australia
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Beautiful location. And the little Mavic seems to be performing well!

But I'm puzzled why you didn't go to the peak of the mountain, and then pan around.  

I know you are just testing things out, but in that spirit I would suggest that you practice panning much more slowly, and try to move across the scene more consistently in future shoots.
2016-11-23
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stealle
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sanuk Posted at 2016-11-24 00:03
Beautiful location. And the little Mavic seems to be performing well!

But I'm puzzled why you didn' ...

I'm sure he realizes all of that and is just messing around.  I am thinking about using the settings in this video. It would really help to get smooth footage from the mavic:
2016-11-23
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WolfgangStiller
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sanuk Posted at 2016-11-23 22:03
Beautiful location. And the little Mavic seems to be performing well!

But I'm puzzled why you didn' ...

I did go the top but I couldn't create a flat landing spot. Since the wind was gusty I didn't feel comfortable with a hand launch/retrieval.  About 100 below was a broad flat area which I used.
2016-11-24
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WolfgangStiller
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Yeah, I wasn't really focusing on my videos so much as testing things out. I had only had the Mavic for four days at the time.  It would clearly have been much better with smoother panning and gimbal movements.  Still learning
2016-11-24
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Jake Phantom 3
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Great shots of the mountains. It looks like the perfect place to test the terrain follow. Did you test this feature while out there?
2016-11-24
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WolfgangStiller
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Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-11-24 07:18
Great shots of the mountains. It looks like the perfect place to test the terrain follow. Did you te ...

I did only a short test (about a minute or two) and it worked like a charm.
2016-11-24
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DaveAus
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Would be very interested in seeing how it goes on longer flights in low temp. Got a trip planned to new zealand at the end of the year and am wanting to fly above the glaciers.
2016-11-24
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0sarc0
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stealle Posted at 2016-11-24 13:25
I'm sure he realizes all of that and is just messing around.  I am thinking about using the settin ...

Thanks for posting this. Really helpful.
2016-11-24
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WolfgangStiller
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DaveAus Posted at 2016-11-24 14:00
Would be very interested in seeing how it goes on longer flights in low temp. Got a trip planned to  ...

Planning to head back above 14,000 feet again tomorrow. I'll likely do one longer flight rather than several shorter ones (still waiting on an additional battery...)
2016-11-24
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WolfgangStiller
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My wife just pulled a muscle so we'll be doing a more mellow hike tomorrow and not going above 14.   That said, since the Mavic generates heat and the battery gets warm, I don't see any issues with longer flights.
2016-11-24
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WolfgangStiller
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Stealle, That video provides a good starting place for settings. Thanks!
2016-11-25
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WolfgangStiller
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A follow up:  I didn't make it above 14,000 ft msl (Pikes Peak) but had to turn back just below 13,000 due to 50mph winds which were gusting higher.  No way, I was going to fly in those winds but did drop into the basin below Devil's Playground (just below 13,000 msl). The winds were more moderate there and I had miles of flat area so I decided to attempt a flight. Conditions were 8 degrees Fahrenheit (about -13 C) with a wind blowing about 20 to 25.  I had wrapped the Mavic (with battery in place) in a down jacket with 2 3m hot/cold gel packs inside my backpack.  The Mavic was still nice and warm when I unwrapped it after the 2.5 hour hike to this location.  It flew remarkably stable but was buffeted occasionally when the wind would do an extreme shift. I flew about 10 minutes and tried a number of maneuvers including a short Litchi waypoint mission. Overall, I would have had some good footage even under these conditions. (I left the clear dome on as a precaution since I was flying in questionable conditions and on top of that forgot to focus the camera....rookie mistake ).

Let me say, that I realize that flying in the mountains is risky. There is a much higher risk than normal that I may lose the Mavic but this is why I bought the Mavic and the risk is worth it to me.
2016-11-30
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canadianairborn
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Is it me or does the video seem to be blurry on the right side? Maybe I'm just seeing that because mine had that.
2016-11-30
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fschilder
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Thanks for this Wolfgang. Being in Canada, temps frequently go below 0C (the lower range stated in the manual) and I wasn't sure if the Mavic could be relied on if it gets colder. This test was valuable for me.
2016-11-30
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WolfgangStiller
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fschilder Posted at 2016-11-30 13:50
Thanks for this Wolfgang. Being in Canada, temps frequently go below 0C (the lower range stated in t ...

I think the key is to keep the battery warm before flight. Once it start flying the battery is essentially self warming.
2016-11-30
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fans302fcd3a
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canadianairborn Posted at 2016-11-30 21:24
Is it me or does the video seem to be blurry on the right side? Maybe I'm just seeing that because m ...

I can see it too. It IS blurry on the right side.
2016-11-30
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canadianairborn
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fans302fcd3a Posted at 2016-12-1 04:58
I can see it too. It IS blurry on the right side.

I just sent mine back for the same reason. Misaligned camera. It's too bad all these people are getting their mavic after waiting so long then have to send it back. I guess that's just the way it goes. I ain't complaining, i'll have my fun soon enough.
2016-11-30
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WolfgangStiller
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fans302fcd3a Posted at 2016-11-30 13:58
I can see it too. It IS blurry on the right side.

That may be me not focusing correctly but I'll run some tests to see if I have an issue.
2016-11-30
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WolfgangStiller
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WolfgangStiller Posted at 2016-11-30 19:08
That may be me not focusing correctly but I'll run some tests to see if I have an issue.

I determined my camera does have an issue. (Thanks! I really appreciate the heads up on this!)  I shot some additional videos and still shots and the focus is clearly off on the right side of the frame. It seems others have that problem. I have a call in to DJI for a warrantee return. It's going to kill me to be without my beloved Mavic for a while.
2016-12-3
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ReinertA
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Great video!
2016-12-3
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WolfgangStiller
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It took a little back and forth but my Mavic is on it's way back to DJI to get the camera fixed (I have a minor focus issue on the right side of all images).  I miss it already.
2016-12-6
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Heavysledz
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good luck on a speedy repair and turn around.
2016-12-6
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WolfgangStiller
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WolfgangStiller Posted at 2016-12-6 19:47
It took a little back and forth but my Mavic is on it's way back to DJI to get the camera fixed (I have a minor focus issue on the right side of all images).  I miss it already.

Got the Mavic back (same drone with a fixed or new camera) very quickly. It took the repair facility less than 48 hours from arrival time to fix, test, and return the Mavic.  Got it back and it's working perfectly. Really impressed--great service!
2016-12-25
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