Hello from Leeds

[Serhat]

Hello all,

This is Serhat from Leeds, UK. I live in city center and I don't drive so it was a bit tricky to get to country side and fly my drone. I didn't know there were many restrictions. Also the weather isn't the best here (wind and rain). That's why yy Spark was sleeping in a dark corner of my flat. Now I found this forum and I feel like it is time to brush of the dust and fly the little drone.

It is my first drone and I am amazed by the image stability, video quality and functions. However I have to admit being a drone pilot is harder than it seems. You need lots of practice. And your practice time is limited by fly time which is limeted by battery time which is, well, 12-15 mins per battery. I ve got a spare battery but it seems there is not enough amount of spare battery

When you write down the reasons not to have a drone it will be a long list. Then you go out, shoot a video in angles that are unthinkable of with your phone camera which puts a big stupid grin on your face. Then you understand the potencial, the possibilities of different angles, different footage you can shoot. The rest is practice and a little bir of dedication I guess.

What I'd like to learn more about Spark and in general about drone flying are
- How to maximise battery life
- Video capturing do and don'ts.
- Basic shooting techniques and best practices that I can put in to practice in generic situations. For example shooting on a beach, shooting at contryside, shooting on a mountain. I learn a lot about the drone when you try to mimic the camera angles of successful recordings.

Thanks.

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Spark 317]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Serhat.

Welcome to the Forum. ?

 

[Kendallfordguy]

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

[41Flyer]

Welcome from Dallas Texas!!

Shooting tips that were passed along to me:

• setup a youtube channel to post videos. become an internet sensation and get a million followers and get rich. (I am still working on that last part)
• start the video camera at take off and record the whole time. you never know what you will capture. once time in flight before thinking about the camera, some ducks flew by which was pretty cool.
• STOP your video before powering off or pulling the battery. Stopping the video makes it less likely that the video will be corrupted from closing incorrectly.
• Practice flying sideways and keeping your drone pointed at a target... like flying next to a train or road way.
• Practice rotating slowly. quick jerky movements left and right are often disappointing. The higher up you go, the better slow turns are for video capture.
• Practice hovering and moving the camera up and down
• Don't let anyone bully you about the content you post. you are shooting for you and if you circle your house and think that is cool, it is even if the rest of us fast forward over it. the more you practice, the sooner you will figure out what your fans like.
• Watch what other do. watching some polished videos inspire me to try things in my videos and when editing my content.

As I drive anywhere, I am always wondering what that patch of trees or stream/lake would look like from my drone at 100 feet.