Some other drones can have small problems with their cameras in cold weather (less than 10 Celsius) like the bebop 2 that will have a wacky AF. So what about the Spark? Can you pilot it at a snowy hill at 2500m altitude with an additional 50 to 150m meaning -5 to +2 Celsius without any impact on the video quality?
Spark and cold weather?
- Thread starter thewhatever
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The Spark camera is fixed focus, so that shouldn't be an issue. The main problem will be battery life and performance.
Battery life will be greatly reduced with cold batteries. That is just physics.
As well, when the drone detects a cold battery, it will "reduce propulsion power" in order to protect the longevity of the battery. This means you can't achieve full speed. So, don't even think of flying in wind. This is true for all DJI products since at least the Phantom3.
Battery life will be greatly reduced with cold batteries. That is just physics.
As well, when the drone detects a cold battery, it will "reduce propulsion power" in order to protect the longevity of the battery. This means you can't achieve full speed. So, don't even think of flying in wind. This is true for all DJI products since at least the Phantom3.
Sparkbart
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It’s not been cold enough for me to test my Spark in cold weather...YET... its coming. But I’ve flown my Inspire, Mavic, and Phantoms in temps as low as 19F. I’ve not had any issues with the camera or picture quality. I’m hoping my Spark performs as well.
At 19 degrees I’m too darn cold to stay out there for any length of time...
At 19 degrees I’m too darn cold to stay out there for any length of time...
I live in Montreal. Im trying to use my spark without any success on temperatures below 5 Celsius. The drone fly normally but the camera gets completely buggy giving me warnings like "camera sensor error", stopping the feed occasionally and video quality super reduced (vertical lines trough all the frame like old security cameras feed)... At this point I think it's a defective unit and I am going to contact DJI to see what they have to say.
( to be updated then)
( to be updated then)
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
I have been flying my Spark in cold weather as well. Today it was around -7ºC here in Barrie, Ontario. Since my Spark was just purchased at Christmas, all my flights have been in cold weather (btw 0º to -10ºC or colder). Today my camera worked fine but the gimbal did not. It was not very responsive and only tilted down to about 30º and wouldn't go anymore. Problem occurred in both DJI GO4 and Litchi so it is not a software issue. When I got home and the Spark had warmed up, the gimbal worked perfectly when it was sitting on a table. It was responsive and fluid. I think that the cold temps cause the gimbal to lock up. I have not got any gimbal/camera error messages in either GO4 or Litchi. The only error I got was a 360 pano timeout in GO4 probably because the Spark was having trouble changing the pitch on the camera due to the gimbal locking up. I also have a P3 Standard and I flew it today too. It seems to be able to deal with the cold better as there were no gimbal or camera problems at all.
Chris
Chris
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Can you give more details. Where are you flying and where do you launch from?
I think the problems I have had with the gimbal are associated with cold temps. All of my flights so far have been outside the recommended flying conditions since it is winter here and usually the temps are well below 0C. When I simulate flight indoors, I do not have any gimbal problems - the gimbal moves smoothly through the entire pitch range and there are no vertical jumps in the resulting video.
All my flights with my Spark have been in the middle of a frozen lake that I walked to with the Spark in my backpack or on a snowmobile trail I walked down. I do keep my batteries warm in a battery warmer but the Spark is not warmed up. I also have a P3 Standard and have flown it in colder weather than my Spark and the gimbal has behaved perfectly. I think the Spark gimbal is more sensitive to cold temps, hence the problems I have had. Regardless my Spark is still under warranty so if it is in fact a defect, I can send it in for repair.
Chris
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Nice video.
Did you shoot that video during the cold snap at beginning of Jan? We had tons of snow and just about lost all of it. It’s finally slowly coming back.
How are you keeping your fingers warm? My fingers usually get cold. I have gloves but they are too cumbersome during flight.
I’ll keep an eye on my gimbal for the next few flights and if I still have problems, I may have to send it in. I have done 4 videos in my house simulating flight (motors off) and the gimbal has been flawless.
Chris
Yep exactly during the cold snap 
are you local to me ?
I fly either from
a. in my car
b. inside my jacket, hands, controller, head etc.. lol
are you local to me ? I fly either from
a. in my car
b. inside my jacket, hands, controller, head etc.. lol
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Yep exactly during the cold snap
I fly either from
a. in my car
b. inside my jacket, hands, controller, head etc.. lol
I'm in Barrie, ON.
I walk out on the ice on Kempenfelt Bay or trails in nearby areas. Once we get enough snow back and the snowmobile trails open up again, I'll go out on my sled to some new launch locations.
Chris
How the heck do you cold park flyers keep the camera lens from fogging up, let alone foreign particles etc, I'd be nervous more about that, guess no finger prints will stick when that cold
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
The camera lens will only fog up if you go from cold to warm. Usually I’m done flying by then. Also, I always leave my Spark in its case and let it aclimatize to the inside temp first. I do the same with my P3 Standard and my DSLR.
Chris
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Since getting my Spark for Xmas all of my flights so far (22) have been in temps well below 0ºC. The average temp so far has been around -9ºC. Aside from the gimbal, I have had no problems. I think all of the problems I am having with my gimbal are due to the cold weather and flying outside of the recommended temperatures for the Spark. The range of pitch movement is affected - usually it won't pitch down to the lowest point (gets stuck somewhere in between) or there is a kind of jerky movement to the gimbal pitch. What I have found is that when I am hovering my Spark to warm it up, I turn it so I can watch the gimbal. I then pitch it all the way down and all the way up a few times. Usually it doesn't pitch all the way down at first but after a few tries it goes all the way down. I think that the cable that pitches the gimbal gets stiff in the cold and causes it to stick or not move as freely. When I have my Spark in the house (not flying) the gimbal pitches freely all the time. If I still have this problem in the spring when the warmer weather comes then I will know I have a hardware issue but at this time I think it is the cold weather.
One problem I haven't been able to figure out is that none of the pano modes in GO4 work. I get a linking cancelled due to timeout error. In Litchi, I have not had any problems with the pano mode and everything works as usual. Again, I am thinking my problem is related to cold weather flying, but if someone has any other ideas as to why the pano modes timeout in GO please chime in. Photos and videos seem to work fine.
Chris
One problem I haven't been able to figure out is that none of the pano modes in GO4 work. I get a linking cancelled due to timeout error. In Litchi, I have not had any problems with the pano mode and everything works as usual. Again, I am thinking my problem is related to cold weather flying, but if someone has any other ideas as to why the pano modes timeout in GO please chime in. Photos and videos seem to work fine.
Chris
Yesterday was flying in -7C in Finland In a windy weather. iPhone 8, otg connected. Warm battery from the pocket.
First it was ok, but remaining time was showing 17min, then 15:05 then 15:29 then 14:40 then 15:00. Was feeling nervous. Didn’t manage to make panorama. After 10 shots got “linking failed”. Also it showed the distance 40m, but it was near 200m in real.
First it was ok, but remaining time was showing 17min, then 15:05 then 15:29 then 14:40 then 15:00. Was feeling nervous. Didn’t manage to make panorama. After 10 shots got “linking failed”. Also it showed the distance 40m, but it was near 200m in real.
Starting to think there is a bug in DGI Go 4 that causes the remote to loose connection after taking a photo. As far as flying in the cold, -25 and zero issues. In fact haven't flown in weather above 32° ever. Not 1 issue with the spark gimble works fine, flight time is fine everything works as normal just my fingers freeze before I can get to my 3 4 5 6 batteries
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Since my gimbal pitch control works perfectly indoors I am inclined to think the cold weather is causing the odd problem. The other day I x-country skied out to an isolated abandoned settlement in cold weather (-10C). I launched my Spark in fairly heavy snowfall and did a 360 pano using Litchi. The Spark performed beautifully. Since I have been flying my Spark outside of recommended temperature range I don’t want to send it in, have them look at it and send it back saying there is nothing wrong - meanwhile wasting around 4 weeks. If I still have the pitch control problems in warmer temps then I will send it in.
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