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Spark in Sport Mode

Budmancan

Member
Join
May 31, 2017
Messages
7
Age
70
Just finished flying my new Spark in Sport Mode and it's awesome. It seems much quicker and responsive compared to my Mavic.

No question the Mavic is far superior for video footage. But the Spark is more fun to just fly.
 
It does! The gimbal "sway" or whatever it's called is distracting compared to Mavic, but with a little "help" it's alleviated.
 
It begs to be taken for a flight, and it is so sturdy, stable, and fun! When people notice it finally after hearing it first, they smile. I think it's less obvious that this little thing is shooting video or photos, as it looks like it's just having fun. It's perfect for flying where a larger drone would intimidate people.
 
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Up until today I really didn't see any real benefit to sport mode for me. To me it was just a fun mode with no real useful value. I take mostly photos with my Spark and don't use the Intelligent flight modes - haven't even tried any of them but eventually will. I had tried sport mode just briefly before but just for a brief time.

Today, it was a beautiful sunny day for a change, but it was windy with wind gusts and I usually would not fly on a day like today - I usually fly my Spark on days with light wind or no wind. I launched my Spark in P mode and flew it around nearby and not too high so that I could get a feel for the conditions. It handled fine but it was being bumped around by the wind gusts and would loose or gain altitude every time a strong gust hit it - not ideal conditions for taking sharp photos. After changing batteries I launched and tried Sport mode. Wow! What a difference in the wind it makes! Like I expected, it was more responsive but what I didn't expect was how much more stable it was in the wind gusts and it seemed to be able to hover better. I even felt confident enough to take it up a bit higher where it would have been even more windy and it performed great.

The Spark in sport mode seems to be more stable than my Phantom 3 Standard, which does not have sport mode, in strong wind gusts. This was a surprise to me given how much larger and heavier the P3S is.

So, now I am thinking that I will be able to use sport mode on gusty days (within reason) to get out to where I want to take my photos and then use it to get back, whereas with the normal P mode the Spark might struggle more. We are planning a trip out to British Columbia in the summer and will be travelling along the coast where it will likely be windy most days. I am planning on taking the Spark and sport mode seems like it will give me more opportunities to get some good shots in less than ideal conditions.
 
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That will be a nice trip with stunning views, make sure to bring pictures [emoji111]
 
That will be a nice trip with stunning views, make sure to bring pictures [emoji111]
Yes, looking forward to it. I plan to practise more with my Spark on windy gusty days so that I will be ready for the conditions on the coast. I think I am learning to appreciate Sport mode more. It’s not just the gimmick I thought it was.
 
Today was the first time I flew in sport mode. I’m using a custom firmware running .0900 with modules 305, 306, and 905 from 0.0300 for super sport mode. Went down to the neighbors pasture to get a look at his cows from about 150 feet up. Decided to descend a bit for a closer look so I gave it a little bit of down stick. Next thing I know, I’m looking at dirt and dried grass out of the camera view on my iPhone! That thing must have come down so fast I bet it bounced! Luckily I was able to take off again and pilot it back home but I guess I have to get used to how fast you can come down in sport mode. It certainly is an eye opener after only flying in regular mode all the time.
 

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