Cheers@Weathercam. I have to admit, while it's been cool to get some decent videos and photos using this method, it has a big effect on my enjoyment of the ride. I remove the sticks and put the controller either in the top of my pack or down the front of my jacket (held up by the waist strap of my pack). While I've never actually had a problem, you're very aware that any accidental control inputs could easily cause the drone to crash or to fly out of range, especially if you were to take a fall. On top of that, you feel under pressure to ride the line as quickly as possible, both to look half-decent on video and to reduce the risk of the drone battery running low.
When you're riding challenging terrain and are maybe already a little stressed, the extra stress and the disruption of your focus really doesn't help. I've been unhappy with my own riding at times this winter (I may have been out as many as 100 days, but I've probably done fewer turns than I'd normally do in the first couple of weeks and I've really been feeling like I'm struggling for flow at times) and could really do without the distraction. Not getting to be insta-famous aside, it's a lot more fun to film a friend riding, then pack the drone away and enjoy the line yourself. Or claim that you need to go down first "to get a better angle"....
It would be really good to be able to lock the controller, so that no inputs are sent to the drone at all until you unlock it. That way you could put it away in your pack and forget about it. Seems like an obvious and easy-to-implement feature, but I guess I can see safety reasons not to have it. There are stick-lockers available from 3rd parties which physically block the sticks, but that still doesn't really solve the problem as jostling the controller could still easily trigger the return-to-home or auto-land commands or, god forbid, stop recording....
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@stevomcd, really nice video!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
kitenski wrote:
bit of an epic fail from DJI Air 2S Active Track system!! 8 mins is probably the most interesting bit!
Thanks for that. No doubt the cold and polluted canal water makes him speak like Donald Duck. He lost his GoPro 9 diving to retrieve his dead DJI, an expensive day.
@stevomcd
Great video! Now dji 2s with 5k, and everybody expect mavic 3 to be 6k or 8k, so the panning will be more practical in term of field of view.
I had fly away case with dji spark, few years ago, I opened case with dji, uploaded all logs and surprisingly they sent me replacement (this all took about 2 months).
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@WASHOUT,
You may wish to check things furst, as cat skiing operators may not allow you to fly drones in their area. I've seen signs in USA or Canadian ski areas saying that their use isn't permitted.
Good point bergmeister. Tbh I think its more faff than worth but the trip would most likely be Eastern Europe so I would think less red tape there than north America.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Bergmeister wrote:
... You may wish to check things furst, as cat skiing operators may not allow you to fly drones in their area. ...
Covered on page one in detail.
After all it is free
After all it is free
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
BobinCH wrote:
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
I had this exact fault with my Mavic Air after a takeoff from a salty and dry car park - it was dust getting into the motors, I sprayed sparingly with compressed air and must have released the debris.
Mavic now back to normal but it took some time for me to get my confidence back in the drone.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Grinning wrote:
BobinCH wrote:
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
I had this exact fault with my Mavic Air after a takeoff from a salty and dry car park - it was dust getting into the motors, I sprayed sparingly with compressed air and must have released the debris.
Mavic now back to normal but it took some time for me to get my confidence back in the drone.
Thanks for the tip. Shouldn’t be too dusty as has only been out in the snow recently but will try with the missus hairdryer. I knew there must be a good use for that overpriced Dyson
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
two years later and where are we?
Skydio have exited the market and DJI still hasn't got follow me to work well.
So I decided to play around with the HoverAir X1. A pocket sized (will fit in the back of a road cycling jersey) 125 gram drone. It is aimed at Vloggers to get a few extra establishing shots but using AI it will follow you around like a love sick puppy.
The drone ditches nearly all the intelligence of the DJIs to focus purely on tracking the subject. From getting it out of your pocket and getting it into the air takes a few seconds. There is no GPS, just a lidar to maintain ground altitude. There is also no collision avoidance, it relies on following you closely enough to not need it.
Will it work for skiing? possibly not given it is limited to 25kph top speed but decomplexifying everything seems like a good idea.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@davidof, that drone looks great! I reckon it'd be fine for off-piste skiing at 25kmh and a minimum of faff compared to my DJI Mini 2.
Hopefully the snow gods will be generous this year and we'll find out!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Yeah I saw the reviews of that HoverAir x1. Not bad, for what it is. Perhaps there's a future in that, but I still reckon it'd fail fast in a typical BC forest. But then most skiers will fail too, so there's that The footage is stabilized on the skier, so the background moves side to side as you watch it. It would I think benefit from external stabilization in post production, as you really want the skier to be moving left-right, not the background.
A 4k thing which was that easy to use may be... more useful/ less faff. One with a 360 camera would be better still.
Can't say I'm terribly surprised this is taking a while. Still, I took rides in Waymo driverless taxis the other week, and if we can do that... this is only a matter of time.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Yes, it is clearly another step towards the ideal follow me drone but I think a step in the right direction of less complexity of sensors. If they can do some avoidance via the camera it would be interesting for people in the woods.
I think that is probably showing the way these will go though. One of those with more obstacle avoidance and you'd be set, kind of. Add a 360 camera and you get more interesting shots from post production. You'll need a lot of obstacle avoidance to follow a snowboarder through a forest though - it's harder than following the bike down a relatively straight track.
Still, maybe I should get one of those instead of a DJI mini 4 or whatever it is that comes out tomorrow.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
phil_w wrote:
You'll need a lot of obstacle avoidance to follow a snowboarder through a forest though - it's harder than following the bike down a relatively straight track.
.
Yes, I doubt it is up to that. We'll need to wait for winter to see some more onsnow footage, I've only seen 1 real video with the X1.
I've always been frustated with the faff factor of the DJI drones.
I'm going to test your idea of stabilizing the X1 footage in post.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I found this Gamekeepers Gallows of dead drones out in the Tre Cime area of the Dolomites last week.
They are not allowed in the National Park areas in Italy, I don't know if they were shot or died of natural causes, so watch out dronesters.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
What does the sign say? I can see "Do not fly in the National Park" at the bottom
DONT fly with the drone in the Natural Park Tre Cime because th noisy and dangerous when flown close to the mountains
These drones CRASHED while flying and now they add to the trash behind in the mountains. These contain toxic materials, such as lit they pollute the mountains with plastic and toxic metals.
DON'T FLY IN THE NATIONAL PARK, as it is forbidden!
Please respect the rules-nature is a marvellous good we have and
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
The footage is stabilized on the skier, so the background moves side to side as you watch it. It would I think benefit from external stabilization in post production, as you really want the skier to be moving left-right, not the background.
