Every time we see the photos taken from the sky view, we feel very overwhelmed, don't we? We are often attracted by this unique perspective. Therefore, many photography enthusiasts want to have their own drones. To take pictures of the vast beauty of the city, ancient town, and hometown. Before shooting, it is very important to buy a drone that suits you. This article is a quick guide to drones.
1. What is a drone? Its beauty can shock your vision...
Unmanned aerial vehicles, "UAV" for short, are also known as "drones". It is a kind of unmanned aircraft, which mainly uses radio remote control equipment and self-provided program control device to control the flight of the device. Some drones use computers to intermittently or completely control the flight. On the Qixi Festival (July 7 in lunar calendar, the Chinese version of Valentine's Day) of 2018, some held a drone light show in Changsha city of central China. 777 drones flew in the air at the same time, changing different shapes and styles, flashing different lights, and it was amazing, as shown below.
2. Learn about the types of drones and compare similar products before buying
UAVs can be divided into military and civilian use according to their application fields. Civil UAVs are shown in Figure 1-3. If distinguished from the technical point of view of unmanned aerial vehicle, it can be divided into unmanned helicopter, unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned multi-rotor aircraft, unmanned airship, unmanned para-wing aircraft, and so on. UAVs dedicated to photography like the DJI series, such as the DJI Phantom series and Mavic series, are unmanned multi-rotor drones for civilian use.
DJI has 3 series of drones that are deeply loved by users, namely the DJI Phantom series, DJI Mavic series and DJI Inspire series, each series Each has its own characteristics. The DJI Mavic series is light and easy to carry. The folding structure design makes the machine take up less space. It can be accommodated even in the corner of the bag; the DJI Phantom series is a mid-range half Professional drones, with strong wind resistance and good shooting quality, are mainly used by many general aerial photography practitioners and in-depth aerial photography enthusiasts, as shown in Figure 1-4; the DJI Inspire series of drones The body is deformable and supports dual controls. The camera can be rotated independently, and the picture control is more precise. The highest-level X7 gimbal carries an APC frame sensor, which can shoot lossless DNG format video with excellent picture quality and is suitable for professional film and television aerial photography.
Although the three series introduced above are well-loved by users, the DJI Mavic series is the most popular. Therefore, in the following subsections, we will focus on the "Mavic" series.
3. Why is the Mavic series so popular?
I started with the DJI Phantom 2 and used Phantom 3, Phantom 4, and 4P. Every time I go out with a big bag, it is almost impossible to carry other equipment except for drones and necessary batteries and other accessories. The folding frame structure of the DJI Mavic series shocked the aerial photography circle from the moment it appeared, and can accommodate a drone design to such a small size. Although the size of the DJI Mavic has been reduced, the image quality has not been reduced. DJI's Mavic series drones can shoot 4K resolution video, 12 to 20 million pixel lossless DNG photos, with clear image quality, which can meet most shooting needs.
The Mavic series is further subdivided into multiple sub-series such as Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, and Mavic 2. The appearance of the two models is the same except for the camera. The Mavic 2 zoom version of the camera carries a 1/2.3 inch photosensitive chip, and the lens can perform optical zoom during aerial photography, with a focal length ranging from 24mm to 48mm. Although the lens of the Mavic 2 Professional Edition can't zoom, it carries a 1-inch Hasselblad sensor. The pixels are higher when taking photos and the quality of night scene photos is better. In terms of price, the Mavic 2 Professional The more expensive version is more popular with aerial photography enthusiasts.
I have used many drones. The Mavic 2 is very suitable for photography enthusiasts, especially users who like to travel. If the price is acceptable, you can start with a Mavic 2 professional drone.
4. How to choose a drone that suits you and is cost-effective
When buying a drone, cost performance and practicality are very important. The performance, function and focus of each UAV are different. You must first choose the most suitable UAV according to your purpose.
For novices in the field of aerial photography, it is recommended to buy a drone named Tello under the banner of DJI, practice the feel and flight movements, and master the basic flying skills of the drone. Novice bombers often happen. If the movement and direction of the flight are not well mastered, it is easy to make mistakes and bomb the aircraft. Therefore, you can buy a cheap drone and practice first. Even if it breaks, it won't be too distressed. After you have mastered some flying skills, you can buy a slightly better drone, so you have the basic technical guarantee.
For photography enthusiasts, if you have a certain level of photography and enter the field of aerial photography in order to expand your professional skills, you can buy DJI's "Phantom" series or "Mavic" series, these two series They are all suitable. In terms of portability, the Mavic series is more suitable for outings because it is lightweight and does not take up space, which is also the first choice for most photographers.
Professional photographers in films, TV series, commercials and other fields can choose to purchase DJI's "Inspire" series. This drone is more powerful and can be deformed like a robot. When shooting, the drone frame rises, giving the lower camera a full range of rotation shooting space. Inspire 2 provides dual remote control and a separate front FPV camera. The pilot can directly watch the FPV front camera screen while flying, while the gimbal can watch the camera screen to control the camera's rotation. Inspire 2 can shoot up to 6K lossless DNG format video, even if it is shot in low light environment, it can also achieve good image quality, which is very suitable for professional film and television and high-demand video creators.
5. Precautions for buying drones, this will suffer if you don't know
When we determine which type of drone to buy, we must also understand the technical parameters of this drone, such as the stability of the aircraft, flight speed, remote control distance, camera focal length, camera and video resolution, etc. , These parameters have reference significance for us to buy drones. These parameters are generally available on the official website of DJI, and will not be explained here.
Before purchasing a drone, you must also know what accessories the drone has. When inspecting the goods, check whether the received accessories and items are complete. I bought a Mavic 2 drone before, and found that a USB adapter was missing when I received the goods. Finally, I asked the merchant to reissue it in time. The same small accessories may not be worth much, but it is not worthwhile to spend time to buy when you need them, and it takes time and effort, so all the necessary items must be checked.
After receiving the UAV, it is also necessary to conduct a flight test as soon as possible to check the flight performance, the photography and camera functions, and so on. The author once encountered a situation where the compass of the Phantom 4P could not be calibrated. After many attempts, it still didn't work. Later, DJI directly replaced me with a new one.
6. Could it be illegal to play drones? Let's take a look at this first
Since 2017, drone "black flying" incidents have occurred in Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming and other airports, and multiple drones have invaded the airport clearance protection area, causing multiple flight delays and forced descents, which seriously affected air transportation flights. Safety.
After that, DJI updated the no-fly zone, and real-name registration was required to purchase drones. Therefore, before flying, we must understand the drone's flight restrictions and restricted areas. The restricted-flying area can be queried on the DJI UAV, and the UAV cannot unlock the motor to take off after positioning in this type of area.
People often take drones abroad for aerial photography. It should be noted that most European and American countries are banned from flying in urban areas, and national parks in the United States are also banned. Everyone must check clearly, so as not to accidentally violate the law and Tianjin regulations, the consequences are very serious. The less serious case may be the confiscation of the drone or a high fine; the more serious case will be subject to criminal detention or even conviction.
When the UAV is close to the restricted area, its performance will be affected to different degrees. For example, the flying speed of the UAV will be reduced, related flight operations will not be possible, and the flight operations being performed will be suspended. If you want to take off a drone in an unfamiliar city, you must first check whether it belongs to a restricted-flying area. It can be easily inquired through the mobile App, the method is as follows.
