One of the reasons I had to get a bigger screen phone to see what was going on was I accidentally formatted the memory card. I did have some lovely footage of the windmill.
I took some yesterday on The Downs, but haven’t edited yet.
Droning drones
- Thread starter slowworm
- Start date
I took some yesterday on The Downs, but haven’t edited yet.
Here, field of dandelions.
Incidentally, this just came up on my screen in the app. I can’t fly until this is updated.
Can you get the drone to follow you as you walk along? Those shots always look interesting and it would good to have a birds eye perspective within a walking video.
Not this one, it doesn’t have a follow me mode. It’s slightly discouraged as it allows the operator to be doing other things rather than concentrate on what the drone is doing.
Mine will track a targeted area in the Quickshots mode. For instance, in the dandelion field I set it to fly a spiral around us.
Thats a bit disappointing - I would imagine for alot of people ( especially the more adventurous type ) that was probably a key function.
Are they writing this out of the code of the more modern drones then?
Maybe have to get me an old one.
No, not at all. Mine will track me in Quickshot mode only, so if I move then the camera follows me but the preset route (circle, spiral, rocket, boomerang) stays the same. So I could go speeding off on a bike whatever and the camera stays on me but the drone performs it’s preset pattern. I don’t know how far I can move before it loses track though, might be worth a test.
Many drones have a follow me mode, but the Mini 2 is tiny and obviously has to remain under 250g, and also within budget for casual operators who want really decent picture quality. The kit I have, with the Fly More bundle is already £549. That’s considered extremely good value for money, the more features and the prices get a lot higher quickly.
Thank you. Also, the Civil Aviation Authority is a very big deal indeed. They have a huge amount of law on their side and will prosecute successfully. Start messing around flying in protected airspace or get near other planes and there is no doubt the ‘ton of bricks’ applies to you.
@slowworm, I spoke to DroneSafe today and asked about your problem. The guy set up DroneSafe for the specific reason of keeping the flying of drones respectful and legal about 5yrs ago. He’s pretty annoyed how things are going, though pleased at the Jan 2021 law changes which both open up the hobby but also ask for a flyer ID test to be passed. It’s far from ideal, but you cannot own airspace in the same way you cannot ask your neighbours not to look out from upstairs into your garden.
Though the law is CAA, the CAA don’t have the structure and manpower to actually police illegal drone use and therefore aren’t too interested unless it occurs in restricted airspace. So it falls to the police, who treat it in much the same way as a nuisance neighbour as in you need to keep records of the events.
Can‘t post a vid without making it into a YouTube I think, but here’s a Halnaker pic from Tuesday.
Though the law is CAA, the CAA don’t have the structure and manpower to actually police illegal drone use and therefore aren’t too interested unless it occurs in restricted airspace. So it falls to the police, who treat it in much the same way as a nuisance neighbour as in you need to keep records of the events.
Can‘t post a vid without making it into a YouTube I think, but here’s a Halnaker pic from Tuesday.
We do have very useful licensing standards for commercial purposes for insurance documentation, crop land in cultivation and so on. Sure, fly around 3m from my new roof and scan all the fresh new code additions. That was money very well spent. The drone pilot is like Alfred Hitchcock was in his movies = always a brief cameo appearance. Pretty funny for us geezers old enough to have watched the B&W in a theater.
I won't look it up but I think drones are not legal for big game hunting here in BC.
Something about the doctrine of Fair Chase.
I won't look it up but I think drones are not legal for big game hunting here in BC.
Something about the doctrine of Fair Chase.
Thanks for the reply @Nice65
I'm aware you don't own airspace, and using one of the online aircraft trackers it's surprising to see how many aircraft are flying overhead surveying the land for one reason or another.
However, using the nuisance neighbour analogy, I can cope with someone looking out of their window but when they start aiming a camera into you garden it becomes an issue. And if they were to build a structure that overlooks the garden then planning would consider privacy.
The problem with reporting illegal drone use to the police is how on earth are they going to be able to find who it was? With many crimes now they seem to be unwilling to do anything about it unless you have all the answers for them for example clear video footage of an incident.
So, until something serious happens to trigger more legislation there doesn't seem much anyone can do. Even the jamming devices seem to be illegal although I'm not sure who would enforce that (would a drone operator say "I was illgally flying my drone when it was illegally jammed...").
I'm aware you don't own airspace, and using one of the online aircraft trackers it's surprising to see how many aircraft are flying overhead surveying the land for one reason or another.
However, using the nuisance neighbour analogy, I can cope with someone looking out of their window but when they start aiming a camera into you garden it becomes an issue. And if they were to build a structure that overlooks the garden then planning would consider privacy.
The problem with reporting illegal drone use to the police is how on earth are they going to be able to find who it was? With many crimes now they seem to be unwilling to do anything about it unless you have all the answers for them for example clear video footage of an incident.
So, until something serious happens to trigger more legislation there doesn't seem much anyone can do. Even the jamming devices seem to be illegal although I'm not sure who would enforce that (would a drone operator say "I was illgally flying my drone when it was illegally jammed...").
It is a problem, and in some ways it is a little like knife law, the tightening of which makes a responsible user wince and start on about cheapo kitchen knives and idiots. All I can offer you is the operators have to be registered if they have a drone with a camera, so technically that localises who is flying in your area if a problem occurs. Why do you think your land is being filmed, are the drone operators looking for something? I put the drone up to have a look around and fly about, I rarely take any footage. Up where the windmill is are 2 old gun emplacements. As I was flying about I discovered another 3 hidden in thickets or covered with brambles.
Signal jamming is illegal for the same reason mobile phone signal jammers are, they interfere with possibly very important signals, like emergency services and other comms. Mainly it’s that breaking the link between operator and drone could also result in an accident as the thing falls out of the sky or veers off course.
I'm late to the thread and not read all but there's a difference between legal and considerate. There's a lot who do not consider others in all areas of modern life so why are drones getting ppl hett up?
Imho there's a similarity with e-scooter use. I know technically escooters are not legal on public highways except in a few trial areas but in many other ways they're similar. They are relatively new to mass market use. They're not fully there in terms of sale, use, safety and acceptance. They're kind of the new toy that is being bought by a lot of people without even bothering to learn the legal aspects so they can obey the law. Finally, there's enough idiots using them illegally or completely inconsiderately to create animosity towards them.
With escooters and drones I can absolutely see the benefits. However I do not like their use because of a lot of the above problems. Society is lagging behind technology in many areas and this causes issues that laws, enforcement and legal redress hasn't caught up. It's trying, there's a new police enforcement operation called flyover iirc and police leave new rules/powers to catch illegal drone use. One guy got a £5000 fine recently I read. They have new tech available to down drones I understand. Developed after the drones stopped flight activities at a major airport a while back. Still catching up though.
Cctv, whether you like it or not, has a public good element to them, namely security of the person or property. Potentially it could benefit you. Drone camera use does not have such a wide benefit for people or society. They benefit the user and viewer of the footage in most cases of private use. Imho not comparable because of that.
With Google cameras there is a wider public interest that means, imho, that they are in a league more acceptable than drones. Who hasn't benefited from Google cameras and maps that come out of it. It has done so much good that it far outweighs any privacy issues. Right now there's people going through great efforts bringing Google map and earth tech into more remote areas. Africa is the new target for mapping and the maps created are being used for good like development NGOs.
My personal view is I do not like the idea of losing my privacy when there is no potential benefit to me. I dislike the noise when I'm in a nice, quiet area and a Drone is droning away over my head. I dislike the way anyone can get one and fly it legally but especially illegally. I dislike enough to believe there needs to be more control over sales and use
My only suggestion is more tech that's needed. If it was possible to have GPS enabled and controlled camera use such that all private individuals can log their property as both no fly over and no film over such that the control on that is in the Drone tech. Then I reckon I'll be more accepting of their increasingly wider use. I do not however matter one jot in this, or my opinion doesn't. I do not have any say in Drone use around me.
I don't want to stop Drone use just have my privacy and peace protected more but above all I want illegal Drone use to stop. Not going to happen!
PS nicely I fully support the use of drones by people like you. If everyone using then had your attitude and understanding there wouldn't be an issue.
Imho there's a similarity with e-scooter use. I know technically escooters are not legal on public highways except in a few trial areas but in many other ways they're similar. They are relatively new to mass market use. They're not fully there in terms of sale, use, safety and acceptance. They're kind of the new toy that is being bought by a lot of people without even bothering to learn the legal aspects so they can obey the law. Finally, there's enough idiots using them illegally or completely inconsiderately to create animosity towards them.
With escooters and drones I can absolutely see the benefits. However I do not like their use because of a lot of the above problems. Society is lagging behind technology in many areas and this causes issues that laws, enforcement and legal redress hasn't caught up. It's trying, there's a new police enforcement operation called flyover iirc and police leave new rules/powers to catch illegal drone use. One guy got a £5000 fine recently I read. They have new tech available to down drones I understand. Developed after the drones stopped flight activities at a major airport a while back. Still catching up though.
Cctv, whether you like it or not, has a public good element to them, namely security of the person or property. Potentially it could benefit you. Drone camera use does not have such a wide benefit for people or society. They benefit the user and viewer of the footage in most cases of private use. Imho not comparable because of that.
With Google cameras there is a wider public interest that means, imho, that they are in a league more acceptable than drones. Who hasn't benefited from Google cameras and maps that come out of it. It has done so much good that it far outweighs any privacy issues. Right now there's people going through great efforts bringing Google map and earth tech into more remote areas. Africa is the new target for mapping and the maps created are being used for good like development NGOs.
My personal view is I do not like the idea of losing my privacy when there is no potential benefit to me. I dislike the noise when I'm in a nice, quiet area and a Drone is droning away over my head. I dislike the way anyone can get one and fly it legally but especially illegally. I dislike enough to believe there needs to be more control over sales and use
My only suggestion is more tech that's needed. If it was possible to have GPS enabled and controlled camera use such that all private individuals can log their property as both no fly over and no film over such that the control on that is in the Drone tech. Then I reckon I'll be more accepting of their increasingly wider use. I do not however matter one jot in this, or my opinion doesn't. I do not have any say in Drone use around me.
I don't want to stop Drone use just have my privacy and peace protected more but above all I want illegal Drone use to stop. Not going to happen!
PS nicely I fully support the use of drones by people like you. If everyone using then had your attitude and understanding there wouldn't be an issue.
Hmmm... here they are also used for checking buildings, saves a lot of money on the higher ones. Also leaves a pic trail on the condition. I would count that as generally useful.
All I'll say is, as a hobby, it's just another gadget to distract you from getting on with something meaningful and tangible. I was fishing a couple of days a go from a sea cliff which had taken me 20 mins to get down, no one else around, no line of sight of anyone, I was minding my own business and a drone came above the cliff, and hovered over me 10m above, and it was bloody noisey too. I've had a good few encounters in friends garden where drones have flown over, well within 50m, mostly within 20m.
On a slight tangent I've recently noticed a lot of folk taking pictures, like full dslr camera setups, and taking pictures of me fishing, kayaking, whatever, without permission. Its a bit weird and I'm sure dodgy legal ground.
On a slight tangent I've recently noticed a lot of folk taking pictures, like full dslr camera setups, and taking pictures of me fishing, kayaking, whatever, without permission. Its a bit weird and I'm sure dodgy legal ground.
Powerlines too. I used to work for SSE as a tree surgeon and then as a surveyor. To be able to send a drone to look at tree growth without a lone worker having to walk often treacherous ground is a real advantage. Same with faults, a branch across the lines or a fallen tree knocking out the power could be anywhere and had to be searched for. Put a drone up and fly the route makes things a lot easier and gets people back on power more quickly.
I located next doors wasps nest entrance in their roof yesterday
The wasps didn’t appreciate it at all, but better a drone getting stung than the pest control bloke making an inspection. I think I chopped up quite a few wasps looking at the state of the props afterwards.
I have that a lot when out my sup. I recently decided to start taking pictures of people taking pictures of me.
