This looks like a game changer for those wanting to video their Cat Moments. It's also pretty cheap as far a drones go.
Of course being only a quad, it WILL crash if it suffers a failure of any single rotor. You need 6, or preferably 8 rotors to stabilize & recover from a failure.
Click on the video link at the bottom of article to see it in action.
http://www.cnet.com/products/lily-camera/
Edited by Edchris177 on May 18, 2015 - 08:23 PM.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation
That’s awesome! I have a DJI Phantom 2 with the GoPro. The video is amazing. But you can’t fly it and sail at the same time. I wonder how this thing lands…if you can catch moving through the water.
Obsolete? I don't think so. It only has a 20 min flight time, a long recharge time. Still would have to be stored somewhere and recovered. I don't see what keeps it from crashing into the rigging on a boat if you were to recover it on the water. Plus, it seems it doesn't actually exist yet.
<a href="
http://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/35rkqv/lily_camera_drone_and_the_rise_of_the_hidden /">
http://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/35rkqv/lily_camera_drone_and_the_rise_of_the_hidden/
It only has a 20 min flight time,
That is pretty much the norm for quads currently in existence. Lily is no better, or worse.
It would be quite easy to have it follow. Make the approach & land from behind, avoiding the rigging.
Let's be honest, how many of the "selfie" videos are worth watching?
They are mostly crap. It doesn't matter if you attach the GoPro to the mast head, your head, the bow, or a stick you hold out behind, the resulting footage does a very poor job of showing what is really happening on that Cat.
The more severe the conditions, the larger the disconnect becomes. Anyone who has tried to make video of action sports longs for the Gold Standard, a helicopter. That is why all major events use them. The downside is cost, you need deep pocketed sponsors like Redbull to pony up the dough.
The next best thing for the Cat world is a chase boat, but they are limited by to a single plane, & stabilization problems in rough conditions.
While wasting time in Hongkong yesterday, I watched a Nat Geo documentary on wildebeest migration, shot entirely by okta drones. The footage was unobtainable using previous technology, being able to place the camera right beside/above/ahead of moving herds, without spooking or otherwise alarming the animals.
Drones are a Johnny come lately, but make no mistake, they are cheap, here now, will only get better, & will obsolete much of the video techniques we have previously used.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation