DJI Mavic Air

So now that I’ve got the perfect camera setup for me with the Sony RX100 Mark VII, I’m looking at getting an upgraded drone.  I currently have the DJI Spark.  It’s an ok drone.  It’s really a starter drone that you can learn on.  It shoots 1080p video at 30fps and it only does JPEG photography.  I shoot all my photos in the RAW format for greater control.  I also want to start doing 4K footage from a drone.

I have been watching a lot of aerial shots of the Rocky Mountains on YouTube.  Before I go out west for good, I want to get a better drone.  I have decided on the DJI Mavic Air.  If you like some of my photography, please purchase a print at my print site by going to josefpittner.photos. That would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot I have a...

...DJI Spark drone that I can fly.  Time to go out and fly the drone.  Take some ariel shots and some ariel footage.  I haven't flown the drone in months.  I think it's time.

I think I need to upgrade my drone

So I bought a DJI Spark last year and 3 months later, the remote control lost connection with the actual drone.  So I got another one and it's been functioning ok.  I don't fly it like I did anymore.  I won't fly it more than a 100 meters away from me and definitely not over water.  Someplace accessible where I can retrieve it if it goes berserk again.  It only shoots in 1080p at 30fps and photos are only in JPG.  Not RAW or 4K.  

I think I'll get a DJI Mavic Pro 2 in the spring of 2020.  I am saving my photo money until I get the new DJI Mavic Pro 2 which costs about $2000 Canadian.  One day.

Finally did it.

Switched to a Windows 10 laptop.  The hardware is great.  Great screen.  Fast bootup times.  No memory issues whatsover.  I will upgrade the second hard drive to a 1TB SSD instead of the 1TB 5400RMP mechanical hard drive.

So far I've noticed this laptop has a better keyboard.  Hard drive and memory are much faster and the graphics card is great.  I still haven't shot some footage to edit on this Windows 10 laptop.  I'm hoping I can do that this weekend.

The only bad thing about this laptop is the operating system.  Windows in all it's glory is a colossal failure.  Windows started sucking with Windows 8.  This is my first full day with the machine and I'm still running Windows updates on it.  It's been like this since about ten last night.  I have fast internet at home and at work and it's taking forever.  I would have been done with OS X updates already.  I am looking forward to getting the Apple iPad in the near future.

I have most of the programs I use to edit photos and footage on.  I'm just missing a video editor and Affinity Photos.  I think I'll get those this week when I get paid on Friday. 

Another precarious day with the DJI Spark

Decided to go fly the drone after work today.  I went to Almonte, Ontario today as I wanted arial pictures and footage of the falls.  I setup and started the drone, connected with my Remote controller and started a flight.  Within a second of me taking off, the battery popped off the drone.  I had thought again that that I lost the drone or at least severely damaged it as it fell at least 15 feet onto some rocks.  The battery was easy to get.  Just climbed over the wall and got the battery within 30 seconds. The drone wasn't easy to get.  Had to climb down rocks to the base of the waterfalls.  The rocks were slippery from the spray from the falls.  There was a lot of moss which did not help.  Luckily I was able to retrieve the drone.  It took about half an hour to retrieve the drone.

Luckily the only damage to the drone was to one of the propellors which were easily replaced.  I decided to fly again and the drone started to act weird.  When I tried to land it, it literally took off on my climbing up at least 30 metres.  I luckily got control of the drone and brought it back down.  It would not land at all.  I literally had to grab it by the underside of the drone and remove the battery from the drone to get it to stop. 

After this debacle I wanted to just go home and not fly the drone again as I feared losing a second drone within a month.  But I gave the drone a second chance and flew it out maybe 25 metres and just started taking shots and video.  Luckily the DJI Spark did not act up.  I got what I wanted and I just left.  Luckily the only damage to the drone was the rear left propellors had to be replaced which was easily done.  

Flew the drone again

Bit cloudy here in Ottawa but hardly any wind.  Supposed to rain the next two days so I doubt I'll fly after work.  I've always wanted this type of shot of the Parliament buildings.  I was very careful when flying here.  Stayed away from people, buildings and other obstacles.   Hope you enjoy.

Going flying after work

The humidity finally broke and the temps are actually nice.  So after work, I'm going flying with the DJI Spark.  I don't know where I'll fly but I need to.  I need more Ariel footage.

I love drone photography

I've wanted a shot like this for a few years.  With drone technology, shots like this are now possible for the every man photographer.  No more needing to rent a helicopter, permits, insurance etc.  Now you can buy a $500 drone, a remote control and the ubiquitous cell phone.  Most people now have a cell phone and a computer.  Some photographers and videographers have a drone.  You just have to be aware of your surroundings and be really careful not to hit anything or anyone.   I am glad to have a drone and enough skill to take some nice pictures and videos.

Drone flight at dusk

Was out with the girlfriend last night at a friends place for dinner and a sit down by a fire.  I decided to test the DJI Spark out at dusk just to see how the camera would perform.  It's ok.  But it could be better.  A lot better.  Maybe in the spring I will upgrade to the DJI Mavic Pro 2.  The Hasselblad camera should help a bit.

I edited about 6 clips which I'm currently uploading to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.

Editing DJI Spark photos

Just as I thought, the photos from the DJI Spark at dusk are completely useless.  The Spark is just not steady enough for anything slower than 1/100th of a second in shutter speed.  They're shaky and blurry.  The footage is a bit noisy but you can get rid of that in FCP X.  I'm actually editing the footage from last evening right now.  

The girlfriend and I went to church this morning followed by sushi and a movie.  So I'm just sitting here writing the blog while FCP X edits each clip.  They'll be up on Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks at some point.  I just wish Storyblocks was quicker at looking at each submissions.  They take up to 3-4 weeks to review the footage.  Shutterstock and Pond5 are 24-48 hours right now.

Actually went flying tonight

Finally flew the DJI Spark at dusk today.  I'll have to view the video once I get them off the micro SD card but it will be interesting to see how well the footage turns out from the DJI Spark.  Took a few photos as well.  From the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, the footage and photos looked a bit noisy but I an fix that in post.

The rest of the weekends sounds like it's going to crap weather wise with 90% chance of rain for both Sunday and Monday.  So the girlfriend and I are planning on just going to church tomorrow in the morning and a movie in the afternoon.  Monday I want to pretty much read a few books and just relax.

I need to go flying

I really, really need to go flying with the drone after work.  Flying the drone is so much fun and exciting.  It's nothing like I've done before..  Taking new photos and videos is an awesome feeling.

Dealing with DJI is a...

...pain in the ass!  They only view the log file.  They say that I hit the stick forward so the aircraft would fly forward.  Then they say the log file ends at 750m away from me.  Which it does.  That's when I lost connection with the drone.  They do not seem to understand that.  The techs seem to have their heads up their arses.  I already got another drone.  At this point I'd like an admission that the drone failed.  The only compensation I want is the battery charger for $69US.  They offered me a 30% discount which would cover the battery charger price.  Sometimes companies are really stubborn and don't want to make a customer happy.

First day of work

First day of work on a new contract.  Will be taking the drone with me so I can fly it after work.  I did not get a chance to fly it yesterday.  Girlfriend and I were so tired from Saturday.  I think we both got a bit of sun stroke so that did not help.  Well, it 's time to go to work.  And flying the drone.

Sandbanks Provincial Park

This is why we go.  It was so nice.  A bit windy and the water was a bit cold compared to the last time we were there.  It was still nice to get out and go.  Spend a day on a nice beach relaxing with friends.  I got to fly my drone again. It was very windy the whole day.   The gimbal had a hard time stabilizing.  After my recent experience with the DJI Spark, I didn't want to do anything in mid flight with it.

Just got back from Sandbanks

Just got back from Sandbanks Provincial Park just now.  Minor heat stroke but doing ok.  Got to fly the drone today a few times but it was so windy, the gimbal had a hard time tracking anything video wise so I did more photography than footage.  I didn't fly far as I'm still testing the new DJI Spark after the last incident.  I don't want to lose it again.

I'm just charging up the batteries on the drone right now.  Not doing much tomorrow so I may fly the drone again tomorrow and get more footage.  As for right now, it's hard to keep the eyes closed.  So time for bed since we've been up since 4:30am this morning.

Off to Sandbanks PP

Off to Sandbanks Provincial Park.  Everything is ready.  Drone batteries are charged.  Drone is ready.  Cameras are ready.  Batteries are charged.  When we get there, I'm gonna be sleeping for a few hours.  I did not get any sleep last night.

Back to flying

I just want to thank a friend who saw my struggles with DJI and their lousy customer service and offer of a 30% discount on a new DJI Spark.  My friend knew I was in between contracts and photography and doing footage work helped me out in rough times.  Lets just say I'll be back to flying a new drone tomorrow when my girlfriend and I are going to Sandbanks Provincial Park near Kingston, Ontario again.

I start a new job Monday with Global Affairs Canada so this weekend is going to be fun.  My girlfriend and I always have fun at Sandbanks.  It's like going to the Dominican Republic.  The sand and water are so nice.  The breach is fantastic.  So is the company.

DJI Spark and DJI's response

As some of you may know, I lost connection to my DJI Spark last week and it did not come back home.  I opened a ticket with DJI and was told yesterday that they viewed the log files that I had sent back.  They did not admit that I lost connection.  They actually admitted nothing.  They offered a 30% discount if I wanted to buy a new DJI Spark.  Why would I want to buy something that may or may not work again?  What if the new DJI Spark does the same thing and I can't locate it again?  This is awful customer service from DJI.

I still have the remote control, one battery and the case along with some propellers.  I honestly don't know what I'm going to do now.  I would love to get another drone but I am hesitant to get another DJI product.

And the month isn't even over yet

Thanks to a $96US video sale, August has turned out to be the best month of 2018 yet.  Compared to 2017 or even 2016, this year sales are down at least 50%.  Shutterstock has probably doubled the amount of stock it has in the previous year so the sales cut is to be expected.  I have right now 12,372 photos and 1462 footage clips.  That's an increase of 50% of stock for me so I should be making the same if not more sales.  I've increased my portfolios on all three sites I deal with and sales are not increasing.

What I've noticed on Shutterstock especially is the low quality of photos available for sale.  When I signed up 4 years ago, it was tough to get onto Shutterstock.  I had to get 7 out of 10 photos accepted.  Now it's just 1 out of 10 photos.  It also seems like Shutterstock will accept anything and everything to its stock database.  When I first started I picked my best photography and footage to go up.  Now it seems like I can throw up anything and it'll be accepted.  Which is not good for the good photographers and videographers along with customers because they'll have to find the good photos and footage among the crap.

Of the 3 agencies I deal with Shutterstock seems to be the best with consistent and constant sales.  Image and footage acceptance is fast and easy.  Approval is quick, typically within 24-36 hours.  Pond5 is easy as well.  Acceptance for me now is with 48 to 72 hours for both photos and footage.  Pond5 seems to have hired staff to review photos and footage over the last several weeks or maybe people are not contributing as much during the summer time in the northern hemisphere.  Storyblocks takes it's time.  It can take up to 3 weeks and sometime 5 to get your photos and video either accepted or denied.  Sales on Pond5 are sporadic.  I can sell between 0 and 10 files a month.  With Storyblocks, I can go months without selling some footage.  I have not sold a photo on Storyblocks at all.  Come to think of it, I think I've sold 1 photo on Pond5 since I started.  I get the vast majority of my sales on Shutterstock followed by Pond5.  I'll break the $5000US barrier on Shutterstock either this month or next depending on how Shutterstock does in the next 8 days.  With Pond5 I might break $2000US by either the end of the year or mid next year.  Depends on sales as usual.