Quadcopter Diary #7

Posted on Jul 9, 2015 in Video

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

I recently upgraded to a DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter so I could continue learning to fly and make photographs with Micro Four-thirds cameras. The extra battery life in the Phantom 2 (25 minutes) helps when flying cameras heavier than a GoPro.

My goal is to take still photos from the Quadcopter, which is why I want to use a Micro Four-thirds camera. Last week I tested the Panasonic Lumix LX100 and GM5 on the Phantom 2. The Quadcopter handled flying with both cameras very well but I could see a noticeable difference with the lighter Lumix GM5.

I mount the camera upside down under the Quadcopter from a vibration dampening bracket made by Eggsnow . I set the camera to the Time Lapse Mode to take a photo every two seconds and sent it flying. In the video you can see some padding that I put under the camera to protect it when landing.

Tip: Since the camera’s Wi-Fi interferes with the DJI controller frequency I fly visually slowly rotating the Quadcopter and stopping to let the camera shoot stills.

PS: Joe has started flying quadcopters too and is learning to fly (not so well, yet) using an inexpensive Syma X5C quadcopter, which is currently in the maintenance hanger for repairs.—Joe