Getting better with the DJI Phantom!

Here is some footage from the DJI Phantom quadcopter.  If you check the earlier post, I crashed it on my second flight!  Now I’m getting better flying it, and also learning how to get the smoothest video from it.  Still a little way to go before I’m REALLY happy with it but it’s getting there.  For those who are interested in the technical details here is what I’m doing:

1) Balance Props! Basically you put prop on a rod, and see what side is heaviest, then you sand that side down or add tape to the other one.  Continue until they are perfectly balanced and can stay in a horizontal position on the rod.
2) I’m using a GoPro Hero 3 Black-1080 60p medium view with Protune mode on. (This uses a higher bit rate for less blocky footage).
3) In FCPX, import footage to a 30p timeline and slow clip to 50%.
4) Use FCPX stabilization feature (I forgot to on the one clip at 1:05-for an idea of what a non-stabilized shot looks like).
5) Fly in as straight a line as possible in ATTI mode.

I’m only looking for short smooth shots to use in my video productions. Not in capturing complete flights.

Still some warble, mostly in the sunny clips, I think it’s the GoPro3 making an adjustment to battle the brighter light. Either cranking up shutter speed internally or lowering ISO? Not sure but on a bright day some kind of ND would help.

It’s getting there!