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Beautiful Drone Video Shows Autumn From A New Perspective

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I don’t know about you, dear readers, but my favorite season has always been Autumn. It’s warm enough to enjoy the outdoors but cool enough to show off your jacket fashions. It’s a time for apple cider, pumpkin pie, and decorative gourds. Plus, give me spooky Halloween skeletons or a turkey feast over a Christmas …

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Game Of Thrones Uses A “Drone Killer” To Maintain Set Secrecy

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As scripted television’s most popular show enters its eighth and final season, the Game of Thrones production team has had to pull out all the stops to make sure that no spoilers get leaked. The names on the scripts and call sheets were completely changed to try and keep shooting under wraps, and HBO has …

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The Best Drones and Accessories for Filmmaking

Posted by Dronerator
We take a look at some of the very best filmmaking drones and accessories out there right now.
If you are interested in filmmaking, you are probably intrigued by the possibilities of using drones in your work. But what is the best drone to choose? And what accessories will you need?
Expensive crane shots are now being replaced by the use of drones. Not only are drones able to reproduce these shots more easily, but are also capable of producing shots that would be impossible with a crane.
There is no doubt that drones are revolutionizing film and TV production.

Aerial photograph, showing a winding road and a colorful lake
DJI MAVIC PRO 2
Currently, the filmmaking drone market is dominated by one company: DJI.
DJI drones are the market leaders for a reason; their drones are simply phenomenal for filmmaking. And the Mavic 2 Pro is a perfect example. It’s a classic four prop drone but is designed to be foldable which makes it easily transportable.
The control and handling are as great as you would expect from a DJI drone with its 3-axis gimbal technology, but the key when it comes to filmmaking is the camera. And the DJI Mavic 2 Pro doesn’t let you down in this respect.
It gives the best images of any consumer level drone, thanks to its Hasselblad L1D-20c camera.
The camera boasts a 1-inch CMOS sensor with a maximum ISO of 12800. This means the picture is still incredible even in low-light conditions. It uses what is known as Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution technology to provide incredible color detail at 20MP.
The 10-bit Dlog-M color profile is capable of recording over one billion colors with an incredible dynamic range and supports 4K 10-bit HDR shooting.
The lens aperture is adjustable from f/2.8 to f/11 so you can capture great footage whatever the conditions.
There is also a built-in hyper-lapse mode for stunning full-motion timelapse shots.

The DJI Mavic 2 Pro with Hasselblad camera
DJI MAVIC 2 ZOOM
If you’re on a slightly tighter budget or need a wider range of shot options then the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom may be the choice for you.
The Mavic 2 Zoom is another foldable four prop drone. The differences are in the camera. At the heart is a 1/2.3 inch 12 MP CMOS sensor, but the real power of the Mavic 2 Zoom is given away by its name. It sports a 2x optical zoom, which can give up to 4x zoom when shooting in Full HD.
This has a number of benefits. The most obvious being that you can shoot at a safer distance from subjects such as buildings and vehicles whilst still getting great detail. It also allows you to make use of the telephoto lens for impressive parallax shots.
This means that when shooting a moving shot focussed on a subject, the background will appear to move more quickly giving a more cinematic feel than for wide angle shots.
There is also a very smart autofocus tracking system which ensures that your subjects stay in sharp focus even when you’re zooming in or out.
There is even an in-built dolly zoom mode for recreating those classic Hitchcock shots.

Tom David Frey flying his DJI Mavic 2 Zoom in the ancient city of Nazareth, Israel
DJI INSPIRE 2
The DJI Inspire 2 is probably the number one drone for filmmaking on the market right now.
If you’re looking for the best of the best, this is it!
First off, you don’t have to worry about damaging your investment. The DJI Inspire 2 is packed with tech to keep it safe. A forward-facing FPV camera and obstacle-avoidance system are mounted on the front of the body, whilst IR sensors scan for obstacles directly above, with terrain sensors keeping an eye on the ground below. It makes the Inspire 2 ideal for shooting indoors or out, even in cramped conditions.
The Inspire can be fitted with a choice of Zenmuse cameras, but we’ll take a look at the very top of the range: the Zenmuse X7. This camera boasts a super 35 sensor that shoots at 24MP. It is capable of an incredible 14 stops of dynamic range and can shoot in 6K CinemaDNG and 5.2K AppleProRes.
The camera comes with 16mm, 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm prime lenses, all at f/2.8 with aspherical glass.
The built-in spotlight pro feature locks on to a subject during flight so that you can film incredible tracking shots even without a second person manning the camera. This is a pro-level piece of kit and you won’t find anything better for drone filmmaking out there.

Tom David Frey preparing a DJI Inspire 2 for the flight
DJI CrystalSky Monitor
When it comes to accessories, the DJI CrystalSky can make a huge difference to your filmmaking.
It’s an ultrabright monitor that is four times brighter than mobile devices.
It means that you can get a crystal clear image of what you’re filming, even in bright sunlight.
The optimized video decoding ensures that you get jitter-free real-time monitoring with no painful lag.
If you’re shooting outdoors then the DJI CrystalSky is a must-have.

The ultrabright DJI Crystalsky monitors are available in different sizes and can be attached to all DJI drones
ND Filters
ND filters are found in every good photographer’s bag and are vital when it comes to drone filmmaking.
Neutral density filters are dark filters that reduce the amount of light entering the lens. The key to cinematic looking footage is to have some motion blur. That means shooting at slower shutter speeds. A slower shutter speed means more light entering the camera and on bright days this can lead to overexposed footage.
By using an ND filter, the amount of light entering the camera is reduced allowing slower shutter speeds and producing beautiful cinematic looking footage.
ND filters come in a range of strengths, and a full set is recommended to cover any situation from sunrise to bright snowscapes.
Are You Ready to Start Filmmaking?
Once you’ve made your decision on which DJI drone to go for, you’re ready to start your filmmaking adventure. But there is still plenty more to learn!
We have a ton of great content on the site to help you with your next steps. Check out our in-depth drone guides and tutorials, including our drone film school for more great tips and advice.

We wish you the best of luck with your drone filmmaking endeavors!

Drones With Laser Scanners Monitor Costa Rican Forests

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“There are many ways of taking these metrics,” said Felipe Carazo, “but none with this level of resolution.” Carazo is the executive director of Fundecor, a private non-governmental organization that’s working to manage Costa Rican forests in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. In association with American technology company Intel and the San Jose-based Aerial Robotixs, …

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Drone Technology Used To Monitor Shark Movements

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The Ripper Group International – an Australian company which is pioneering the use of drones in the search and rescue movement – has teamed up with the University of Technology Sydney to produce SharkSpotter, system that combines AI and drone technology to spot sharks and aid swimmers. Shark attacks are quite rare. In Australia (where …

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11 Reasons (not?) to buy DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

Posted by Dronerator
Are you thinking about buying a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone? Let me present its eight greatest strengths and three main weaknesses.

Photo: A girl flying a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Drone
1 | Zoom
Obviously, we all know the DJI Mavic 2 Zooms greatest advantage: it has a zoom function. It features a 2x optical zoom. 24 – 48 mm. Moreover, the camera is fully three-axis stabilized, making the shots look gorgeous. Create recordings like never before with the narrow cinema look that until now only big-budget productions could afford.
2 | Bitrate
The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom records with a bitrate of 100 Mbps. That’s a whole lot of data for such a small drone, but precisely what ambitious filmmakers look for in a camera.
3 | Obstacle Avoidance
The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom features omnidirectional obstacle avoidance sensors. And they mean it this time. Two cameras face the front, two face the back, at each side, there is another camera, even at the bottom users find two cameras, plus an infrared sensor. And now, to sum it all up, DJI even added an infrared top facing sensor. Take that. Omnidirectional protection!
4 | Photo + Video Resolution
The DJI Mavic 2 Zooms camera can only take 12MP photos, like its predecessors. However, with its smart super res mode, it can create 48MP photos. And because it uses its optical zoom, the final result looks like an authentic photograph, not like a wide-angle panorama. By the way, the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom records videos in 4K @ up to 30fps.
5 | Built Quality
The new DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is robust! I tried a lot to get it to give up. But it didn’t. Even when I got it to crash (by turning off the obstacle avoidance sensors and on purpose flying into a tree) it kept on working and flying as if nothing would have happened at all. The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is a beast!
6 | Hyperlapse Mode

The new hyper-lapse mode creates stunning shots. Watch, enjoy and create them yourself with just a few tips on the monitor of your smartphone.

7 | Flight Time
The flight time of the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom has been raised. The manufacturer claims that it can stay airborne for 31 minutes, which I think is rather a myth, but with an average flight time of approximately 26 minutes, the drone sets a new standard. We should keep in mind how many sensors it powers. It’s pretty incredible.
8 | Range
Last but not least, the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom has a maximum range of 8km. And the signal it transfers is not an HD signal anymore, but DJI upgraded it to Full HD. Enjoy up to 8km of range with a Full HD signal. That’s impressive!

And here are the top three disadvantages of the new DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Drone.
1 |

Camera not swappable

The DJI Mavic 2 Zooms camera is not removable. It’s a bit of a shame that DJI released two new drones and to profit from both cameras, you have to buy both drones. You cannot buy one plus a separate camera and then swap it, if needed. That’s definitely a big downside.
2 | Color Depth
Unfortunately, the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom records footage with standard 8-Bit, not with 10-Bit, as the also new DJI Mavic Pro 2 that features an inbuilt Hasselblad camera (though without a zoom). Color grading enthusiasts might see this as a real disadvantage. If 10 Bit is a must for you, then check out the Mavic Pro 2 drone.
3 | Sensor Size
The sensor of the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, a standard 1/2.3’’ CMOS model, is small and could have been enlarged. That would have been amazing for the quality of the recordings.
If you want to buy a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, click here!
If you rather want to take a look at an alternative, click here!

Israel’s Airobotics Opens Headquarters in the US

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Ran Krauss founded Airobotics back in 2014 because he was unsatisfied with the notion that as long as human operators were required to fly drones, they wouldn’t truly reach their true potential in flying far or fast enough. Airobotics develops pilotless drones that use robotics to deploy themselves and handle a number of chores that …

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Drone Analytics Startup Uses $2M Investment to Take Flight

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Sensehawk is a new drone analytics startup based in Bengaluru, India who have recently raised $2 million through a round of funding led by a venture and growth capital fund, specifically SAIF Partners. Other angel investigators have also participated in the round of funding, as well. However, SenseHawk is not a company or a business …

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Drones at Burning Man 2018 – Excelling the Exceptional

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Burning Man is one of the most interesting festivals, as well as one of the biggest that takes place every year. It takes place over a total of 9 days in the Nevada desert, specifically in a temporarily-built metropolis known as Black Rock City within the Black Rock Desert, also known as “the playa”, just …

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