On our trip around the spectacular mountains in the Dolomites in northern Italy (Alto Adige / Südtirol) I found so many very appealing spots but this one was perfect. Very accessible, spectacular vertical cliff with around 350m of height (1000ft) - and even a nice table and bench there!
Flew 4 packs there, the 2nd would have almost been the last of this quad! Because the video cable of the FPV cam was loose - I suddenly flew blind (see it in the end of the video). Luckily I turned around on the first signs of video loss (only 50m away) and I was also fast enough in switching to LEVEL mode - so I could fly it home safe LOS.
After I found the problem I definitly wanted to fly there more, but of course I had even higher pulse now and wasnt too much in the mood for extra stunts up there (like backflips to enter a dive)...
Hope you liked it as much as I while flying, I definitly will keep diving since this is the most fun I have with these quads. A combo of freestyle flying and diving fast in awesome scenery - that's what you should expect here on my channel :)
Friends from Denmark made a stop in my region to meet for some FPV flying. They are so nice - and danish "flødebolle" are very tasty, that's what I can say now!
Lars is racing member from danish team "Get out" (apparently they had to leave a lot of places, parking lots they wanted to fly...).
Really a decent cam! Sorry that I couldnt compare it directly to a gopro4 black. Maybe I can do this in a next video later. But it's better than every single actioncam I've tested so far.
I also will make a slowmo videoclip - since this is the first cam I have that can deliver 720p240 (8-10times slowdown).
I will probbably not fly the vortex with it a lot since low and fast in 4k is too much for youtube's codec... (it looks perfect on the raw footage though!). Sample clips: RAW high flying RAW Low and Fast over field (hard for codec) sharpness comparison chart
►Pro's and con's:
+ batterylife!
+ touchscreen: intuitive UI
+ image quality: stunning in 4k, timelapse mode works great, I guess 2hrs with full battery are in range
+ slow motion (1280x720@240fps) looks decent - quite sharp and gives really smooth motion
+ tripod mount integrated directly
+- pricetag (bad if you compare it to other chinese cams, not if you compare to gopro :)
+- gyro stabilizer: doesnt work nice in all conditions, reduces quality of course,...
- form factor: not gopro sized, own dimensions, only their waterproof housing will fit
- touchscreen: not easy to read in sunlight - and then setting the options is hard...
►Specs: Ambarella A9SE75 DSP (this is more advanced than what Gopro4 black has, and it is way more efficient - the cam doesnt overheat, battery lasts longer...) Sony IMX377 12MP 1/2.3" Sensor
Lens F2.8 aperture / 155° wide-angle lens, 7G, f=2.68mm
LCD Screen 2.19", 640*360 resolution touch screen, 330PPI, 250cd/m2 brightness, 30FPS, 160° FOV, 16:9
Weight: 88gr Size: 65 x 42 x 21 mm
(but not compatible with Gopro cases since it's a bit wider!)
Buildlog:
hotglue the servos
glued vtail foam into plastic parts and carbon rod with hotglue
screw on the V-tail fins (secure servoconnectors with tape inside the tail-boom!)
mounted the 3536 1800kv turnigy motor (was easy fit there)
add grease into gearbox (crane grease)
used 60amp Turnigy plush ESC - plenty of space - ESC cables routed outside through air flow
add linkage to servoarms
currently use 5channels directly on radio, later add autopilot
first tries with fixed styrofoam nose - later installing FPV cam on 2axis gimbal (to look around)
(roll axis? to stabilized image - but this is useless with servos - one would need a brusless gimbal - so roll servo is useless IMHO)
CG: to achieve proper CG (around 75mm from LE) I had to move the battery (5200mah 4cell 433gr) all the way forward, did even carve out some more foam from the nose itself - so battery sticks a few cm in the nose). Also added some dead weight directly in the nose ~ 100gr) and the Runcam2 ontop the nose.
Brand:X-uav
Item: ONE EPO FPV Aircraft Kit
Material:EPO
Propeller:12x6 inch Folding Propeller
Wingspan: 1800mm (71inch)
Length: 1078mm (42.5 inch)
Wing area: 38.2dm2(592sq.in)
Empty weight: 750g
CoG: in middle of wing, 65-80mm from leading edge CG: about 76mm from LE
Flying Weight: 1360g(23lb) Standard, max:2kg
Wingload: 35.6g/dm2 (11.7oz/sq.ft)
Take-off Weight:2000~2500g
Features:
- Deluxe Editon with glassfiber inner board and 3K Carbon Tube.
- With two-axis servo gimbal that suits mini HD camera, easy to control and stable.
- Propeller Design: Complete new-power structure,will be lower the attack and resistance.
Recommend Drive System: Motor: 3536 KV1800
ESC: 30A/40A
Servos: 6x 9g metal gear servos
Battery:4S 14.8V 4000-8000 mAh Lipo
Runcam sent me their top cam - let's see if you can fly in total darkness with it! I compare the Owl against the popular HS1177 with a nice dual monitor setup.
►RunCam Owl Plus Specs:
1/2″ image sensor
700TVL horizontal resolution;
150 degree FOV lens (2.4 mm)
5V to 22V (suitable for 2s – 5s LI-POs)
light senility, 0.0001 Lux/1.2F min. illumination
Digital Wide Dynamic Range (D-WDR)
Digital Noise Reduction (2DNR)
Automatic gain control (AGC)
Back light compensation (BLC)
OSD menu
26 mm x 26 mm x 30 mm, 15 g net weight.
►Thoughts:
The OSD is pretty straight forward, just activated the DWDR and played with colors and contrast a bit.
Not as good with shadowd vs. sunlight on the day, but awesome in the night. Although you shouldnt expect to fly a miniquad in acro mode without "some" light in the night.
If you use it on a GPS stabilized quad or plane you could really almost fly in pitch black nights.
If you wanna explore darker buildings you will be surprised how long you get coloured images until it finally switches to BW mode.
I will have to do a few flights, but I think you can definitly use it as a standard cam and also fly in daylight if you are not too picky. And it is definitly better than those cheaper CMOS cams (like the one that came with my Vortex250).
The kind of flying that I love the most. Gives you the "flying like a bird" feeling the best if you fly close over/under the trees. Found an awesome new spot with a huge field enclosed with some nice trees and a forrest surrounding it. Also flew on my "Eichberg" a lot and found some new lines there as well.
So flieg ich am liebsten, "wie ein Vogel" knapp über Bäume oder darunter durch wenn Platz ist...
Hab in der Nähe ein tolles Feld gefunden, welches perfekt ist für diese Art des Fliegens. Hoffe es gefällt Euch!
Hier erfährt ihr wie man 31gr beim Vortex sparen kann, wie mein neuer FPV Rucksack/Trolley aussieht, wann und warum man Motoren tauschen sollte und warum ich dennoch abgestürzt bin
See Vortex 250 saving 31gr weight, my new FPV backpack/Trolley, when to change motors, and find out why I crashed...
Pricetag only 53€ / 58$ - get them here
See this review if you wanna start FPV and search easy to use goggles. Pricetag is really beginnerfriendly as well!
HK sent me these really cheap and easy goggles for review. They are clearly aimed for the FPV starters. You dont have to know much about video downlink the get decent image on the huge 5" display which is set in the right distance / size with the fresnel lens.
Just press the autoscan button and it chooses the channel on which your FPV vehicle transmits.
What to do if you want to view a specific channel - let's say on a dronerace where you wanna spectate? I dont know, sorry :-)
No info in the display about the channel / Band you use either.
They are only a bit more expensive than the Quanum V2pros - but the Cyclops comes with an integrated VRX!
But attention! NO AV in - so you cant use groundstation on cyclops!
My GF liked wearing those more than the DominatorHD (easier to get used to for casual users!)
I still prefer to use my DomHDs of course - but I could fly with the Cyclops without much getting used to. I had my problems focussing on the V2pros - the Cyclops looks and feels definitly better!
Lens adjustable (though a friend with glasses couldnt get it sharp for him), really comfortable to wear with the foam!
Specs:
5" 800x480 display (with option for 4:3 aspect!)
Operating Voltage: 7.4 -12.6v
Receiver: -90 dbm ISM 5.8GHz 40ch
Antenna connections: SMA
Operating Current: 600mA
Dimensions: 187(L) x 179(W) x 121(H)mm
Weight: 390grams without batteries (they feel lightweight!)
nice set up power adapters (XT60, 9v Batteryblock
