DJI Mavik Pro Platinum Drone

One of my hobbies is photography and the newest field in photography is using a drone to capture images and videos. I haven’t done a lot of photography lately, just not being that inspired, and I thought a drone might give me a different perspective. Plus I needed an outlet for when my projects on Pomaika’i just weren’t going my way, something to do to take my mind off of repairs. I also sell stock photography on some websites and I’m hoping that adding video stock to these will get some of these toys paying for themselves.

Pro Tip: At the time I bought the drone I was able to save a couple hundred dollars by purchasing it through Amazon. Always a good thing.

Why A Drone?

I’ve found doing photography on a boat has some limitations. Location is usually the hard part. There’s a good angle for a shot but it’s over there in the middle of that field where I can’t get to from the boat. Or the best angle to get good lighting and a nice background is over 20′ of water. So a drone allows you to position a camera where you want it with precision.

Why the Mavik Pro Platinum?

Here a some of the features that made me choose the Mavik Pro Platinum :

• 4k Camera (I’m really impressed with the detail and smoothness of the camera and gimble on the Mavik Pro Platinum
• Quiet. They’ve specially designed the motors and propellers to be much quieter than other drones. At 50′ elevation I can barely hear it and over 100′ it silent to someone on the ground.
• Intelligent Flight Modes. It has a wide range of flight modes from sport (high speed and responsiveness) through a Tripod mode that really deadens the controls to give you smooth transitions. There are also Tracking modes that allow the drone to fly on it’s own tracking a target with precision. 
• Portability. The drone and controller fit in a small bag for easy transport. The drone folds up to a package a little bigger than a softball. Being portable means you’re more likely to take it with you on a hike or outing.
• Longer Flight Time. Advertised as 30 minutes flight time per battery.
• Fly More package. This included a couple extra sets of propellers, 2 extra batteries and a carrying case. This gives you about an hour and a half in total flight time.

More Than Just Photography

I’m learning that drone photography takes more than just your photography skill set. I’ve spent the first week learning to fly and dialing in the controls. At the same time you need to focus on controlling the camera settings and getting your shot. 

The Drone Box

Grabbed a pelican waterproof box to store my drone in. Keeps everything together and since I live on a boat, which is by it’s nature humid, protects the drone. 

Sample Drone Videos

Here’s a couple of sample videos I shot over the weekend. I’m still learning how combine the drone movement and camera to achieve smooth cinematic shots. 

Fly over of the marina where Pomaika’i is currently berthed. This was shot in the Cinematic mode (dampened flight controls to improve smoothness).

This was taken at a height of about 20′ above the water and then a slow flight down the fairway.

This is a longer video (about 7 minutes). I took the drone straight up to just under 400′ and then started making my way over towards the beach. At the first point the drone was almost a mile away. I started to run into interference (even lost contact with the drone for a few seconds) probably due to the weather so the last section is a little rushed as I headed back to the marina (couple of fast turns there as I panicked a little from the warning on the controller).