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Drone photos and video!

I've been wanting a drone for years, but here in NYC it's difficult to fly anywhere of interest, unless you want to risk having your drone confiscated. I haven't heard any personal reports of this happening, but it is illegal to fly outside of 5 parks that are distant from the fun stuff in the city. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think newer drones can be tracked by the FAA ... but maybe that's conspiracy talk.

I have thought about flying outside of the city, but I really only go out of the city to ride, and even shooting stills can get in the way. I bought a 360 camera (Insta360 One) and that's sort of been my compromise - it's easy to turn on while riding and there are no restrictions on using it. Of course you don't get the height and flight of a drone.

Anyway ... maybe one day I'll have some drone footage to post here. :-)
 
I've been wanting a drone for years, but here in NYC it's difficult to fly anywhere of interest, unless you want to risk having your drone confiscated. I haven't heard any personal reports of this happening, but it is illegal to fly outside of 5 parks that are distant from the fun stuff in the city. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think newer drones can be tracked by the FAA ... but maybe that's conspiracy talk.

I have thought about flying outside of the city, but I really only go out of the city to ride, and even shooting stills can get in the way. I bought a 360 camera (Insta360 One) and that's sort of been my compromise - it's easy to turn on while riding and there are no restrictions on using it. Of course you don't get the height and flight of a drone.

Anyway ... maybe one day I'll have some drone footage to post here. :-)
If you think NYC is bad, you should see the DC area!

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I have to drive nearly 30 miles from my house to fly freely. I am in the blue circle centered around DC.

That said, I travel with mine and use it everywhere else. Plus, it is still worth using it outside of the DC restriction zones.
 
Nice stuff Jim. I have a first generation DJI Phantom that came with no camera, so I have the usual jello issues when the mount isn't quite right but it's still a lot of fun to own one for sure. I bought a cheap altimeter to hang from it and the highest I've ever flown mine was 520 feet. Now that I'm living in a much more rural area surrounded by lots of trees, I don't fly it much anymore as it's pretty challenging. Here are a couple of my better videos. First one is of the 4th of July while still living in our previous place, launched from my backyard after dark. The steady kinda tall light in the middle left of the screen is the lighted fountain at the end of the pond behind our place (it's on a golf course hole). It's amazing just how many people were doing their own fireworks along with a couple of larger local shows.


This one is of a Hawk's nest in one of our 50+ foot pines in the front yard. I saw one of the parents coming back to the nest while I was nearby so I cut the effort short so they wouldn't attack the drone.
 
Those are incredible pictures, especially considering that a DJI Mavic Mini SE currently costs ~$400. 👍
 
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