Not happy with DNG files from X5s (still photography)

[Florida Drone Supply]

Impressive! Would like to find out more about camera and gimbal control. Also if you need a beta tester...

Thanks!

As for gimbal control, thats pretty easy. The gimbal control board can take individual servo inputs for many things (tilt, roll adjustment, speed settings, camera triggering, gimbal profile changes for when you switch cameras, etc). All of these items can now be mapped to the channel expansion unit on the remote controller which gives us 8 more knobs and switches to work with. We will now be able to do things like turning on and off lights too. Some cameras offer more remote integration than others. Sony has a lot available through their Lanc port and other camera manufactures also use Lanc protocol as well. Canon does not have a lot of control. There are ways to add more with some extra gear if you really need it...and I am 20 year Canon guy so I have just learned to use what I can and if I really need to change a setting I just land and change it. Getting remote zoom in the air is going to be a big one for us. We have had people try to design things going back a long ways that never quite worked the way we wanted them to. Integrating the DJI Focus should be pretty straight forward and get us what we need.

Now as for the beta tester...if only you were not on the other side of the country.

As soon as we have more info on the camera control we will let you know about it.

 

[deltalimatango]

For all you members who wanted to see how we lift full frame DSLRs using DJI equipment, here is the custom frame I had mentioned we were putting together this weekend.

We designed the frame around A3 and Light Bridge 2 - allowing you to use the DJI GoApp for flying with a DJI remote controller - it also streams us the signal from the HDMI port on the camera for a beautiful HD video feed. It flies just like all the popular copters you have flown with DJI remotes and FCs. For power we use the DJI Tuned Propulsion System E1200 Pro. They are 4216 class motors with 17 inch folding carbon props. The copter uses regular lipo batteries and you can put in any size that fits your flying needs. Its shown with a pair of Tattu 6000s (6S) but could also fly with 4000s, 5000s, 7000s, 8000s, etc.

We put a small 2 axis brushless gimbal underneath it - designed for a 5D Mark III and a long lens. In the photos I just put on a 6D and a 17-40L. We have been able to program the DJI photo button to trigger the camera but have not gotten the wheel to control the gimbal tilt. We installed the channel expander kit on the remote controller - this allows us custom channel mapping of 8 more switches / knobs. We may move the trigger to a momentary switch and we will use the knobs for gimbal tilt, roll adjustments, etc. That leaves other switch and knobs that may be able to be programmed for additional camera control or any other accessories you might need.

Our intention is to also use the DJI Focus to add a remote motor drive on the zoom ring of our lens. This will give us remote zoom from the ground and that would be great for flying a lens like the 24-105L.

This is obviously not a copter for the typical user. It is geared for the times that we just need the extra quality from flying a full frame sensor in a DSLR with a high quality L series lens.

We have been building custom copters like this for nearly 10 years and are very experienced in just about everything out there...if anyone is thinking about being able to get their high end still photo cameras up in the air, this flies like all the "off the shelf" DJI systems but gives you the ability to use your favorite photography equipment.

If anyone wants to know more about this, just let me know...and certainly keep Florida Drone Supply in mind for all your Inspire, Mavic, Spark, CrystalSky and everything else DJI related.

Photos are attached below (and we are still designing the top cover that will enclose the electronics (very much like the M600)

Thanks!

Michael

View attachment 14069 View attachment 14070 View attachment 14071 View attachment 14072 View attachment 14073 View attachment 14074

Michael, you are the man. WIthout getting into the which camera brand is better (NIkon), do you have a mount for the Nikon D810? A friend might be interested in this. Thanks. (Nikon).

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Michael, you are the man. WIthout getting into the which camera brand is better (NIkon), do you have a mount for the Nikon D810? A friend might be interested in this. Thanks. (Nikon).

haha..thanks! I agree on not debating which camera is better (Canon)...and you can mount any camera that you would want to on this. The mount is slotted and you attach your camera with a regular 1/4 20 tripod screw. Its brand neutral and triggers are readily available for most every camera out there.

 

[FlyaDrone]

Gentlemen, This is my opportunity to learn from some seasoned and professional photographers. First of all I am a photog neophyte. I have taken MANY pictures from the Kodak Instamatic up through owning some Olympus and Canon point and shoot 35mm products as far back as the mid to late 90's + early 2000's and I even had a Sony 8mm hand held vid cam. My approach was the "even a blind pig finds an acorn every now and then". What that means is that I would take large amounts of photographs and some would actually look rather good. My advanced techniques were choose either 100, 200 or 400 ISO film and leave the rest to the camera which was always in auto mode. Now I am wishing to become better with my I2 + X5S.

So here is what I have observed from this thread and many others seeking to better my skills with more advanced digital equipment. There was a time when the camera + lens + film + proper camera settings were tantamount to success. There were some who actually did invest money and time in darkrooms to better their chance of producing works of art. However It is my belief that most only would send their film off to the processing company they preferred and would wait to see what came back and which ones would make the grade.

So now we have digital memory cards and computers with applications that can take almost anything the memory card presents and then alter it to look like almost anything they wish for the product to become. So here is what I hope to learn from you guys, how many of you spent time in a darkroom working your magic on film back in the day? I bet most of you turned out some great looking photos by controlling all that you could with the film selection + camera settings + lens selection then let the chips fall where they may by having the film lab produce the results.

With RAW and post production editing tools now being used, how far away from studying the exposure triangle have the serious photographers moved. These new digital cameras are so sophisticated with processors that much of the fretting has been reduced. I have noticed a couple of comments which state that faster shutter speeds are suggested due to the camera movement from flying and gimbal capability for steadiness. This affects ISO and Aperture settings plus the almost dozen or so other possible settings which these cameras offer for diddling with. Back in the day photographers would pray for being given sunlight circumstances that they could work magic with.

What I am getting at is that post processing tools are so sophisticated that they can even correct for lens imperfections. Therefore has photography become the art of how to best use sliders on a computer screen? If that is a reality then how important are some of the perceived deficiencies of the X5S to limiting what you can overcome on the computer? Can't applying a very intense attention to detail in the settings and features of the camera package permit one to produce wonderful deliverables while using the JPEG setting? If that is yes then wouldn't this attention to detail also result in less need to post produce the RAW files? Perhaps we each have our own personal tastes on what a great composition of a picture is that we strive to attain with software tools?

At this stage of my journey to proficiency with the I2 + X5S I am still thinking that the biggest advantage of this equipment is that you can get the camera is some very unique positions to expose the sensor to capturing awesome images. I do plan to upgrade my lens options with the 45mm and will endeavor to learn as much as I can about how to fiddle with the settings. But right now I am just blown away with how fun it is to fly the camera into positions that I could never imagine prior to owning the I2. I love what the auto focus and JPEG produce for now and will also get a post processing app then start to play with RAW images.

As someone said above, I also do miss the tube amps and vinyl days of 70's era audio. So it is about time for me to grow my digital photography skill set with current technology.

 

[Sproesser]

Gentlemen, This is my opportunity to learn from some seasoned and professional photographers. First of all I am a photog neophyte. I have taken MANY pictures from the Kodak Instamatic up through owning some Olympus and Canon point and shoot 35mm products as far back as the mid to late 90's + early 2000's and I even had a Sony 8mm hand held vid cam. My approach was the "even a blind pig finds an acorn every now and then". What that means is that I would take large amounts of photographs and some would actually look rather good. My advanced techniques were choose either 100, 200 or 400 ISO film and leave the rest to the camera which was always in auto mode. Now I am wishing to become better with my I2 + X5S.

So here is what I have observed from this thread and many others seeking to better my skills with more advanced digital equipment. There was a time when the camera + lens + film + proper camera settings were tantamount to success. There were some who actually did invest money and time in darkrooms to better their chance of producing works of art. However It is my belief that most only would send their film off to the processing company they preferred and would wait to see what came back and which ones would make the grade.

So now we have digital memory cards and computers with applications that can take almost anything the memory card presents and then alter it to look like almost anything they wish for the product to become. So here is what I hope to learn from you guys, how many of you spent time in a darkroom working your magic on film back in the day? I bet most of you turned out some great looking photos by controlling all that you could with the film selection + camera settings + lens selection then let the chips fall where they may by having the film lab produce the results.

With RAW and post production editing tools now being used, how far away from studying the exposure triangle have the serious photographers moved. These new digital cameras are so sophisticated with processors that much of the fretting has been reduced. I have noticed a couple of comments which state that faster shutter speeds are suggested due to the camera movement from flying and gimbal capability for steadiness. This affects ISO and Aperture settings plus the almost dozen or so other possible settings which these cameras offer for diddling with. Back in the day photographers would pray for being given sunlight circumstances that they could work magic with.

What I am getting at is that post processing tools are so sophisticated that they can even correct for lens imperfections. Therefore has photography become the art of how to best use sliders on a computer screen? If that is a reality then how important are some of the perceived deficiencies of the X5S to limiting what you can overcome on the computer? Can't applying a very intense attention to detail in the settings and features of the camera package permit one to produce wonderful deliverables while using the JPEG setting? If that is yes then wouldn't this attention to detail also result in less need to post produce the RAW files? Perhaps we each have our own personal tastes on what a great composition of a picture is that we strive to attain with software tools?

At this stage of my journey to proficiency with the I2 + X5S I am still thinking that the biggest advantage of this equipment is that you can get the camera is some very unique positions to expose the sensor to capturing awesome images. I do plan to upgrade my lens options with the 45mm and will endeavor to learn as much as I can about how to fiddle with the settings. But right now I am just blown away with how fun it is to fly the camera into positions that I could never imagine prior to owning the I2. I love what the auto focus and JPEG produce for now and will also get a post processing app then start to play with RAW images.

As someone said above, I also do miss the tube amps and vinyl days of 70's era audio. So it is about time for me to grow my digital photography skill set with current technology.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of photography as a whole, including film shooting. The art of photography is the result of every single decision, big or small, that results in the final image. One of the best bits of advice you will ever hear about photography is that you must take the proper amount of time and effort into each decision that affects the result, no matter how big or small. Photographers do not take pictures of objects, they capture the light that reflects off of them. The study of light's impact on the image is a personal journey that lasts a lifetime, and is far more complex than just praying for sunlight. Taking a bunch of photos and getting a few that turn out good is where we all started as photographers. Intense image control and artful decision making is where we all hope to end up. RAW files are simply better quality than jpeg, you should switch to shooting in raw immediately and don't look back. Processing them is easier than you may think. The 3 primary camera controls from the film days are still just as relevant in the digital photography(shutter speed, Aperture, ISO). Darkroom controls are similar to photoshop tools, and often share the same name(exposure, highlights, shadows, burn, dodge, contrast). Most importantly, learning what makes a photograph artistic and photographic has not changed. The basic to complex understanding of composition, light, subject, color, lineation, texture, and the interaction of these visual cues are at the core of good art. Everyone frets over the quality of their sensors, and drone's capabilities, but hopefully only to best decide what to buy. After that, JUST GO SHOOT! Sure, I think we are all a little disappointed in the still image quality of the X5s and X7 cameras, but they are still great enough to produce outstanding photographs!

 

[FlyaDrone]

Very well stated as I agree with your opinion and the points that you have elaborated on. Just what I was hoping to learn from those more experienced than I. You point out better than I did what I was trying to comment on and that is that science has evolved to the point in current digital photography that we must all continue to realize it is an art form versus a laboratory project. It is my vision that you have also pointed out, we now have so many more tools with which to deliver our personal vision of the final product so our potential for involvement has been expanded through technology evolution. Thanks for helping me better understand what I was trying to communicate.

 

[jackbisson]

For all you members who wanted to see how we lift full frame DSLRs using DJI equipment, here is the custom frame I had mentioned we were putting together this weekend.

We designed the frame around A3 and Light Bridge 2 - allowing you to use the DJI GoApp for flying with a DJI remote controller - it also streams us the signal from the HDMI port on the camera for a beautiful HD video feed. It flies just like all the popular copters you have flown with DJI remotes and FCs. For power we use the DJI Tuned Propulsion System E1200 Pro. They are 4216 class motors with 17 inch folding carbon props. The copter uses regular lipo batteries and you can put in any size that fits your flying needs. Its shown with a pair of Tattu 6000s (6S) but could also fly with 4000s, 5000s, 7000s, 8000s, etc.

We put a small 2 axis brushless gimbal underneath it - designed for a 5D Mark III and a long lens. In the photos I just put on a 6D and a 17-40L. We have been able to program the DJI photo button to trigger the camera but have not gotten the wheel to control the gimbal tilt. We installed the channel expander kit on the remote controller - this allows us custom channel mapping of 8 more switches / knobs. We may move the trigger to a momentary switch and we will use the knobs for gimbal tilt, roll adjustments, etc. That leaves other switch and knobs that may be able to be programmed for additional camera control or any other accessories you might need.

Our intention is to also use the DJI Focus to add a remote motor drive on the zoom ring of our lens. This will give us remote zoom from the ground and that would be great for flying a lens like the 24-105L.

This is obviously not a copter for the typical user. It is geared for the times that we just need the extra quality from flying a full frame sensor in a DSLR with a high quality L series lens.

We have been building custom copters like this for nearly 10 years and are very experienced in just about everything out there...if anyone is thinking about being able to get their high end still photo cameras up in the air, this flies like all the "off the shelf" DJI systems but gives you the ability to use your favorite photography equipment.

If anyone wants to know more about this, just let me know...and certainly keep Florida Drone Supply in mind for all your Inspire, Mavic, Spark, CrystalSky and everything else DJI related.

Photos are attached below (and we are still designing the top cover that will enclose the electronics (very much like the M600)

Thanks!

Michael

View attachment 14069 View attachment 14070 View attachment 14071 View attachment 14072 View attachment 14073 View attachment 14074[/QUOTEI

It would be great if DJI offered a drone that would carry my Sony a6500. This is a rather small camera. That would be nice.