Had I started Pattaya Days ten years ago, my posts would have been littered with stories about broken radio controlled aircraft and accompanying expletives. Building, flying, crashing and repairing model planes was my initial hobby of choice when I first retired, resuming an interest from my younger days (beware, contains unusual trousers). Once I had run out of models, and heartily sick of the build/crash/rebuild cycle; I took up photography instead; as you may have noticed. I occasionally pondered the possibility of combining both hobbies in order to take aerial photos, but the options always seemed too complex, expensive and guaranteed to end in tears; pretty much as it had the first time around. But the desire to take photos from the sky remained.
Most of us assume that the appropriate height to take a photo is the distance between our eyes and the ground when we are standing up. In fact we don’t even think, we just do it. Occasionally I try and remind myself that there are other views available. If I’m taking photos of children for example; I like to get down to their level. As well as getting lower, you can get a little higher; either by finding a natural vantage point, or perhaps by standing on a ladder on the edge of a racetrack (in retrospect, not recommended):
But that’s about it, down to the ground; or up a ladder or similar. So when you go to Buddha mountain on the outskirts of Pattaya, you are limited to looking up at the mountain and taking a snap, the same as tens of thousands of other people:
But get a little higher (about 90 metres higher), and you can capture something quite different:
Cool, or what?
Yes ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Pattaya Days has now gone airborne; and it’s all Richard Barrow’s fault.
If you live in Thailand and you are not aware of Richard, you should be. He’s a full time blogger and an invaluable source of information on what is happening, and full of ideas for places to visit. Follow him on Twitter and gain access to his many different blogs here. Apart from the travel and news information, it was Richard who alerted me to the idea of juicing, which led me on the journey to my now almost vegetarian healthy lifestyle.
So if Richard is responsible for me expending a load of cash on a high-end juicer (and that’s how I explained it to my wife); then he now has to add the acquisition of a drone to his list of “crimes”; thanks to his latest web offering, Thailand From Above.
I had looked at the possibility of a drone before. For not a lot of money you can get something that you control with your phone and will fly around your living room until you are sick of it, or it falls into the goldfish bowl (about one hour either way). Or for a lot of money you can get a monster device that will hold a DSLR. This, for example, will set you back around $8,500; but that is without the camera.
Great for television and movie work where budgets are substantial; but hardly suitable for a man on a pension who just wants to take a few photos from a different perspective.
So, nothing seemed sensible, until I stumbled upon Richard’s site and discovered he had a drone that would only break the bank to a certain extent, would take what appeared to be excellent photos, and was easy enough to operate such that I would not suffer heart failure every time I flew it; The DJI Phantom 2 Vision.
DJI is a Chinese company and, as you might expect, there once was a Phantom 1. Then came the Phantom 2; and both were based on the same concept. You bought the flying machine and then fitted a camera (usually a GoPro) beneath it; connected to the Phantom via a gimbal which kept the camera pointing in a constant direction even though the flying machine was pitching and rolling. This worked well enough, but it meant you had to set your camera to record video, or capture stills every few seconds; and then fly it in the hope you pointed it at the things you wanted to record.
Not very satisfactory; so next you need First Person View (FPV). More bits, more expense and some form of monitor or goggles to stare into, in order to see what the camera on the Phantom was seeing; but with still no way of triggering individual shots. Or maybe choose a third party gimbal which would mount a Sony RX100 and come with a shutter release. Even more expense. All of these options were heading for $2000 or more, and required a load of tinkering followed by trial and error; and the error part could be very expensive; and very likely if it was me that was doing the tinkering.
Then along came the Phantom 2 Vision; the Vision bit meaning that there was a camera and a gimbal built in, and FPV was available via your smart phone. A complete solution out of the box for less cost than building your own rig, there must be a catch. There is, but we’ll get on to that later.
The Phantom 2 Vision looks like a toy made of cheap plastic:
This first time you pick it up you wonder why the hell this cost $1000+. Then the first time you fly it you understand why.
Built into this plastic toy is a compass, a barometer, a GPS, and an extremely complex flight control system. When you turn it on, it acquires satellites until it knows where it is in the world, then uses the barometer and compass to work out where it is pointed and its height above sea level. It then logs all this as its home position. Then you fly it. If at any time you take your hands off the controls, it just stops and maintains position. Even if it is sat in a strong wind, it will use the motors to push against the wind so that it remains stationery above the earth. This is extremely useful, allowing you to set up a photo while the Phantom just sits there, hovering, while you make fine adjustments. It is also useful if you have gone into a blind panic and want to calm down while you work out what you want to do next (this happens a lot).
When you have finished flying it, you can fly it back. Alternatively you can turn off the transmitter and go and eat a sandwich. The Phantom recognises it has lost connection to the transmitter and switches into failsafe mode (the current version cannot recognise that you are eating a sandwich). If it is lower than 20 metres it climbs to that height, and then it flies back to the home position. It then hovers for fifteen seconds to give you time to get yourself and your sandwich out of the way; before gently descending, landing and turning itself off. It’s a good trick which I have demonstrated a few times. Of course if the trick doesn’t work and the Phantom decides to disappear over the horizon instead, you will feel like a complete dick.
So, how do you control this thing? It comes with a two stick controller which is simple enough to understand. The left stick changes position in vertical space. Push up to go up, down to go down. Push left and right to rotate. The right stick controls movement horizontally. Up to go forward, down to go back; left and right to go left and right. Most importantly of all; let go of all the sticks and it just stops and hovers. If only all of my other aircraft had been able to do that then the model plane graveyard would have been less full.
On the top left of the controller there is a bracket to mount your phone which is used to provide FPV, control the camera angle, and receive status updates from the drone. Communication is by WiFi; but as you may want to fly this think so far away that you can no longer see it, rather than the ten metres or so that a WiFi signal would work; on the top right there is a repeater/booster thingie. Your phone talks to the thingie and the thingie talks over a long distance to the Phantom.
From my phone screen, I can see what the camera is seeing, as well as monitoring battery usage on the Phantom and checking the number of satellites acquired. I can see the distance and height of the drone from the home position, and what speed it is travelling. Because the GPS is working in the photo above, and I am not touching the sticks, the Phantom is almost stationary; even though a strong wind is blowing. This is why the image is inclined, the drone is fighting hard against the wind (and the gimbal only works in one direction). During this flight I turned off the GPS and the Phantom got up to 15mph, driven by the wind, before I turned on the GPS again and it again came to a halt; very impressive.
As the drone flies further away it can be hard to determine the direction in which it is facing. No problem, tap the icon on the iPhone to bring up a graphic that shows you where it is pointing in relation to you.
At the top of the controller are two, three position switches. I won’t bother explaining what they do; but trust me they are very clever.
As a flying machine, the Phantom Vision 2 is a very sophisticated and competent machine and one which is easy to fly; thus allowing you to concentrate on positioning it for the taking of photographs. The flight time is around 25 minutes; which is a good ten minutes longer than drones can usually manage. So what about the catch that I mentioned earlier? The problem is that the image quality is not that wonderful (and I am being kind).
The first, obvious problem is that the images contain significant distortion, courtesy of the uncorrected, very wide lens. This is what a shot looks like straight out of the camera:
Fortunately, there is a lens profile available which substantially corrects this in Photoshop or Lightroom; at the expense of significant smearing at the edge of the photo. This is less of an issue in my case because my camera is faulty and the left side of the image is soft to start with (quality control problems, I am not the only one). The manufacturer has agreed to replace it and I am waiting for the Thai agent to receive stock:
Having corrected the image, the next other obvious problem in this shot is the fact that the camera is tilted at an angle. This is because of the gimbal restrictions I mentioned earlier. This can be solved by spending $500 on a third-party gimbal, or shooting wide enough so you can crop and rotate, or best of all only shoot in low wind conditions where the drone will sit parallel to the earth, and you will get less vibration and therefore a sharper photo. In this case I just shot from far enough away so I could crop/rotate and get the image I wanted.
Photos are noisy even at base ISO and the colours and detail are not that great. The camera can shoot JPEG or DNG (RAW). I always shoot the latter, and the unprocessed image on my monitor is generations behind what I am getting out of my other cameras. But my other cameras cannot produce shots like this (unless I hired a helicopter):
Once you get over the inherent weakness of the image files, and realise that you can produce perfectly acceptable web-sized photos, taken from perspectives not previously achievable without air support; then you can start to appreciate what an exciting tool this could be. Not only fun to use, but with potential commercial possibilities, which is why I have slapped the name of this site on the images I have taken so far.
I shall be taking the Phantom with me on future photo trips and look forward to some interesting viewpoints. Meanwhile, here are a few shots I have taken around Pattaya; not as many as I would have liked because it has been constantly windy and I want to get the camera replaced before shooting with it in earnest:
The Buddha on Pratumnak Hill
Guan Yin in the park leading up to the Buddha.
Boats at Bali Hai pier
Burapa Bike Week
It’s a sign
Polo Escape near Pattaya
Viharn Sien
Preparing to shoot Viharn Sien (thanks to Nik for all the aerial shots of the Phantom)
My highest shot at 137 metres (it will go much higher). If you look between the double “T” in “Pattaya” you can see me; what you can’t see is the look of abject terror on my face as my expensive drone is a distant speck in the sky.
I am sure it is early days for the recreational drone market, and the coming years will see technology advancing and prices dropping; as well as legislation severely restricting where you are allowed to fly these things. In the meantime, The Phantom Vision 2 is an excellent, if expensive tool for those who want to take photographs from new angles. It is also a video camera, and probably most people will use it for that, but I am only interested in still photography so you will need to look elsewhere for video-related reviews.
The official importer for Thailand is Hobby Thai. Write to Khun Kally and he will give you a price based on current exchange rates and send it by EMS for no extra charge.
Comments 🔗
2014-03-08| The Midweight saysI used to fly RC helicoptres, my last model being a Hughes 500 D lookalike, with a three blade main rotor and also a three blade tail rotor. Both not entirely true to the real helo, but a good compromise between price (when you crash) and smooth operation.
Unfortunately the cost of this hobby is abominably high, and you certainly don’t want to take an expensive camera on board as the flying is all BUT self-controlled. At least it was in those days, where using even a single gyro was considered somewhat tacky :) .
To be honest, I quite like the IQ of the aerials you’ve posted. That Phantom 2 looks like tremendous value for the money to me.
Just be careful - I dont’t know Thai law regrarding this, but taking and publishing aereal photos requires a permission in many countries.
2014-03-08| genuinej saysWill it frighten the horses?
2014-03-08| Spike saysThe latest helicopters have the same flight control systems as the drone; which means they are very stable and easy to fly; which to me rather destroys the point. An RC helicopter should scare you every time you fly it!
2014-03-08| Spike saysWell reminded; I have added a shot of the polo field. The answer is yes,; it sounds like a swarm of insects and horses do not like swarms of insects; so I was told to keep it well away from the horse. Shame.
2014-03-08| The Midweight saysIt should be a bit of a challenge to a comparable extent the real helos pose to their pilot.. Or maybe that’s how the big ones fly these days, I don’t know. OTOH if someone invests a year into building a 100% true to reality version of the Bell UHD or some other helo, I also understand if they chose to not put it at risk more than necessary.
2014-03-08| Ray Walton saysVery cool. I love it. Would be good if not risky to be able to put our E-M1 cameras on board but then limited maybe by the Olympus WiFi range. Still those shots did not look too bad at all and fantastic angles. Way too expensive for my very depleted budget these days but my fat cat non retired friend Andy will no doubt love this and get one too, so I will borrow his whilst he is busy at work :-))) LOL
2014-03-08| Spike saysCameras are connected via an HDMI out to an onboard system which then transmits the video to goggles or a screen on the ground. The RX100 seems popular as a small, light camera for stills. If you want to put something heavy on it like a 5D, then you need a big and expensive rig (see the video).
2014-03-08| BlogDaz sayslooking forward to seeing some amazing aerial pics Spike.
2014-03-09| Jomtien @ Night saysI think your pictures are amazing. I would like to put a link to your page on my web site www.jomtienatnight.com if that is ok with you.
2014-03-09| christianpfc saysAmazing! Thank you very much for investing time and money and sharing the results with us. I often find myself in a position where i would like to get a view from a higher position, but toetips or next pedestrian bridge will have to suffice for the near future.
2014-03-09| Spike saysI would be honoured, thanks for asking.
2014-03-09| Spike saysI can sell you a ladder.
2014-03-09| Spike saysMe too!
2014-03-09| Andrew saysI have it on very good authority that next version ( Phantom 3 ) will not only recognize when you are eating a sandwich but also be able to recognize pasta, pad thai gow, muttar paneer, and just a beer….and you will be able to tell it to meet you at that bar on Walking street…
2014-03-11| Clive` saysThis is a seriously impressive piece of kit, and, I have to think, that it has the opportunity to be quite lucrative… For example, how many estate agents would pay for some decent quality ariel photos of top quality properties? Or someone operating a commercial venue that wanted to attract visitors - these are unique perspectives that stand out to jaded browsers just because the angle is so unusual…
I’ve been following your posts covering the pending release of new M43 glass, and I had been wondering if you were tempted to go back to shooting polo matches (if you could get decent IQ from your EM-1 and the 40-150…) but now I’m thinking that you have a whole new opportunity here either way.
Not entirely sure that you’d want to risk it on part-used batteries, but it occurs that you could get shots of waterbourne events [probably not windsurfing as I can’t imagine that it would cope with sustained strong breezes for long] and that might be an interesting experiment. There’s only one thing I could see that would improve the Phantom 2, and that would have been a modular camera. I can’t imagine that you’d need to upgrade the flight system or avionics, but I dare say the camera gear will get steadily better… But of course they want you to buy a shiny new one…
Cool…
2014-03-12| Spike saysThe commercial opportunities have been considered; need to teach SWMBO how to fly it… The only concern is the quality; OK for web use but not much more.
As I mentioned, there is a bare Phantom 2 to which you can mount your own camera; but the weight it can carry is limited. For heavier cameras you need heavier and much more expensive drones (see video).
I think I could shoot polo again with the 40-150mm; but I don’t think I want to. Plus, they have a replacement shooter. The drone won’t work for polo; at the height you would need to be, it would scare the horses.
2014-03-14| The Air Up There - Page 4 says[…] in Pattaya has just got involved as well. A great blog here explaining all about it. Phantom 2 Vision | Pattaya Days To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently […]
2014-07-25| Mr Mike saysMy friend Paul has something like yours for much less which he flies around Soi 13 beach road in the early evening. He has a “Go Pro” mounted on the bottom. The quad copter will also return to starting point with a flip of a switch. His is bright yellow. Happy flying and great shots with your camera mount. Not sure the weight of a Go Pro but perhaps better video.
2014-08-24| rjmorgansRJM saysGreat info on your site and I thank you for that. On your advice I changed to Naza M on my DJI Phantom Vision 2+ The info was invaluable. There isn’t a lot of well written explanations but your guide was superb. I even pointed a friend to it, and he used the guide. Thanks!!!!!