Follow me drone
Discussion
I've got the itch to start videoing my classic car as part of its history file and general interest on YouTube. One of the things I'd like is to be able to film a drive down some of the lanes near me and having a drone follow the car getting different views.
How good is the "follow me" options on modern drones? Can they also do figure 8s or orbits whilst tracking the car - even better if it's done whilst moving. Speed would be up to about 15 - 25 mph - the lanes are pretty quiet, but a few higher speed runs - up to about 30mph would be good.
Can this be achieved with a sub 250g model or would I need a bit of a step up, in which case it's likely to be a bit of a non starter.
SD.
How good is the "follow me" options on modern drones? Can they also do figure 8s or orbits whilst tracking the car - even better if it's done whilst moving. Speed would be up to about 15 - 25 mph - the lanes are pretty quiet, but a few higher speed runs - up to about 30mph would be good.
Can this be achieved with a sub 250g model or would I need a bit of a step up, in which case it's likely to be a bit of a non starter.
SD.
Turtle Shed said:
I have absolutely no need for one of those but I absolutely must have one 
miniman said:
Turtle Shed said:
I have absolutely no need for one of those but I absolutely must have one Absolutely please do not do this - the follow me feature is not designed to be used, unsighted, while you drive - while these kinds of drones are reasonably lightweight, they are still a flying objects in the air. - And you really need to be in control of it, which you cant be if your hands are on the wheel driving a car.
Imagine it hits a branch of a tree or just malfucntions, and falls onto the windscreen of another car, could cause horrid accidents.
Safety first - if you want moving shots of a car, get someone else to drive, so you can have full control of the drone
Imagine it hits a branch of a tree or just malfucntions, and falls onto the windscreen of another car, could cause horrid accidents.
Safety first - if you want moving shots of a car, get someone else to drive, so you can have full control of the drone
Fordo said:
Absolutely please do not do this - the follow me feature is not designed to be used, unsighted, while you drive - while these kinds of drones are reasonably lightweight, they are still a flying objects in the air. - And you really need to be in control of it, which you cant be if your hands are on the wheel driving a car.
Imagine it hits a branch of a tree or just malfucntions, and falls onto the windscreen of another car, could cause horrid accidents.
Safety first - if you want moving shots of a car, get someone else to drive, so you can have full control of the drone
It was a badly worded initial question, one person will be driving, one person will be piloting the drone. What I was hoping for is minimal pilot input for keeping the car in the centre of the picture. I was never going to try driving and piloting at the same time. Imagine it hits a branch of a tree or just malfucntions, and falls onto the windscreen of another car, could cause horrid accidents.
Safety first - if you want moving shots of a car, get someone else to drive, so you can have full control of the drone
The neo looks like what I would like, I need to look a bit deeper to see if the subject tracking will do a car.
SD.
Ah understood! The use of "follow me.." made me think you were going solo!
I can't speak for the neo, but I have a mini 3 pro, and find the object tracking surprisingly good. I'll often select at object like a car, so the drone keeps it in shot, so I can just fly without worrying about framing to much
I'll do the same for stationary 'orbit' shots, like a parked car on a runway. those orbits, flown manually needs, need quite a bit of skill, as you're strafing sideways, but then pivoting the drone the other way with the other stick.
but with object tracking, the drone can pretty much do the whole maneuver itself
The only thing I'd say about the smaller drones, is they have a fixed wide angle lens, so to get a decent closer shot of cars moving, you have to get quite close.
I can't speak for the neo, but I have a mini 3 pro, and find the object tracking surprisingly good. I'll often select at object like a car, so the drone keeps it in shot, so I can just fly without worrying about framing to much
I'll do the same for stationary 'orbit' shots, like a parked car on a runway. those orbits, flown manually needs, need quite a bit of skill, as you're strafing sideways, but then pivoting the drone the other way with the other stick.
but with object tracking, the drone can pretty much do the whole maneuver itself
The only thing I'd say about the smaller drones, is they have a fixed wide angle lens, so to get a decent closer shot of cars moving, you have to get quite close.
How set on a drone are you?
We bought a insta360 X3 to do similar while we were in the states… along the scenic routes etc, and use a longer stick that the camera makes invisible.
The footage on YouTube from experts is pretty cool. Key bit is how you attach it to the car… I am a cheapskate and the the suction attachment I bought was pants, (I bought from Amazon instead of Insta) so we had to resort to the long stick held by a passenger out of the sunroof or window.
Not had chance to edit the footage yet but pikes peak looked ok when we checked the SD card on the laptop.
Apologies if I am barking up the wrong tree! Just a thought though!
We bought a insta360 X3 to do similar while we were in the states… along the scenic routes etc, and use a longer stick that the camera makes invisible.
The footage on YouTube from experts is pretty cool. Key bit is how you attach it to the car… I am a cheapskate and the the suction attachment I bought was pants, (I bought from Amazon instead of Insta) so we had to resort to the long stick held by a passenger out of the sunroof or window.
Not had chance to edit the footage yet but pikes peak looked ok when we checked the SD card on the laptop.
Apologies if I am barking up the wrong tree! Just a thought though!
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