My Skydio videos

[baksideDisasterFlicks]

Thanks, This is the original drone I got when they were first released 2 years ago, no complaints. I tried out the SD R1 at their request and provided a bunch of feedback 3 years ago. The SD2 was well into development by that time so I doubt my input led to any changes but the SD2 addressed all the things I identified as problems (for my use).

I'm very happy with it.

From your vids I know you film a lot. We been flying Skdio just about the same amount of time, but my experience is contrary to some degree. It looks like you mostly film in the wide open, definitely where Skydio does it's best work. I was just down in Moab end of last month filming, confidence to throw up Skydio and forget it is was all time high. I was burning full batteries right and left without any issue. So nice when there's no big obstructions. Still I'm pretty impressed you've lasted this long without major issues.

Filming in the PNW we just don't have a lot of open terrain, especially for moto/snowmobiling/snowboarding so I get mixed results. When it's on it's on, but whoa the frustrations I experience with stucks, disconnects, and range issues are dime a dozen. I've had two Skydio2 drones replaced now, one pilot error when it hit a powerline, but the other was exchanged under warranty. Now I'm anxiously waiting to hear about the third. It's a love hate relationship for me. They got me by the balls cause nothing on the market can hold a candle to what Skydio can do. Ever since I got into drones in 2015 autonomous tracking of action sports was the dream and Skydio delivers..

The results when it's good are insane which keeps me hooked. I almost feel like its a gambling addiction at this point. I keep hitting footage pay dirt for quite a while, then all the sudden I get snake eyes. I'm pretty pragmatic about where I fly too. I know the limitations pretty well now and put those considerations into each flight. In the end we are relying completely on software, software inevitably has bugs an if you push it's limits your bound to reveal them.

 

[Ridefreak]

From your vids I know you film a lot. We been flying Skdio just about the same amount of time, but my experience is contrary to some degree. It looks like you mostly film in the wide open, definitely where Skydio does it's best work. I was just down in Moab end of last month filming, confidence to throw up Skydio and forget it is was all time high. I was burning full batteries right and left without any issue. So nice when there's no big obstructions. Still I'm pretty impressed you've lasted this long without major issues.

Filming in the PNW we just don't have a lot of open terrain, especially for moto/snowmobiling/snowboarding so I get mixed results. When it's on it's on, but whoa the frustrations I experience with stucks, disconnects, and range issues are dime a dozen. I've had two Skydio2 drones replaced now, one pilot error when it hit a powerline, but the other was exchanged under warranty. Now I'm anxiously waiting to hear about the third. It's a love hate relationship for me. They got me by the balls cause nothing on the market can hold a candle to what Skydio can do. Ever since I got into drones in 2015 autonomous tracking of action sports was the dream and Skydio delivers..

The results when it's good are insane which keeps me hooked. I almost feel like its a gambling addiction at this point. I keep hitting footage pay dirt for quite a while, then all the sudden I get snake eyes. I'm pretty pragmatic about where I fly too. I know the limitations pretty well now and put those considerations into each flight. In the end we are relying completely on software, software inevitably has bugs an if you push it's limits your bound to reveal them.

I hear ya, if I didn't have allot of open territory to choose from I doubt I'd use it as much and like you, probably run up against it's limitations more often. Looking forward to your Moab vids, I have used the SD2 out there a good bit and Utah is a great place to get some nice video. I've got some more video from this recent trip to edit. All big bike stuff so no action but nice scenery.

 

[Ridefreak]

Here's a ride down a well known trail in Utah.

Enjoy!

 

[Ridefreak]

Buckhorn Draw Utah

Skip to the second half of this vid for the Skydio.

 

[Ridefreak]

It rained all day friday which made for some nice conditions out in the desert. Enjoy

 

[Ridefreak]

I took the drone out yesterday near the house to test it further after this update, I'm not to thrilled with the tracking performance. Previously it might lose the subject once in 10-15 flights, yesterday it lose me 3 times in one flight. The other thing I'm noticing is the camera (gimbal) does this rocking thing of a few seconds, almost as if it's getting confused about the subject's altitude, seems to happen more when I was close to the drone. It's pretty annoying and resulted in less usable video. I was pushing the drone's top speed in a few areas but previously it handled that much better. Narrow band was on initially but after it lost me the first time I turned it off, I didn't notice an improvement with it off.

 

[VEGASROBBI]

Doesn't look good, I have yet to try out the new software. I'm sure Skydio will address the issues quickly if it is systematic.

 

[Ridefreak]

I didn't reboot when I switched back to normal wifi, I'm wondering if it changed.

 

[Ridefreak]

I was able to fly some more yesterday, I headed out to the drone proving grounds, an area with almost zero trees and a perfect place to do testing. It didn't start off well, 3 min into the first flight it crashed. I've got to give some credit to the SD2, it crashed very well from about 40' up.

I think I figured out some of what I was seeing with the gimbal instability, it appears to me that when it switches between visual and gps tracking, the transition isn't always smooth and second, there appears to be a slight difference in where the GPS thinks the camera should be pointed and what the visual indicates. Making it worse, sometime it oscillates between the two POVs. I used to get some of this same behavior once in awhile but it appears to be more frequent. Besides the crash, it's doing better the more it's flown. Similar to when it was new. During the two batteries worth of flights it didn't lose subject lock but I backed off a little on the throttle. It's pretty easy to outrun the drone on trails like this.

 

[VEGASROBBI]

Any damage from the crash?

The optical and GPS tracking should be synched somehow, maybe they messed it up in the update.

 

[Ridefreak]

The props are nicked up a little. Otherwise it seems to be fine. The rest of the vid was after the crash.

Can't figure out why it fell out of the sky though, I'm lucky I didn't run over it.

 

[VEGASROBBI]

It might be worth sending in the logs

I'm going to try out the new update shortly and will report back.

 

[Ridefreak]

This was a fun ride from this weekend. The Skydio did well except for 2x when I went behind something and it seemed reluctant to switch to GPS. Also gimbal shake was minimal with the beacon secured.

Enjoy.

 

[skydioconvert]

This was a fun ride from this weekend. The Skydio did well except for 2x when I went behind something and it seemed reluctant to switch to GPS. Also gimbal shake was minimal with the beacon secured.

Enjoy.

Quite a rough trail.... the trail collapsing into the deep chasm was an eye opener.

How did you get around that spot?

 

[Ridefreak]

Quite a rough trail.... the trail collapsing into the deep chasm was an eye opener.

How did you get around that spot?

We couldn't get around that, that was the lunch stop so we parked. It's an interesting place to take a break.

 

[skydioconvert]

We couldn't get around that, that was the lunch stop so we parked. It's an interesting place to take a break.

Have much trouble turning the bikes around?

If alone is it possible to lift a bike to turn it around?

 

[Ridefreak]

Have much trouble turning the bikes around?

If alone is it possible to lift a bike to turn it around?

You can see it in the video, we kinda ride them around with what amounts to about a 10 point K turn using the steep sides to roll backwards. Yeah you can drag them around if needed, they weight around 250 ish.

 

[Trailryder42]

Have much trouble turning the bikes around?

If alone is it possible to lift a bike to turn it around?

I real tight spots you can put the kick stand down, pull the weight of the bike up on it and just pivot the bike around to head the other direction.

 

[skydioconvert]

Nice tricks you guys... looking forward to more fascinating videos.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

[dougcjohn]

@Ridefreak Nice Video (#113 post), great mix of segments and transitioning between clips... audio was great!
Was the majority captured on-bike/helmet camera? Those were nice & stable for trail, what setup? GoPro Stabilized or a Gimbal Camera?

The S2 did a great job on the hilltop turn-around, sweet how the S2 turned & pivoted to follow!
Is there a LUT or nice way to equalize the color grades between On-Bike & S2?
On bike appeared brighter & more saturated than S2 footage, but it looked like S2 footage could be enhanced.

You mentioned "beacon secured", does minor beacon movement/shake on bike effect S2's gimbal in air? Curious because I capture cycling with beacon in Rider's pocket (typically mine).