Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

[Nathaniel]

I have recently seen some stunning pictures taken by people using a drone- vide facebook to see some examples. Is this the sign of times to come? We may have to ditch our DSLR's and invest in a drone!!!!!!!!

[Tigger]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

isn't drone photography videography? Yes I've seen some very good examples but its video so another genre and certainly not a case for ditching our SLRs

[Nathaniel]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

There are some excellent "stills" taken via these Drones or videography!

[Jock]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Rather than drone photography taking over, I see it as just another subset of photography. In view or recent events, I suspect anyone flying a drone in the near future will have to be CAA certified as an absolute minimum and I see some very stringent regulations on the horizon.

[jk224]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Surely it's nothing new, they've been taking photographs from flying machines since World War 1 ! Agree with Jock, anything large enough to carry a decent camera will soon be regulated and usage restricted.

[paul linton]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

I suspect anyone flying a drone in the near future will have to be CAA certified as an absolute minimum

Think Jock's right anybody who thinks they can just buy one and fly it anywhere will be in for a shock as a CAA licence will be a must (if you wish to fly a drone on a commercial basis, or fly one with a camera/surveillance fitted aircraft within congested areas or close to people and properties that are not under your control) which probably cover 99% of places.

Paul

[Wayne Els]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

I think they will be banned unless you have a license to fly it. Too many idiots crashing them into people and flying them in restricted areas.
Back to the OP, I've seen some "quite" good shots from them. They have a novelty factor in being able to take fresh shots of cliched ones that have been done to death. I went to a presentation by a guy who fly's one with a 5D3 & L glass on it, predominantly for businesses wanting something different. It's a bit like the guys who have those cameras on long telescopic poles out of a van. Or GoPro shots of action sports but for landscape and using grads, etc. I don't see it.

[Gelert]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Strict regulations already exist for the use of drones. Any commercial use requires CAA approvals which involve ground training, pilot assessment and examinations plus production of an Operations Manual - this little lot can cost anywhere between £1000 - £2000 and that is without the cost of the drone.
Non commercial use is currently open to anyone but with restrictions in the area of usage i.e. no higher than 400 metres, no closer than 50 metres to people or buildings plus the additional no go zones of airports, military areas etc.

In view of recent events and prosecutions, I can see the latter group being further restricted. However, the commercial use group is already well controlled by the CAA so will probably remain unchanged.

Agree with Nathaniel that some of the stills and video now being produced are absolutely stunning.

[jk224]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

The son-in-law is a member of a model flying club, and has to follow all the rules and regulations to fly his fixed wing aircraft, some of which are quite a reasonable size and would do considerable damage if accidentally flown into a person, especially at the speed they can do. He recently bought a fair sized drone, and fitted a Go-Pro sized camera to it. Luckily the camera was only a cheap one, as the first time he took the drone to nearby moorland to test it, it suddenly lost all power and went to ground a few hundred yards away and despite searching for hours he's never been able to find it. I wouldn't fancy that happening with a 5DIII on board!

One of the club members took a very large drone to the field the club uses for flying. While flying it the remote transmitter lost power, and the connection with the drone was lost. The drone was fitted with a GPS homing system, whereby if connection is lost it returns automatically to the set position. Unfortunately he'd set that facility in his back yard, so when he got home the drone was sat in the middle of his lawn, having flown back a good few miles over several built up areas and at least one motorway. What could have happened if this had come down out of control in one of those areas doesn't bear thinking about. Some kind of regulation is obviously needed.

I can think of one or two places where a drone could be used to take a picture from a different viewpoint not available using "conventional" means, but despite a great interest in all things flying (of the mechanical variety) I don't think I'll be bothering any time soon.

[jimsphotography]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

I don't think so Nat - probably the foreseeable impact on the way we presently take photographs will be:-
1) UHD video of such a high resolution that you can extract any still frame from it to get a very high quality still photograph
2) cameras with multiple lenses of different focal lengths that can compute a composite still image ( I believe one is just about to come onto the market)
3) one camera control body with no sensor and you swap different lenses but with the sensor permanently integrated with the lens
4) Foveon sensors which can be ' binned' at different resolutions to enhance night use performance

Any other ideas out there that are not truly fictional but have some basis in fact?
James

[paul linton]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Here's a link to a company in Hull that uses drones, some nice stuff.
Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyr887DH5w

Paul

[Tigger]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Here's a link to a company in Hull that uses drones, some nice stuff.
Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyr887DH5w

Paul

I do find it amusing they say permission was given - so did they ask every runner

[paul linton]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

I do find it amusing they say permission was given - so did they ask every runner

Probably never asked every runner but I'm sure every runner would of signed some forms when they entered the race to say publication can be used (in very small print).

Paul

[anderson.council]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

There are some stunning films being made with drones.

A couple of my favourites are :
Antarctica by Kalle Ljung
Beautiful Scotland by John Duncan.

My take on this is that you can use a drone to enhance your static images in a way that would not have been possible before without resorting to renting helicopter/small aircraft flight time. I'm at that stage where I think I want one but the head is saying - are you sure ? would you really use it ?

[Wayne Els]

Re: Will drone photography take over from photography as we know it today?

Drone Police ;-)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...er-drones.html