Hello and welcome to another episode of Tips & Tech Talk. I’m your host, Ron. Today I’m with a fellow drone pilot in Utica, Michigan, John Daraban. Today we came out to fly our drones because not only is the weather getting nicer, but the drones are getting nicer and that’s how John and I started talking.
My first drone was the Phantom 2, way back before gimbals were perfected. Then I upgraded to the Phantom 3 Pro. This DJI Spark was your first drone but it is my most recent purchase. We came out here, flied the Phantom 3 Pro and of course your Mavic Air, which is phenomenal, but tell the folks what we were shooting today.
John Daraban:
Well, we came out here, we’re both native of the Utica area.
Ron Robinson:
Both Utica High School alum.
John Daraban:
We wanted to come out and just do a little bit of the hometown.
Ron Robinson:
I own a couple of these. These are fantastic because the gimbal is amazing. They had the Phantom 4, then they came out with the Phantom 4 Pro but DJI really changed the game with the Mavic.
John Daraban:
The Mavic, when that came into the scene that brought in a compact, foldable drone frame.
Ron Robinson:
It was always an ordeal taking this to the airport, because I travel quite a bit and it always creates a scene – everybody’s looking. But after this, DJI came out with the Mavic. But what really got me excited was the DJI Spark. And that was actually your first drone, the DJI Spark, wasn’t it? Talk about what your experience was with the Spark.
John Daraban:
This is the Spark, and it’s literally fits in the palm of your hand. This is Ron’s version of it but this is the same one I had bought.
Ron Robinson:
What color did you have?
John Daraban:
White.
Ron Robinson:
Okay, I get a lot of grief for having a blue one.
John Daraban:
Boy, I tell you what, color adds visibility also.
Ron Robinson:
Big difference, trying to identify this drone and trying to identify that drone.
John Daraban:
Actually, if you put a little reflective tape on the battery or even put a little orange paint, that will help with visibility which is part of the FAA laws. I want to stress that first and foremost, that any time that you’re flying, there are hobbyist rules. It’s the responsibility of us as pilots, persons in control, to make sure that we maintain a proper safe environment. Not only just for ourselves, but for everybody.
Ron Robinson:
For a long time, I thought, okay, well, they got business out of the way so that we can go ahead and make a living doing this. Surely they are going to double back and make a set of rules for people who use it for hobby purposes. And not only did they NOT do that (because of a court ruling by a lawyer in California named Jon Taylor) it went from you having to register your drone to now, where it’s like the Wild Wild West.
John Daraban:
We are in America, land of the free. We are allowed to have hobbies. We are allowed to get into things, whether it be bicycling, sports, or golf. We’re allowed to buy tools, equipment, cameras, and everything else.
This is one of those things. It’s like anything else – bad can used for bad and good for good. But we need a set of standards so that the Wild West doesn’t happen.
Ron Robinson:
You need a license to drive a car on the road. In the air, you have helicopters and airplanes up there so of course you’d have to have some kind of license and pass some kind of test to fly your drone and be a pilot. I think it’s a fantastic idea.
John Daraban:
Absolutely.
Ron Robinson:
But when the Spark came out, I liked it because of its small footprint. I just got done traveling, taking it to Florida and I didn’t even take it out of my bag. I went from being a spectacle to where no one even notices that it’s with me. It’s easy to travel with and it shoots at 1080, which is phenomenal video.
But what was it that made you pull the trigger and finally say, okay, this is what I need to get?
John Daraban:
Well you know, they advertised it as a beginner, a learner drone.
Ron Robinson:
Because it was just last summer that this came out. It hasn’t been that long ago.
John Daraban:
You know, it was the price point. The price point is really what did it because it was under $1,000.00. I know a lot of individuals think that’s expensive but literally, when you jump to DJI products or others that have as much technology packed into this, then it becomes relatively cost effective.
So, it was under $1,000.00. The size was also a selling point. I wanted it to be portable and compact.
On this camera you can actually see the size difference between the Spark and the Phantom series.
Ron Robinson:
The Spark came out and not even four or five months later, the DJI Mavic Air comes out which is pretty much like the Mavic and Spark had an offspring. The Mavic took the best features from the Spark. It’s a small footprint. It’s just a little bit bigger than the Spark but it does fold up. It has a 1080 at 120 frames which you can do some cool slow motions. But more importantly, it shoots in 4K, at 30 frames per second? Am I right about that?
John Daraban:
Yes, I think it’s even up to 60. So it does a 4K video and it gives many different options of frame rates. And again, with 120 frames at 1080, that’s just remarkable.
That’s 1080 high definition, slow motion, and basically a foldable, pocket drone that packs such a dramatic video punch. Whether it be local news or home videos, the professionalism that can be brought out with just a simple act like this is amazing.
Ron Robinson:
Even if you’re not going to use drones for business (which we do), I recommend going ahead and becoming a pilot because of the things that they teach you and the things that you learn, that your going to need to know if your going to fly this on a regular basis. Will you agree with that?
John Daraban:
Absolutely.
Ron Robinson:
Well I wanna thank John Daraban for joining me. I had a great time flying. Hopefully we’ll fly some more in the future. If you liked this video, if you learned something, if it was entertaining, or even if you watched it for 30 seconds, I want to thank you for watching the video. Please share it with your friends, click that Like icon. Also, go to my YouTube channel, hit the subscribe button and hit that bell icon to make sure you’re notified when I make future videos. Until next time, fly safe.
Looking for Drone Pilots in Utica, Michigan?
If you need to hire a licensed drone pilot in Utica, Michigan for your business for real estate listings, golf courses, hotels or any other commercial aerial media, check out my video below:
Hire a Macomb County Drone Pilot for Real Estate, Golf Courses, Hotels and More
You can also see more of my work at ronrobinsonstudios.com.
