Mikrokopter MK or DJI....

BradM

Member
I have built big *** 700 helicopters tuned them and all, and I fly them for manufacturers, so I'm used to testing, and testing, but I have known to test easier things and harder things leaving me with a favorite, and that favorite wasn't always the easiest flybArles system it was the one with most comprehensive setup and tuning a million little things that you had to do... So what I'm saying is whatever flys better is what I need to think about more... I go off feel of flight, and tunable features that make it even better.

Cool... would love to see some clips of you flying them ?
 

3dheliguy

Member
Yeah, Im planning getting some vids together for you guys, so we can a critqueing session over here.

Thanks for the enthusiasm.
 

DennyR

Active Member
3D I think with your experience you could consider something like a TDR or the new Trekker. The art in creating really good videos comes from the flying. The stabilized gimbal is there to help your creativeness, but it alone will not make you a pro operator. The more you use the gimbal the less professional it will look as a general rule. Unless the camera movements (especially Pan) are done very slowly it will start to look amateurish. The art is such that a good sequence looks almost like it is hardly moving. If you watch a typical rush from a Zen you can see as soon as the operator starts to play with the sticks, The locked-in view point goes out of the window. Motion blur artifacts become apparent and it becomes unusable from a pro. editors point of view. Compression artifacts will only magnify the problem. Create the movement with the model is the first rule.:tennis:
 
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3dheliguy

Member
Yeah you are completely right, and I have seen this in many videos, with all levels, and I have thought of using those machines as I am really accustom to them, the problem I face is safety of operation... If I were fully funded, and licensed, and could get insurance I wouldn't even think of using Multis at least from the standpoint of the kind of video I would like to get but that isn't possible at this stage in UAS development in the states. So I for now I'm going for a more safe and cautious path into this industry. Also I realize the comment about usuable video, so my trick to that is not really us the gimbal, but actually us the craft in slow turning or piroetting maneuvers to gain a better more usuable footage or perspective. So mostly just using the gimbal to stay on horizon, and pilot the rest, but I will go for a 360 pan kit as there will be a time when I need another operator, and it's better to just get it don't the first time.
 

AerialVue

CAA Registered Company
WKM if you need a commercial platform that will fly every time. With your skills as a RC pilot it wont take long for you to get the hang of it. Denny is right fly well save the post guys time and they'll have you back and back and back again.

AV
 

3dheliguy

Member
Ok, thanks guys I do love the Wookong I have flown them a lot, I'm familiar with hexas... I have never owned a octocopter... But I'm sure it will be just fine. I think what I'm going to do is buy my first Octo, and just use the Wookong M, if I don't attain the kind of footage I will sell the whole setup, and buy a different setup with the other possible FCs.

Ok guys I'm going to give Wookong M first. Wookong m fly octos very well?
 

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
U wont be disappointed. What do you want it for, sorry I have not read all the posts but I am guessing video.

Dave

PS if you want to get the best help then have a chat with Geoff at QC.co.uk. He has built loads for production companies both MK and WKM. Now though only WKM.
 

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
I'll bet you in the next few months you will somehow end up with the Hoverfly Pro. I'm gonna state that I am biased toward NOT buying things from China. But with that aside, the DJI is going to eventually piss you off, wether its a bad firmware in beta testing or you set a parameter wrong and cant figure out what combination gets things perfect. The WKM does fly very nice and super smooth but they are getting to have too many gimmicks added on in too short a period of time IMO. China's attitude is to keep adding firmwares with new features and make new products. Hoverfly focuses on making the heli fly predictably and smoothly wether it is windy or not. On my WKM if it starts blowing 12mph i lose my money shot. At 60p I can put it through post and get rid of most of it. but on the Hoverfly Pro I love how the wind doesnt make the craft fight or wobble. No matter what size heli you have you have 2 variables to change and thats it. you dont need to plug it into the computer everytime as the gains can be set from the tx in a non intrusive way. It sounds like their gps is on par with MK and RTH is much more reliable. Everytime i read someone saying they hit RTH and it flew the opposite direction I get more and more scared to use this as a tool. Lets say you are shooting something like a golf course and you are not using FPV. The heli gets away from you very fast and before you know it you have no idea which way is what. To be able to predictably hit RTH have it just fly from point A to B is a critical tool to have. You dont have to wonder if you hit the wrong switch in the wrong order and try to find a way to cancel it if it was an unintended command. Flip switch, fly home, un flip switch, stop flying back home. then by the time you figure it out, DJI has come out with a new firmware to fix 10 features at once. Flying should not be so complex. most shots involve an elevator shot, a chase or a flyby. For me, i want reliability MORE than any other feature. And expecting to go on set and rely on a calm weathered day is just not going to always happen. Anyways, I tried the WKM and for the most part I am happy with it. but after flying the Hoverfly Pro I am going to self appoint myself as a HF advocate.

I live in northern CA, in the SF bay area. you are more than welcome to come check out my setups and compare the WKM to the HFP yourself. They are both good controllers and i can totally understand why you would want to get the WKM but I think Hoverfly will treat you better as an overall experience. Their excellent customer service and being made in the USA is only icing on the cake.

Yuri
 

3dheliguy

Member
Yeah, I hear ya... I just think that for me typically I wont fly out of line of sight. And thats just how I think people should do this. If your familiar with you craft and you have been the hobby for awhile, then we just us what works, and works well in the beginning, if you start really doing some crazy stuff than your not going to have just one rig your always going to have a backup like the pros do. All I want right now is to get up in the air and make people wonder what the possibilitys with the right person behind the wheel are. After that the sky is the limit. And Im sure I will be getting a MK for those uses listed above, but for right now.
Im just going to have to tough it out with the Wookong, and if I cant get good results from this then you will see this rig up for sale in the near future. For right now this will be good enough... I just need ease of us at first.

If I cant make this thing look decent then yep got to go to MK for sure. I like the MK in alot of respects, but after talking to another 3d guy in here that went to the same Octo, and seeing the results hes gotten with his rig and the similaritys in thinking, all I can say is this will good enough for the time being. Man this stuff gets expensive and fast.
 

DennyR

Active Member
I'll bet you in the next few months you will somehow end up with the Hoverfly Pro. I'm gonna state that I am biased toward NOT buying things from China. But with that aside, the DJI is going to eventually piss you off, wether its a bad firmware in beta testing or you set a parameter wrong and cant figure out what combination gets things perfect. The WKM does fly very nice and super smooth but they are getting to have too many gimmicks added on in too short a period of time IMO. China's attitude is to keep adding firmwares with new features and make new products. Hoverfly focuses on making the heli fly predictably and smoothly wether it is windy or not. On my WKM if it starts blowing 12mph i lose my money shot. At 60p I can put it through post and get rid of most of it. but on the Hoverfly Pro I love how the wind doesnt make the craft fight or wobble. No matter what size heli you have you have 2 variables to change and thats it. you dont need to plug it into the computer everytime as the gains can be set from the tx in a non intrusive way. It sounds like their gps is on par with MK and RTH is much more reliable. Everytime i read someone saying they hit RTH and it flew the opposite direction I get more and more scared to use this as a tool. Lets say you are shooting something like a golf course and you are not using FPV. The heli gets away from you very fast and before you know it you have no idea which way is what. To be able to predictably hit RTH have it just fly from point A to B is a critical tool to have. You dont have to wonder if you hit the wrong switch in the wrong order and try to find a way to cancel it if it was an unintended command. Flip switch, fly home, un flip switch, stop flying back home. then by the time you figure it out, DJI has come out with a new firmware to fix 10 features at once. Flying should not be so complex. most shots involve an elevator shot, a chase or a flyby. For me, i want reliability MORE than any other feature. And expecting to go on set and rely on a calm weathered day is just not going to always happen. Anyways, I tried the WKM and for the most part I am happy with it. but after flying the Hoverfly Pro I am going to self appoint myself as a HF advocate.

I live in northern CA, in the SF bay area. you are more than welcome to come check out my setups and compare the WKM to the HFP yourself. They are both good controllers and i can totally understand why you would want to get the WKM but I think Hoverfly will treat you better as an overall experience. Their excellent customer service and being made in the USA is only icing on the cake.

Yuri

At the end of the day it is not about what might happen in the future but what IS happening now. https://vimeo.com/42166876 Clearly this FC is not anything special and the Gimbal IMU is not working at all well. Any similarity between what the PiP shows and the GoPro is purely coincidental. So that load of crap has been stabilized in post to add insult to the viewer. That was taken from the Hoverfly site just now, It therefore represents their state of the art. I dont need to show you what has been done with DJI as there are dozens to choose from that show the true state of the art. With what you have spent farting about you could have bought the best. And you know it!
 
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3dheliguy

Member
Yeah, just trying to get a feel of what I can do with this type of craft... I can handle big helis with ease, but they are far more dangerous, and I would like to just and some caution to wind in this endeavor.. I'm looking to become a skilled operator in the RC UAS world. I see a growing need for operators in the future, and some interesting opportunities, once this industry is defined... Until then I would like to become proficient with most of these crafts... I can pilot most anything from a glider to a jet to 800 helis no problem...but I have not much experience in MR, so my goal will be to learn as much about how these crafts can be utilized by a pilot to there full extent, it has taken me two years to become a good heli pilot, and I hope I can master this in a lessor amount of time. There will be a growing need for skilled operators in the future, so I'm just transferring skill sets for right now.

These crafts are not like collective pitch helis, and will need a bit of finessing, to get used to them, I feel it's a worth while endeavor.

U wont be disappointed. What do you want it for, sorry I have not read all the posts but I am guessing video.

Dave

PS if you want to get the best help then have a chat with Geoff at QC.co.uk. He has built loads for production companies both MK and WKM. Now though only WKM.
 

Stacky

Member
3dheliguy if you can handle an 800 heli you will have no real problems with a multi. You will be better than most in no time.
 

3dheliguy

Member
Thanks, I just am tired of searching...when all else fails you got to go with feel of a unit. I not saying DJI is the best at all, Im just saying that's what I have flown, and it seem to work good to me.. I never really liked attitude mode, I thought it wasn't great in wind, but I could care less it's Manuel mode that Is going to be fun.
 

Stacky

Member
I dont know if there is a best FC overall. We all like what we end up comfortable with. The MK stuff has been around for a long time and its full of features. Also when you work your way through what all the best pro video guys are using there is a big chunk producing great video from their MK controlled machines. DJI have come up with a couple of very nice controllers, the NAZA which has made it even easier for new people to take this up, its easy to set up and flies well. The Wookong and the zenmuse gimbal have absolutely set a standard for gimbal control. Im starting to see this combo producing some really nice commercial footage. Im flying Hoverfly and they have come a long way in the last 2 years, some nice footage from some of the pro flyers coming out with that as well.
The only thing that concerns me at present is the possibility of what happened to me when commercial photography went from film to digital in the 90's, the speed of improvements in technology meant I was replacing digital cameras and computers every year for a number of years to make sure I kept up with what my clients were demanding. It was a money pit for a while. Trying to pick the right FC and gimbal setup to get at least 2 years chargeable time out of is going to be hard because the improvements and advances are coming thick and fast.
 

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Have you got a MR at the moment or just trying other out.

Why go for a octo to start with? Get yoyrself a F450/550 and throw that around till ur blue in the face. Althought I do practice all the time with my bigger machines when I need to learn or practice a new manoeuvre I always reach for the F450. at 3 quid an arm its a no brainer and you will have loads of fun in manual!

Dave
 

3dheliguy

Member
Yep I have flown those I love to turn the gains up and flip them around. Poor mans 3D I guess, there super fun I can fly them and I have been on those for a bit... I'm not really needing any basics, I need to see what kind of performance and flight times, and just the stuff you need to explore to now your rig. There just a bit more to this for instance, I have flown TDRs over a hundred miles an hour 5 feet off the ground, but these things can do that, so i need to know in and outs... And obviously motor speed power torq, and it all adds up, but for right now just need to have some fun figuring out what the best way to fly this for good usuable imagery.
 

3dheliguy

Member
Yep, that's very true, but i got a feeling it's going to just come a point in the near future were DJI or Photohigher will come out with a gimbal is similar to the Zenmuse, but will be able to carry any camera. I don't really see it getting farther than that because what would the go after next a more perfect gimbal controller thats just dumb and the funny thing is they will, but the guys that know better won't care because they are pro operators, and that's just a different level all together. So before everyone and there mom jumps on the bandwagon you got to be in. Or else well how many photographers are out there???? Probably a million.

So just have fun and maybe something good can come of it.

I dont know if there is a best FC overall. We all like what we end up comfortable with. The MK stuff has been around for a long time and its full of features. Also when you work your way through what all the best pro video guys are using there is a big chunk producing great video from their MK controlled machines. DJI have come up with a couple of very nice controllers, the NAZA which has made it even easier for new people to take this up, its easy to set up and flies well. The Wookong and the zenmuse gimbal have absolutely set a standard for gimbal control. Im starting to see this combo producing some really nice commercial footage. Im flying Hoverfly and they have come a long way in the last 2 years, some nice footage from some of the pro flyers coming out with that as well.
The only thing that concerns me at present is the possibility of what happened to me when commercial photography went from film to digital in the 90's, the speed of improvements in technology meant I was replacing digital cameras and computers every year for a number of years to make sure I kept up with what my clients were demanding. It was a money pit for a while. Trying to pick the right FC and gimbal setup to get at least 2 years chargeable time out of is going to be hard because the improvements and advances are coming thick and fast.
 


FerdinandK

Member
@3dheliguy

In my opinion you can do a lot of crazy stuff with a WKM in manual mode, of course you have to practice, but you can do loops, flips, turns, ...
Here I am practicing on an inverted pirouette, far away from perfect, since the WKM does not like the "upside down" but to me the manual mode is nice, reactive and accurate. You can also go much faster in manual mode, of course it is not stable in the sense of self leveling, but very much like a Heli (a mit more convenient :) )

https://vimeo.com/41905928

You can also do smooth flying in manual mode (much smoother that any atti ro gps-atti can do).

https://vimeo.com/42335353

The limits of the machine are defined by you, in choosing the components, not by the FC.

best regards

Ferdinand
 

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
i agree, if you can fly SRH's as well as you say, you dont really have a lot to get used to other than orientation and the ins/outs of the software. Just go for the money maker and start flying it. Although it is nice to have a beater just for fun. You fly $1000 a lot differently than $10,000.

Denny, again, you are comparing apples and oranges. the Hoverfly stuff works very well for me and others, so why bash it to defend the likes of your Zenmuse...which is a band-aid for all the heli's flight instabilities. Wasn't it you that was just stating how the really good shots come from flying, not the gimbal and how having it too locked down and perfect just doesnt feel right? regardless, it's true, the best looking shots are smooth but also bank and turn like you are flying. I own thw WKM and NAza and they have been pretty good. But I have had more erratic behaviors from these two controllers than I have from the Hoverfly. Yaw twitches, random GPS toilet bowling, gain conflicts flying from area to area...It does fly very well when tuned right and i think on one level it is nice having more to tune. But somehow the Hoverfly has a very simple way of getting the same results and it doesnt go haywire in gusty winds like the WKM does. And as far as manual flying goes, at least in my own experience, the WKM was a nightmare in manual. the only crash we had was when the WKM went into manual mode. maybe it wasnt set up right but let me say that the Hoverfly in manual is absolutely unbeatable. it flies like a perfectly tuned SRH without the aggressiveness.
 

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