quadcopter

DJI opened its new Shenzhen, China headquarters it calls "Sky City" this past September, but just this week released a fly-through style video that takes viewers on a tour of the massive new complex.

A wedding venue in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom has just published an incredibly ambitious, scripted, single-shot first-person view drone video that takes viewers on a 500-meter journey through the full grounds of its picturesque rural location.

FPV (first-person view) drones have been typically only used by racing and acrobatics circles, but this video from filmmaker and drone pilot Jay Christensen of the Minnesota-based Rally Studios shows the incredible possibilities when FPV meets creative professional.

Ever wondered what would happen if your fancy DJI Phantom drone got struck by lightning while you were out flying it? Well, wonder no more. Thanks to YouTuber Tom Scott and the University of Manchester High Voltage Lab, we can watch it happen... twice.

If these leaked images are to be trusted, DJI has a surprise in store for Photokina. It's supposedly called the "Mavic," and it's a foldable drone that's going to be smaller, lighter, and more portable than DJI's current Phantom line.

After months of teasing and dropping hints, GoPro has finally revealed that its upcoming Karma camera drone will be officially announced on September 19th, 2016.

As camera drones become increasingly popular as a relatively cheap and easy way to capture aerial photos and videos, there are more and more stories in the news of drone accidents being caused by poor piloting. For those who wish to capture pro-quality shots without having to worry about piloting drones themselves, a group of researchers at Stanford want to help: they've create a computer tool that lets you create a shot virtually and then have a camera drone automatically turn it into real footage.

The prospect of cheaply and easily capturing photos and footage from the skies is one of the many aspects that makes camera drones so alluring. With Extreme Flier’s successful funding of the Micro Drone 3 on Indiegogo, it looks like technology that was once exclusive to those with deep pockets will soon be available for less than $200. Featuring computer assisted flying, still photos, live-streaming HD video, and a modular design, the Micro Drone 3 might truly be a drone for everyone to enjoy.

Flying an aerial drone over a raging fire can be quite problematic, so much so that it can endanger the rescue and recovery abilities of fire officials. Recently, two incidents created difficulties for fire officials trying to battle a 24,000-acre wildfire in Southern California. The drones were flown into airspace over the blaze that then prevented the department from using aircrafts in subduing the fire.

There have been multiple stories of drones getting shot out of the sky with shotguns in the past couple of years. Last November, we reported that a New Jersey man was arrested after shooting down a camera drone that was taking pictures over his property.

Now another drone pilot, Eric Joe, has just won a lawsuit against a disgruntled neighbor who blasted Joe's hexacopter out of the sky with a shotgun.

If quadcopters haven’t yet caught your interest then maybe the B-Unstoppable hybrid drone will be the first. A Kickstarter project created by a company named ‘B’ aims to introduce the first commercially available hybrid tank-quadcopter to market. With the flip of a switch, your drone can transform from a dirt-barreling tank into a sky-flying aircraft while capturing footage the entire time via an optional 720p HD camera.

GoPro is officially getting into the camera drone industry. After rumors had been swirling since late last year, GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman announced yesterday that the company is building its own quadcopter, and that the drone is set to launch in the first half of 2016.

Aerial photography drones are highly useful pieces of technology that help us to broaden our visual horizons. However, popular consumer drones, from companies such as DJI, can cost well over a thousand dollars - something you certainly want to be careful with while flying. A new product on Kickstarter, SmartChutes, believes that they can help you to protect your drone in the event of a catastrophic mechanical failure or pilot error.

If you're getting into drone photography, it's important to know where you can and can't fly -- otherwise you could find your activities in the news for all the wrong reasons. AirMap is a new free, comprehensive, and interactive digital map that's designed specifically to help drone users find safe and legal airspace around them.

Some drone operator gave a pilot a scare this past Tuesday after flying the quadcopter way too close to an airport. A Virgin America flight reportedly came within 200 feet of the drone while landing at Dallas Love Field airport. To put that distance in perspective, consider this: the Airbus A319 airplane involved has a wingspan of about 117 feet.

The woman who was captured in a viral video last year attacking a drone photographer and calling him a "pervert" may have her charges dropped and record cleared.

A new FAA report is confirming what we imagine many responsible camera drone enthusiasts fear: the number of idiotic drone pilots is on the rise, and they're threatening to ruin it for everyone or, far worse, cause a full-scale air disaster.

DJI better watch out, because the camera that is commonly attached to its most popular line of Drones might soon have a drone of its very own. That's right, we're talking about GoPro, and the Wall Street Journal claims the company is planning to release its own line of drones next year.

The FAA has been working on a set of regulations for commercial drone use for months now, and according to the most recent reports, the results of all that work are some extremely strict rules that include requiring a full-blown pilot's license if you intend to sell what you're capturing.

Aerial photography drones are more ubiquitous than ever. But as wonderful as they are for documenting the world around us from a bird's-eye view, they inherently come with a number of safety and regulatory issues.

Solving these woes in a creative and somewhat strange way is Sergei Lupashin, who has created a clever little device called the Fotokite. Essentially, he put the camera drone on a leash.

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a camera-capable drone but lack the funds and willpower to lug the device around are stopping you, an upcoming product from AeriCam might be a great fit.

It’s called the Anura and is a pocket-sized drone that folds up to the size of a couple of iPhone 6s stacked on top of each other.

If you're looking to get into aerial drone photography, the PlexiDrone is one robotic quadcopter you might want to look into. It's an ultra-portable drone that can be transported disassembled and snapped together in less than one minute when needed.

Photographer Christopher Schmidt was out flying his quadcopter at Magazine Beach Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts earlier this week when his humming drone drew some unwanted attention. No, not the police. Nor a neighbor with a shotgun. It was a hawk that wasn't too happy with another flying "creature" invading its territory.

Photography drones are facing a perilous atmosphere of distrust and legal chaos. In these circumstances, even small mistakes can have big consequences. A shift in public sentiment against private drone usage could easily result in the application of restrictive regulations, or perhaps even conditional bans.

Yesterday, the story of two DJI Phantom quadcopters endangering an NYPD helicopter made the rounds online. Initial reports claimed that the two 'drones' were flying right at the helicopter forcing the NYPD pilot to take evasive action before following the Phantoms back to their source and taking the RC pilots into custody.

The air traffic control recording and several statements from the pilots themselves, however, seem to run contrary to what the NYPD is claiming, making it look like the helicopter was never in danger and, in fact, chased down the pilots with no idea what to even charge them with.

Update on 12/16/21: This video has been removed by its creator.

Portland-based aerial photography company Skyris Imaging found themselves in an awkward situation earlier this week when a not-fully-clothed woman was startled by a camera drone hovering outside of her 26th-floor apartment in Seattle and, naturally, called the police.

It looks like Photojojo aren't the only ones getting into the drone rental service. Student at the University of South Florida will soon be able to check out the controversial, camera-toting, remote-controlled flying machines straight from the campus library.

Editor's Note: This video contains strong language that is not suitable for viewing at work.

We've seen our fair share of photographers being harassed by people who would rather they not be taking pictures in a public space. Be it a cop or an angry citizen, the worst it typically gets is the photographer being forced (illegally) to delete the photos he or she has taken.

This particular run in, however, goes far, far beyond that as the upset citizen begins violently assaulting the photographer.

Although the battle between drone owners and the FAA carries on in terms of definitive laws and regulations, it looks like progress is being made. According to a report by Bloomberg, the FAA is looking to expedite the handing out of permits for owners of “low-risk” drones.

While the FAA is yet to receive the full legal authority over the regulation of drones or UAVs or quadcopters or whatever you want to call them, a recent incident involving a drone and commercial jet might just help them speed up the process to establishing legislation as to when and where these UAVs can fly.

Camera drones and their accompanying photographic capabilities are consistently getting upgrades in hopes of pushing aerial photography and videography to, quite literally, new heights. The newest company seeking to introduce us to these heights is Parrot, who just yesterday announced their AR Drone 3.0, affectionately called Bebop.

Would you like to photograph the Upper Yosemite Falls by drone? Attach a GoPro to your newly-acquired DJI Phantom 2 and just have at it, capturing views that Ansel Adams would envy? Well, you can't, because it turns out "use of unmanned aircraft systems (drones)" is prohibited in Yosemite National Park.

In an effort to document the intense and widespread damage of the tornados that ripped through Arkansas this past week, storm chaser and videographer Brian Emfinger made use of a drone, flying it above the damage and rescue efforts to bring to light just how bad the damage was. Unfortunately for Emfinger, the Federal Aviation Administration may have an issue with his drone use.

I don’t know about you, but I cringe when I lose a lens cap. So I can't imagine how Christ Newman of CineChopper felt when he lost, not a measly lens cap or even a lens, but a $15,000 quadcopter.

Slow-motion footage is cool. Camera copter footage is cool. Fireworks are cool. So what happens when you mash all of them together into one video? No worries, your head won't explode (mostly because the GoPro this was probably filmed on doesn't do so hot in super low light) but the resulting video is a mesmerizing two and a half minute experience.

There are two sides to every story, but in the case of Ohio copy machine repairman and aerial videography hobbyist Kele Stanley, his side is drastically different from that of the police who arrested him for flying his camera drone over the site of a car crash.