Truly EXCELLENT videos!! I don't know why after all the Yuneec Q500 model videos I've seen on UA-cam these never came up as "recommended" until yesterday. Since then I've watched them all and I will definitely send people this way that I might come across in the UAV and Yuneec Forums, and the Yuneec Facebook groups too, that are asking for guidance in their new acquisitions and how they work. I would have really liked your detailed and well done videos before I got my own Q500+ or even after getting it so I still found really good information in them and will watch them again! Looking forward to the upcoming videos in the multirotor space and will be watching your travel videos too. I checked out your site and it looks great also, a great find!
+Joseph Brown I really appreciate that! You'll find me in several forums - my username at rcgroups is websiteauthor. My videos are pretty new so they're still struggling to get into the recommended category. That's why I keep asking folks to hit the like and subscribe buttons, to improve my rankings. That's a way people can really help out me or any other youtuber, for sure. I've got a ton of videos left to do in this series so there will be more coming soon. They'll include some more advanced topics as well as beginner's stuff. I can't wait to get back into the travel videos too . . . I'm hoping to do at least one trip this year and there are lots of places to showcase here in Texas on weekends. Thanks again!
What do you do to protect yourself from legal and financial consequences while you fly your Yuneec Q500, DJI Phantom or Inspire, 3DR Solo or Blade Chroma? Can you prove that you're following the rules and using good flying practices? Watch this video for some easy smart suggestions to protect yourself in the event of accidents or false accusations. Got any more ideas? Post them here!
+hobby Any markings for identification are on the inside of the aircraft for now. I don't want my phone number shown on the UA-cam videos so I keep it out of plain sight. I'm waiting to see how things shake out with the AMA's negotiations with the FAA before I permanently mark the aircrafts. That's a good point though - I'm going to make that point in a future video when the FAA nonsense settles.
Lots of great ideas and I will definitely use them all!! Thanks again Jeff, as I am just getting into the quad copter hobby. Update a few minutes later......used your link and got the Ambient Weather WM-2 Handheld Weather Meter with windspeed, temp, and wind chill and log book combo for $38.00. Also downloaded your checklist. ;)
good stuff - at some point I'm going to do an episode just on updates to my previous episodes. Things change, and I want to keep folks up to date on stuff like products and websites. I like the log book combo idea - good stuff! As a newcomer to the hobby, my videos are targeted directly to you. More coming - just today I was recording content for episode 9 on creative camera settings, manual settings.
That's what you'll find in the next episode. I'll touch on white balance (auto wb vs wb presets), EV compensation, manual camera controls - and if all that doesn't run too long, a list of the settings I use. That last part may end up being a really short episode 10.
Let me get some input from you on this. Do I need to explain what ISO is in the video? I explain what EV is, touch on what white balance is, but don't explain ISO. For the application of the Q500, ISO is a very low priority factor in your shooting because the lens is fixed at f/2.8 and your shutter speed is the thing you pay most attention to in manual mode - tweaking your ISO is just a means to allow you to reach the shutter speed you want to use more than anything else. By that I mean you will almost never go into your camera settings and think, "I want to shoot at a certain ISO today, what shutter speed should I use?" Does that make sense, or should I explain it in the video? I've been a photographer since 1981 so I've really struggled with the depth I should go to in this video. Your timing is perfect - another few days and I'd be too far into production to go back and add that.
+Jeff Sibelius Well, I am definitely a begginer when it comes to cameras. A full in depth of everything would be outstanding!!! Can't wait for the video!! ;)
This is a great idea. I do something very similar but it's not for quads YET, I do have a chroma 4K on order though. I fly glow powered (Nitro) RC helicopters and airplanes and ever since this Registration started, I have started keeping flight and maintenance logs especially for my Brand new Infusion 700N which is a large heli. The guys at my RC club think I'm going over board but in today's environment I'm not taking any chances. AMA membership is a good idea, not just for the insurance but it also gives you more places to fly and the FAA tends to look the other way on certain things when you are a member. Another good idea is to keep an FAA VFR sectional chart with you. Makes it alot easier to spot airports.
All good stuff, David. Some people give me the thumbs down because I'm too cautious . . . I just believe in being smart and flying as safely as possible!
Hi Jeff I am brand new to the drone world and have bought a Q500 4K I want it probably for photography and wondered what software do you use to edit your footage? I would like to say thank you for your informational films they are great.
5Hi Dawn - thanks! I started with Sony Movie Studio v11. The program has an excellent walk-through tutorial to get you started. I upgraded to Movie Studio v13. Then I made the switch to Sony Vegas Pro, which is 95% the same as Movie Studio, but it did give me access to more tracks as well as the ability to use templates you can buy. Movie Studio and Vegas Pro were bought by a company named Magix. You can get the older programs still; I don't know how the future versions will run. Cyberlink PowerDirector is supposed to be good. I have a license for it but haven't had time to test it out yet.
Hi thanks for your grate videos . I have a q500 4 k black . There is a small use like a charging port next to the ad card slot on the q3 camera . Do you know what that is , I can not find any info , thanks you .
+hobby LOL I hear you - if you did nothing more than use a flight log camera for preflight and flights, you would accomplish a lot of what I promote here - and really, it's just a matter of putting on a camera and hitting record.
O and I really like your idea, I just don't have a computer or printer right now. I have a Q-500 4k, but have not flown it yet 1. do to weather 2. I am disabled and anything lower price 50° killls me 3. I am trying to find someone or a Hobby shop to teach me how to fly first. Just no luck yet.
+Juno Mac RC The SJCam that I have is a lousy camera, no where near the quality of a Gopro. However, for this specific purpose it's abet ter choice than the Gopro. It's cheap. It comes with the tripod mount and the frame so you have nothing else to buy but a media card, and most importantly, you can have it time/date stamp your videos. The Gopro 4 doesn't support date / time stamp. So - it's a great choice for using as a flight log camera. You might want to get a second battery for it though - the battery takes forever to charge and it doesn't last long.
+Juno Mac RC Juan, here's what you do. Go to the store and buy an inexpensive nano quadcopter. Find something small that you can fly inside. Learn how to fly the basics inside with the toy quad - it's a perfect time now with the weather being bad. Watch videos by youtubers Quadcopter 101 and Flyin' Ryan. They can help you pick a quad to learn with. Quadcopter 101 has good videos on flying basics. It's much better to learn flying basics with a toy - which is designed to crash - than a Q500 which is NOT designed to crash. Use the time lost to bad weather for this and you won't be wasting your time at all! Then watch the episodes of my video series - it takes you every step of the way through your first flight.
Vultures is a good and still nice comparison i think. knowing that the news agencys here (Europe) frequently fly in very unsafe conditions ( more often then not UNLICENSED). they created a very bad image about drones that, again more often then not, is a very helpful tool for so much things. Here in Europe the media is stoked about a BAD NEWS story involving DRONES. what they almost always fail to mention is that is a single bad apple in the whole batch of enthousiasts and that not all drone flyers are like that. whenever i start setting up my drone (Yuneec Typhoon H520) or previous models (DJI Phantoms) people are almost always very intriged about the copter and want to know everything about it. occasionally there is a kid that ask's if it schoot things to. or the qeustion about the NO FLY zones quickly turns into something like could you fly to a prison with this thing. (every pilot knows which way the conversaton is heading then and probably just like me tells that kind of people that that is programmed as a NO FLY zone aswell and that the aircraft is registered. This is useally enough to make these guys leave almost immediatly, as i am not interested in more bad drone news. to all flyers reading this and flying your aircraft in a safe and responsible matter , THUMBS UP !!! continue to do so!!!!!! and educate people when being asked questions helps our perspective to #. Compared to the single sided story that the news educates us
Thanks for this. We sUAS operators have become the persona non grata of the aviation industry. The disdain that the general public shows us, as they pass by watching us like hawks, giving us the stink-eye, is this much above child molester. Sure there were a few knuckleheads early on, but the media have sensationalized every unfortunate event to the level of pseudo-terrorism. We've been blackballed from day 1. Get used to it, I don't see the perception changing any time soon.
Hi Djaleks - The Q500 doesn't have an automatic feature for circling around you - often called Orbit mode - as you'll find on other quads. However, if you put the Q500 in watch me mode, the Q500 will automatically point its camera at you. If you then use the right stick and push it left or right, it should move in a circle pattern around you as it continuously adjusts to keep the camera pointing at you. I've never tried a full circle but I have done partial circles this way so theoretically it should work. It's very limited but it should get you what you want.
Truly EXCELLENT videos!!
I don't know why after all the Yuneec Q500 model videos I've seen on UA-cam these never came up as "recommended" until yesterday.
Since then I've watched them all and I will definitely send people this way that I might come across in the UAV and Yuneec Forums, and the Yuneec Facebook groups too, that are asking for guidance in their new acquisitions and how they work.
I would have really liked your detailed and well done videos before I got my own Q500+ or even after getting it so I still found really good information in them and will watch them again!
Looking forward to the upcoming videos in the multirotor space and will be watching your travel videos too. I checked out your site and it looks great also, a great find!
+Joseph Brown I really appreciate that! You'll find me in several forums - my username at rcgroups is websiteauthor.
My videos are pretty new so they're still struggling to get into the recommended category. That's why I keep asking folks to hit the like and subscribe buttons, to improve my rankings. That's a way people can really help out me or any other youtuber, for sure.
I've got a ton of videos left to do in this series so there will be more coming soon. They'll include some more advanced topics as well as beginner's stuff.
I can't wait to get back into the travel videos too . . . I'm hoping to do at least one trip this year and there are lots of places to showcase here in Texas on weekends.
Thanks again!
awesome video, i love all of your videos on the yuneec q500 ,Jeff. Thanks for posting. i look forward to your future videos.
Thank you, Gino. I really enjoy the feedback I'm getting on these videos . . . it makes the effort worth while!
What do you do to protect yourself from legal and financial consequences while you fly your Yuneec Q500, DJI Phantom or Inspire, 3DR Solo or Blade Chroma? Can you prove that you're following the rules and using good flying practices? Watch this video for some easy smart suggestions to protect yourself in the event of accidents or false accusations.
Got any more ideas? Post them here!
you forgot to place a phone number on the quadcopter !
+hobby Any markings for identification are on the inside of the aircraft for now. I don't want my phone number shown on the UA-cam videos so I keep it out of plain sight. I'm waiting to see how things shake out with the AMA's negotiations with the FAA before I permanently mark the aircrafts.
That's a good point though - I'm going to make that point in a future video when the FAA nonsense settles.
Lots of great ideas and I will definitely use them all!! Thanks again Jeff, as I am just getting into the quad copter hobby. Update a few minutes later......used your link and got the Ambient Weather WM-2 Handheld Weather Meter with windspeed, temp, and wind chill and log book combo for $38.00. Also downloaded your checklist. ;)
good stuff - at some point I'm going to do an episode just on updates to my previous episodes. Things change, and I want to keep folks up to date on stuff like products and websites.
I like the log book combo idea - good stuff!
As a newcomer to the hobby, my videos are targeted directly to you. More coming - just today I was recording content for episode 9 on creative camera settings, manual settings.
+Jeff Sibelius Awesome. Do you have a video on the explanation of ISO, etc on what to use on certain days depending on how sunny, cloudy, dark, etc?
That's what you'll find in the next episode. I'll touch on white balance (auto wb vs wb presets), EV compensation, manual camera controls - and if all that doesn't run too long, a list of the settings I use. That last part may end up being a really short episode 10.
Let me get some input from you on this. Do I need to explain what ISO is in the video? I explain what EV is, touch on what white balance is, but don't explain ISO. For the application of the Q500, ISO is a very low priority factor in your shooting because the lens is fixed at f/2.8 and your shutter speed is the thing you pay most attention to in manual mode - tweaking your ISO is just a means to allow you to reach the shutter speed you want to use more than anything else. By that I mean you will almost never go into your camera settings and think, "I want to shoot at a certain ISO today, what shutter speed should I use?"
Does that make sense, or should I explain it in the video? I've been a photographer since 1981 so I've really struggled with the depth I should go to in this video.
Your timing is perfect - another few days and I'd be too far into production to go back and add that.
+Jeff Sibelius Well, I am definitely a begginer when it comes to cameras. A full in depth of everything would be outstanding!!! Can't wait for the video!! ;)
Very prudent information, Jeff!! Thanks, as always.
I found it very helpful. Thanks
This is a great idea. I do something very similar but it's not for quads YET, I do have a chroma 4K on order though.
I fly glow powered (Nitro) RC helicopters and airplanes and ever since this Registration started, I have started keeping flight and maintenance logs especially for my Brand new Infusion 700N which is a large heli. The guys at my RC club think I'm going over board but in today's environment I'm not taking any chances. AMA membership is a good idea, not just for the insurance but it also gives you more places to fly and the FAA tends to look the other way on certain things when you are a member. Another good idea is to keep an FAA VFR sectional chart with you. Makes it alot easier to spot airports.
All good stuff, David. Some people give me the thumbs down because I'm too cautious . . . I just believe in being smart and flying as safely as possible!
Hi Jeff I am brand new to the drone world and have bought a Q500 4K I want it probably for photography and wondered what software do you use to edit your footage? I would like to say thank you for your informational films they are great.
5Hi Dawn - thanks!
I started with Sony Movie Studio v11. The program has an excellent walk-through tutorial to get you started. I upgraded to Movie Studio v13. Then I made the switch to Sony Vegas Pro, which is 95% the same as Movie Studio, but it did give me access to more tracks as well as the ability to use templates you can buy.
Movie Studio and Vegas Pro were bought by a company named Magix. You can get the older programs still; I don't know how the future versions will run.
Cyberlink PowerDirector is supposed to be good. I have a license for it but haven't had time to test it out yet.
A thanks Jeff for the quick response . Have a grate day , keep up the grate videos .
Hi thanks for your grate videos . I have a q500 4 k black . There is a small use like a charging port next to the ad card slot on the q3 camera . Do you know what that is , I can not find any info , thanks you .
+David Gagne I believe the USB port on the CGO3 camera will ultimately be used for firmware updates but this hasn't been implemented yet.
Thanks,awesome video; )
+hobby Thanks Hobby I appreciate that!
This is the first video I've done that relates to Phantoms, Solos, Chromas, etc. as well as Q500s.
Which aircraft do you fly?
i fly the first q500 for almost a year now and never had a single problem. i am to lazy to do all of this :-P
+hobby LOL I hear you - if you did nothing more than use a flight log camera for preflight and flights, you would accomplish a lot of what I promote here - and really, it's just a matter of putting on a camera and hitting record.
Also, do you run aftermarket props on your copter??
Other than my battery charger, I use only stock parts. I want what I show to be as close to what you'll be working with as possible.
are the sj4000 action camera's just as good to have then a Go-pro?
O and I really like your idea, I just don't have a computer or printer right now. I have a Q-500 4k, but have not flown it yet 1. do to weather 2. I am disabled and anything lower price 50° killls me 3. I am trying to find someone or a Hobby shop to teach me how to fly first. Just no luck yet.
+Juno Mac RC The SJCam that I have is a lousy camera, no where near the quality of a Gopro. However, for this specific purpose it's abet ter choice than the Gopro. It's cheap. It comes with the tripod mount and the frame so you have nothing else to buy but a media card, and most importantly, you can have it time/date stamp your videos. The Gopro 4 doesn't support date / time stamp. So - it's a great choice for using as a flight log camera. You might want to get a second battery for it though - the battery takes forever to charge and it doesn't last long.
+Juno Mac RC Juan, here's what you do.
Go to the store and buy an inexpensive nano quadcopter. Find something small that you can fly inside. Learn how to fly the basics inside with the toy quad - it's a perfect time now with the weather being bad.
Watch videos by youtubers Quadcopter 101 and Flyin' Ryan. They can help you pick a quad to learn with. Quadcopter 101 has good videos on flying basics.
It's much better to learn flying basics with a toy - which is designed to crash - than a Q500 which is NOT designed to crash.
Use the time lost to bad weather for this and you won't be wasting your time at all!
Then watch the episodes of my video series - it takes you every step of the way through your first flight.
Great idea !
+Boguslaw Smyk Thanks!
Vultures is a good and still nice comparison i think. knowing that the news agencys here (Europe) frequently fly in very unsafe conditions ( more often then not UNLICENSED). they created a very bad image about drones that, again more often then not, is a very helpful tool for so much things. Here in Europe the media is stoked about a BAD NEWS story involving DRONES. what they almost always fail to mention is that is a single bad apple in the whole batch of enthousiasts and that not all drone flyers are like that. whenever i start setting up my drone (Yuneec Typhoon H520) or previous models (DJI Phantoms) people are almost always very intriged about the copter and want to know everything about it. occasionally there is a kid that ask's if it schoot things to. or the qeustion about the NO FLY zones quickly turns into something like could you fly to a prison with this thing. (every pilot knows which way the conversaton is heading then and probably just like me tells that kind of people that that is programmed as a NO FLY zone aswell and that the aircraft is registered. This is useally enough to make these guys leave almost immediatly, as i am not interested in more bad drone news. to all flyers reading this and flying your aircraft in a safe and responsible matter , THUMBS UP !!! continue to do so!!!!!! and educate people when being asked questions helps our perspective to #. Compared to the single sided story that the news educates us
Thanks for this. We sUAS operators have become the persona non grata of the aviation industry. The disdain that the general public shows us, as they pass by watching us like hawks, giving us the stink-eye, is this much above child molester. Sure there were a few knuckleheads early on, but the media have sensationalized every unfortunate event to the level of pseudo-terrorism. We've been blackballed from day 1. Get used to it, I don't see the perception changing any time soon.
hallo from geece mister sibelius how to smart circle auto to my yuneec round raound to me
Hi Djaleks - The Q500 doesn't have an automatic feature for circling around you - often called Orbit mode - as you'll find on other quads. However, if you put the Q500 in watch me mode, the Q500 will automatically point its camera at you. If you then use the right stick and push it left or right, it should move in a circle pattern around you as it continuously adjusts to keep the camera pointing at you.
I've never tried a full circle but I have done partial circles this way so theoretically it should work.
It's very limited but it should get you what you want.
Jeff Sibelius i send you video to sparta peloponesse and thankyou very match mister jeff you ar the best
you have vidteo for smart circle mister jeff
Episode 3 explains the smart circle - I describe it early on and then demonstrate it at the end of that video.
οκ thaks mister jeff