There is a mistake in this video that you should be aware of - I say throughout that UK frame rates should be 24 fps and the cinematic setting is 25 fps. These are reversed. The UK 's normal frame rate is 25 fps and the cinematic setting is 24. Sorry for the confusion!
Hi Braydie - unfortunately, I don't think you can.As you do more flights you develop a sense of how much lag there is for flying your shots, but the Q is never going to be a real FPV platform.
Thank -You again Jeff, For another great video helping me fly my Yuneec Q500 4K when I first got it and tried watching my videos for the first time on my computer or T.V. monitor, My computer and my 1080 T.V. couldn't handle it... but thanks to you, I switched the camera settings on the Q500 4k to: 1920 by 1080 @30fps. and everything looks Awesome on my laptop and T.V. monitor... I don't know anything about shutter speed white balance, and so on... I don't use CGO3 Pro yet, just default.. I let the camera do the thinking for me right now... but with all of your helpful videos, I might learn about the ultimate camera settings the Q500 4K offers!.. Thanks again my friend!... Love all your videos regarding the "Yuneec Q500 4K Drone.
I'm glad the videos are helping! Right now I'm working on a series of videos that might be just right for you. I'm going into each of the camera settings for a thorough explanation. Then I'll cover rules of composition to discuss ways to improve the video you shoot. After that I'll talk about things to do while you fly so you've got footage that is ideal for simpler and better editing. They're going to be very in-depth so they're taking some time, but I hope to have the first of them out soon.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with it. Love your videos I'm learning a lot from them they are very educational
Thanks, Aaron, I'm glad you found the video helpful. I probably should have given more attention to the PAL/NTSC question in this episode. I didn't because I was concerned about how long the episode was running, but in retrospect I probably should have. Here's a list of what countries use NTSC or PAL: ihffilm.com/videostandard.html
Hi, I hope you can help me. I am new using Q500 4K Typhoon. I bought it used, the camera CGO3 was not working. I ordered one online, I ordered a CGO3+ by mistake. now I am not sure it this can be comparable. what do you think?
Have you made a video yet explaining how you use Vegas Video? It was mentioned in a video, but I have not seen it. Thanks for all of your videos. They are a big help to me.
Hi Rick - glad the videos are helping you out! I use Vegas Pro to create my videos and intended to do a video or two on basic editing with it. The problem is that this program is (comparatively speaking) really expensive. I think most people just getting into the drone flying hobby would cringe at the price tag for the program. I've been looking into free or low-cost programs as an alternative . . . if I can show people how to use a free application to do basic video edits and output for RUclips, I think a lot of people would really appreciate that. Are you using Sony Vegas?
Yes, I have used it for years. In fact, I need to upgrade. I just use the basics but I like it. I've done commercials, birthday/graduation videos, etc. I am still on Vegas 11. I haven't looked at it since they were bought out. Windows Movie Maker 12 would be good for a lot of people!
It's quite a capable editor without being brutally difficult like Premiere Pro. I found that Vegas 12 and 13 had some inexplicable program lockups on occasion but otherwise they've been great. I actually bought the upgrade to 14 but haven't installed it yet - I've been so busy putting out videos that I couldn't risk a problem with a software upgrade that might put a kink in my production LOL. And now they have Vegas 15 out - and it's crazy expensive. For most people, Sony Movie Studio does everything that Vegas would do for them and it's much cheaper. I just don't want to buy the program simply to do a couple training videos on it, not when I've already invested in the more expensive version. Free programs, however . . . those have potential.
In this video I’m going to list out four different types of drone flyers - the beginner, the beginner who wants to print photos, the basic video editor and the advanced video editor - and explain what settings each one should use. I'll tell you the Video Settings, Photo Mode, White Balance, Image Style, and auto or manual camera settings you should use, regardless your level of experience as a drone pilot or photographer.
Hi Jeff my name is Dave, I just bought a Yuneec Typhoon H pro, and testing it out. I was curious at the end of the video you mentioned a Face Book link, I couldn't find that link... btw: thanks for the video, I will check out your other ones, and this was very helpful! I just subscribed to your followers group... oh geez, I just saw the "Show more" link on your Description, so found the link to FB group, and just signed up... thanks
Hi Jeff, what would be the best camera mode for video or photo's, during night flight? I want to video and photo a firework show here in Czech Republic on New Years. Any advice would be great. I have the Typhoon H Pro with Real Sense and 4K camera.
This is a great question. I don't fly at night so I've never tried this with a drone. Let me just throw out a few ideas. First, you don't want to shoot in auto exposure mode because your exposure will change drastically as each fireworks explosion occurs. So you want to shoot in manual. For video, I would set my shutter speed to twice my frame rate - for you I'm guessing that would be 1/50th second. Then try adjusting your ISO up or down to get the proper exposure. If the fireworks are blown out no matter what ISO you choose, adjust your shutter speed to a faster setting than 1/50th. Likewise, if you find that you're using a very high ISO setting and getting a lot of noise you might have to bump up your shutter speed to reduce noise. For stills, I'd test out shooting with even slower shutter speeds - ideally your shutter will remain open as long as possible so you get the full motion of the fireworks as they spread across the sky. When I shoot fireworks off a tripod I hold the camera open for several seconds. That probably won't work on a drone though, since it doesn't sit that still. But it would be worth trying to shoot at slower shutter speeds to see if you can get pictures that aren't ruined by motion blur. As you shoot, remember that the tendency will probably be to overexpose the fireworks. Definitely you should bracket your shots to see what gives you visible images of the fireworks without blowing out the colors. If I were going to do this, I would find a place where neon signs or illuminated signs can be isolated against a dark sky and test exposures then with a flying drone.This won't be exactly the same as the fireworks, but it will give you a ballpark idea of what settings you should use and allow you to see if you get motion blur in your shots.
Hi Jeff - My question is setting JPG or DNG for still shots. I have a Q500 4K, with CG03 camera and ST10+ controller. I changed the setting from JPG to DNG on the ST10+ (using the gear icon, then Photo Mode) but when I shoot images the file type is still JPG on the micro SD card. Is there another setting I need to change to get this to work? Thanks
Hi Tom - make sure your card is clear before you shoot, then try shooting with the DNG format chosen. If you're using a PC, make sure you're looking at the card contents in Windows Explorer (or File Explorer in Win 10). The only thing I can think of is that whatever you're using to view the contents of the micro SD card, it's not seeing DNG files - like it's looking for all image files but it isn't configured to recognize DNG as an image file format . . . I can't think of anything else that would cause you to get JPGs when you set the camera to DNG. One other idea - along the right side of the screen is a toggle between video and photo. Make sure that's set to photo before you shoot your JPGs. I'm wondering if the system defaults to JPGs if you shoot stills while the switch is toggled to video, regardless what file format you selected in image settings. Try those and let me know if they work.
Hi Jeff is there a resolution you can recommend between 4096x2160? I use that setting on my Q500 4K and he results are impressive but playback is not so impressive - it jerks a but and is not as smooth as I would like. I have used my video editor to output it in 1920x1080, and it comes out very smooth but the video quality is no where near as crisp and detailed. Looking for a happy in between solution.
Let's try a couple things. First, your 4K video sounds like it's actually smooth because it runs smoothly when you downsample it. It may be jerky because of the software you're using to play it back. So try downloading the free program MPC-HC at mpc-hc.org/ - I've found this program plays 4K video on my notebook, when Windows Media Player and even VLC can choke on it. The next issue here is the results of your video when you downsample it. Are you trying to view the 1080p video on a higher res monitor? That might be the culprit. Do other 1080p videos look good on your display? A 4K video downsampled to 1080p should look better, not worse, than a video shot at 1080p. So something is wrong there, perhaps the settings you're using to render your video. Try rendering as a Windows Media Video (WMV) file, 1080p resolution at the same frame rate you shot at - 24, 25 or 30. I've found that rendering it to MP4 can sometimes diminish the quality so I've changed over to WMV format. If that doesn't seem to help, shoot a short clip at 4K and render it down to 1080p, then see if you can upload both versions someplace where I can download them. I'll see if the quality difference appears on my screen as well. You can bring down your resolution for recording the video - most drones have 3840 x 2160, which probably wouldn't help you much. You can bring it down to 2.7K resolution which will reduce your file size. I always hesitate to do that because you lose some editing (zoom/crop) capabilities when you shoot at lower resolution, but having a good quality final output is more important in the final analysis. Let me know if any of those ideas help!
I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. My typhoon/cgo3 is set for JPEG for pics and DNG for video but when I download to my computer it is always MP4. What am I doing or not doing ?
Hi John - everything is working for you. JPEG and DNG are both formats for still pictures. Your video will be MP4. I can't remember - it may also allow you to shoot video in MOV format as well, but I don't think it would have any advantage over MP4 for you.
You say in the UK you should use 24 frames per sec. but when I do that my videos looks Jerky when viewing moving objects please can you advise. Best regards George
Hi George - I pinned a comment to this video to correct - the UK framerate should be 25 fps, not 24. However, I don't think that is what is causing the jerkiness that you describe. Are you experiencing this at 4K resolution? Try shooting at 1080p at 25 fps and see if that is jerky as well. You can try to address the jerkiness with a different video player - download the free video player MPC-HC from mpc-hc.org/ and see if your 4K video will play better with this program. Be sure to download it from the link I provided - other people offer it as a download but spyware is attached to those sites. mpc-hc.org is the originator of the program and their download is clean.
I didn't take it that way at all - I'm glad you let me know so I could post corrections in the description and comments. Glad the videos are helping and thanks for helping me get it right!
There is a mistake in this video that you should be aware of - I say throughout that UK frame rates should be 24 fps and the cinematic setting is 25 fps. These are reversed. The UK 's normal frame rate is 25 fps and the cinematic setting is 24.
Sorry for the confusion!
Can you please tell me how to reduce or get rid of lag or delay on my Transmitter screen for my yuneec q500 4k
Hi Braydie - unfortunately, I don't think you can.As you do more flights you develop a sense of how much lag there is for flying your shots, but the Q is never going to be a real FPV platform.
I needed these tips when I first started using my Yuneec drone. great video and awesome tips.
Thank -You again Jeff, For another great video helping me fly my Yuneec Q500 4K when I first got it and tried watching my videos for the first time on my computer or T.V. monitor, My computer and my 1080 T.V. couldn't handle it... but thanks to you, I switched the camera settings on the Q500 4k to: 1920 by 1080 @30fps. and everything looks Awesome on my laptop and T.V. monitor... I don't know anything about shutter speed white balance, and so on... I don't use CGO3 Pro yet, just default.. I let the camera do the thinking for me right now... but with all of your helpful videos, I might learn about the ultimate camera settings the Q500 4K offers!.. Thanks again my friend!...
Love all your videos regarding the "Yuneec Q500 4K Drone.
I'm glad the videos are helping! Right now I'm working on a series of videos that might be just right for you. I'm going into each of the camera settings for a thorough explanation. Then I'll cover rules of composition to discuss ways to improve the video you shoot. After that I'll talk about things to do while you fly so you've got footage that is ideal for simpler and better editing. They're going to be very in-depth so they're taking some time, but I hope to have the first of them out soon.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with it. Love your videos I'm learning a lot from them they are very educational
Fantastic video thanks Jeff, just what I was hoping you would do a video about. In Australia we use PAL which is the same as the UK.
Thanks, Aaron, I'm glad you found the video helpful. I probably should have given more attention to the PAL/NTSC question in this episode. I didn't because I was concerned about how long the episode was running, but in retrospect I probably should have. Here's a list of what countries use NTSC or PAL: ihffilm.com/videostandard.html
Very helpful video 👍 Thanks
Would love c23 tutorial/review. Just bought an h plus and c23 is world apart from cgo3+, it’s hard to get used to.
Thank you for this video. I had no idea what to set my camera at. My first vid didn't upload properly. I think this should fix it.
Where do you get those ND filters for Yuneec Q500
Hi, I hope you can help me. I am new using Q500 4K Typhoon. I bought it used, the camera CGO3 was not working. I ordered one online, I ordered a CGO3+ by mistake. now I am not sure it this can be comparable. what do you think?
Hi
ThaNKS FOR THE VIDEO,
I HAVE A QUESTION, IF I WANT TO EDIT THE VIDEO, DO YOU USE AN SPECIFIC SOFTWARE?
Have you made a video yet explaining how you use Vegas Video? It was mentioned in a video, but I have not seen it. Thanks for all of your videos. They are a big help to me.
Hi Rick - glad the videos are helping you out!
I use Vegas Pro to create my videos and intended to do a video or two on basic editing with it. The problem is that this program is (comparatively speaking) really expensive. I think most people just getting into the drone flying hobby would cringe at the price tag for the program.
I've been looking into free or low-cost programs as an alternative . . . if I can show people how to use a free application to do basic video edits and output for RUclips, I think a lot of people would really appreciate that.
Are you using Sony Vegas?
Yes, I have used it for years. In fact, I need to upgrade. I just use the basics but I like it. I've done commercials, birthday/graduation videos, etc. I am still on Vegas 11. I haven't looked at it since they were bought out. Windows Movie Maker 12 would be good for a lot of people!
It's quite a capable editor without being brutally difficult like Premiere Pro. I found that Vegas 12 and 13 had some inexplicable program lockups on occasion but otherwise they've been great. I actually bought the upgrade to 14 but haven't installed it yet - I've been so busy putting out videos that I couldn't risk a problem with a software upgrade that might put a kink in my production LOL. And now they have Vegas 15 out - and it's crazy expensive.
For most people, Sony Movie Studio does everything that Vegas would do for them and it's much cheaper. I just don't want to buy the program simply to do a couple training videos on it, not when I've already invested in the more expensive version. Free programs, however . . . those have potential.
Great tips Thanks
Glad to help!
Video jumping/skipping during play back what can be wrong
hello from GREECE Sir Jeff a question whether Sets the auto focus to Q500 4 k thanks
the Yuneec cameras are fixed focus, so you don't have to do anything for them to focus for you.
thenk you sir jeff
In this video I’m going to list out four different types of drone flyers - the beginner, the beginner who wants to print photos, the basic video editor and the advanced video editor - and explain what settings each one should use.
I'll tell you the Video Settings, Photo Mode, White Balance, Image Style, and auto or manual camera settings you should use, regardless your level of experience as a drone pilot or photographer.
Hi Jeff my name is Dave, I just bought a Yuneec Typhoon H pro, and testing it out. I was curious at the end of the video you mentioned a Face Book link, I couldn't find that link... btw: thanks for the video, I will check out your other ones, and this was very helpful! I just subscribed to your followers group... oh geez, I just saw the "Show more" link on your Description, so found the link to FB group, and just signed up... thanks
Hi Jeff, what would be the best camera mode for video or photo's, during night flight? I want to video and photo a firework show here in Czech Republic on New Years. Any advice would be great. I have the Typhoon H Pro with Real Sense and 4K camera.
This is a great question. I don't fly at night so I've never tried this with a drone. Let me just throw out a few ideas.
First, you don't want to shoot in auto exposure mode because your exposure will change drastically as each fireworks explosion occurs. So you want to shoot in manual.
For video, I would set my shutter speed to twice my frame rate - for you I'm guessing that would be 1/50th second. Then try adjusting your ISO up or down to get the proper exposure. If the fireworks are blown out no matter what ISO you choose, adjust your shutter speed to a faster setting than 1/50th. Likewise, if you find that you're using a very high ISO setting and getting a lot of noise you might have to bump up your shutter speed to reduce noise.
For stills, I'd test out shooting with even slower shutter speeds - ideally your shutter will remain open as long as possible so you get the full motion of the fireworks as they spread across the sky. When I shoot fireworks off a tripod I hold the camera open for several seconds. That probably won't work on a drone though, since it doesn't sit that still. But it would be worth trying to shoot at slower shutter speeds to see if you can get pictures that aren't ruined by motion blur.
As you shoot, remember that the tendency will probably be to overexpose the fireworks. Definitely you should bracket your shots to see what gives you visible images of the fireworks without blowing out the colors.
If I were going to do this, I would find a place where neon signs or illuminated signs can be isolated against a dark sky and test exposures then with a flying drone.This won't be exactly the same as the fireworks, but it will give you a ballpark idea of what settings you should use and allow you to see if you get motion blur in your shots.
Thanks for the advice. I will be checking it out and let you know the results.
Hi Jeff - My question is setting JPG or DNG for still shots. I have a Q500 4K, with CG03 camera and ST10+ controller. I changed the setting from JPG to DNG on the ST10+ (using the gear icon, then Photo Mode) but when I shoot images the file type is still JPG on the micro SD card. Is there another setting I need to change to get this to work?
Thanks
Hi Tom - make sure your card is clear before you shoot, then try shooting with the DNG format chosen. If you're using a PC, make sure you're looking at the card contents in Windows Explorer (or File Explorer in Win 10).
The only thing I can think of is that whatever you're using to view the contents of the micro SD card, it's not seeing DNG files - like it's looking for all image files but it isn't configured to recognize DNG as an image file format . . . I can't think of anything else that would cause you to get JPGs when you set the camera to DNG.
One other idea - along the right side of the screen is a toggle between video and photo. Make sure that's set to photo before you shoot your JPGs. I'm wondering if the system defaults to JPGs if you shoot stills while the switch is toggled to video, regardless what file format you selected in image settings.
Try those and let me know if they work.
Hi Jeff is there a resolution you can recommend between 4096x2160? I use that setting on my Q500 4K and he results are impressive but playback is not so impressive - it jerks a but and is not as smooth as I would like. I have used my video editor to output it in 1920x1080, and it comes out very smooth but the video quality is no where near as crisp and detailed.
Looking for a happy in between solution.
Let's try a couple things. First, your 4K video sounds like it's actually smooth because it runs smoothly when you downsample it. It may be jerky because of the software you're using to play it back. So try downloading the free program MPC-HC at mpc-hc.org/ - I've found this program plays 4K video on my notebook, when Windows Media Player and even VLC can choke on it.
The next issue here is the results of your video when you downsample it. Are you trying to view the 1080p video on a higher res monitor? That might be the culprit. Do other 1080p videos look good on your display?
A 4K video downsampled to 1080p should look better, not worse, than a video shot at 1080p. So something is wrong there, perhaps the settings you're using to render your video.
Try rendering as a Windows Media Video (WMV) file, 1080p resolution at the same frame rate you shot at - 24, 25 or 30. I've found that rendering it to MP4 can sometimes diminish the quality so I've changed over to WMV format.
If that doesn't seem to help, shoot a short clip at 4K and render it down to 1080p, then see if you can upload both versions someplace where I can download them. I'll see if the quality difference appears on my screen as well.
You can bring down your resolution for recording the video - most drones have 3840 x 2160, which probably wouldn't help you much. You can bring it down to 2.7K resolution which will reduce your file size. I always hesitate to do that because you lose some editing (zoom/crop) capabilities when you shoot at lower resolution, but having a good quality final output is more important in the final analysis.
Let me know if any of those ideas help!
I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. My typhoon/cgo3 is set for JPEG for pics and DNG for video but when I download to my computer it is always MP4. What am I doing or not doing ?
Hi John - everything is working for you. JPEG and DNG are both formats for still pictures. Your video will be MP4. I can't remember - it may also allow you to shoot video in MOV format as well, but I don't think it would have any advantage over MP4 for you.
You say in the UK you should use 24 frames per sec. but when I do that my videos looks
Jerky when viewing moving objects please can you advise. Best regards George
Hi George - I pinned a comment to this video to correct - the UK framerate should be 25 fps, not 24. However, I don't think that is what is causing the jerkiness that you describe. Are you experiencing this at 4K resolution? Try shooting at 1080p at 25 fps and see if that is jerky as well.
You can try to address the jerkiness with a different video player - download the free video player MPC-HC from mpc-hc.org/ and see if your 4K video will play better with this program. Be sure to download it from the link I provided - other people offer it as a download but spyware is attached to those sites. mpc-hc.org is the originator of the program and their download is clean.
I think you should always film in 60fps, it's much smoother
Ghosttjr2 I don't think we can shoot 4K at 60 fps - at least not on my Typhoon H
UK should be 25p or 50p. 24p is only for cinema look and gives jerky movement.
crap, you're right. I had a brain fart when making this video. I'll post a correction in the description. Thanks for the heads up!
I was not trying to be a smart ass. BTW I enjoy your videos as you make things easy to understand - keep up the good work.
I didn't take it that way at all - I'm glad you let me know so I could post corrections in the description and comments. Glad the videos are helping and thanks for helping me get it right!