You've likely seen a few aerial videos online at one time or another, with some using a DSLR or mirrorless cameraSony F55RED EPIC, or even an ARRI ALEXA. A few of the most impressive videos, however, have been with tiny GoPro cameras. Robert McIntosh showed us absolutely breathtaking aerial footage with his custom quadcopter earlier in the year, and now he's back with another fantastic video that he shot in Lone Pine, CA:


This is what he said about the location:

I've been flying for about 7 years now and I think this has got to be my favorite place yet. There are all kinds of cool rock formations to zoom around most of which can easily be climbed in case you need to retrieve a downed copter. The color of the sand and rocks are more or less a middle grey which the gopro's auto exposure handles really well. The color also makes finding a downed copter very easy. There are no hard to see branches or power lines. There are lots of detailed terrain to make fpv navigation easier. Most mornings are a dead calm until about 8 or 9 am from what I hear. It's so quiet there that even if you get lost fpv flying you can echo-locate your way back home.  (I had to do that more than once) Most of the time there is not another soul for miles. And the park ranger I met was actually stoked that I was flying there!

If you missed his last one, Santa Monica Airlines, check it out:

If you're curious about his rig, Robert had this to say, and also sent over this link that can help you build your own:

I will say that I never use a dji phantom contrary to popular belief. They are poorly designed, low quality, and overpriced in my opinion. I would encourage anyone who wants to get into this, to actually... get into this. Learn how the machines work, build you own, tune your own, know your machine inside and out because you WILL be rebuilding it at some point.

Here is a video showing the rig he's been using. You can see the camera on top that helps pilot the rig in FPV mode, which allows him to see exactly what the copter is seeing as he's flying:

While you may not be too much of a tinkerer, I think it's pretty solid advice to learn your machine inside and out, which may not be as easy when you're simply buying it pre-built. If you want to learn more about building these on your own, head on over to the link below.

What do you guys think? Who has built their own rig, and what advice would you have for newbies?

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