dji phantom gopro hero3 aerial rig quadcopter minicopter helicopter mountSeveral impressive videos achieved with minicopters have surfaced in the last year or so (pun intended). We've seen soaring ghost's-eye views of hauntingly deserted urban nightscapes, and ninjas battling through ruined buildings in impossible 'dolly shots' -- only made possible, of course, with such compact aerial shooting platforms. Now, the 'King of the Action Cam,' that is the GoPro HERO3, gets the sky-flying treatment -- and if there's any camera you won't be too worried about strapping in to the DJI Phantom Aerial Quadcopter for blast-off, it's the GoPro -- check out the footage below.


It's worth noting a few things before we get to the good stuff -- firstly, depending on where you're shooting, local ordinance may have the legality of RC minicopter use all but grounded in red tape, even for professionals, which leads into the second point: if you are legally able to shoot with such camcopters, your no-doubt best-bet is to hire a professional 'pilot' or operator -- unless of course you already happen to be one yourself. This is, most importantly, for safety -- but if you want control over your shots, chances are a pro-op will do the best job anyways. If you're very interested in this type of thing, you'll have to do a lot more research than we could include here -- but here's one thread on the US's standpoint I was able to dig up. With that out of the way, check out these HERO3 copter shots, all of which were achieved with the sub-$700 DJI Phantom Aerial Quadcopter -- courtesy Cinescopophilia for the finds:

Test of the DJI Phantom with GoPro HERO3 onboard. All video is original from camera without any softwarestabilizing or editing except clipping. Some clips are in 50% speed. (ElefunTV):

I took a video with GoPro2 during 9min. ( Lipo 11.1V 2200mAh 35C ) Approx max height 70ft, distance 230ft flying from the home position. Outside Temp. approx 35F degree in Korea.Phathom is good enough for taking a snap video or more professional video when you want to have just 3~10sec video.
It was sabilized by YouTube tool. (TheHelicraft):

From the Globe Flight Team:

Shooting GoPro or any action cam doesn't necessarily totally overlap with conventional ideas of cinematography, but the HERO3 in particular is very serious about making 'actionematography' a non-oxymoron -- that's for sure. The aesthetics found here may be things your own eye considers adequate for your uses, or not, that's on you. In the right circumstances, though, the aerial GoPro could cut seamlessly enough to achieve an effect of some impact -- or even add to the effect because of a jarring cut. Think gritty, frenetic, 'chase-scene,' quick-cut, perhaps Paul Greengrass -- you get the picture.

Do you guys think the footage is impressive, or do you feel minicopter cinematography is better suited to other cameras? What are some circumstances you could see yourself using the HERO3/quadcopter combination to its utmost potential?

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[via Cinescopophilia]