For anyone who has flown a camera drone, there is a lot of fun and excitement unlocked with the new creative angles with their ability to get views and vantage points otherwise inaccessible to a photographer on the ground. While learning how to fly them can be challenging, an epic new view of the area captured from the air is a worthy and exciting reward. Since so many makes and models exist currently on the market, which one is the right choice for you?
A new underwater quadcopter drone system developed by SpearUAV can launch from a submarine deep below the surface and deploy to the skies up to 24 hours later.
A drone video published by the Ukrainian army shows what it's like to be torpedoed out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense has released a video in which a Ukrainian soldier disassembles a Russian military surveillance drone. The teardown revealed a remarkably rudimentary design that features a low-end Canon DSLR camera at its core.
In a fun new viral video posted to Instagram and TikTok, a DJI drone pilot answers a new take on an age-old question: how many drones does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Or maybe, how would a drone screw in a lightbulb?
Wing, a division of Google's parent company Alphabet, has launched a free app in the United States called OpenSky that is designed to help pilots fly their drones legally.
The Alaska-based company Indemnis has announced that its Nexus parachute system for the DJI Inspire 2 drone has been certified as being compliant with a new international standard for drone parachutes, making it the first system to allow for legal flights over crowds of people.
German drone manufacturer Ascending Technologies is celebrating Christmas season this year by doing some light painting photography. Each of the photos they've made was painted by an automated drone that was programmed to follow waypoints in the sky.
The company believes this is the first drone light painting project of this kind.
Check out this crazy-looking rifle. No, it's not from a sci-fi movie -- it's actually an anti-drone counter-weapon called the DroneDefender that's designed to bring down drones using disruptive radio waves.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced yesterday that it's proposing an unprecedented $1.9 million fine against Chicago-based SkyPan International, a company that shoots aerial photos and videos with camera drones. This is the largest civil penalty ever proposed against a drone operator for endangering airspace safety.
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.
The uncontested leader in drones, DJI, is continually making improvements to their ever-growing Phantom line-up. And in their latest UAV, they seem to have turned it up to eleven with their larger, more robust Spreading Wings S900 Hexacopter.
Last weekend, following the Fourth of July festivities, we shared a wonderful video of a Florida fireworks show as seen by a drone recording from within the show, perilously close to the colorful explosives. It wasn't the only such video to air post-Independence Day, however.
Others, including the video above shot by Robert Hartline in Nashville, TN also received tens of thousands of hits and, as it turns out, a bit more attention than he bargained for... Hartline is now being investigated by the FAA.
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.
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.
It's only an idea, a thought experiment that is equal parts cool and terrifying from a privacy perspective, but the Gofor concept is definitely turning heads. Right now, getting into drone photography is pretty pricey, but Gofor imagines a world where you could rent one right from your smartphone.
Less than six months after releasing their second iteration of their Phantom Drone, DJI is back at it again with another, albeit somewhat smaller, update to what is likely the most-frequently featured quadcopter on PetaPixel.
Earlier this week, an unfortunate even took place at the Endur Batavia Triathlon. While heading into her second lap of the running portion of the triathlon, competitor Raija Ogden was taken out by a UAV -- more commonly referred to as a drone -- which was being operated by New Era Film and Photography.
The incident has since gone into investigation mode, with both New Era and The Geraldton Triathlon Club looking into the events that transpired. And while much information is still left unknown, an interesting piece has come out thanks to ACUO, the association responsible for certifying UAV operators in Australia.
Looking to take drone photography to new heights, Phase One has announced the iXU 150: a pint-sized CMOS medium format camera that has been designed with aerial photography in mind.
There's been a lot of talk about UAVs -- as in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (aka. Drones) -- lately, but what about Unmanned Acquatic Vehicles? When it comes to remote-controlled water drones that you can use to photograph underwater life, there's far less choice in the affordable/DIY range.
The new aquatic drone Ziphius is here to change that, as it makes its way to market sporting the title of world's first app-controlled aquatic drone.
If you happen to have $600+ just lying around (who doesn't?) and are looking to take photos from a whole new vantage point, then Event38's E382 Aerial Mapping Drone may be worth looking into. The $600 starter kit includes the plane, motor, speed controller, and the ArduPilot Mega 2.0 autopilot system to handle all of the pressure, GPS and flight data.