This is quite possibly one of the coolest gadgets I've seen in a while:

https://www.lily.camera

Currently thinking of reasons not to get one, and not finding any!

Trees.

It's pretty cool though! Still, it's basically really expensive selfie stick.

Above about 500m, there aren't any trees. Below 500m, I'm working on cutting them down anyway

Wind is a possible limitation, but on the right day, I think you could get some stunning effects with it round here.

Waterproof now that's good . I'm not into filming etc is 20mins flight time good or bad?

If I had £500 to burn, I would spend it on something else. But if you do get one, just be prepared that you might toss it in the air, ride off, then turn around and it's impaled in a fence and buggered beyond repair!

Yeah, it's not cheap. £337 by my calculation, shipped, before import duties.

I could wait two years or so, price would come down, object avoidance sensors would be built in, battery would last longer, and so on. But, at half suggested RRP, there are some benefits for early adoption.
Anyway, you'd obviously test it in a large open space - like the beach (on a still day) - before heading off into the dense forest to try and capture yourself ripping through that tight piece of singletrack

That's vaguely exciting prob the coolest gadget iv ever seen

Apparently it struggles to keep up with fast paced stuff...

Oh and it's technically illegal to use it, although there isn't any real provision to enforce that so that's a bit of a red herring. If you get stopped by enforcers you can use "these aren't the drones you're looking for" line!

Its too late to the game. Airdog has a good year and a half headstart (albeit not waterproof) and is still struggling. Obstacle avoidance ain't coming anytime soon so thoughts of ripping through a forest are pie in the sky. 20 mins flight time is good but I don't see a gimbal on there so steady smooth shots are a no go. I would wait and see on this one. There are already quadcopters with "follow me" modes and more ( check out 3DR SOLO). Bear in mind this market is exploding rapidly but fully autonomous systems are still in the very early stages for general release.

http://3drobotics.com for the solo

https://www.airdog.com

I don't see a gimbal on there so steady smooth shots are a no go

The camera has a "digital gimbal" which means that it will stabilise the video in camera. Image quality will suffer though as it will crop the edges and then upsize it.

It needs a replaceable battery.

Want.....
Don't need but still want it

Get two. Put the remote thingy on the opposing lily, then throw them both up in the air. wonder what would happen.

I wonder if you could recharge it from a dynamo set up between filming

mountainbaker wrote:Get two. Put the remote thingy on the opposing lily, then throw them both up in the air. wonder what would happen.

Baby Lilly's?

JohnClimber wrote:I wonder if you could recharge it from a dynamo set up between filming

2hrs charge from the mains for 20 mins flight. Probably take a day at a decent lick to keep up!

Zippy wrote:Apparently it struggles to keep up with fast paced stuff...

Not genetally a probkem for me!

Thanks Ian. I've watched the film and lusted after a lily ever since. I'm never going to be allowed to forget it though as it's appearing on everything I look at. Aaaargh!
It does make a change from the dehydraters that had previously been stalking me on the interweb.

Ray Young wrote:

mountainbaker wrote:Get two. Put the remote thingy on the opposing lily, then throw them both up in the air. wonder what would happen.

Baby Lilly's?

Lilettes?

...IGMC

Seen a few of these popping up now and again. Liking them big time, the extra dimension you'd get from using one of these in your films would be great.
Isn't it quite scary how technology moves forward........

lionelrik wrote:Its too late to the game. Airdog has a good year and a half headstart (albeit not waterproof) and is still struggling. Obstacle avoidance ain't coming anytime soon so thoughts of ripping through a forest are pie in the sky. 20 mins flight time is good but I don't see a gimbal on there so steady smooth shots are a no go. I would wait and see on this one. There are already quadcopters with "follow me" modes and more ( check out 3DR SOLO). Bear in mind this market is exploding rapidly but fully autonomous systems are still in the very early stages for general release.

http://3drobotics.com for the solo

https://www.airdog.com

Spent some time looking at these, mainly out of curiosity. Thanks for linking :)
What makes you say Airdog are struggling?
3DR looks a bit more refined, but both still a lot more $$$ than the Lily. I realise you get what you pay for, but still...

Zippy wrote:Apparently it struggles to keep up with fast paced stuff...

Oh and it's technically illegal to use it, although there isn't any real provision to enforce that so that's a bit of a red herring. If you get stopped by enforcers you can use "these aren't the drones you're looking for" line!

I'm not sure if use it on fast trails, more places where there is a dramatic change in topography. I could list a dozen places I head to first if I had one, non of them likely to exceed 25mph.

Ian wrote:

lionelrik wrote:Its too late to the game. Airdog has a good year and a half headstart (albeit not waterproof) and is still struggling. Obstacle avoidance ain't coming anytime soon so thoughts of ripping through a forest are pie in the sky. 20 mins flight time is good but I don't see a gimbal on there so steady smooth shots are a no go. I would wait and see on this one. There are already quadcopters with "follow me" modes and more ( check out 3DR SOLO). Bear in mind this market is exploding rapidly but fully autonomous systems are still in the very early stages for general release.

http://3drobotics.com for the solo

https://www.airdog.com

Spent some time looking at these, mainly out of curiosity. Thanks for linking :)
What makes you say Airdog are struggling?
3DR looks a bit more refined, but both still a lot more $$$ than the Lily. I realise you get what you pay for, but still...

I think their struggling to implement changes to the design which is having a knock on effect shoving their delivery time from "late last year" to "no time in the future". As its been pointed out, things are moving fast in this area and they'll soon find themselves behind the curve. Personally I bought a drone in August last year with the intention of doing a bit of ariel work, but things haven't worked out and my bird is already looking a bit dated! Lily is only cheap if you early adopt and as demonstrated by airdog, there's no definite delivery date so your money might get tied up in something that will defiantly be late to the party if not awol. But more competition can only be good for us consumers, so lets hope I'm wrong and the market gets flooded with quality stuff!

So of the three discussed here, 3DR are the only people who have a product you can buy right now then?

Good point about indeterminate delivery times (any Rooster backers reading?).

On more competition for the market, yes this is a good thing, but tech has a habit of rolling out continued improvements that doesn't necessarily make it cheaper. For example, see the GoPro camera. Now in the 5th iteration, but still as expensive as several years ago (Chinese copies not withstanding).

Waiting ensures certainty, at least, of an actual product that becomes proven in the consumer world, rather than a concept (albeit a very cool looking) product at a good price.

Anyone near or heard of this lot?

http://arstechnica.co.uk/business/2015/ ... -its-head/

Ian wrote:So of the three discussed here, 3DR are the only people who have a product you can buy right now then?

Good point about indeterminate delivery times (any Rooster backers reading?).

On more competition for the market, yes this is a good thing, but tech has a habit of rolling out continued improvements that doesn't necessarily make it cheaper. For example, see the GoPro camera. Now in the 5th iteration, but still as expensive as several years ago (Chinese copies not withstanding).

Waiting ensures certainty, at least, of an actual product that becomes proven in the consumer world, rather than a concept (albeit a very cool looking) product at a good price.

Not even 3DR! They have earlier drones available, with some of the features touted in the SOLO, but the SOLO itself won't be in the UK till late July at the earliest. Only DJI have there latest model (rehashed and almost identical to there earlier models) in the market place right now. I've got to admit Lily looks mighty impressive but.....and its a huge but, I'm not convinced by this 'digital Gimbal' claim. Smooth footage that is useable and watchable depends on the initial recording being as stable as possible ( 3 axis gimbal) to begin with. Any digital enhancement must be a last resort. Without seeing real footage its hard to tell, and that video of the snow boarder was never captured on that platform........its a promo and should be treated as such. Until I see real life user video, unedited I wouldn't touch it. Just my 2 cents.............then again, what if it does everything it promises? Game changer