I returned the Yuneec Breeze finally

I’ve been thinking of dipping my little toe into drone photography. I want to start out with baby steps and considering the Yuneec Breeze, mainly because it’s small and portable, reasonably priced, and unobtrusive. I don’t like calling attention to myself when out taking photos, even with a DSLR, so a big noisy drone is out.

I’m not really concerned with range, battery life, just want something simple to start with and not too expensive! I realize that quality vs. cost are generally mutually exclusive, but I don’t think I could handle crashing a $1000 drone.

I am more interested in photos that video, so I was wondering if anyone has any full-size images taken with the Yuneec Breeze.

Then someone told me that “the camera aboard the Yuneec Breeze may be like that of the Zerotech Dobby. Without a gimbal, the still photo quality of any drone shots will be compromised by rotor micro-vibrations, on the one hand, and “jello” or banding caused by the digital stabilization, on the other.”

(Via Dobby)

(Via Dobby)

I checked out the Dobby photos, it looks decent enough to maybe print as 8×10’s which would be acceptable to me. I am not looking to use this for anything more than what I would use my iPhone for.  As I said, I am mainly interested in photos and not so much on taking video.

I went ahead the pulled the trigger on getting the Yuneec Breeze, as B&H Photo has a sale going on right now. I am thinking it will be a good starter kit, then go from there. At least with the Breeze I will get my foot in the door.  I still haven’t’ decided on getting the optional remote w/goggles…they are currently on backorder anyway so there is no rush.

Well, I received my new Yuneec Breeze and had no success with connecting to my iphone 6s Plus wifi. I was able to sporadically connect with an older Apple ipad mini enough to apply the latest firmware upgrade and then test it briefly indoors. Given the wifi issues I was experiencing, I was all set to return it and had it boxed up and ready to ship.

This morning, I hesitantly decided I would give it one more try with my iphone and lo and behold, the Yuneec Breeze appeared in my wifi connections with no issues. Took it over to the local park where I thought maybe the artificial turf would protect it in the event of a crash. It flew perfectly and I was able to snap a few photos.

Here’s sample taken this morning. I edited it slightly using Photoshop CC with mainly some minor smart sharpening and a graduated filter to bring back some of the color in the sky.

(Via Yuneec Breeze)

I must admit there’re lots of jpeg blurring. I think it might be okay for smaller prints. I’m guessing the “fuzziness” of the artificial turf might exacerbate the problem, but I see it clearly in other images as well. The Breeze was really designed and marketed for the selfie crowd, used to using smartphones and tablets. I think it would probably also work well for simple shots for as well.

I plan to continue testing for a few days and if the wifi connection remains stable and reliable, then I think it might work out for my purposes after all.

Now I’m returning the Yuneec Breeze after all for other issues. Think I might relinquish myself to shooting from terra firma, at least for the time being. Besides there’s a Nikon 70-200 f4 out there somewhere with my name on it!

 

 

 

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