4 key questions to find out Hover Camera

Instead of being a jack-of-all-trades, this Hover Camera from Zero Zero Robotics is built specifically for taking selfies and follow footage — We asked four key questions to find out whether it’ll be worth the price of admission in the dawn of a burgeoning drone industry.

So what’s it all about?

There are three main features that give Hover Camera its distinctiveness (if we can call it that). To start with it’s aiming at a very specific market. It’s not really a high-performance aerial imaging machine. So where does it fit in? Well, it’s a low flying one take selfie drone at best and probably for reasons we’ll go into later. Another distinctive feature is its enclosed or ‘housed’ propellers that are electric fanlike in execution but evidently safe to handle. The Hover Camera is light (242g) with a foldable design that can fold into the size of a hardback book.

Does it perform well?

The quick answer would be a resounding no. It does’t perform well at all. But the easiest thing to do would be to break down the Hover Camera’s performance in the following ways.

Camera and image sensor – with a 1/3.06 inch CMOS sensor and 13 million effective pixels the Hover Camera’s camera is simply too small to capture decent images. It’s likely outdated too with a small sensor today’s mobile phone manufacturers wouldn’t even use.

GPS – the Hover Camera only has a paltry 20m wireless video transmission range, which is much shorter than Dobby’s at 100m and absolutely nothing compared to DJI’s Mavic Pro with 7km! However, since the Hover Camera uses optical flow and a front camera SDK to hover, it’s a lot small and ‘floaty’ than the Dobby or Mavic Pro and is therefore susceptible to catch drift in the wind.

Flight Time – a total flying time of just eight minutes and before you know how to even use it, you’ll be recharging or putting new batteries in for another quick round. In practical terms, eight minutes is simply not enough for any kind of photo-shoot without this small inconvenience. Zero Zero have countered this by claiming that they will be giving users spare batteries for orders but for the price, we’re not so sure.

On Board Intelligence – let’s just say that the Hover Camera doesn’t have much in terms of intelligent features ad certainly DJI’s Mavic Pro is the big daddy in that department. When we tested it the active track function lost track of it’s subject several times. A big no no. 

What’s that you say? More than $600!?

For a starting price of $599 and for the features you get and cost and low battery power time, we honestly think you’re better of with a $5 selfie stick and saving your money for a DJI Mavic Pro. Even if you do fork out for a Hover Camera you’ll soon be pining for something more sophisticated and with better overall performance. Mavic Pro is still even cheaper than that.

Verdict

If we had to rate this, it would be 2/10. Zero Zero Robotics have potential but this first generation of Hover Camera really blows. Its natural competitors would be the Dobby, Yuneec Breeze or even Parrot’s AR drones but we would go for any of them first before forking out for a Hover Camera.

( Source )

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Hover Camera: the amazing foldable drone

The drone market is in full swing, many manufacturers are putting themselves there, with devices for all tastes, so there are drones of speed for drone races, or others can follow the sportsmen in full Action in order to film the exploits in aerial view.The Chinese startup Zero Zero Robotics proposes a new drone, Hover Camera, based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight drone platform, featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, is the future of personal paparazzi.

Wang was initially inspired by Alone Across Australia, a 2001 documentary about Jon Muir’s 1,600-mile solo trek across Australia. The adventurer filmed the entire experience himself, which proved to be quite a hassle; he constantly had to walk ahead, set up the camera, and retrace his steps. Wang thought there had to be a better solution — a camera that could follow and film simultaneously.

Wang went on to found Zero Zero Robotics with Tony Zhang, a fellow Stanford University alum. The company’s flagship product is the Hover Camera, a foldable drone that takes 13-megapixel stills and 4K video. What’s really exciting is that the drone doesn’t need a controller; it’s self-flying.

That’s because the Hover Camera is based on the Snapdragon Flight platform, powered by the Snapdragon 801 processor. The drone can follow its subjects while being mindful of objects that may be in its way. Multiple sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, and barometer, work together to keep the drone at a steady altitude (up to 164 feet or 50 meters). A sonar sensor and ground-facing camera help the drone fly steady, so photos and videos aren’t blurry.

The Hover Camera app can be used to track faces and bodies, as well as provide a live video stream and a 360-degree panoramic mode. The drone has 32GB of internal memory and an 8-minute battery life that can be extended with swappable batteries. A micro-USB 3.0 Type B cable can be used to transfer the captured media to a computer.

Enclosed in a portable, carbon-fiber case, the drone is lightweight yet durable. Its four propellers spin inside the casing, sparing clumsy fingers from unfortunate accidents. At 8.4 ounces, the Hover Camera doesn’t need U.S. FAA drone registration, a requirement for drones that weigh 8.8 ounces (250 grams) or more.

The Hover Camera is priced at $600. Learn more about the self-flying drone on the Hover Camera.

( Source )

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How to take special dronies?

The mania of beatified selfie has ran rampant with Casio TR100, Meitu Phone and so many apps….

Fed up with tons of beautified selfies? Today we are going to talk about how to get peculiar dronies!

What’s so good about these dronies?

First, they hide not-so-perfect parts.

Figure, bone structure……no longer important!

It seems dronies lead to completely conversations, you are going to talk about the scene instead of clothes and make-up.

Moreover, camera/smartphone can be somewhat awkward in certain places. Like this:

Or:

Who knows where did you go?

Okay, the second one is actually located here:

See? Now everyone know you went to Dongji Islands. You may look really small, but it’s quite an innovative and interesting picture.

(L:Dronie)      (R: Selfie)

I know selfie is important. But tons of travel selfies? That would be so dull.

Some tourist spot has been shot millions times. Dronies would make these cliché so creative!

I think you are kinda with me now. Okay, how can we get good dronies?

Rule of Thirds remain pretty useful.

Draw three horizontal lines and three vertical ones, then put people on lines.

Or put people where lines meet.

Sometimes putting one people in splendid scenes creates magical results. In pictures below, girl in red dress lights up whole picture.

Don’t forget to try ‘God’s view’. Get a new angle that is impossible with cameras!

Floating on lake is a really nice theme, too.

This is very cool. ✅

Well, maybe not this one. ❌

In dawn/twilight time, you may have a surprise playing with shadows.

New pilots usually forget to hide their controllers.

Here are some tricks: use timed shooting in DJI GO or photo button on RC, just lay down your arms and hide it!

Remember try to fly near ground occasionally, you may capture excellent images.

Shot animals closely could be fun.

 

 

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Does the Hover Camera Passport worth its price？

The Hover Camera Passport is a delightful little gadget: It’s a foldable, portable drone that has a built-in camera and auto-follow features. It comes with all kinds of bits and pieces, including an extra battery, The Hover Camera Passport price is $599 and it’s significantly cheaper than other auto-follow enabled drones like the DJI Phantom 4 or Mavic Pro.

Best of all, it’s easier to carry than most drones with similar features. Drones like the Phantom are big, bulky and hard to carry, especially if you’re hoping to bring them on a plane. If you’re looking to bring a drone with you everywhere, the Passport might just be the answer to your prayers. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s find out.

If you do want to fly it higher (it can hover as high as 164 feet or 50 meters), you can use its companion iOS or Android app to position the drone with simple onscreen taps and swipes. The app will have automatic options for shooting panorama videos and 90- and 360-degree orbits as well. You’ll also be able to transfer photos and videos to your device for immediate sharing.

Its 13-megapixel camera is on a tiny gimbal that helps stabilize the camera and can tilt it up and down. Electronic stabilization is also used to smooth video, which can be captured at resolutions up to 4K.

As with most small drones, battery life appears to be the biggest downside at just up to 7 minutes per charge. The batteries are easily swapped out by simply sliding off the top.

This isn’t unusual for small drones, but you’ll routinely find that drones with battery lives in the 8-10 minute range cost significantly less than the Passport. Drones that are in the same price range as the Passport, like the DJI Phantom 3, have 25 minutes of flight time… a marked improvement. However, it’s worth noting that older cameras like the Phantom 3 don’t have 4K video or well-developed apps.

Unless you’re a professional videographer, the occasional shaky-cam shouldn’t be much of an issue. Overall, if you’re willing to part with $599, the Hover Camera Passport is a good choice. If you want something cheaper or with a better battery life, you may have to compromise on things like camera quality and auto-follow modes.

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Discover the Hover Camera drone

Called the Hover Camera, the drone is designed to take perfect pictures thanks to image stabilisation technology and a built-in 13MP camera that will revolutionize the realization of selfies and photos of products or events.

The drones, technology initially reserved for the military, are more and more common in our daily life. For $599, everybody can afford this small flying camera, even if the most powerful models explode this budget.

A worthy substitute for the selfies boom, the Hover Camera drone shoots and takes high-quality photos, and can be controlled by a user’s smartphone via a Wi-Fi connection.

 The first drones were relatively heavy and dangerous, the propellers allowing the camera to fly away being unprotected. The latest models, and those being manufactured and marketed as the “Hover Camera” from Zero Zero Robotics feature protections and are much lighter.

The company said: “Hover Camera captures exciting moments, whether snapping an aerial family vacation photo, capturing the perfect shot from above the rim at a basketball game, or recording your wedding while you walk down the aisle.”

The Hover Camera drone uses AI algorithms to intelligently navigate its environment and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Flight drone platform.

 Meng Qiu ‘MQ’ Wang of Zero Zero Robotics told that rival drones are too difficult for people to fly without crashing or endangering others, but the Hover Camera is easier to fly.

For example, users of Hover Camera can select an auto-follow mode or input a location they want the drone to fly too, possibly recording its path along the way.

Stabiliser technology prevents fuzzy footage,while algorithms allow the drone to recognise faces and follow them.Though some reviewers pointed out that the electronic stabilization the Passport uses is working overtime, and without it videos would be un-watchable. The problem she had was that even with the electronic stabilization working overtime, the videos often came out choppy. As for the recognition technology, it’s actually a little difficult to get the camera to follow you if you aren’t moving extremely slowly and staying in its field of vision at all times. So, it’ll follow you on a run in a straight line, but it tends to cut out or “lose” you if you turn — even if you go slowly.

The Hover Camera drone can hover at a specific distance from the ground by using sonar and a bottom-facing camera to hold it in place, like an invisible tripod. However, it is unable to dodge obstacles due to a lack of cameras on its sides.

The drone can hover at a height of up to 164 ft (50 metres) and its altitude can be adjusted by swiping the phone screen used to control it.

While a two-finger vertical swipe controls the altitude, the drone can be steered by swiping left and right.

The drone can additionally be folded in two, meaning it can be easily stashed in a bag.

Carbon-fibre casing protects users from being cut by its four blades, while its battery gives the gadget 8 minutes of fly time.

Weighing just nine ounces (238g) the company claims its light enough so it doesn’t have to be registered with the Federal Aviation Authorities (FAA).

Thanks to the Hover Camera drone, the selfies will no longer have any limits.

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