DJI Phantom 3 Flight Videos and the Lowepro DroneGuard CS 400

I'd like to thank all the readers to my blog.  As of today, this blog has reached over 148,600 pageviews.  I appreciate the interest in my writing about the best ways to travel, to pack for travel, and for photography. 

The most popular article on this blog, with over 7600 pageviews, is my post on "Choosing the Best Bags for Air Travel," posted on 9-26-2012.

In this post, I'll show some stills and videos taken with a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced quadcopter.  I'll also describe my experience using the really nice Lowepro DroneGuard CS 400 carrying case and backpack that is designed to hold drones like the DJI Phantom series, 3DR Solo and similar sized quadcopters. The folks at Lowepro heard about my new interest in drone photography and kindly sent me their DroneGuard CS 400 carrying case to use.

Thanks Lowepro!  I have been a big fan of Lowepro gear since I started my career as a nature and wildlife photographer in 1986.  I've used and carried their great camera backpacks, rolling cases, waistpacks, and other camera carrying tools for years and years.  They have something to fit any kind of photography -- I am not kidding.  Their gear has never failed me, through months in the tropics to months in Antarctica. 

Sand Dunes near Barstow, California.  Notice the dune buggy in the upper right corner. 

Here's a photo of my DroneGuard CS 400, packed with a Phantom 3 Advanced quadcopter.   The case accommodates a drone with the propellers on, along with all the accessories needed.  This allows you to hike to a destination and unpack the drone, ready to go.

The case is made of a lightweight but rigid material -- meaning it is surprisingly light to carry around and rigid enough to protect the inside contents. The case weighs only 4.84 pounds.  A lot of thought went into this case, and it's was perfect for carrying the Phantom 3 around.  I could carry it using the top handle or on my back with the backpack straps.

Lowepro also sent me a DashPoint case to hold my GoPro cameras.  I'll review that in a coming blog (I plan to get some surf shots with my GoPros this winter).  Both cases are fantastic -- very useful, light, almost tailor-made to my DJI Phantom 3 drone and GoPro cameras.  I have to say "Wow" -- a lot of thought went into these cases to make them so useful for quadcopter and GoPro users. 

The case had flexible dividers and compartments for storing all the accessories I needed.  I put my Nexus 7 tablet on the side, my spare battery and cables in one area, and my remote controller unit in another area.  It could not have been a better fit or easier to use. 

Lowepro's  DroneGuard CS 400 makes traveling and using DJI's Phantom 3 and other quadcopter models easy.  If you are spending the money on an expensive quadcopter, it makes sense to get a case like this, which has been specifically designed to protect and fit such quadcopters.




Here's one of my favorite video clips from my recent trip to California's sand dunes.  The dune buggies look like alien robots from a Star Wars movie.  Apologies for the moire patterns; I have to figure out how to get video clips on this blog without such technical imperfections. 

I hope to post some more aerial stills and video clips from my recent month-long trip to Papua New Guinea.  I had so much material from there that it's going to take a while.