[PentaxScott]

I had always wondered what I could capture with a Theta if I could mount one on a drone and take images way up off the ground. While it doesnt seem super common, some people have tried it with larger drones with varying degrees of success and there are a few YouTube vids showing such. I have always wanted a drone, but figured Id start small to learn how to pilot the drone before investing in something larger that would carry extra weight.

I ordered a DJI Mini 2. I figured that a smaller drone like this wouldnt be able to carry much of a payload at all - I was wrong. Apparently that little sub 250g drone is capable of carrying a payload of 240g. The Theta SC2 weighs 104g. Before I had even given the drone a test flight, I ordered a mount to hook the Theta SC2 onto the drone. The 3D printed mount weight just 16g



Right from take off, it was pretty clear that the drone had no problem lifting the combined 120g of the Theta and the mount...but moving the drone around was rather shaky. Sticking a 4" column on the top of the drone made the drone significantly less aerodynamic and made the maneuvering tricky - BUT - taking things slow and the drone was able to handle it.

Because of the mild breeze outside (probably adding to the shakiness of the drone with the Theta mounted), I wasnt going to push it much, but I did fly straight up about 50 ft and snagged a shot, then converted into a little planet image:



Im excited to see what kinds of new photo opportunities the Theta and Mini 2 provide!

[hcc]

Cool.
Amazing that 3D printing can do to help getting the right mount.
Thank you for sharing.

[robgski]

Very cool idea.

[Bob 256]

I think your drone might have a stitched circular shooting mode ("sphere panorama" or some such name) which accomplishes the same minus the drone in the photo. A lot of the DJI drones have this (not that your idea isn't great but the drone shot is stabilized and doesn't risk your Theta though it might be lower pixel resolution).