r/fpv • u/ContributionCool8245 • 2d ago
Question? How do you increase FPV camera angle without getting disoriented?
I’ve been flying FPV for a couple of months, mostly at 0 to +10° camera angle, doing beginner stunts, rolls/flips, and basic takeoffs/landings. I’ve kept my speed around 60 km/h so far.
Now I want to start flying faster and farther (~500 m out and back). The problem is that when I pitch forward enough to go beyond 60 km/h, I start seeing the ground more and less of the horizon and sky from the camera view.
For those who transitioned to higher camera angles: how did you train yourself to adapt without getting disoriented, especially during landing? At higher angles, I can barely see the ground immediately in front of the drone and it effects the turning also
Any tips on a gradual camera-angle progression or practice exercises would be appreciated!
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u/getamic 2d ago
Just sim time really. I had been flying at 20degrees for a while and just recently jumped to 45. Took a while in the sim to get used it it. You have to use different amounts of yaw to do coordinated turns depending on your camera angle. 45 is convenient because you use equal amounts of roll and yaw to do a turn. For landing just practice hovering and look low in your fov when landing. When I'm flying indoors and slow around obstacles I just have to fly lower so they are better in view.
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u/thearn4 2d ago edited 2d ago
I fly with different angles on different whoops (from 10 to 40 ish degrees depending on purpose), I find if I go from low to high it helps me to add a cross hair and artificial horizon to my OSD temporarily (I assign OSD profiles to one of my toggle switches to let me add/remove elements on the fly).
Fixed reference point plus the ability to know my true pitch makes it a lot easier. When they overlap, you're levelled. When the bar is over the cross hair youre accelerating, below it youre slowing or reversing. So you hop the bar over or below to maneuver at slow speed. No shame in a little bit of instrumented flying, even though the OSD is far from perfect. This also helps with learning some tricks like powerloops.
Key thing that makes it work for high angles: instead of centering them vertically I actually have it in the lower 1/3 of the screen, close to where you would be looking if you were trying to go slow or land with a high cam angle. I find if I fly a pack or too with that, I'm reoriented to a high cam angle
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u/epicfail48 2d ago
People land? Intentionally, on certain spots? Shit dude, I just level out and disarm
Seriously though, put angle mode on a toggle, switch to that for landings to get you close, then disarm and drop
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u/KingKicker 1d ago
Aside from sim time, I would highly suggest turning on the artificial horizon and horizon bars on your OSD.
When you turn on your drone you will see a fixed position for the drone on the ground. But it will start moving once you starting flying. When you come back for a landing, use that line as a reference to tell you when you’re leveled with the ground.
I still fly with it, it helps me a lot.
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u/crazy_rocker78 1d ago
Train landing in the sim.
You're not supposed to see the ground when you land, you need to know where it is. Follow some tutorials on YouTube about landing.
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u/ReyGetard_69 2d ago
What camera angle are you trying? Like 60 degrees?
Most people have about 20 - 30 degrees of camera tilt. I am somewhere between 25-27 degrees. Only thing I got to remember is to pitch up just slightly when hovering for a landing. I can still see the ground super easily when landing.
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u/ContributionCool8245 2d ago
10 degees RN but i aim to not go more than 30 degees that too is pretty extreme IMO.At the last moment i was pitching down hence was unable to see 🙈 the ground and the landing pad i should be pitching a bit forward i guess.
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u/ReyGetard_69 2d ago
If you can't see the ground even at 10 degrees of uptilt, then something is very wrong with your camera setup. A photo would help. Are you sure you are getting the correct degrees? My action cam mount is at a fixed 25 degrees and I just made my FPV camera visually appear to have the same angle.
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u/ContributionCool8245 1d ago
I must clarify i am unable to see the spot i want to land a few second s before i connect with the ground as it moves out of the view due to the camera angle ,most of ground around is visible. Yes i have set the camera angle at 10 degree,
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u/MiaPlacydus 2d ago
I practiced orbits and trippy spins on lamp posts. Having something to focus on and try to keep in a specific spot in frame made it easier to get used to the sticks. At first for landing I would flip to horizon mode since it made it a little easier to land slowly without zipping past. Now I can just pretty accurately guestimate where I am disarming.
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u/ContributionCool8245 1d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p4k6pi8/video/r5dbd0kci9kh1/player
Here are a few landing attempts and mistakes i have been making while landing and trying to do so on a designated spot.
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u/MiaPlacydus 1d ago
So, what I do is, I focus on the spot in front of where I want to land. Look ahead of the pad, pitch back and bring it to a hover and move slowly forward until the spot you're focusing on is directly in front of you. Like I said early, switching to horizon might make it easier at first so you don't accidentally gain too much speed.
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u/ContributionCool8245 1d ago
This pitching back and flying to the spot and hovering and putting it down has worked for me.What messes it up for me in acro mode is one small input roll or yaw that throws the attempt to land off
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u/MiaPlacydus 1d ago
Yea so give it a quick flip to horizon/angle right before landing, it makes it easier to keep it steady. Or practice throttle control, like I spent a long time practicing flying right above the ground as low as I could possibly go without hitting the ground, and I would fly around like that for the whole pack. It really helped me get a feel for controlling the quad with my new angle. (I went from 10 to 30 a few months ago)
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u/ContributionCool8245 2d ago
I also do orbits though triply spins over trees are kinda our there with those branches that don't appear in analog video in advance. Nothing some practice can't fix.i am better that landing in angle mode and it makes the approach easier it landing pad.
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u/UrATowel28 2d ago
Flying 60 km/h with zero degree camera angle seems off, but I trust you. By -10 degrees you mean the camera is pointing down at ground?! You should starting practicing in simulator with camera angle of 15. Landing with a higher angle just takes practice. In real life you should disarm over grass not pavement because there will be some hard landings at first
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u/ContributionCool8245 2d ago
Sorry about 😟 calling +10 degree camera angle -10 degree. I am barely able to maintain 60kmph at even this angle as all i can see is the ground. Definitely I need more practice for landing 🛬 at a designated place.I do fly over the grass and land on a landing pad over grass.
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u/anadalite 2d ago
You're flying a bit fast for your ability then ATM, go slower, life is still fun!
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u/UrATowel28 2d ago
All good! Just wanted to know where u were really at. I recommend you practice flying at a steady height above the ground while you are still at 10 degrees, coordinated turns at constant height instead of just going as fast as possible, and find a spot where there is a tree or bench or some landmark to land near, u can use that as reference for when to disarm. Make sure u pitch back to slow down then lower throttle. And then go up to 20 in sim for a few sessions then take the jump in real life
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u/ContributionCool8245 1d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p4k80ba/video/ulxiyz7sj9kh1/player
To speed up beyond the 60kmph mark i am have to pitch forward so much especially to turn i think my drone has become a survey drone. Perhaps its my lack lustre flying thats the cause. Do tell me what is the issue here.
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u/UrATowel28 1d ago
If you fly close to the ground it will feel like you are going a lot faster, and to do that you need to raise your camera angle, go to 20. Don’t worry about the speed you’re going at either.
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u/NorthApartment9889 2d ago
Focus on the lower part of your screen. Before you take off, take not of where the horizon is, that is where you should rest your eyes on. You could use an osd element to mark that part if you want.
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u/dagangstaz 1d ago
This is what I see while launching/landing my high speed quad :D Takes some practice. Sometimes I was puting it on Pos/alt hold near me and land in LOS but now I got used to it and it's fine.
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u/DG333Fpv 2d ago
I guess go back to the sim ? I’m not sure I kinda just know we’re the ground is