Canada's drone aerial video and photography experts
Equipment and Capabilities
Drones (UAVs)
Spyder 1 & 2
The Spyder drone is the largest in our fleet. Sky Eye Media has two identical Spyder drones, giving us a full backup drone on set. The Spyder’s are designed to carry large cameras such as the Red Epic or Alexa Mini with ease. They have been in operation since January 2015, and have completed hundreds flights with a perfect safety record.
Video Stability: The Spyder offers some of the best video stabilization for Red and Alexa cameras in the industry. Regardless of wind conditions, the Spyder can fly up to 50mm lenses without the need for post-stabilization. We use our own in-house video stabilizers that have proven time and time again to outperform popular stabilizers such as the Movi and Ronin.
Video Transmission: The Spyder transmits a 1080p feed up to 1000m (line of sight) to three different receivers;
1. UAV pilot, 2. UAV camera operator, 3. Video village.
Flight Times: Typical flight times with a RED or ALEXA Mini are 7-13min. After a flight, the Spyder can be back up in the air in as little as two minutes. The Spyder can come with over 12 sets of batteries and high speed charging on set is possible for even more flight (if more than 12 flights are needed).
Range: 200-1000m (depends on environment and RF interference)
Top Speed: 70km/h+ (in still air)
Weather Limitations: The Spyder can handle sustained winds up to 30-35km/h (gusts up to 50km/h). Depending on the environment, sometimes these limits may need to be lowered and is at the discretion of the pilot (flying around tall buildings in particular). The Spyder can fly in light rain and snow.
Cameras: The Spyder is designed to carry DSLR size and larger cinema cameras such as the RED cameras or Alexa Mini.
Recommended Cinema Lenses: The Spyder can carry most lenses under five pounds, although lighter lenses typically get slightly better video stability and increased flight times. Lenes up to 50mm can typically be flown without the need for post stabilization. Longer lens can be used in certain situations, please ask for more info if longer than 50mm will be required. Our recommended cinema lenses are as follows:
Zeiss T1.9 Ultra Primes
16mm, 24mm, 32mm, 50mm
Zeiss T2.1 Standard Speed PL Mount
16mm, 24mm, 32mm, 50mm
Zeiss T1.3 Super Speed Mark III
18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm
Inspire 2
Phantom 4 Pro
Main Purpose: Aerial Photography and Video
Top Speed: 65+ km/h
Max Altitude: 120 m (due to regulations)
Diameter: 0.4 m (from center of motors)
Number of Motors: 4
Flight Time: 23 min
Range: 500 m
Main Purpose: Aerial Photography and Video
Top Speed: 98+ km/h
Max Altitude: 120 m (due to regulations)
Diameter: 0.6 m (from center of motors)
Number of Motors: 4
Flight Time: 20min
Range: 500 m
The Inspire 2 is a great tool for complex tracking shots with minimal equipment. It features a built in 5.2k camera that allows manual control over the camera from the ground station. With retracting landing gear the Inspire 2 can be flown with two operators allowing for a 360 degree unobstructed view. The Inspire 2 and equipment neatly fit in one carrying case allowing much easier transportation than the Spyder drones for difficult to access or risky locations.
The Phantom 4 is all about efficiency. It's small size and weight allows it to hover in the air without drawing attention of spectators in the area. It features a built in 4k camera that allows manual control over the camera from the ground station. The Phantom 4 is extremely portable and it great for maximizing limited shooting time with virtually no setup time.
Video Stabilizers
In most conditions our video stabilizers work so well that post stabilization is not required, resulting in sharper media. Traditionally drones could not achieve smooth video in winds over 10 km/h. Our video stabilizers now allow us to fly in winds over 30 km/h while still achieving smooth video.
Sky Eye Media's stabilizers are designed, built and tested in-house providing some of the most accurate stabilization in the market. Every test we have performed has shown our gimbals to out perform name brand stabilizers such as the Movi!
Photography Capabilities
360 Panoramic Photos
The use of our drones allows us to shoot and create some of the most clear and distortion free panoramic photos from the air. Using GPS on our drones, we can hold our drones in a point in space. Most panoramic photos can be accurately stitched with one click in most photo stitching programs. Typical panoramic photos are 100MP+ (roughly 25,000x5000px).
Click+Drag to move image
Slow Shutter Night Photos
Sky Eye Media has a permit allowing us to shoot at night. With our custom built camera stabilizers, we can shoot sharp night photos at shutter speeds as slow as two seconds.
Super High Resolution Photos
With Sky Eye Media's advanced camera stabilization, we can now produce aerial photos over 300 Mega Pixels. By locking our drones in a point in space we can capture multiple images in a grid pattern and easily stitch them together. A sample super high resolution photo of Collingwood can be downloaded by clicking on the photo to the right.
