Thanks Abel, this is one of those places you almost have to stumble upon if you're in the area east of the Grand Canyon. The layer or pin-striping I mention is almost certainly coal deposits, but by my eye it's not a very thick layer so not much coal would have been available I'd guess.
As to why this area is not known to the public is due to what I mention below. The area surrounding Coal Mine Canyon is owned by the Navajo's. The Navajo's and the Hopi's are not the nest of friends so the Navajo's do not post signage along highway 160 of which is the main highway to reach highway 264. I did see a sign on 264, but the tourist are heading to Monument Valley on Highway160. In all honesty Monument Valley is not in the league of this hidden gem...
Yeah, the Navajo's and Hopi do not maintain the websites that provide the scarce info very much and the rules can be different than the websites indicate because they are so out of date. When I left Tuba City the day after my drone flight over the Coal Mine Canyon I headed east along 264 then north along 191 -- there is huge swaths of land in the four corners region that is off the beaten path and 95% Native American.
That is true as the Navajo Nation owns the entire northeast corner of Arizona, northwest corner of New Mexico, and the southeast corner of Utah. I am a native of Arizona for 60 years. I know Arizona very well and travel the entire state flying and filming. My father is 1/4 Cherokee Indian out of the Missouri area. You flew the far northern canyon north of the picnic benches. I avoided that canyon as it did not offer the colors as the second canyon. At the 18 mile marker from Tuba City was the place to go. I drove back 2.5 miles in my Tundra, but a car could travel that dirt road. It was a little slick at the point where I stopped due to the clay and having rained the night before. This road will take you to the bottom of Coal Mine Canyon where a home is at the bottom of the canyon some 5 plus out from 264.. I and many other in our multi-rotor club will be heading back to Coal Mine Canyon in Oct. or Nov. with the hope we have snow covering. We purchased our permits online in advance, but you cannot get a permit to hike the bottom land as the Hopi's will not respond. www.tribalwateruse.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/hopilands2.png
Thanks... In order to descend into the canyon you need to get a permit and that might involve also hiring a guide, but if you stay up top as I did no permit is/was needed when I was there.
Beautiful! Can you tell me how you focus your Phantom 4 Pro? Do you just tap to auto focus? My video is not coming out as sharp as yours. Also, are you at F11 and using an ND filter? I went in to shutter priority mode and let the camera set itself to F5.6. I'm wondering if I have a depth of field issue. Thanks!
Hal, generally right after launch I climb a bit then tap to focus at a distance of 100m or there abouts. I recently picked up an ND16 (4-stop) ND filter, but I have not yet used it so all of my P4P drone videos have been shot without an ND filter. TO get the best sharpness you do not want to use a large f/# as that will degrade sharpness due to diffraction limiting -- best to keep the aperture in the f/2.8 - f/6.3 range with f/5 and f/5.6 being good choices most of the time. However, this will drive a shutter speed in the 1/250 - 1/2000 range with 1/1000 being pretty common. I have not found these higher shutter speeds to be a problem but if you fly low and fast then rolling shutter could come into play. Flying higher and slower tends to reduce the problem of rolling shutter / jello and you can see form my videos that it isn't a problem to get worked up about. So, stay away from the higher f/#'s as that will degrade sharpness even if you have the focus spot on.
With a camera that has a smaller sensor like the P4P has the f/# you need to use is lower. Many GoPro style cameras with small sensors have a fixed aperture in the f/2.8 range and yet they still have good DOF. Also, with a drone flying a hundred or more feet in the air you do not have so much near by objects so you actually do not need as great a DOF. A smaller sensor allows you to use a lower f/#, but it also requires you to use a lower f/# at any given condition owing to the diffraction issue. Go ahead and try it, shoot at f/5 or f/5.6 and I think you will see an improvement in sharpness.
Sure ... f/5.6, ISO100, shutter speed between 1/800 and 1/1250 (changed as lighting changed), color profile D-Cinelike, and custom setting of -1/0/-1 (sharpness/contrast/saturation). Exposure was manual as usual.
Dramatic and impressive!!! Thank you!!
Thanks Abel, this is one of those places you almost have to stumble upon if you're in the area east of the Grand Canyon. The layer or pin-striping I mention is almost certainly coal deposits, but by my eye it's not a very thick layer so not much coal would have been available I'd guess.
I love Southwest USA. I know a lot but this place remains in my list for future for sure. This is increible canyon. Thank you so much for share it.
Thanks to you. Fantastic video.
Thanks Abelardo, I appreciate that...
drones just make everything better, who doesn't want a birds eye view
As to why this area is not known to the public is due to what I mention below. The area surrounding Coal Mine Canyon is owned by the Navajo's. The Navajo's and the Hopi's are not the nest of friends so the Navajo's do not post signage along highway 160 of which is the main highway to reach highway 264. I did see a sign on 264, but the tourist are heading to Monument Valley on Highway160. In all honesty Monument Valley is not in the league of this hidden gem...
Yeah, the Navajo's and Hopi do not maintain the websites that provide the scarce info very much and the rules can be different than the websites indicate because they are so out of date. When I left Tuba City the day after my drone flight over the Coal Mine Canyon I headed east along 264 then north along 191 -- there is huge swaths of land in the four corners region that is off the beaten path and 95% Native American.
That is true as the Navajo Nation owns the entire northeast corner of Arizona, northwest corner of New Mexico, and the southeast corner of Utah. I am a native of Arizona for 60 years. I know Arizona very well and travel the entire state flying and filming. My father is 1/4 Cherokee Indian out of the Missouri area. You flew the far northern canyon north of the picnic benches. I avoided that canyon as it did not offer the colors as the second canyon. At the 18 mile marker from Tuba City was the place to go. I drove back 2.5 miles in my Tundra, but a car could travel that dirt road. It was a little slick at the point where I stopped due to the clay and having rained the night before. This road will take you to the bottom of Coal Mine Canyon where a home is at the bottom of the canyon some 5 plus out from 264.. I and many other in our multi-rotor club will be heading back to Coal Mine Canyon in Oct. or Nov. with the hope we have snow covering. We purchased our permits online in advance, but you cannot get a permit to hike the bottom land as the Hopi's will not respond. www.tribalwateruse.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/hopilands2.png
Very cool! I just explored here and I was very happy with the trip. thanks for sharing.
Very welcome!
nice capture!
Amazing landscape
amazing landscape. So much place still not well known but amazing
Nice flight footage. I flew there a few weeks ago and had a blast. Looks like I was flying the same location. Just some great scenery.
Absolutely gorgeous. Excellent footage. How did you get a permit to fly there?
Thanks... In order to descend into the canyon you need to get a permit and that might involve also hiring a guide, but if you stay up top as I did no permit is/was needed when I was there.
@@Raptorman0909 thank you!
Way less tourists than the Grand Canyon! Nice place.
Beautiful! Can you tell me how you focus your Phantom 4 Pro? Do you just tap to auto focus? My video is not coming out as sharp as yours. Also, are you at F11 and using an ND filter? I went in to shutter priority mode and let the camera set itself to F5.6. I'm wondering if I have a depth of field issue. Thanks!
Hal, generally right after launch I climb a bit then tap to focus at a distance of 100m or there abouts. I recently picked up an ND16 (4-stop) ND filter, but I have not yet used it so all of my P4P drone videos have been shot without an ND filter. TO get the best sharpness you do not want to use a large f/# as that will degrade sharpness due to diffraction limiting -- best to keep the aperture in the f/2.8 - f/6.3 range with f/5 and f/5.6 being good choices most of the time. However, this will drive a shutter speed in the 1/250 - 1/2000 range with 1/1000 being pretty common. I have not found these higher shutter speeds to be a problem but if you fly low and fast then rolling shutter could come into play. Flying higher and slower tends to reduce the problem of rolling shutter / jello and you can see form my videos that it isn't a problem to get worked up about.
So, stay away from the higher f/#'s as that will degrade sharpness even if you have the focus spot on.
Raptorman0909 But doesn't the lower F stop yield a shallower depth of field? I'll post a link to my videos. Would you look at them later?
With a camera that has a smaller sensor like the P4P has the f/# you need to use is lower. Many GoPro style cameras with small sensors have a fixed aperture in the f/2.8 range and yet they still have good DOF. Also, with a drone flying a hundred or more feet in the air you do not have so much near by objects so you actually do not need as great a DOF. A smaller sensor allows you to use a lower f/#, but it also requires you to use a lower f/# at any given condition owing to the diffraction issue. Go ahead and try it, shoot at f/5 or f/5.6 and I think you will see an improvement in sharpness.
And can you also tell me what your settings were for this video? Thanks!
Sure ... f/5.6, ISO100, shutter speed between 1/800 and 1/1250 (changed as lighting changed), color profile D-Cinelike, and custom setting of -1/0/-1 (sharpness/contrast/saturation). Exposure was manual as usual.