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A Guide to Underwater Drones
Kamera Express
PowerVision’s underwater drones
Did you know that drones are not only useful for taking top-down photos, but can also capture the most impressive underwater footage? With PowerVision’s underwater drones, you can do this at depths of up to 30 meters. You glide through the sea as if it is nothing.
With these underwater drones, you can move through the water quickly and almost unnoticed, like a fish, and explore places that are difficult to reach. You can capture every corner and hidden spot, and observe underwater animals. We asked two employees of the Finnish company all about these innovative drones: Kristina Kucher, Online Sales and Marketing Manager, and Nils Thoss, from the Business Development department.
Underwater drones are new to the market. You were quick to get involved at PowerVision!
Kristina Kucher: “PowerVision is known for introducing new products. Our PowerRay Wizard drone, with 12 megapixels, was one of the first drones we released. When you do something completely new, you naturally take a risk, even when you are well prepared and have done thorough preliminary research.
We had a good feeling about it. The worlds of fishing, diving and photography would benefit from this. That idea turned out to be right. The PowerRay Wizard proved to be an absolute bestseller, with VR goggles and a top-notch 4K UHD camera, featuring Burst Mode and 5fps. With this drone, you can livestream clear footage up to 70 meters away, even in the darkest underwater areas.”
Nils Thoss: “Yes, we are proud that we were quick to enter the market. It is a great product with a sleek, Apple-like design. Nice and compact. You can easily put these drones in your suitcase, and they even fit in your hand luggage when flying. Ideal for people who love to travel. PowerVision drones are also easy to control. They can hardly crash. You can adjust the Driving Mode to beginner, experienced or pro level.”
Can you describe the type of consumer who uses underwater drones?
Kristina: “Surprisingly, the drones are used just as much by filmmakers and photographers as by anglers. The ratio is fifty-fifty. We had expected that sport fishers in particular would be the first to find us.
The PowerDolphin, for example, is perfect for sport fishing. This wireless drone films in 4K UHD, captures 12-megapixel images and has a 215° field of view. It also includes a Bait Drop Line, a mechanism that allows you to attach bait. We are proud that this underwater drone won Gold at the Edison Awards as the best innovative product.
Both the PowerRay Wizard and the PowerDolphin have an integrated PowerSeeker, which can detect and measure temperature, depth, good fishing spots and the presence of fish. Thanks to the Vision+ 2 App, the data can be easily accessed.
Underwater drones are popular with many different people. They are used by imaging specialists and anglers, but also by topographers, archaeologists, boat owners, diving schools and authorities involved in rescue operations, criminal investigations, research, and much more.”
How can you prepare before taking underwater drones into the water?
Nils: “You do not need any special skills to operate these underwater drones. The Vision+ App is clear and easy to use. Everything is explained neatly in the manual, so you can make your first dive with your underwater drone without feeling nervous.
We regularly post new tutorials on YouTube and on our websites. If you still have questions, you can contact our European Support Center and Facebook team. No question is too strange. Just click on the chat window and you will be helped.”
Which underwater image-makers do you think are using underwater drones in an exciting way?
Nils: “We ask our consumers to share their footage with us. Incredibly creative images are being made with these underwater drones. It literally opens up a whole underwater world, one that organizations such as Discovery Channel and National Geographic are also interested in. So do not hold back if you have captured something beautiful yourself. The shoots by Gabriele Coradeschi are also impressive, and were made with the PowerDolphin.
We worked with Discovery Channel on the Shark Week project. You can see a shark biting a drone. The cable broke, there were scratches on the drone, but afterwards it still worked perfectly. So cool.
Next year, you will be able to see the footage we made together with National Geographic about the hidden treasures in the Nile in Egypt. Professional topographer Jonathan Lopez is working on sea bottom mapping with the help of our drones. Stuart Peers from the UK uses our underwater drones to investigate remains of the Manchester Tunnel. This autumn, PowerVision will appear on Finnish TV, as Finnish TV star Ville Haapasalo is using the drones in his television show about fishing.”
What developments do you expect in the field of underwater drones?
Kristina: “We notice that underwater robots are reaching an increasingly wider audience. People are becoming familiar with them. We also see that other brands are exploring this field too, which we are only happy about. The market will grow, and we expect our product to continue doing well. Our underwater drones reach both the mass market and professionals.
We expect the underwater drones themselves to eventually become smaller, with stronger motors and increasingly greater cable and transmission distances. Eventually, a cable-free version will probably become standard. We continue to follow developments closely and improve our products every year. So new underwater drones will continue to come from PowerVision.”
Nils: “There is some competition emerging in the field of underwater drones, although no other company is working with underwater drones as seriously and in such an advanced way as we are. I expect the consumer underwater drones we release to become even simpler, with user-friendliness in mind. Professional underwater drones will also become more specialized. Who knows, we may release a different version for each target group. We will see!”
Have you tested the PowerVision drones yourselves?
Kristina: “Yes, every colleague takes them into the water. During your first week at PowerVision, you know what you have to do. We take you to the sea near our office in Espoo, Finland. We love it. Underwater drones are addictive. We watch how a new user opens the packaging and how he or she gets started with the equipment.”
Nils: “I have given many demonstrations to customers. It is amazing to see how quickly people become convinced of the quality of the products when they see the underwater drones in the water.
I really enjoy giving demos, because it puts me in direct contact with both the product and the customer. It improves my product knowledge.”
