Swedish pilot talks about gorgeous Stockholm FPV flight

A video came to our attention the other day. Actually, it was a message to our Facebook page. Might we have a look at this video? It came from a Swedish FPV pilot named Matin Hamarahem. And once we watched his video? Wow.

Like you, I’ve seen a lot of excellent drone videos over the years. And the ones that really catch my attention are those that stand out in some way from the pack. Sometimes, that means really extraordinary piloting skills. At other times, it could just be a different approach – such as an unusual venue. The video we’ll explore today has a lot of things going for it: The location, the time of day, the stillness – and the piloting itself. There’s a soft, liquid feel to this flight. And also, to a certain extent a feel of exploration. We’re coming along as passengers, and the pilot is going to reveal the location’s beauty to us. It’s also an outstanding example that big results can come in small packages.

We won’t make you wait. Let’s have a look, then discuss how Matin made this:

We had questions

And so we fired them off to Matin. First of all, tell us a bit about yourself:

I work as a Cameraman for channel 4 in Sweden and I started flying drones in 2010 and started flying FPV drones in February 2019.

Matin Hamarahem

When and where did you shoot this?

August 9, 2020 and it was early an Sunday morning. That is why it’s empty. It is generally one of the most crowded tourist areas in Stockholm. This place called Stor Torg in the middle of The old town i central of Stockholm and in front of Nobel Museum. This place is a restricted area for drones, but I got a temporarily license to fly and got a distribution permit from the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral, and Land Registration Authority.

Matin Hamarahem

If you haven’t heard of the word “Cadastral”, by the way, you’re in good company. It’s a sub-field of surveying specifically related to property boundaries.

What were you flying?

We really enjoyed the smoothness of this flight – and also its speed. There was a relaxed quality to this – especially when contrasted with the speed and aerobatics of some FPV flights. This just felt calm. Tranquil. So naturally, we were curious what Matin had been flying. Would you believe it was something that started with a mini-quad this size? Something that would fit in the palm of your hand?

We were anticipating a CineWhoop rig. We were *not* expecting it would a mini-CineWhoop. This, of course, made perfect sense for this location and totally lined up with the style of flight. Matin was flying a BetaFPV Beta85X with a naked GoPro 6. The mod is referred to as the Dison build (we believe, named for the design of the naked GoPro holder), and Matin picked up some tips from YouTuber Rimzler. If this interests you, keep this vid handy – and be aware Rimzler now has V4 vids up.

Tiny but mighty

It’s amazing to think you can get something so smooth out of something so small. But the trend is clear. Plus, modding that Beta85X is clearly becoming a trend. Check out this short vid, enhanced by using ReelSteady. It’s using the same modded quad:

Matin’s build…

Goggles?

We asked Matin what he’s using for goggles these days. He’s using the DJI FPV system:

I am using DJI Goggles for both Analog & Digital. I am trying to swap all my analog rigs to DJI because I think it is the best system available at the moment.

Advice?

We asked Matin if he could offer some tips to a pilot who’d like to become better at both flying and videography. We like his advice:

I highly recommend simulator to start with, then the cheapest and smallest FPV rigs, From there, get any drones you need. And my second piece of advice is: Practice, practice and practice.

Have a great video?

If you do, we’d love to hear about it. You can email the author, DroneDJ Senior Editor Scott Simmie, here. If we get enough, we’ll pull together a post with a compilation of great flying!