If we can get a portable projector and projector screen we can do it. We had watnched a lot of FIfA World Cup matches in desert last season…

4 hours ago, Abhilash Kottakkal said:

Hii everyone... any one doing overnight camping??

Winter is not coming this year. It is delayed… 

@Hisham Masaad no one leaving you... Yalla Push.

Confirmed 👍 

Looking back, I drove through this area a couple of times in FB+ convoys. In those days there were no fences so this area rather than being a destination was only in the way. 

The first time I was here, we started at 2nd December Cafe and found our way to Faya and played on the top of those dunes. It was Jan 2021. In that drive I was in second lead and had the most fun being where I was. I drove topless too. I also just realized we were supposed to go to Iftar Bowl, but we went the other side to Faya. Since that time, I had no idea 😭. TLDR the drive post. I only played fastest finger first.

The next time I drove there, we started on the wrong side of Mahafiz trees and explored the area Mahafiz side and Faya Side of the area and we kept near to the Faya Road. It was a 14-car long convoy, so you can guess how exciting it was. By this time, I was a support team member, and I was at the back in sweep. It was a very technical drive with a lot of bushes all along. The drive ended at the under-construction cycle track of Faya at that time. Now they have completely barricaded the exit to Faya Road.

Section 2: Filming Techniques

Effective Filming Techniques

Most of the discussion in this post is going to be about the 360 cameras. The reason is you want to capture action all around you. The winding tracks we take, and the refusals we have, the ridge riding and the crisscrossing we do; we want to be able to capture everything that's happening to us as well as to see what other guys are up to. With a unidirectional camera you would not be able to capture the action around you. The only time you can get away with a unidirectional camera is when you say you are driving in the dark and you have only the front that is visible for you. You can see me doing it in the current “Chasing the Doctor Series” on YouTube which was mostly short in the dark in the evening and in night. Even here, I am using a camera to track the Doctor where both 360 degrees angle is put to use.

Before you start shooting - Check and double check the settings. I cannot tell you how many times I didn't check and lost what could have been a very good footage. 

Camera Mount Angles

Having understood that a 360 camera is the way to go, let’s discuss where you would like to mount your camera and what will be the results of it. The discussion will be limited to my own experience and productions.

My favorite place to mount the camera was on driver side Rear Quarter Glass or Rear Door Glass for 4 door cars. This would provide a very good view of the front and rear as well as a view of what the driver is up to. You can see this mount in action here:

I had used it on the passenger side as well as seen in this video:

If I am not leading a drive, I like to mount the camera on front bumper, because it is best when you intend to cover the action in front of you and it will show how you handled the ridge riding and side sloping etc. You can see the results here in action here:

When leading I like to use the rear mount because I can show what the guys at the back have been up to. You can see it here in action:

I have not personally mounted the insta360 X3 on the bonnet or on the roof so I will not comment on it for the time being.

PS: I plan to update and revise certain sections to enhance clarity, streamline information for brevity, and improve language and grammar.

1 hour ago, Misha Puskar said:

Hi! Not sure if this is a generic message but it said I got invited and Id looooove to join but about to have a baby in a couple of months so def next season it is for me  i miss driving so much ...   

Congratulations in advance. Def next year.

Frankly, I can't be happier with the team we have. We all have driven together many times and quite recently and frequently too which will play an important role in the overall strategy to win the championship.

Also it is a strong team. 

Section 1: Gear Preparation

Insta 360 X3 Setup

Before you mount the device on your car, you must dial in the best settings for the use case. Make sure that you are shooting 5.7k 30 fps. For the morning or daytime drives also make sure that you have selected Active HDR shooting mode. In case of low light in the evening or night drives, you should use Normal Video mode. Remember that the last setting that you have dialed in will be retained if you switch off the camera and switch it on later. Always double check that you are in the correct mode before you start recording because it happened to me when I recorded the best part of a drive in Bullet Time mode completely ruining the entire video because I used it before that I had used Bullet Time mode and then switched off the device.

Recently I have shot a video in Log mode. Log mode is a type of video recording that is used to preserve more of the image’s dynamic range and tonality by redistributing the digital exposure value representations over the entire value set using a preset logarithmic function. It is often associated with better image quality and is used in professional video production. This however takes extra steps to color the video since the video output looks low contrast.

Next you must connect your device with a remote. You can use either the phone app or a GPS remote. In the case of phone app, it will ask you to join the action camera wifi and once it has secured the connection you can control the device with the phone such as start/stop remote, change modes, use it as a remote screen, as well as change settings. In case you are using GPS remote you are able to connect it and can only change the mode and start stop recording. The benefit of GPS remote is you get a much more compact and stable remote.

Before you start shooting - Check and double check the settings. I can not tell you how many times I didn't do and lost what could have been a very good footage. 

Mounting Action Camera

Next you want to mount the device on your vehicle at the most optimal place. You can either use suction cups which are temporary and needs to be fixed every drive or permanent mounting solution to mount the action camera on your vehicle.

Suction Cups: At the beginning I used a popular Triple Suction Camera Mount available on Amazon.ae with the 120 cm selfie stick that I had got along with the X3. But I could not extend the stick all the way out because the ball mount wouldn’t handle the weight of the device that far away from the base and will slip down. While using it I would extend the selfie stick only 1 or 2 levels out. The benefit of suction cups it that you can mount it anywhere on the car as long as it is a smooth surface. Many prefer to mount on the front bonnet as well as on the roof tops.

Permanent Solutions: For my Jeep JL with metal bumper at the front and Teraflex flag mount on the rear door, a local enterprising offroad enthusiast has come up with permanent mounting solutions. They consist of a base which is permanently fixed in place and a rod that has a screw at one side and is attached to the base. I have mounted one at the front on the metal bumper and one at the back on the teraflex flag mount.

Front Mount

Rear Mount

Other vehicles have roof rails that provide alternative mounting options. Either at the sides or at the back of the car. Some users also fix mounting brackets directly on their vehicle either using glue or screw them into the place.

PS: I plan to update and revise certain sections to enhance clarity, streamline information for brevity, and improve language and grammar.

You are definitely going to pay my alimony be 100% sure about that. I am in.

A Quick overview for Hisham 

It was green, a lot green. The best thing to do is drive starting at the bottom play area and then drive west. That will take one through most of the nicer long-range dunes. In the start I tried to follow the map given to me by @Hisham Masaad after all his drive. But we only encountered a lot of greenery. Took a round around the fenced area to reach the must do dunes at the south of Faqa'a. Then we headed west and did not go beyond the suggested track. The second play area was again a must do area in this part. After that we returned back to end the drive at 10:00 sharp. As it turns out I was doing my own exploration after the break, taking a slightly different route.

IM Faqa'a Loop on Sat Oct 07, 2023

Looks like there is going to be another convoy led by @M.Seidam, I am soooo tempted to jump into the waitlist.

As far as Adnoc is concerned they never asked anything. I did not fill in any other fuel brand station ever. I heard that ENOC/ Emarat etc. might ask for EID and the purpose - but can't comment on it.

EDIT: All the Jerry Cans I have are from Ace, the flat ones so that they can go nicely in by boot. Their nozzle sucks. They break apart. A mighty BIG Thanks to @Cha who on his own got me a couple spare ones. 

Congratulations @Ahmad Nerat on your promotion. Well done and truly deserving. 

Congratulations @Rafey Hashmi on your promotions enjoy the new level. 

@Mahmoud Taha & @Lalaji thank you very much for your interest in participating. Please go thought the main DCT 2023 post as well as fill in the necessary Participant Registration Form. 

31 minutes ago, Imteeaz said:

will test it (when i receive it) in coming weeks, when the weather is more user-friendly to my x3

A good point indeed. Normally I use it till my car shows a temperature of about 35 degrees after that it stops working, because it is too hot to operate. 

DRIVE PLAN

This Sunday, we will explore one more area in the series of exploratory drives started last week. Let's meet opposite the 2nd December Cafe to explore the Mahrani and Al Sadiah areas in Sharjah ex-Faya and its exit routes. You have to take a long "U Turn" down 2nd Dec Cafe. I haven't been here in ages, so it is going to be true exploration. Expect to find a lot of vegetation but also some of the nicest dunes if my memory serves me well. We will end our drive where we started so at least the exit is quick.

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. 

MUST READ AND COMPLY

• Environmental Policy
• Offroad Flag Guideline
• Two Way Radio Guideline
• Off road Driving Etiquettes
• Emergency details for all off roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie Plus and above
When: 15 October 2023, Sunday
Meeting time:  6:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)
Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tmFe1pJj3KLbgf5z7
Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM
Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.
What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.

RECOMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR:

• Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge
• Compressor (MANDATORY)
• Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY)
• Off-road flag (MANDATORY)
• Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles
• First-aid kit
• Fire extinguisher

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

• This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM.
• If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list.
• RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list.
• Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.
• Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

@Mohammad Sayawoush Azad you can upload your pics to the gallery here: https://carnity.com/gallery/category/1849-fewbie-mahafiz-sharjah-08-oct-2023/

your can access the page from Off Road Club > Gallery 

On 10/14/2022 at 10:18 AM, Looper said:

GPS Smart Remote: I considered it but did not buy it as I saw many complaints that it provided patchy GPS data to the footage. Your phone will do a better job.

While leading drives fiddling with the phone became too cumbersome to use the action camera, hence I bit the bullet and bought the second generation GPS remote. This post acts to update my recommendation on the same.

I want to update my recommendation here to Buy for the GPS remote if you can afford it. I have seen it being sold at AED 318 on amazon. If you are buying new from Insta360 directly you can add to the shopping cart there to save on the shipping.

In the past I had recorded GPS data using my phone when I used to use it as the remote. The data was wrong and all over the place, so much so that I completely disabled recording GPS data.

One more benefit I see is, it stays connected to the camera all the time so you can start stop recording whenever you want. With the phone as the remote, if you have used the phone for anything else it would disconnect and sometimes it becomes difficult to connect again.

GPS remote connects with the camera in about 5-10 seconds and stays connected till the battery lasts. The remote needs to be near to the camera for the first connection and it stays in connection upto 20 m they say. This I learnt the hard way when in the Badayer drive I set it up on the mount and started to drive, hoping it will connect, but it did not. I had to go near the action camera when we stopped to some weird comments from the convoy as to what I was doing. 😆

The remote shows the battery status for both the camera and the remote. You can circle though the various shooting modes, but it does not go into Video HDR mode in the remote but if activated in the camera it will show and record in that mode. It also shows the time recorded. It comes with a couple of bands, one for wrist and other for a cycle handle bar. The battery for the GPS remote seem to last for 5-6 h ours more than enough for a drive.

I have asked the Insta360 guys and they have told me that upto 3 cameras can be connected and activated simultaneously with this remote. I will try to test it when I can and update here.

Friday, 29th Sep 2023 there was an Advisor "Yalla Push" drive at Al Badayer posted by @Hisham Masaad. In this post I share with you 3 videos.

I have not added any music to these videos, because my current mounting solution for the action camera does not add a lot of wind noise which was an irritant when the action camera was mounted on the side of the windows with suction cups. The sweet sweet sound of @Simon D's V6 is mostly what you will hear in the videos.

You will find that I have overlayed telemetry data in these videos, courtesy of the new gps remote. The new generation gps remote seems to work pretty nicely. The first video does not have elevation data because it did not seem correct to me, but the rest were pretty good.

Last video is my favourite because of the fresh new dunes @Hisham Masaad took us though which frankly is a rarity in that area. As every YouTuber says Subscribe to the channel and Smash That Like Button. 😅

Video 1 (3:10)

Video 2 (10:01)

Video 3 (12:02)