Participants in a panel on the use of drones at the 2016 NAB show agreed that there's a great gap between what filmmakers want to do and what they are not allowed to do.

Michael Chambliss, business representative for the International Cinematographers Guild, said, “Never has a new tool been so disruptive. Aerial cinematographers have had their hands full trying to educate the studios, the regulatory bodies and public safety officials.

In 2014, the FAA began to grant regulatory exemptions to complying aerial production companies so they could put cameras on drones for film and TV shoots. But while drones have begun to become part of the cinematographer's arsenal, several of the speakers pointed to the limitations they are still running up against.

“Regulatory-wise, we have capabilities that we are currently not able to use,” said Dylan Goss, an aerial director of photography (Fast 7, Sicario) and partner in rental company Team 5.

“There are no night-time operations in the US, and that includes dusk and sunset, moments when people like to shoot. We have night-vision cameras and the ability to mark the cameras so you can see them. We feel we can operate safely at night. We’d love to see that added to the filmmakers' regulatory exemption.”

Goss said more flexibility in the current 55-pound-or-less weight limit was needed. Popular configurations such as Red Dragon camera with a prime lens are already very close to that weight limit, he explained.

“We feel we can safely operate drones even if they are just 10 pounds heavier. That would help things a lot in terms of what we can do.”

The panelists stressed that safety remains their top priority, for work both inside and outside the US., where such strict regulations don’t apply.

"We worked in China and other countries where we could have probably done whatever we wanted, but we still have our own standards that go beyond the FAA standard," reported Goss. "We are about keeping things safe, not just offering a piece of equipment."