Drone advice?

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JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
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I thought about naming this thread "Thinking about buying a drone, but I have been known to complain about clone threads, so I didn't".

Anyway, Leslie said she would like to have a drone. She thinks it would be cool and she is a pretty good photographer.

I don't want to just go somewhere and buy a toy, but I don't want to spend thousands either.

What advice can you give on what to buy and where to buy it? I have no real mission defined, except that it has to be cool and able to take nice pictures.
 
By the way, she is instrument rated, if that makes any difference.
 
You want to build or buy?
 
James331 said:
You want to build or buy?
Click to expand...
Unless "build" means snapping a few parts together, then buy. I'm retired. I have too much important stuff to do to spend time building a drone.
 
JOhnH said:
I thought about naming this thread "Thinking about buying a drone, but I have been known to complain about clone threads, so I didn't".

Anyway, Leslie said she would like to have a drone. She thinks it would be cool and she is a pretty good photographer.

I don't want to just go somewhere and buy a toy, but I don't want to spend thousands either.

What advice can you give on what to buy and where to buy it? I have no real mission defined, except that it has to be cool and able to take nice pictures.
Click to expand...

If she's never flown one before, it might be a good idea to get a cheaper trainer first. I flew the Syma X5C-1 as my only quadrotor experience before the Phantom 4 Pro and I stepped up quite easily.

Syma X5C-1:
$50.00 on Amazon
Manual Hover/Throttle adjustments
100 foot range, light winds or indoors
Gyroscope to keep stable
Fixed 2MP camera (no gimbal), pictures and video
500mAh batteries / 5-7 min flight time for 1.5 hour charge
No ability to see what you are taking images of
-Does flips

DJI Phantom 4 Pro:
$1500 from DJI's site
Automatic Hover
Up to 4.3 mile range, outdoor 20-30mph winds
Gyroscope/GPS/collision avoidance/obstacle sensing/return to home/intelligent flight modes
Gimbal equipped 20MP camera, up to 4k video (absolutely buttery smooth)
5870mAh batteries / 25-30 min flight time for 1-1.2 hour charge
Can plug iPad into transmitter to see in basically real time
-Does not do flips

You're probably going to want something in between, the Phantom 3 is a solid platform even though it has been improved on quite a bit...but both the standard and SE versions are completely sold out on DJI's website.

The Phantom 4 Advanced is the midgrade option for the Phantom 4 line. The difference between the Pro and Advanced is that the Advanced doesn't have rear and side facing obstacle avoidance. The transmitter for the Pro has both 2.4 and 5.8ghz for areas with lots of signal interference. The difference in flight time out of the batteries is negligable, about 3-4 minutes less.

I have a lot more stick time with the 4 than the 3. The improvements are pretty major though, and you can get some seriously amazing video out of them. This is a video I took at the end of a home inspection:


Other than DJI's products I don't have a lot of experience.
 
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overdrive148 said:
If she's never flown one before, it might be a good idea to get a cheaper trainer first. I flew the Syma X5C-1 as my only quadrotor experience before the Phantom 4 Pro and I stepped up quite easily.

Syma X5C-1:
$50.00 on Amazon
Manual Hover/Throttle adjustments
100 foot range, light winds or indoors
Gyroscope to keep stable
Fixed 2MP camera (no gimbal), pictures and video
500mAh batteries / 5-7 min flight time for 1.5 hour charge
No ability to see what you are taking images of
-Does flips

DJI Phantom 4 Pro:
$1500 from DJI's site
Automatic Hover
Up to 4.3 mile range, outdoor 20-30mph winds
Gyroscope/GPS/collision avoidance/obstacle sensing/return to home/intelligent flight modes
Gimbal equipped 20MP camera, up to 4k video (absolutely buttery smooth)
5870mAh batteries / 25-30 min flight time for 1-1.2 hour charge
Can plug iPad into transmitter to see in basically real time
-Does not do flips

You're probably going to want something in between, the Phantom 3 is a solid platform even though it has been improved on quite a bit...but both the standard and SE versions are completely sold out on DJI's website.

The Phantom 4 Advanced is the midgrade option for the Phantom line. The difference between the Pro and Advanced is that the Advanced doesn't have rear and side facing obstacle avoidance. The transmitter for the Pro has both 2.4 and 5.8ghz for areas with lots of signal interference. The difference in flight time out of the batteries is negligable, about 3-4 minutes less.

I have a lot more stick time with the 3 than the 4. The improvements are pretty major though, and you can get some seriously amazing video out of them. This is a video I took at the end of a home inspection:


Other than DJI's products I don't have a lot of experience.
Click to expand...

Great advice. Nice video. Sadly, all of those $600k-$800k homes have postage stamp-sized parcels of property. Talk about being able to hear your neighbors knocking boots... sheesh! Open the window and smell what your neighbors are having for supper. I mean dinner. 1%ers eat dinner.
 
JOhnH said:
By the way, she is instrument rated, if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...
Provided she's flight review current, getting a remote pilot certificate only requires that she take an online training course (and completing an IACRA application for the certificate).
 
overdrive148 said:
If she's never flown one before, it might be a good idea to get a cheaper trainer first. I flew the Syma X5C-1 as my only quadrotor experience before the Phantom 4 Pro and I stepped up quite easily.

Syma X5C-1:
$50.00 on Amazon
Manual Hover/Throttle adjustments
100 foot range, light winds or indoors
Gyroscope to keep stable
Fixed 2MP camera (no gimbal), pictures and video
500mAh batteries / 5-7 min flight time for 1.5 hour charge
No ability to see what you are taking images of
-Does flips

DJI Phantom 4 Pro:
$1500 from DJI's site
Automatic Hover
Up to 4.3 mile range, outdoor 20-30mph winds
Gyroscope/GPS/collision avoidance/obstacle sensing/return to home/intelligent flight modes
Gimbal equipped 20MP camera, up to 4k video (absolutely buttery smooth)
5870mAh batteries / 25-30 min flight time for 1-1.2 hour charge
Can plug iPad into transmitter to see in basically real time
-Does not do flips

You're probably going to want something in between, the Phantom 3 is a solid platform even though it has been improved on quite a bit...but both the standard and SE versions are completely sold out on DJI's website.

The Phantom 4 Advanced is the midgrade option for the Phantom 4 line. The difference between the Pro and Advanced is that the Advanced doesn't have rear and side facing obstacle avoidance. The transmitter for the Pro has both 2.4 and 5.8ghz for areas with lots of signal interference. The difference in flight time out of the batteries is negligable, about 3-4 minutes less.

I have a lot more stick time with the 4 than the 3. The improvements are pretty major though, and you can get some seriously amazing video out of them. This is a video I took at the end of a home inspection:


Other than DJI's products I don't have a lot of experience.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all that advice.
Can I assume the reason for starting on the $50 drone is so that expected beginner crashes won't hurt (cost) so much?
 
Forgot to mention that the Phantom 4 Advanced is going for $1199 right now on DJI's site, and you get 1 battery/transmitter/drone.
You can compare specs in detail between their Phantom line at this link:
https://www.dji.com/products/compare-consumer-drones

http://store.dji.com/category/phantom-4
Additional batteries are $169, the 3 battery charging platform is $90, the battery charging cable is $55, the A/C adaptor cable is $5, the 32GB microSD card is $20, memory card case is $19, and the mobile device holder for the transmitter (where the iPad sits) is $30.

My kit has 5 batteries, all of those things above, some spare props, some tools, and a couple of cables and cords for maintenance and firmware updates. But I fly on a daily basis so you might not need nearly that much stuff.

JOhnH said:
Thanks for all that advice.
Can I assume the reason for starting on the $50 drone is so that expected beginner crashes won't hurt (cost) so much?
Click to expand...

I would say give her something like the Syma X5C-1 and see if she can keep it relatively stable herself and learn how to control them without crashing something more expensive, and then give her something more advanced between the 3 and the 4 adv. Although the Phantom series was designed to be super simple to fly, I have seen a lot of people get way behind the aircraft even though it will -usually- auto-level and auto-hover itself if you just let go of the controls.

As always, stick and rudder skills are always necessary for when the iPad chimes "Atti mode" at you which means you've lost everything except the barometer and gyroscope keeping you spinny side up at a certain altitude. Not being able to fly it without having to compensate for wind and orientation can be disastrous. I have lost GPS only a handful of times and it has been a non-issue because I can still fly without the help of the GPS holding it in a 0.1m accuracy hover regardless of wind conditions.
 
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Also the drone registration requirements are apparently coming back, so any aircraft over .55 lb will have to be registered with the FAA at the expense of $5. I have my registration on the top of the drone but it is removed for security purposes (job security mostly).

Also as for getting your Part 107 (commercial drone certificate), you don't need to in order to fly it recreationally but I would recommend it anyway since it gives you a lot of information about where and when you can/can't fly.

The process is split into two different paths: with and without pilot certificate:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/remote_pilot_cert/

What's your price ballpark, @JOhnH ?
 
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Photos or video?

For video, IMO the best start is the DJI Mavik. It's a decent price point, and very easy to travel with. It takes okay stills but real photographers will outgrow it very quickly.

For stills you're going to want something more along the lines of a Phantom 4 Pro, or a custom built drone with a real SLR camera attached to it.
 
My first drone was a cinetank that had a few bucks in it, I used this to get my hands in the game

Like 5 bucks, Quadcopter FX pro, actually if you turn the automatic stuff off is harder than flying the real thing (at least my tank)

image.png

Outside view


image.png

FPV view
 
[QUOTE="1%ers eat dinner.[/QUOTE]

I beg to differ 1%'ers eat MRE's. There are 3 million members of the Armed Forces (active, Reserve and NG) out of a country of about 300 million. They get to fly the really expensive drones.
 
Start with something cheaper as stated in the earlier posts.
  • The more manual the better....preferably without headless mode and you won't have to worry about GPS sync etc...just get out and fly. It will be more challenging but the skills learned without headless mode are invaluable.
  • Get a drone with brushless motors for practice that will get you about 20 minutes of flight time on a single battery charge. (The brushed motor flight time is only 5 - 8 minutes on a good day.)
  • This is a good solid manual drone for practice...I beat the hell out of mine when I was learning and it is still going strong.
https://www.amazon.com/Quadcopter-B...8&qid=1513560885&sr=1-3&keywords=bugs+3+drone
  • Get extra props
  • Did I mention get extra props
  • Go with an established brand like DJI or Yuneec (I went with a Xiro as a step-up drone, to test out the waters to see if I liked aerial photography, but the company is in a state of flux and parts are proving difficult to find. I had a mishap in a creek bed.)
  • DJI and Yuneec are two of the more stable names in camera drones the Mavic is on my wish list because of the portability of it...although the Yuneec offerings look good also.
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Quadcopt...=1513561724&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=mavic&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Hexacopter-C...&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=yuneec+typhoon+h&psc=1
  • A slightly more affordable camera platform.
https://www.amazon.com/Yuneec-Typho...qid=1513562042&sr=1-4&keywords=yuneec+q500+4k

Did I mention get extra props.
 
I have a 4 pro. Image is pretty solid, but there is still room for improvement. Not bad for the price point.
 
I have a mavic...I found it so ridiculously easy to fly, I'd say as long as you are careful at first (fly in open areas, keep it in "beginner mode", etc) you could skip a starter drone and go right for the mavic.

As an example, here is one of the first videos I ever made with the thing.


And before anyone freaks out, this was a virtually unused strip, I had my handheld with me on the CTAF just in case, and I do have my part 107...
 
I'm still trying to think of ways I could make money doing this out here in the boonies so I can justify the cap costs.

Rich
 
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