RC Drone Options
 

Hi All.

I've been thinking about buying a quadcopter drone and attaching my FPV gear to it but there are so many options out there I don't know which one to go with. I'm looking for something either ready to go out of the box or something with minimal assembly required. I don't need it to be cheap but I'm not looking to spend thousands on it either. Stability control and gps are important to me as I will be using the drone to film videos (I make commercials for a living. I'm not planning to spy on people :)

Any suggestions as to which drone to go with?

Re: RC Drone Options
 

DJi Phantom 2 is made for you. Ideally with the expensive gimbal and a Gopro3, and much much better with some kind of FPV on it. Countless amateur photographers using them - and I know some who are using them commercially for profit too (maybe not legally). I full kit ready to go flying maybe around $1200, plus the Gopro.

Just please please don't fly it over crowd or high until you take some serious time to learn everything you can about where airplanes fly. Also take time to research what commercial use regulations are all about before using it for any commercial purpose (ie you need a special permit from Transport Canada). And study up on the 'Naza flyaway' issue.

There are cheaper options that are ready to fly out of the box. Like the Blade Qx350 and the micro sized quads. Hobbyking has a RTF 400 size kit for like $200 now. They are not for carrying cameras, really, though might carry a Gopro or Mobius without gimbal. Not as solid for the job as Naza Phantom or Flamewheel, imho. Or you can go to an even better FPV/Goprogimbal quad like the TBS DiscoveryPro and a couple dozen other choices (these can be custom ordered built-up ready to fly too, more like $2300). I just ordered a Discopro kit myself.

Higher quality built-up quads are not for beginners to build unless you really want to learn this stuff, are an engineer or researcher, or on a tight budget and willing to take weeks to learn how to build it.

the landscape changes every month or two. TOns of new products coming out, some of them mimicking the DJi Phantom and maybe doing a good job at it too for less $. Walkera is one. The new the Parrot drone looks pretty neat with HD FPV on board and better range than before.

Re: RC Drone Options
 

I know some people manage to get good video from a Phantom type craft but I can't imagine flying that thing in any kind of wind ...

There is a LOT to learn in this hobby ... the so called "ready to fly stuff" is usually overpriced and marginal in quality ...

And do yourself a favour and stop calling then "drone" :r_c:

Re: RC Drone Options
 

nothing wrong with calling it a drone. Just the language or our age. Heck one of the biggest forums in all the FPV/UAV community is .. 'DIY Drones'

I generally find the 450 size and larger are pretty good in wind, and better than a fixed wing craft for steadiness. Mass (inertia), Gimbal and GPS helps for that. Items like the Phantom 2 and Discovery Pro are sold as 'Prosumer' video making machines, and why not? A step up to hex, octo rigs, with the penalty of bigger batteries and less portability. But then there are the serious video machines carrying DSLR and Redcam - but you are looking at $20k and up for such aircraft&kit. Having seen such pro machines in person, they says to me 'pain in the arse for a hobbyist to haul around and scary to launch and use in all but the most controlled situations.' I like the idea of having a small craft that I can hike up into the mountains with and capture scenes you would not get with a huge drone rig or a real helicopter.