I want a quality Drone

I did a search on here about what drone to buy.

Most of the posts are a year or two old.  I am sure that the development of drones has resulted in some recent improvements.

If you were going to buy a drone today which one would you buy and what features would you look for.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

How much do you want to spend?

Here in Clovis CA they teach drone flying in high school. Ran into the instructor one day as he was flying a $1,000 unit in a park next to our house.

They are used in a wide variety of fields and I think if I was a youngster getting out of school I'd look into going into the drone industry. 

I would be fine with $1,000 for a good drone and would pay more if the added features justified paying more.

Can you use a tablet as the controller so that you would have a larger screen for viewing ?

His had a camera on board and he was able to see what the camera sent back to him but I myself don't know anything about the controllers.

He did have extra charged batteries and spare propellers. 

My Daughter started her own Video company a couple years ago. She does a lot of real estate filming, commercials for local business and travels across the county for weddings, she is in high demand for her editing skills. She is on her 3rd drone, they all have been around 1000.00 or so. I'll ask her about what she has now, they are getting better each year as one would suspect.  I'll post it tomorrow afternoon,,,gregg

Thanks.  I appreciate it.

What I am looking for is someone that knows what model is good and where to get it.

I would also like to know if it can be used with a fairly large tablet screen so that I can see the live video better.

I also have been told that some of the newer ones can return to a home GPS location if the signal is lost.

I know that some of the guys here have them.  Maybe they will post what model they like.

Hi Bill,

There is a big difference between a camera platform and a "flyer." The former is all about a super stable platform for video and images. The latter all about an exciting remote-control flying type experience.

If you are looking for a camera platform, the DJI drones are good. I have the Phantom 3 Pro and it shoots fantastic 4K video. It is GPS stabilized and basically flies itself but does does have a variety of flight modes. Will return home when commanded or a problem occurs. Model #4 is now current (https://www.dji.com/phantom-4-pro?site=brandsite&from=nav), it includes collision avoidance.  Maybe more than you are looking to spend and definitely a lot more than one would spend to hand it to the kids to go run into trees and such.

Hi Bill, Unless you go for the real expensive drones, the DJI Phantom 4 pro is probably what you want, but they approach 2K in price when you throw in the accessories and case.. The best place to look for all the various makes and models is probably https://www.adorama.com/l/Video-Equipment/Drones-and-Accessories

I had a DJI Phantom 3, but sold it when the more advanced features were starting to become available. I am about ready to buy the DJI Mavic Pro, which has most of the desirable features at a reasonable price. I like it's size and portability versus the Phantom 4 Pro. The Mavic looks to be the best for taking in the Jeep and getting flying easily when you want to get some quick good quality video.

Let us know what you finally  settle on and how you like it.

Bill, if Kevin Means doesn't see this and respond, send him a PM.  He has a drone and uses it to take movies. 

Hi Bill. To best answer your question, I'd like to know what you'd be using it for. I've got a DJI Phantom 3 Professional and it's very easy to fly. If you mess up, you simply take your hands off the controls and it brings itself to a hover. If you've lost SA and don't know where it is, you push one button on the remote, and it flies back to where it took off and lands itself. You can override it once you get it back in sight.

There's a bracket on the controller that you attach a cell phone or tablet to (I use a 7" tablet) so you can see what the drone sees through its 4K camera. Also displayed is a GPS map of where the drone is and its altitude and battery status. A lot more telemetry is displayed as well. It warns you when battery capacity gets to 30% so you have time (headwinds notwithstanding) to fly home, and then again when it hits 10%. If you don't override it, the drone will land on its own, wherever it is, when battery capacity hits 10%.

It's a pretty amazing device. The video quality is amazing. It's been replaced with the Phantom 4, and I thinik the Phantom 5 might be released soon (or it already has - I don't keep up on it.) DJI also sells the Mavick, a smaller, more easily deployed drone, but from what I understand, it doesn't have the battery capacity to stay aloft as long.

You could probably find a used Phantom 3 Professional, or a used Phantom 3 Standard for pretty cheap, since all the youngsters want the new drones with all the bells and whistles. The Phantom 3 Standard has an HD camera, but it's not 4K. There are obviously a lot of other drone companies out there, but I don't know much about them.

Kev

Quad Copters (I hate the term drones applied to these things, though it's common now) can be a lot of fun, and even get nice pix. Be sure to check into the latest FAA regs (Part 107) concerning these, since registration, even pilot testing can be required for many situations (mostly commercial for licensing, registration for most).

Likely the manufacturer will include pertinent information, but you could check the FAA's registration site ("drones" from .55 lb to 55 lb.): https://federaldroneregistration.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu6Pm5J6f2wIVCcZkCh10lAErEAAYASAAEgLlWvD_BwE

FAA Part 107 covers operations regulations: https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/#reg_req

THIS.....is the correct site for the FAA's Registration site....not the one above...

https://faadronezone.faa.gov

A Government site will end in a ".gov".......not a ".com".  The .com site wants $25+ dollars to register your drone....the actual FAA site charges the normal fee....$5.

HueyPilotVN said:

I did a search on here about what drone to buy.

Most of the posts are a year or two old.  I am sure that the development of drones has resulted in some recent improvements.

If you were going to buy a drone today which one would you buy and what features would you look for.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Click to expand...

I have a Parrot Bebop 2 quad-copter and have had it since Nov. 2017.  It may be more of an "entry" level quad than you are looking for, but it probably bears checking out.  The one I bought came with the original SkyController  vs.  the new one and the big advantage is that you can mount up to a 10" tablet on it for visual stuff.  The flight software is pretty impressive and has the usual RTH function as well as a "follow me" if you want to add it to the software with an in app purchase.  There is also a couple of different modes that you can use for control....Sport mode....fast and extremely quick reaction on the controls, and the other one (can remember what they call it), but basically it slows things down for better use of photography/video.  Both modes are adjustable and once I learned to fly it in the slower mode, I have switched it to Sport mode and gradually increased the speed, turning time response, etc.  I usually get roughly 17 - 18 minutes of flight time per battery, land it and swap batteries, and off again....I've got three for flight, and the other one is the battery for the controller.  Anyway.....check it out if you desire.

I talked to my daughter and she has the DJI Mavric Pro. She loves it, likes it better then the Phantom she had. She likes the compactness of it, she feels confident in wind, its 4k camera, also has collision avoidance. The controller is smaller and a large screen iPhone is about as big as you can put on it. It has a range of 4 miles. Like I posted earlier she uses it for her business and does a lot of traveling, so the size is a big appeal for her.  Sounds like you received some good feedback to help your decision,,,gregg

xrated said:

THIS.....is the correct site for the FAA's Registration site....not the one above...

https://faadronezone.faa.gov

A Government site will end in a ".gov".......not a ".com".  The .com site wants $25+ dollars to register your drone....the actual FAA site charges the normal fee....$5.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction -- guess I was in a hurry.

I have the DJI Mavic pro.  My first drone.  VERY easy to fly and takes great video.  you don't HAVE TO use a tablet, but it is desirable as you can see what the camera is seeing. 

This thing has more features than I have had time to try......but the "return to home" feature is one I have used.......alot!   

I'm into it about  $1200 with the new IPAD3 I bought for it. 

now, if I could just master the editing of the video.......THAT is the time consuming part.

HueyPilotVN said:

I did a search on here about what drone to buy.

Most of the posts are a year or two old.  I am sure that the development of drones has resulted in some recent improvements.

If you were going to buy a drone today which one would you buy and what features would you look for.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Click to expand...

I have the Mavic Pro, it's a great machine for aerial photography.
lightweight and easy to use, very stable even in moderate winds..