Anyone Using A Drone?

NoVote

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Jan 2, 2013
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A good quality drone with a good camera mounted on a gimbal gives a perspective like no other. My Dad was a WW2 Army war photographer, so I had an early start. I have boxes of cameras, prefering new Canon DSLR's, but last summer I popped for a Phantom 3 Pro Drone and never looked back. I don't use it for stills, although it will take 12Mp stills, I use it for aerial videos, like this one;

 
I bought 5 of those cheap "Call of Duty" toy camera drones a couple years back when they closed them out for $25 apiece, at Wally World.

Two of them flew off never to be seen again, the other three ended up in a tree.

:laughing0301:
 
LOL, I got 3 lost Phantom 3's in trees dotted around Western Wisconsin. That was just last summer. Trees love drones.
 
What's worse is, I searched for hours and never found even 1 again. I saw and heard them hit,fall, and disappear. :confused-84:
 
I bought 5 of those cheap "Call of Duty" toy camera drones a couple years back when they closed them out for $25 apiece, at Wally World.

Two of them flew off never to be seen again, the other three ended up in a tree.

:laughing0301:

Cheap drones are harder to fly than the more expensive ones. Why? Because the cheap ones don't have auto stabilization, which keeps the drone steady when it's flying. If you want one with auto stabilization, you have to go north of 300, with most of them being 700 to 1,000 each.
 
A good quality drone with a good camera mounted on a gimbal gives a perspective like no other. My Dad was a WW2 Army war photographer, so I had an early start. I have boxes of cameras, prefering new Canon DSLR's, but last summer I popped for a Phantom 3 Pro Drone and never looked back. I don't use it for stills, although it will take 12Mp stills, I use it for aerial videos, like this one;


I didn't catch it, but did he say what kind of drone that was? I've been looking at them, but hard to justify the $500 at this time.
 
A good quality drone with a good camera mounted on a gimbal gives a perspective like no other. My Dad was a WW2 Army war photographer, so I had an early start. I have boxes of cameras, prefering new Canon DSLR's, but last summer I popped for a Phantom 3 Pro Drone and never looked back. I don't use it for stills, although it will take 12Mp stills, I use it for aerial videos, like this one;


I didn't catch it, but did he say what kind of drone that was? I've been looking at them, but hard to justify the $500 at this time.


You know, I look at drones the same way I look at bicycles, you get what you pay for. When I was young, I used to ride 100 dollar Huffy bikes, but when I got older, I started spending a lot more on quality rides, made from stuff like aluminum and carbon fiber, with high grade (and high dollar) components on it.

My ex wife asked why I spent so much on bicycles, and I told her that if I bought a department store Huffy for 100 dollars, I would end up buying another one in about 2 months because of the amount I rode, it would simply wear the bike out.

If you spend 50 to 100 dollars on a drone, you get what you paid for, a toy that you might lose interest in after only a short time, because it will be difficult to fly, as well as may or may not come with a camera.

If you spend 500 or more, not only do you get a better quality machine, but you also get the software and other things that it needs to be auto stabilizing, meaning the drone will do most of the work of flying and keeping it stable, you just have to tell it where to go. Cheaper drones don't have that and can be VERY hard to fly, especially in moderate winds.

So, if you are hesitant to buy the more expensive one, remember that cheap doesn't necessarily mean that you are coming out ahead. It might end up being more expensive in the long run.
 
A good quality drone with a good camera mounted on a gimbal gives a perspective like no other. My Dad was a WW2 Army war photographer, so I had an early start. I have boxes of cameras, prefering new Canon DSLR's, but last summer I popped for a Phantom 3 Pro Drone and never looked back. I don't use it for stills, although it will take 12Mp stills, I use it for aerial videos, like this one;


I didn't catch it, but did he say what kind of drone that was? I've been looking at them, but hard to justify the $500 at this time.


You know, I look at drones the same way I look at bicycles, you get what you pay for. When I was young, I used to ride 100 dollar Huffy bikes, but when I got older, I started spending a lot more on quality rides, made from stuff like aluminum and carbon fiber, with high grade (and high dollar) components on it.

My ex wife asked why I spent so much on bicycles, and I told her that if I bought a department store Huffy for 100 dollars, I would end up buying another one in about 2 months because of the amount I rode, it would simply wear the bike out.

If you spend 50 to 100 dollars on a drone, you get what you paid for, a toy that you might lose interest in after only a short time, because it will be difficult to fly, as well as may or may not come with a camera.

If you spend 500 or more, not only do you get a better quality machine, but you also get the software and other things that it needs to be auto stabilizing, meaning the drone will do most of the work of flying and keeping it stable, you just have to tell it where to go. Cheaper drones don't have that and can be VERY hard to fly, especially in moderate winds.

So, if you are hesitant to buy the more expensive one, remember that cheap doesn't necessarily mean that you are coming out ahead. It might end up being more expensive in the long run.

No, what I mean was that I cannot justify the expense based on current priorities I have with My budget. At 500, I figure I can get a model that will last a reasonable amount of time to allow Me to become proficient and to see if I can find enough things to entertain Myself with. Maybe even make a few dollars to pay for it. I read somewhere that Quad pilots can get upwards of $50 per hour in certain situations.

I have a cheap 30 dollar model that came with a decent controller, but you had to adjust the balance on the controller with taps on the up/down engine controls to get the props moving the same speed and by the time you stabilized the quad, the battery gave out.

I plan on giving it to My grandson when he gets a touch older.

I'm interested in doing some video photography of this area, but again. A single interest for a 500 investment is difficult to justify to Myself, let alone the old lady.
 
First drone I bought cost under a $100 and taught me the basics. I made the mistake of buy one that was green colored. Flew it into some trees and never could locate it. I even looked for it with my binoculars.

Then a friend talked me into upping my game with a $500 drone that had GPS and a homing button. It was a world of difference!! .... :thup:
 
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I didn't catch it, but did he say what kind of drone that was? I've been looking at them, but hard to justify the $500 at this time.

The video in my first post was done with a pieced together DJI Phantom Pro with a 2.7K gimbal camera on it. Don't look for a new one, Search E-Bay for Phantom 3 Drone. The Professional is the top grade, then Advanced and then standard. Look for a few days, get a feel and you will find a real deal soon enough. Next above Phantom 3 is the Phantom 4, that's what I will be buying this weekend.

You should be able to slap togeather a Phantom 3 Pro or advanced in great shape, with 2 batteries, the bird with Camera and the radio controller for $300 to $500. You also need a decent smart phone or Tablet to use as a screen.

Search YouTube for phantom 3 tutorials and go from there. Have fun. :eek:)
 
"Does anyone use a drone?"

Yes

image.jpg


Neighborhood cats, beware.
 
I didn't catch it, but did he say what kind of drone that was? I've been looking at them, but hard to justify the $500 at this time.

The video in my first post was done with a pieced together DJI Phantom Pro with a 2.7K gimbal camera on it. Don't look for a new one, Search E-Bay for Phantom 3 Drone. The Professional is the top grade, then Advanced and then standard. Look for a few days, get a feel and you will find a real deal soon enough. Next above Phantom 3 is the Phantom 4, that's what I will be buying this weekend.

You should be able to slap togeather a Phantom 3 Pro or advanced in great shape, with 2 batteries, the bird with Camera and the radio controller for $300 to $500. You also need a decent smart phone or Tablet to use as a screen.

Search YouTube for phantom 3 tutorials and go from there. Have fun. :eek:)
Which type of tablet or phone, android or iOs?
 
Yeah I am thinking of it but as they say learn to walk before you fly

So I am still messing with the cheap ones and trying to decide is it worth it to buy a top of the line for entertainment. I can probably use one for work. I guess I will drop hints during the Christmas season

So if that doesn't work then I will wait until the prices start to drop to the point of that retailers just want to get rid of the products

I am not the kind of person to buy something when they first come out
 

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