Solved: Drones, anyone?

petra_r · ‎07-22-2018

I think I would like a drone...

I want:

Idiot-proof
high quality stills and video (at least HD video, 4k not needed.
robust
intuitive, don't do lengthy instructions. Ikea and I can vouch for that...
some obstactle avoidence
works with iphone / ipad
under $ 700(ish)

Mainly want to fly it to the beach (200 or so yards 250 meters away) and film sunrises, also look for the cats in the olive groves and vineyards...

REALLY need ease of use as I don't have the patience to figure it out before crashing and destroying it. Willing to learn about it and capable of figuring out technical stuff provided it survives the initial enthusiastic but incompetent fumbling.

So, in short, I need a drone that is forgiving enough to cope with a short tempered beginner, but has the fatures for someone who likes and can (eventually) handle high-tech stuff.

Ideas?

Why do I want a drone? Here's a drone video of where I live - all within a couple of miles ...

kat303 · ‎07-25-2018

Well, a few things to take into consideration.

Idiot - proof --- the more you pay for a drone, the more idiot proof it is. To start with expect to pay around $400. My son in law has one that he paid around $385 and has flown it short distances with no problem. The more you pay the better the drone is and the more features it has. I Don't advise a drone that costs less then $400.

High quality stills - most drones today come with a camera mount or come with a camera already attached. The majority of camera attached are pretty good. If you attach a phone to a mount, stills etc are only as good as the device you attach.

Intuitive - Again, my son in law flew one right out of the box. Of course, you do have to read directions so you'll know how to work the controller and sync the camera to your phone/laptop/etc. Here in the U.S. almost every city has a drone flight school. That might be something you may want to look for in your area. Depending on the type of drone you by here, not only are you not allowed to fly it within X miles from an airport, buy you need to register it with the FAA and be certified to fly it. I don't know if that was required for my son in law, but he only flew it once for about 5 minutes around his house which is in a development. He's also flown it in central FL out in a desolate area where no one is going to say anything because there's nothing around.

obstacle avoidance - LOL. I may be wrong by there's no drone with that feature. unless, you're referring to the drones that cost $3,500 and above. If you mess up, you're going to crash it.

That is one thing you need to need to understand. No matter how good you are at flying or how much the drone costs accidents etc can happen. If you are not prepared to see the drone crash into a tree on your .... lets say, 3rd flight out, or if you are not prepared to see your drone fly off and not respond to your controls, then you shouldn't buy drone.

The more features on a drone, such as distance, battery life and return home feature, the more it's going to cost. As said, (I don't know the brand my son in law bought (it was foldable and bought from Amazon) my son in law had no trouble flying it and the few times he did he had no problem.

Aside from the above, I have to say, the area where you live is is amazingly beautiful.

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reinierb · ‎07-23-2018

@Petra, considering where you live, I can definitely see why you would want a drone to see more of the area.

versailles · ‎07-23-2018

I was thinking about getting one, but I would have been bored of it after a while.

Most of the drones out there nowadays are really easy to use and have 4K. Usually, you can pilot them with a tablet or a smartphone (you barely pilot anything actually since they're auto-stable). I cannot provide pointers towards any brand or model, but you'll find many YT videos from users and test freaks.

Tip from a licensed pilot: check the airspace regulations! You're not allowed to do whatever pleases you 🙂

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light" —William Ashbless

petra_r · ‎07-23-2018

@Rene K wrote:
I cannot provide pointers towards any brand or model, but you'll find many YT videos from users and test freaks.

Tip from a licensed pilot: check the airspace regulations! You're not allowed to do whatever pleases you 🙂

The problem with YouTube videos is that most are paid for in some way or the other, affiliate or for freebie stuff...

Re the airspace regulations, yes, I know, but this is Italy and almost everything is forbidden unless you really want to do it 😉

I've always wanted to get a pilot's licence, my parents both flew (it's actually how they met) but considering how hare-brained I can be and how recklessly I treat other forms of transport (except for 4 legged ones) it is probably safer that I refrained...

richard_wein · ‎07-23-2018

Oh, that kind of drone. I thought you meant the other sort ("A person who does no useful work and lives off others"), and I was going to offer to be your drone.

versailles · ‎07-23-2018

@Petra R wrote:
The problem with YouTube videos is that most are paid for in some way or the other, affiliate or for freebie stuff...

Re the airspace regulations, yes, I know, but this is Italy and almost everything is forbidden unless you really want to do it 😉

I've always wanted to get a pilot's licence, my parents both flew (it's actually how they met) but considering how hare-brained I can be and how recklessly I treat other forms of transport (except for 4 legged ones) it is probably safer that I refrained...

I don't agree, there are serious YT channels with ads and sponsors. By having ads and sponsors, they don't need no bamboozling.

Concerning airspace, it's not about what's not allowed, it's about what's dangerous.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light" —William Ashbless

petra_r · ‎07-23-2018

@Rene K wrote:
Concerning airspace, it's not about what's not allowed, it's about what's dangerous.

I was being flippant 🙂

I know we are allowed to fly down here by the beach except for when the airshow is on, I am literally a stonethrow from the beach.

I don't think I'd get bored with a drone, I'd be hunting for wildlife (and "tame-life" aka my cats) and take footage and pics of sunrises.

I love photography and want to get into video more. You're speaking to the person who doubles the value of the car when she puts the camera bag on the passenger seat...

versailles · ‎07-23-2018

I understand. However, they have little flight time, 15-20 min I think. So you have to make these minutes count.

Also the prices are affordable nowadays, so you won't have to make sacrifices on photo gear to get one. There is so much to do with a drone if you're in making videos. Creativity potential is huge.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light" —William Ashbless

reinierb · ‎07-24-2018

@Rene K wrote:
I understand. However, they have little flight time, 15-20 min I think. So you have to make these minutes count.

Also the prices are affordable nowadays, so you won't have to make sacrifices on photo gear to get one. There is so much to do with a drone if you're in making videos. Creativity potential is huge.

Not knowing anything about drones, I asked around in my area for some tips for Petra. It turns out that one local videographer uses a large, twin-rotor model helicopter instead of a drone. According to this guy, he gets up to 40 minutes flight time, and can control the helicopter from as far as 600 metres away if he has to.

Apparently, he uses a Go-Pro camera mounted in a vibration proof cradle that gives him rock steady images, but I have not seen either the helicopter or any of his videos myself.

So I was wondering if Petra would be interested in a large model helicopter instead of a drone?

petra_r · ‎07-26-2018

@Reinier B wrote:
Not knowing anything about drones, I asked around in my area for some tips for Petra. It turns out that one local videographer uses a large, twin-rotor model helicopter instead of a drone. According to this guy, he gets up to 40 minutes flight time, and can control the helicopter from as far as 600 metres away if he has to.

Apparently, he uses a Go-Pro camera mounted in a vibration proof cradle that gives him rock steady images, but I have not seen either the helicopter or any of his videos myself.

So I was wondering if Petra would be interested in a large model helicopter instead of a drone?

Petra would be, I looked at one that would even take my Canon (DSLR) with a decent lens on it.

Alas, Petra can't afford it 😄

Also, the idea of my Canon flying off never to be seen again is even scarier than the thought of losing a drone.

reinierb · ‎07-24-2018

@Rene K wrote:
I was thinking about getting one, but I would have been bored of it after a while.

Most of the drones out there nowadays are really easy to use and have 4K. Usually, you can pilot them with a tablet or a smartphone (you barely pilot anything actually since they're auto-stable). I cannot provide pointers towards any brand or model, but you'll find many YT videos from users and test freaks.

Tip from a licensed pilot: check the airspace regulations! You're not allowed to do whatever pleases you 🙂

Flying is the single biggest thing I miss in my life. I was three weeks away from obtaining my senior commercial pilot's rating when I had a heart attack, so no more flying after that. My heart is still broken...

colettelewis · ‎07-24-2018

@Reinier B wrote:
@Rene K wrote:
I was thinking about getting one, but I would have been bored of it after a while.

Most of the drones out there nowadays are really easy to use and have 4K. Usually, you can pilot them with a tablet or a smartphone (you barely pilot anything actually since they're auto-stable). I cannot provide pointers towards any brand or model, but you'll find many YT videos from users and test freaks.

Tip from a licensed pilot: check the airspace regulations! You're not allowed to do whatever pleases you 🙂
Flying is the single biggest thing I miss in my life. I was three weeks away from obtaining my senior commercial pilot's rating when I had a heart attack, so no more flying after that. My heart is still broken...

___________________________________

kat303 · ‎07-25-2018

Well, a few things to take into consideration.

Idiot - proof --- the more you pay for a drone, the more idiot proof it is. To start with expect to pay around $400. My son in law has one that he paid around $385 and has flown it short distances with no problem. The more you pay the better the drone is and the more features it has. I Don't advise a drone that costs less then $400.

High quality stills - most drones today come with a camera mount or come with a camera already attached. The majority of camera attached are pretty good. If you attach a phone to a mount, stills etc are only as good as the device you attach.

Intuitive - Again, my son in law flew one right out of the box. Of course, you do have to read directions so you'll know how to work the controller and sync the camera to your phone/laptop/etc. Here in the U.S. almost every city has a drone flight school. That might be something you may want to look for in your area. Depending on the type of drone you by here, not only are you not allowed to fly it within X miles from an airport, buy you need to register it with the FAA and be certified to fly it. I don't know if that was required for my son in law, but he only flew it once for about 5 minutes around his house which is in a development. He's also flown it in central FL out in a desolate area where no one is going to say anything because there's nothing around.

obstacle avoidance - LOL. I may be wrong by there's no drone with that feature. unless, you're referring to the drones that cost $3,500 and above. If you mess up, you're going to crash it.

That is one thing you need to need to understand. No matter how good you are at flying or how much the drone costs accidents etc can happen. If you are not prepared to see the drone crash into a tree on your .... lets say, 3rd flight out, or if you are not prepared to see your drone fly off and not respond to your controls, then you shouldn't buy drone.

The more features on a drone, such as distance, battery life and return home feature, the more it's going to cost. As said, (I don't know the brand my son in law bought (it was foldable and bought from Amazon) my son in law had no trouble flying it and the few times he did he had no problem.

Aside from the above, I have to say, the area where you live is is amazingly beautiful.

petra_r · ‎07-26-2018

Thanks Kathy, exactly what I needed! The ones I am looking at are generally "not quite the latest great model" reduced to around the $ 700 mark but I am thinking that I may need to think and research more. This bit gave me food for thought

Kathy T wrote:

That is one thing you need to need to understand. No matter how good you are at flying or how much the drone costs accidents etc can happen. If you are not prepared to see the drone crash into a tree on your .... lets say, 3rd flight out, or if you are not prepared to see your drone fly off and not respond to your controls, then you shouldn't buy drone.

I have visions of a $ 700 toy crashing somewhere I can't easily retrieve it from (a garden with owners away for most of the year, which most of the places right here are, or down a mountainside, or into the sea....)

reinierb · ‎07-26-2018

@Petra R wrote:
Thanks Kathy, exactly what I needed! The ones I am looking at are generally "not quite the latest great model" reduced to around the $ 700 mark but I am thinking that I may need to think and research more. This bit gave me food for thought

@Kathy T wrote:

That is one thing you need to need to understand. No matter how good you are at flying or how much the drone costs accidents etc can happen. If you are not prepared to see the drone crash into a tree on your .... lets say, 3rd flight out, or if you are not prepared to see your drone fly off and not respond to your controls, then you shouldn't buy drone.
I have visions of a $ 700 toy crashing somewhere I can't easily retrieve it from (a garden with owners away for most of the year, which most of the places right here are, or down a mountainside, or into the sea....)

The possibilities are truly frightening, but we have a saying that goes- "Don't go fetch the baboon from behind the mountain", meaning that the reward might just be worth the risk.