Remote controlled flying things-Quads, Hex, Octo or anything

[stiffbreeze]

Recently finished producing a video for our UAV/drone business which I thought I'd share. It really does fit the 'remote control' aspect of the thread! 

Recorded on a Phantom 3 Pro. What were we filming?
Remote controlled model planes! Warplanes, jets, single and twin propellers etc. Lots of fun!

FYI: We are fully licensed, had spotters, maintained separation and filmed in a controlled environment/airspace. Footage in video shows 'zoomed' pictures which doesn't reflect true height above 30m etc.

https://youtu.be/MTbNw4SatOU

Mods: If this is deemed marketing/plug for our UAV/drone business, please let me know/delete if I'm breaking rules, sorry!

[CBRK]

Recently finished producing a video for our UAV/drone business which I thought I'd share. It really does fit the 'remote control' aspect of the thread! 

Recorded on a Phantom 3 Pro. What were we filming?
Remote controlled model planes! Warplanes, jets, single and twin propellers etc. Lots of fun!

FYI: We are fully licensed, had spotters, maintained separation and filmed in a controlled environment/airspace. Footage in video shows 'zoomed' pictures which doesn't reflect true height above 30m etc.

https://youtu.be/MTbNw4SatOU

Mods: If this is deemed marketing/plug for our UAV/drone business, please let me know/delete if I'm breaking rules, sorry!

Hi,

Good to see you got the business off the ground.  I've got my RePL late last year and I'm just going through the ReOC fun myself.  Did you do your ReOC through FDS or through CASA?  Sad that we have to put the disclaimers on work that is done these days (but people will pull stuff apart like crazy as you would have seen on ARPCO).

Are you finding much in the way of work?  The industry is getting quite crowded now but I'll still do it as a part time business.

Regards,

Chris

[stiffbreeze]

Hey Chris,
CASA jas been easiest to deal with so far. Aviassist have been great as well, husband did repl through them last year.
Got ongoing work where we are located but still establishing business etc, so got a way to go.
Fun times ahead.

Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

[stiffbreeze]

--
accidental posted twice.
--

[4wd26]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnN9X2KqL2c
had a play with the phantom 4 using active tracking

was very impressed with the picture and ease of use, including tracking during a 180 degree turn 

[edz]

Would have to be very happy with that, worked real well ..

[4wd26]

Yeah, I thought it was pretty good and so easy
now just need to get in the triton for more trips

[DannyG]

Im looking for a bit of advice on buying a basic entry level drone.

Id love to buy a Phantom 3 or something similar but I just cant justify the cost for what I want it for. So before I ask for advice its probably best to explain my need for one.

We only want to take photos/videos of our property as we develop it over the next few years. That simple really!
There is no real desire to make holiday videos from a drone or any other reason other than to capture our property (4 acres) from above. But having said that I am sure there will be occasions where I might get it out to film other things but its not the priority.

I already have a gopro so I dont need a drone with a camera but wouldn't rule it out. Given that we only want to take some pics and maybe some video from about 100 or so metres above our property I am not really willing to spend big money. I just need a drone to fly up in the air, capture the pics and land again, but obviously me being a novice needs to be able to use it!

In my very limited research I can see drones on ebay under $200 that have no camera but have a gopro cradle that is solidly mounted.

From what I can gather there are drones that are very basic...no gps, so no headless mode or return to home function. Can an amature fly these ok??

Then there are the ones that have the headless mode, return to home function etc that from what I can gather are a lot easier to fly??

Then of course we have the real deal that has the works, 3 axis gimble, gps etc etc etc but Im not willing to get one of those.....yet

So I think I may have narrowed it down to two chinese cheapys to get the job done that we need.

This one that should be easier for me to fly??
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/182099951413

And this one that doesnt have any headless flying or return to base but does have brushless motors and has some great youtube reviews.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/282273509758

In my situation which one do you recommend? If any of those! Or perhaps steer me in another direction??

Thanks for any help.

[stiffbreeze]

I just found this recent list of compatible drones that you can attach a go pro to. Not sure what currency it is in... but at least you can price some of the products in AU in ebay/online as a starting point, or buy overseas.
http://www.dronesglobe.com/guide/gopro/

The Phantom 3 and recent DJI models are amazing but like you said, cost is higher because it is a better product - stability, ease of flying etc. I've tried flying the cheaper ones ages ago and found them hard to fly and stabilise for still photography. Horrible if you take pictures only to realise afterwards that it's blurry as hell! Also, factor in the whole replace factor if el cheapo crashes and you have to buy a new go pro. Food for thought.

Never heard of the ones in your link, but that's not to say that they might be perfect for the job you want to do on your property.
Good luck!

[DannyG]

Thanks stiffbreeze. I am now seriously considering buying a Phantom 3 after giving it some thought. Its the poor man pays twice thing. If I buy an ebay cheapy for $200 and it doesnt work out for me then ive wasted $200.
I can get Phantom 3 for $600 or so and I know it will do what I need and Ill be able to fly it.

Now I need to do the old its easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission 

[grantxx]

Hi Danny, I had a phantom 3 pro, recently sold it as was not using it much and wanted a new camera. You cant get better bang for buck, than any of the phantoms, plenty around 2nd hand as well. Very easy to fly and very reliable, I also had a cheapy first, to learn to fly before using the expensive one, it did not help as the cheapy was a steep learning curve and crashed many times, go the phantom for sure

Cheers
Grant

[Stone Stomper]

Hi Grant,

I bought the Phantom 3 Standard and love it, a large model shop had a good deal with two batteries and JB HiFi matched the deal as I had gift cards there.

Join the DJI forum as heaps of good info on there.

Christian

[DannyG]

Thanks gents. I bit the bullet today and bought a Phantom 3 standard.

I wont get to use until the weekend though.

My wife mentioned something about my 'toys' being so expensive so I just asked what this little corner of our house owes us where she plays with all her toys 

[Stone Stomper]

Had a go at filming the stone stomper stone guard on the move in Victoria's Outback

https://www.skypixel.com/share/video/journey-from-my-heart-d37273dd-ef34-4c5e-ac52-f65421b3900a

[trinityalyce]

Good buy DannyG - I bought myself one recently too. Similar thought process to settle on the same model - though I do use mine for travel (or will... once I actually learn to fly it!). The way I see it these things are built to be user friendly and stabilised for the purpose (video/photography), so hopefully ideal for an amateur. Good luck with yours!

[JCAT]

I have been asked to find a drone for around $300 for a work colleague.

Any recommendations ?

[trinityalyce]

I have been asked to find a drone for around $300 for a work colleague.

Any recommendations ?

...Maybe a Parrot drone? Like this: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/cameras/parrot/parrot-ar-drone-2-0-elite-edition-sand/712090/

No idea about them from a practical sense. I steered well clear because of the fragility of the build and reports that the phone app to control it wasn't as easy to use as a dedicated controller. I was a tad tempted only because of the price point...

Does it need camera? What kind of quality? Etc.?

[JCAT]

Yes Trinity it needs a camera and we want the best quality for the price.

[trinityalyce]

Other than the Parrot drones I'm struggling to think of others with a camera that... don't just crash and burn from what I've read. Sorry I'm not more help. Even the Phantom 2's (if you can find one... with a camera...) would be over that price point.

[Annieandandy]

Hi all, just wondering if I get a drone that is controlled through my phone through wifi, will it still work and take pics if I use it in an area that doesn't have wifi or mobile coverage?

[4wd26]

Hi all, just wondering if I get a drone that is controlled through my phone through wifi, will it still work and take pics if I use it in an area that doesn't have wifi or mobile coverage?

Yes (phantom drones don't know of others)
The phone plugs into the controller which sends out the signals.  The sd card in the drone records the photos/ videos

[Annieandandy]

Yes (phantom drones don't know of others)
The phone plugs into the controller which sends out the signals.  The sd card in the drone records the photos/ videos

Thanks for that. As I get older technology gets harder lol

[Darcy7]

Thanks for that. As I get older technology gets harder lol

We have been using a Parot drone for about 2 years now.  Its not a bad bit of kit.  In fact I found it to be extremely useful and easy to operate.  Its not perfect but for the price its hard to beat.  You can read more about it here: http://rveethereyet.com/parrot-beebop-drob/

The batteries are a weak point.  Both of mine have now died.  Fortunately there are plenty of spares available at reasonable prices on the net.

Its quite robust considering its light weight construction.  I've crashed it a few times and its survived. Still using the original propellers.

I do want to upgrade it later this year and the DJI Mavic looks to be the likely candidate.  Just have to save up some mulla...! 

[tryagain]

I do want to upgrade it later this year and the DJI Mavic looks to be the likely candidate.  Just have to save up some mulla...!

I do love the look of the Mavic Pro https://www.dji.com/mobile/mavic the promo videos make me want to hand over some hard earned for one, just don't have enough available hard earned to hand over for them to hand me a Mavic back.

[tryagain]

I do love the look of the Mavic Pro https://www.dji.com/mobile/mavic

Just when I thought the Mavic was small they have released the Spark