Drone Pilots - Show us your flight plan.....

The price of these whirlybirds run the gamut.

Should one start & practice on a cheap one? ...or the control are so wonky that they're not worth the learing experience?

My use will be photography and tree inspection.

Having once tried driving a remote controlled car and having no idea which way to turn when it was heading back towards me, I'm pretty sure I need on board visualization. The cheap ones won't have that (I think - the serious shopping hasn't started yet)

There's a DJI model at about $700 that I find is a reasonable budget for now.

Any inputs? Can we learn from your mistakes?....

TIA

 

Got a marvic pro and find flying it really easy. Sight or screen.

but had RC cars as a kid and never had issues there.

 

My bud just got a DJI Mini 3 Pro and its really awesome.... I stick to the racing drones so its quite different.

 

I normally buy gadgets and grow bored with them pretty quickly. I bought a DJI FPV setup with the motion controller (get it?) over a year ago and am in love with it. This thing is absolutely mind blowing. I can send it off and head up to the mountains at 60mph+ while filming 4K. I always figure its not gonna come back home, but it always does. I've only destroyed one so far and replaced it right away. Totally hooked.

 

Is this code for spying on the MILFs next door as they sit poolside at their clothing optional backyard resort?

 

My nephew has one of those for sale. He is a professional photographer.

 

Just picked one up for business to capture a variety of the work I do....Holy Stone HS440

I decided to go with a basic one and learn how to fly it before getting into the GPS enabled drones. Figured my past RC helicopter experience would help with the learning curve.....it didn't. Lost the first one in 4min because I immediately decided to go look at the roof of my house and didn't have the skills to bring it back once the breeze caught it.

It was surprising how easy it was to lose orientation of the drone. I bring this up because the ability for drones to fly in nearly all axes is what caught me out a bit.

Another thing to keep in mind is the weight. Anything heavier than 250g and you'll be applying for a flight license.

My plan is to graduate into a DJI as my skills increase. For now I'll hang with the offerings from Holy Stone as they make some decent drones for fairly short money.

 

These sound fun, but in Texas, the ever-present wind is the main flight control concern, and out here in the boonies, frankly, I believe I'd run out of interesting stuff to look at without night vision capability, which I can only imagine would vastly complicate flying.

Back when I lived in town, I know there'd be a whole lot of creepervision to partake in if one were into that sort of thing.

 

I’d recommend getting on Facebook marketplace or EBay and buying a used drone. Its extremely simple to control, and literally gives you an integrated tutorial before you fly. It comes with everything you need to fly and get good photos/videos first time out. As far as learning the controls, if you’ve ever played video games you’ll be fine flying around. Just start in an open field and always be away of structures around you. Crashing is part of the hobby, so make sure to buy the DJI care. With that they’ll replace your drone when you crash it.

 

I'm on my third drone over the last several years, and I just love them. For years I wondered why I'd want such a thing, I was perfectly content with my DSLRs and GoPros. It didn't take me long to just completely fall in love with shooting with the drone. I've done a bit of video, but mostly used for still photos. On my touring trips it's opened up a whole new world. I had a zillion photos already from down on the ground, but now when I go ride somewhere I can see things in a completely different way, and capture memories like never before. It's like having my own helicopter, it's nuts.

I started with a Mavic Air, then upgraded to the Air 2, and recently upgraded again to a Mavic 3. The main reason for upgrading was to keep improving image quality.

There was definitely a learning curve early, and a couple of minor crashes, but now it's kind of become second nature to fly it with very good control, and take advantage of all the cool things it can do for both photos and video. They're mind-blowingly cool.

 

I've had the DJI stuff for the past 10 years. Before that was putting GoPros and a DSLR on an RC helicopter before the self leveling stabilized camera gimbals were even a thing. Talk about a challenge to get a good shot. Anyways, I'm still flying my old Phantom P3 Advanced although I only fly it a few times a year these days, usually when we go on vacation. The newer DJI Mavic's are incredible, smaller, lighter, quieter, fly further out and longer battery life.
The learning curve is SO EASY on these new drones, they essentially fly themselves. They use multiple GPS satellites and will remain in a stable hover no matter how windy. You can even physically drag the drone while in a hover and it will go back to it's original spot, pretty neat technology. If you ever get disoriented, simply let off the sticks and it will hover on it's own, easy peasy. If you fly too far out, lose signal, screen goes black etc. it will return to home automatically. Had it happen to me several times, always almost gives you a heart attack but it's always returned. (knock on wood) Get in trouble and can't figure out where you are, simply hit the "return to home" button and it'll come back and land automatically. Oh, the newer Mavic's all have obstacle avoidance also, my Phantom doesn't have that feature. Flying backwards to get a reverse shot has always been a bit of a risk, flying blind essentially.

Oh last thing, the more expensive DJI drones use a video transmission called Lightbridge. The latency is very low and you can get (supposedly) 3 miles in ideal conditions. Most I've gone is about a mile and that was out on the beach over water. In town its about half a mile at best. Some of the less expensive DJI stuff use wifi for video transmission and that just sucks honestly. You may get a couple hundred yards, at best. Good luck!

 

I have a mavic air 2 and fly 2 miles out easily sometimes I think 3.

Never had rc helicopters or a starter drone. The dji are stupid easy.

Only issue is I had to download their app from their own website, the alp store one would not hook up for some reason.

 

Shot these yesterday on a ride in central Oregon. As I said, the drone opens up a whole new perspective on the memories I can capture from my trips.

 

Question - can you set the drone to follow you?

Never mind. I googled it. You can.

 

Yes, and the tech keeps improving, a lot. Up to 40 MPH or so.

 

the smoother and slower the path, the easier. i tried it on the dirt bike in the Yard, different elevations, shrubs, trees. not so bueno.