Non-DJI Camera Drone?

dantheman

Member
So, since I am the lone person in the office who knows anything about RC, I have been tasked with finding a basic camera drone for photography. Unfortunately I have a restriction and can't use the majority of Chinese owned drones, such as DJI. I would love to grab a Mavic and be done with this.

All of my experience is with airplanes and tiny whoops, so I don't even know what brands I should be looking for. Any suggestions?
 

Ligbaer

50 Percenter
So, since I am the lone person in the office who knows anything about RC, I have been tasked with finding a basic camera drone for photography. Unfortunately I have a restriction and can't use the majority of Chinese owned drones, such as DJI. I would love to grab a Mavic and be done with this.

All of my experience is with airplanes and tiny whoops, so I don't even know what brands I should be looking for. Any suggestions?
@PsyBorg might be able to help you with that
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
As @JasonK stated A lot depends on the purpose for the camera craft and what certifications you will be using it under.

Most of the commercial prebuilts are either cheap toy grade junk or DJI geofenced garbage. Maybe give us a more specific use (will a 1080p hard mount camera be good or will it have to carry a full on reflex lens camera system), a budget you may or may not have to work within, and any already available gear like a radio, goggles or monitor.

PM me if you dont want or can not disclose the needed information publicly
 
Last edited:

dantheman

Member
Thanks everyone for the help! To answer the first question, yes, I will get a 107 out of this.

The way they described the want to me, is they effectively want a Mavic 2, but due to section 848 in the fy20 National Defense Auth Act, a Mavic looks to be out of the question. The quad will be used to take mostly stills of the area to be used in marketing materials, track construction progress over time, and such. I foresee there will be a demand for 4k video work in the future once some of our test tracks come online.

The budget will be around 2-3k, matching the Mavic 3 price tag.

I currently have a pile of radios that could be used, but I think they are wanting an all in one solution.
 

FlyerInStyle

Elite member
Thanks everyone for the help! To answer the first question, yes, I will get a 107 out of this.

The way they described the want to me, is they effectively want a Mavic 2, but due to section 848 in the fy20 National Defense Auth Act, a Mavic looks to be out of the question. The quad will be used to take mostly stills of the area to be used in marketing materials, track construction progress over time, and such. I foresee there will be a demand for 4k video work in the future once some of our test tracks come online.

The budget will be around 2-3k, matching the Mavic 3 price tag.

I currently have a pile of radios that could be used, but I think they are wanting an all in one solution.
Try autel. They have some good drones. That fit the mark
 

Bo123

Elite member
You could build one to suite your specific need. It might take a bit of work, however you can get the exact need you want. It also might be cheaper.
 

dantheman

Member
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Here is my current list:

https://www.skydio.com/skydio-2-plus - Seems to be a well built drone, defiantly not a toy level piece of kit. The software seems very fancy, and their real selling point. 4k camera and 27 min flight time. ~$2k US based company.

https://www.parrot.com/us/drones/anafi - This is a US built drone, and the cheapest one, but looks to be on the lower end of things. Several years old. More toyish, I guess it would compare to the mavic air? 4k video, 25 min flight time. $900

Autel Evo 2 8k. Nicer camera and is said to be a tough drone. I would put it between the Skydio and the parrot when it comes to resiliancy, but a much nicer camera. 8k camera, 40 min flight time. Price tag is about $1.7k. I am torn on this one, as when I started doing some research, they are owned by both Chinese and US citizens but they are assembled in the US.

Am I missing any or have my thoughts blown out of proportion?
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I thought Parrot went out of business. Or did they just drop the bebop drone models. They always had a tendency towards flyaways. I know nothing of the new models on the site nor have I even heard of anything from them.

I have seen the Skydio's and they seem to have dialed in control features better then other companies.

My only issue with these manufactured mass produced models is they had to go cheap some where and structurally they are all sad in that department. But then again they are not made to be sport flyers or racers. Still the odd hard landing, missed avoidance detection of a tree branch or guy wire and your investment is toast.

Maybe look into these but plan for 3rd party upgrades like custom carbon parts to beef up structural deficiencies. Things like simple top and bottom plate strengthening or the most commonly damaged crash parts the arms and their mounting structures.

Another thing to maybe look into that may or may not have options in your budget is Freefly systems. https://freeflysystems.com/ Daniel Riley (rctestflight on you tube) did a bunch of stuff professionally (and not so professionally when he power looped it) with their huge Alta platform and some movie studio grade camera equipment. Might be something there to look into that may be better for your needs albeit more expensive.
 

dantheman

Member
Well, that freefly drone is sharp for sure. I don't think that is even close to the budget.

I appreciate everyones help. I will make sure whatever we get has a small review on here.