Hi Guys,
I am from the UK, looking to get into flying drones for photographic reasons, and because I like the view from the camera rather than from the ground (this is where I went wrong with my micro RC helo). Anyway, I just thought I would seek opinions from of the old and the bold on this forum before I wade in with a major investment.
I already have the Phantom 4 pro and the Mavic Pro at the top of the list, but I am really keen to see what others think of both and also to see if anyone suggests anything different, I am not 100% wedded to these models or even DJI in general if there are other good options out there. They just seem to perform really well in reviews I have seen so far.
So what am I looking for?:
Priority order:
1) Drone safety. As a new user I am looking for a drone that has lots of 'self protection', ie sensors that keep from crashing into things, terrain avoidance, anti collision, auto take off/land, automatic fly home and recovery etc. Not only because as a new user this helps me protect my expensive equipment but also because I am going to be using the drone in complex terrain (windy, remote, rugged, trees, cliffs, water etc).
2) Redundancy. Again, this is a major investment so I want to make sure I still have it if something goes wrong. Also, I am likely to be flying the drone over water, near high cliffs etc so having the peace of mind that I will still have the thing if something goes wrong (connection cuts, camera dies, motor fails etc).
3) Flight simplicity. I am looking for a drone that has lots of simple 'autonomous' flight capability. As a new user I am really keen to have a drone that allows for 'hands off, automated flight options similar to those seen on the Phantom 4pro. While I do expect that with practice I will be able to do more and more of my own flying, its nice to have a system that can do it for you when your still learning or when you are in a 'zero fail situation'.
4) Battery life. I know this is fairly obvious but I want to be able to say up in the air as long as possible (who doesn't). I have put this in just to show where this sits in the grand scheme of things.
5) Cost. I appreciate you pay for what you get in this world, but I also don't want to pay £2000 for something that is 90% perfect if I could spend £800 on something that is 75-80% perfect.
6) Portability. This is towards the bottom of the priority order on the grounds that while its desirable its not essential. I will likely always have access to a large rucksack whenever I use the drone, and will never be more than an hour or so from home/a car. Portability is a 'good to have', but it isn't critical to my final decision. But if size/transportability was the only thing between two options then I would go for the one with the best portability. This is one of the issues I am having with the Mavic pro and the Phantom 4pro. I love the portability of the Mavic, but I am not sure I can live without the drone safety features of the Phantom 4pro.
7) Camera. Ironically for someone interested in camera drones, this is no biggie for me which is why its last on the list. I want to be able to take decent panoramic stills and some vids of (mostly) landscape scenery. But mostly I just want to be able to see the view from the drone while I am using it. Camera quality really is last on my list, so long as it works, that's good enough for me.
Sorry to wade straight in with this as a first post but I am really keen to hear what other users in this forum have to say. Whether that's 'go for Drone X' or 'look at these' or 'actually, you don't need this/you have not considered this'. Feel free to say if I need to provide more detail or I have missed some critical point, and sorry for such a long post - thanks if your still with me!
Many thanks in advance.
- Sharpe
I am from the UK, looking to get into flying drones for photographic reasons, and because I like the view from the camera rather than from the ground (this is where I went wrong with my micro RC helo). Anyway, I just thought I would seek opinions from of the old and the bold on this forum before I wade in with a major investment.
I already have the Phantom 4 pro and the Mavic Pro at the top of the list, but I am really keen to see what others think of both and also to see if anyone suggests anything different, I am not 100% wedded to these models or even DJI in general if there are other good options out there. They just seem to perform really well in reviews I have seen so far.
So what am I looking for?:
Priority order:
1) Drone safety. As a new user I am looking for a drone that has lots of 'self protection', ie sensors that keep from crashing into things, terrain avoidance, anti collision, auto take off/land, automatic fly home and recovery etc. Not only because as a new user this helps me protect my expensive equipment but also because I am going to be using the drone in complex terrain (windy, remote, rugged, trees, cliffs, water etc).
2) Redundancy. Again, this is a major investment so I want to make sure I still have it if something goes wrong. Also, I am likely to be flying the drone over water, near high cliffs etc so having the peace of mind that I will still have the thing if something goes wrong (connection cuts, camera dies, motor fails etc).
3) Flight simplicity. I am looking for a drone that has lots of simple 'autonomous' flight capability. As a new user I am really keen to have a drone that allows for 'hands off, automated flight options similar to those seen on the Phantom 4pro. While I do expect that with practice I will be able to do more and more of my own flying, its nice to have a system that can do it for you when your still learning or when you are in a 'zero fail situation'.
4) Battery life. I know this is fairly obvious but I want to be able to say up in the air as long as possible (who doesn't). I have put this in just to show where this sits in the grand scheme of things.
5) Cost. I appreciate you pay for what you get in this world, but I also don't want to pay £2000 for something that is 90% perfect if I could spend £800 on something that is 75-80% perfect.
6) Portability. This is towards the bottom of the priority order on the grounds that while its desirable its not essential. I will likely always have access to a large rucksack whenever I use the drone, and will never be more than an hour or so from home/a car. Portability is a 'good to have', but it isn't critical to my final decision. But if size/transportability was the only thing between two options then I would go for the one with the best portability. This is one of the issues I am having with the Mavic pro and the Phantom 4pro. I love the portability of the Mavic, but I am not sure I can live without the drone safety features of the Phantom 4pro.
7) Camera. Ironically for someone interested in camera drones, this is no biggie for me which is why its last on the list. I want to be able to take decent panoramic stills and some vids of (mostly) landscape scenery. But mostly I just want to be able to see the view from the drone while I am using it. Camera quality really is last on my list, so long as it works, that's good enough for me.
Sorry to wade straight in with this as a first post but I am really keen to hear what other users in this forum have to say. Whether that's 'go for Drone X' or 'look at these' or 'actually, you don't need this/you have not considered this'. Feel free to say if I need to provide more detail or I have missed some critical point, and sorry for such a long post - thanks if your still with me!
Many thanks in advance.
- Sharpe
