Which drone(s) do you have and what do you use them for?

[el_kab0ng]

How many, which one(s) and what do you use them for?

I have a (now discontinued, apparently) DJI Phantom 3 Pro which I use for cinematography work and for 'over the horizon' scouting when doing trails (weirdly enough, similar to the way Ronny Dahl uses his, although he does a much better job than I do with mine).

I've been kicking around getting a Mavic, but want to wait for v2 with the changes you KNOW will be coming at some point this quarter.

One of the goofy vids I shot out at my ranch is pretty representative of the stuff I'm doing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbU5aYjk2Tc

 

[Airmapper]

Nice video, the cows don't freak out so bad over it. I've run mine over horses, they didn't go ballistic but not nearly so calm about it. I didn't get that close.

I run a Blade Chroma just for fun, videoing stuff. Hoping to get more active in it and maybe get another rig later.

I have a handful of indoor quad-copters I goof off with for control practice and fun.

Here is video from a trip off road:

Drone stuff starts around 1:20:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlosGEeXlZs

Here are more, just general drone videos I made:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq5c4rOYiQBhKKaCWPf6la9nWEqeb491M

 

[el_kab0ng]

1:50 of the OR video is exactly why I carry a fold out hand saw. No sense trying to go over logs like that when you can just cut them out of the way.

 

[fourwd1]

Moved to OT.

 

[Airmapper]

1:50 of the OR video is exactly why I carry a fold out hand saw. No sense trying to go over logs like that when you can just cut them out of the way.

I've learned never to presume a better way or alternate method from watching video, it never tells the whole story.

A hand saw would not have been useful in that situation at all. That was not a hand saw sized tree. But we got him out, no big deal.

 

[leftyguns21]

i have the phatom 3pro. with the 4 and mavic out, makes sense for them to discontinue.
i dont use it as much as i thought i would. ive hardly shot any video, mostly just stills. i dont like to annoy people by flying near them. i dont want to answer a bunch of questions from people or authorities if i am flying near a city. CO has so many dang rules and no fly zones. i already got busted once at red rocks, park ranger stopped me with the quickness. i barely had it in the air for a minute and he found me. i talked my way out of a citation thankfully. ive only registered it but have not taken any classes or got certified. i have a feeling there will be more and more rules/regulations making them a waste.

my most recent shot:

 

[Liquidmantis]

i have a feeling there will be more and more rules/regulations making them a waste.

As an [ex?] R/C guy who has dabbled with quadcopters I'd like to get one but would be unable to use it in the places I'd want to. I'm of two minds on that, to be honest. I don't want them buzzing around when I'm outdoors, nor do I want them disturbing wildlife.

 

[el_kab0ng]

In the woods, an overhead drone sounds just like a hive of bees, so disturbing the wildlife from high enough above shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Liquidmantis]

Good point. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of planes, helis, and quads doing acrobatics and laps rather than a camera platform that will be stable and much less obnoxious.

 

[rickashay]

We shoot with the Inspire 1 Pro. Albeit pricey it is definitely a nice piece of hardware. Been quite surprised with the amount of color we are able to pull out in post too.

Lots of drone use in this one of our videos:
https://vimeo.com/190393126

 

[J-Roc]

We shoot with the Inspire 1 Pro. Albeit pricey it is definitely a nice piece of hardware. Been quite surprised with the amount of color we are able to pull out in post too.



Lots of drone use in this one of our videos:

https://vimeo.com/190393126

Super cool video!!!

 

[el_kab0ng]

What's the set up time look like on that? One of the reasons I'm eyeing the Mavic is due to it's quick deployment capabilities. Setting up the P3 takes awhile (install the props, get the phone connected to the RC, get my Fat Sharks out and hooked up, do the compass dance, THEN fly), so it's not good for immediate action when out and about.

 

[v_man]

I fly a Phantom 3 pro , I love it . It has added another perspective (literally) to all my videos . Here's a few of my videos :

 

[Liquidmantis]

I never should have opened this thread. I had talked myself down from a Phantom 4 Pro.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I'm really starting to consider getting a drone for photography/video purposes. It would really compliment my efforts to document old mines and ghost town sites, to be able to get aerial shots. Also would be helpful for getting closeup shots of the upper parts of mine headframes and other tall (abandoned) structures. I also think it would be fun to get some aerial shots of my off-roading.

I've never flown a drone or R/C craft of any kind before, but I hear the modern drones are pretty easy and practically fly themselves.

Anyone have a recommendation?

 

[Bodie the Dog]

Signal Peak

I fly a Phantom 3 pro , I love it . It has added another perspective (literally) to all my videos . Here's a few of my videos :

Love that mountain. Truly an epic place to spend the night, just don't camp too close to the microwave towers.

 

[el_kab0ng]

I've never flown a drone or R/C craft of any kind before, but I hear the modern drones are pretty easy and practically fly themselves.

Anyone have a recommendation?

The DJI line really is the way to go. Pricey, but worth it. The P3 Pro was my first RC anything and I had alot of trepidation the first couple of times I flew it as I didn't want to wreck it by fly aways or smacking it into a tree. Since then, DJI has incorporated all sorts of 'awareness' tech, making them almost idiot proof. The platform is stable, easy to take off and land and worth the investment.

The only thing I'd suggest is if you go with a Phantom series (3 or 4), you might want to consider getting the additional HDMI out module for the controller. This allows you to use a pair of Fat Sharks or the like to get that FPV experience when flying rather than looking at a glared out screen. You'll get much better precision flying that way and less risk of whacking a bare tree branch in the winter.

 

[leftyguns21]

[MENTION=137107]Ray Dunakin[/MENTION]
what he said ^

if you are going to get one, don't go cheap and don't buy one to out grow it a week later. do it right the first time.
they are so simple to fly, as long as you have common sense. i use my iPad for flying and turned an amazon prime box covered in black duct tape to help with the glare. if you are flying in wide open spaces like ghost towns you wont have any issues at all. i did crash it once being an idiot i tried to take off on my patio. not a huge issue, broke a prop and that was about it. i have lost it once too, but thankfully the return to home option works perfectly.
one thing i would recommend, is don't let the return to home land it. use it to get it back to you, then land it yourself. its crashed on landing every time I've used the return to home function.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks for the tips. One more thing… I don't have a fancy smartphone, just a flip phone. Is a smartphone necessary to operate these drones, or can you get a dedicate control system?

 

[Liquidmantis]

Thanks for the tips. One more thing… I don't have a fancy smartphone, just a flip phone. Is a smartphone necessary to operate these drones, or can you get a dedicate control system?

You could get an iPad and have a dedicated control system that you can read t4r on and look at maps.