Buying a drone

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Wondering if anyone has experience with streaming video quadcopters/drones?

I've been told more than once to start with a "beginner drone" and not get anything too advanced until I learn to fly it. But the bottom-end toys I find are impossible to get to hover - I'm thinking that might be a bit TOO simple? The more advanced ones all seem to have much better auto-hover capabilities and finer adjustment.

My ultimate intent is to get something like a DJI Mavic. I'm looking for something I can send out over my property and down my road with a live video feed, so I need something with a bit of range.

But given that the Mavic is $1200+, I'm not sure I want to jump right into that. What would be a good place to start, with something that can be reasonably well controlled but isn't too advanced?
 
I had a Mavic for a while. The 1st gen Mavics can be had for a good price. They are awesome drones and will fly themselves if you want them to. The have auto take off, auto land, they hover on their own, with the GPS they stay stationary even in decently strong wind.
 
I have a Mavic Pro I bought roughly 6 months ago. You can find them well under $1000 now, probably around $700 or so refurbished. It would definitely do everything you are after. Really advanced for a drone that has been out a couple years now.
 
We have a guy on here (Can't remember who) who is heavily into drones. Maybe someone will link him in.
@htperry
He's the expert!
Look at your local Wally's...they gave the DJI spark for $199 on clearance...reg a 599 drone... although most have them for $399.
1080p video...GPS...etc.... basically all I can find wrong with them is 12 min max flight time. Mavics give you 30 mins.

I'm still trying to get a spark myself...to do exactly what you want to do...learn on.

DS
 
I’ve got a Spark and it flys great. It takes a bit to get used to but it’s a good drone.
 
I have a Yuneek Q500 4k
It's great, no need to buy a"cheap quad" to learn on, these things fly themselves!
Get above the trees and it's hard to screw up.
My 4k camera is so good that Univision used my video to show the flooding in my neighborhood during hurricane Florence!
Great controller with screen! No need to use your iPhone (I think DJI uses your phone screen)
 
From my research, the Mavic is about the best for my needs in terms of range and flight time. I think the main thing for me is I'm a bit reluctant to spend quite that much on something that I might crash quickly and have to replace.

After more research I have found one that seems well recommended (on drone-specific sites) as a starter for $100, so I went ahead and ordered that to get started. Altair AA108.

Still interested in feedback on others, though, so keep it coming. Thanks!
 
From my research, the Mavic is about the best for my needs in terms of range and flight time. I think the main thing for me is I'm a bit reluctant to spend quite that much on something that I might crash quickly and have to replace.

After more research I have found one that seems well recommended (on drone-specific sites) as a starter for $100, so I went ahead and ordered that to get started. Altair AA108.

Still interested in feedback on others, though, so keep it coming. Thanks!
Mine has been crashed once by my son. Clipped a tree branch and fell around 30 feet to the concrete. Fortunately parts are readily available for them. I ended up just sending mine out for repair. Cost around $200 to fix and there was a good bit of damage.
 
Order spare props and a balancer asap!
That was my most often needed repair.
You will clip tree branches, lawn chairs, flag poles while practicing.
 
Well, this is why I didn't want to start with anything expensive.

I got my $100 drone today. Was messing around with it trying to learn the controls, and lost it. It went flying off into the woods around my house. I couldn't stop it in time. I tried hitting the auto-land but I think I may have hit it twice, it looked like it was going down but was still in the air when I lost it.

Spent a while looking around for it, no luck. Controller synced at first, then stopped syncing.

I'm probably done with this idea for awhile. Maybe I'll see if there are any drone piloting schools before I try again.
 
Well, this is why I didn't want to start with anything expensive.

I got my $100 drone today. Was messing around with it trying to learn the controls, and lost it. It went flying off into the woods around my house. I couldn't stop it in time. I tried hitting the auto-land but I think I may have hit it twice, it looked like it was going down but was still in the air when I lost it.

Spent a while looking around for it, no luck. Controller synced at first, then stopped syncing.

I'm probably done with this idea for awhile. Maybe I'll see if there are any drone piloting schools before I try again.
This is also why the more expensive drones might be a good idea. I’m not saying you might not loose a Mavic but with all the features and paying a little attention, it is less likely. I am by no means a pro with these things but this drone amazes me. As long as you pay attention to the signal and the GPS tracking, you should be fine. I normally fly so I can still see the drone but have had it out over a mile away.

I was up in Boone a couple weeks ago and the winds were pretty strong. Decided to take it up and play anyway and it really was amazing. I could take my hands off the controls and it would just hover in place.
 
I fly an Autel Evo.

Before that, I flew a Mavic Pro. I liked the older firmware versions before they had the geofencing enabled. Now, if you’re on this newer firmware, you can’t downgrade. Even if the DJI map is wrong and showing obsolete airspace, your unit won’t even start its motors.

Autel doesn’t have that crap. They leave it up to the flyer to know the regs and obey applicable laws.

I lost contact with my Evo one time and had to hop in the truck to find it. The drone stayed stationary, at its present altitude, as soon as it lost contact. Once I got closer, they synced back up and I was able to recover it.

I have the XSP. When it loses contact, it starts coming back to me.

Does the EVO not do that or is that something that can be disabled?

To the OP losing his drone, this is why I bought what I did. I consider the more expensive, feature laden drones to be more like a bike with training wheels. Learning how to fly it seems easier when your drone will literally stop moving with a lack of input. Going in the wrong direction or getting to close to something? Let off the sticks and it stops. Think about what you want it to do and start again.

Easy.
 
Unless you are flying a racer, anyone can fly even the most sophisticated drone. You don;t have to start with a $100 drone. The mavic or better, Mavic 2 are awesome. If you think you are in trouble you just let go and it stops and sits there. The drone pilot thing is a crock. Sorry drone buddies but you aren't a pilot. A pilot is having your butt alone in an airplane thousands of feet in the air with only yourself to bring you home alive. I would have rather they called it a Drone Operators license but then the FAA is like any other government entity with a lust for power and control. Geez I went off on a huge tangent there.
 
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Unless you are flying a racer, anyone can fly even the most sophisticated drone. You don;t have to start with a $100 drone. The mavic or better, Mavic 2 are awesome. If you think you are in trouble you just let go and it stops and sits there.

Given that I lost this thing in the woods within 5 minutes, it's tough for me to justify spending even more money on anything at this point without some sort of training. I get what you're saying about pilot vs. operator, but regardless of what it's called, I don't think I'm comfortable spending that much on something I'm going to quickly lose. (And yes, I understand what you're saying about 'let go', too - let's just say I'm now pretty gun-shy on this too)
 
I don't see how the feds will enforce grounding the drones across our nation, there's got to be more to this story.
US officials may put an end to a civilian drone program because of their concerns about the unmanned aerial vehicles that are made in China. The officials are apparently worried that the Chinese-made drones could be used to spy on people in the US.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51100759
 
I don't see how the feds will enforce grounding the drones across our nation, there's got to be more to this story.
US officials may put an end to a civilian drone program because of their concerns about the unmanned aerial vehicles that are made in China. The officials are apparently worried that the Chinese-made drones could be used to spy on people in the US.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51100759

Doesn't look like it's grounding all civilian owned drones, it's a govt agency:
The drones had been deployed for years by the scientists and others at the US Department of the Interior
 
FAA has all kinds of proposed new regulations and laws they are looking into. It's so much red tape it will kill the industry; hobby industry.
But again....it's proposed. I'm waiting to see all of the legal challenges and drone support groups battle it out before I decide to get one.

DS
 
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The better drones are easier to fly, really easier! Cheaper drones are harder to control and stabilize for the most part. I fly a Spark and it flies like a dream! Stabilizes, holds positsion, and takes wonderful pictures. It also has a utility and sport mode. Utility mode is 12 MPH and it wont run into anything going forward. VERY easy to fly. Keep it on this setting until you’re ready to turn it loose. Sport mode will boogie! 32 MPH for 16 minutes of flight time. Don’t get gun shy over a cheap drone. Buy a reputable drone and fly it.
 
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