Panic and a Senior Moment- Next Drone?

[Gene_Drone]

I was flying my Husband X4 the other day in the wind. It blew off course, I lost track of its orientation and instead of making it go higher, I had a senior moment and dropped it into a tree. My neighbor will use his drone to try and locate it. It's in a pine tree so it will not lose its leaves (to reveal the drone) here in Pennsylvania.

So. I am in the market for another drone. I would like one that has a better camera that compensates for pitch and yawl of the drone. Any suggestions of where to start my research?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RENOV8R]

There are thousands if not tens of thousands on the market, so it's hard to recommend just one. Do you want one that's fast and acrobatic or are you more focused on aerial photography? what's your budget?

 

[Gene_Drone]

Good questions. Almost 100% photography and I hope to spend less than$1000

 

[RENOV8R]

This. Hands down. Don't let the "refurbished" throw you off, it's basically brand new and has full warranty.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/263985447551

 

[Gene_Drone]

Do you have experience with this seller? How do you know if "...it's basically brand new...".

Thanks for your insights.

 

[RENOV8R]

The seller is the actual manufacturer, DJI. In this regard, you could bypass Ebay and go directly to their store. I'm only showing you this to save you a few dollars, you always have the option to go brand new.
http://store.dji.com/pages/refurbished

 

[ArmyVet]

The seller is the actual manufacturer, DJI. In this regard, you could bypass Ebay and go directly to their store. I'm only showing you this to save you a few dollars, you always have the option to go brand new.
http://store.dji.com/pages/refurbished

I agree, a great choice. DJI is the standard for consumer drones. They have problems like everyone else to some degree.
And you can hear horror stories all day long.

But, DJI is the way to go.

Have fun and enjoy!

 

[Gene_Drone]

What are the keywords (technical specifications) should I be looking for? Gimbaled camera? Number of pixels....?? Thanks in advance.

 

[Gene_Drone]

The seller is the actual manufacturer, DJI. In this regard, you could bypass Ebay and go directly to their store. I'm only showing you this to save you a few dollars, you always have the option to go brand new.
http://store.dji.com/pages/refurbished

This does look like a great drone. I saw it on Best Buy. Question though, why is this battery so expensive.

 

[RENOV8R]

It's because they're "smart" batteries. They're self-monitoring and will actually go into storage mode after being left at a full charge for too long. But for this type of craft you really only need a couple batteries

 

[Gene_Drone]

So, the unit does NOT need smart batteries, right? What kind of dumb batteries does it use? Thanks again

 

[ArmyVet]

The batteries are made to fit. Special connector etc. Not to say you could not rig something up, but you probably should not.

There are aftermarket batteries sold. The reviews are not all good. So beware.

I would not worry about additional batteries. Just yet. 20 to 25 minutes of white knuckle flying your expensive drone with be enough . Haha
With an under 2 hour recharge you will be just ready to fly again.

Of course if you are rich and have nerves of steel this is all moot.

Have fun

 

[Gene_Drone]

Anyone know about the DJI Mavic Pro Drone with 4K HD Camera (DJI Refurbished)? Looks to be comparably priced as the Phantom 4. Is there a web site where I can compare them? Amazon and eBay do not provide that capability.

 

[RENOV8R]

The batteries are made to fit. Special connector etc. Not to say you could not rig something up, but you probably should not.

There are aftermarket batteries sold. The reviews are not all good. So beware.

I would not worry about additional batteries. Just yet. 20 to 25 minutes of white knuckle flying your expensive drone with be enough . Haha
With an under 2 hour recharge you will be just ready to fly again.

Of course if you are rich and have nerves of steel this is all moot.

Have fun

The batteries are proprietary to the craft and you can't use others. The reason being as I said before they are "smart" and actually have firmware that talks to the Spark. So not only will other batteries not work, the correct battery won't work if you don't have the most up-t-date firmware.