Um ... Where Do I Begin? Want a Painless Photography Experience

[astrostu]

Last week, I was introduced to something I had never ever considered via a CNET link to a video where a guy took a DJI quadcopter and a GoPro camera and flew over Niagra Falls. I'm a semi-pro photographer and I mainly do landscapes and ... wow.

I had never thought of something like it and it got me thinking that this could be a whole different kind of photography considering that I like to do (and mostly do) landscapes, and I enjoy the grand vistas that you can walk up to and see, but can't usually "go into" ... for example, off-path at Yellowstone or into the Grand Canyon.

But, I have a rule: Get infatuated with something? Wait 1+ month before buying ANYTHING.

Talked with my dad about it and he said that he had been thinking about it for awhile, too. He used to fly model airplanes and helicopters, though I have no experience except playing with his when I was five or so. He said that the biggest issue was really learning how to fly them and that I should really join a forum or two and ask the pros. So ... um ... pros?

For me, the flying is not the interest, it's the tool (sorry purists). I'm interested more in the photography and videography that can be done. Also, for that reason, the process of building it doesn't appeal to me unless it's considerably cheaper (maybe >25% cheaper?). This would not commercial, it's hobby, though I put my stuff out there and have made money off my photography (just not enough to break even on equipment yet).

I don't need something that can support my DSLR equipment. I'm okay with buying a cheap(er) camera, such as the GoPro HERO3 Black, to use in this kind of situation (and when I go swimming in Australia in Dec/Jan). I have read about the "Jell-O Effect" with filming from a quadcopter, but I've also read on ways to mitigate that. Obviously because of the article, the DJI Phantom is at the top of my list. Reviews also seem to indicate it's pretty easy to fly, relatively speaking. I'd like to come in somewhere under $1.5k, preferably closer to $1k.

So with all that very lengthy preamble, are there any suggestions or recommendations?

 

[Don]

Looks like no one has responded. I'm in the same boat. I work as a photographer and am intrigued by exactly what you mentioned. I don't have any desire to make any money at it, just for pure enjoyment.

I don't want to spend a lot of money, at least at first. I figured I'd need to get used to flying one of these things first. Personally, I'd like to build my own. For me that gives me a better understanding of the whole concept. I'd like to build on something I can continually upgrade as opposed to buying something and then having to buy something else. The ones with the Arduino processors look very interesting, giving you options to add GPS. I actually saw some plans to make a frame out of wood. There are tons of resources on the web as other forums. You may want to post your question elsewhere. Good luck. If you find anything unusual and super useful feel free to pass it along. I'm at nico3404(at)me(dot)com

 

[astrostu]

Don, I did find some help from the AeroQuad forum folks. To be clear, AeroQuad is a company that makes quadcopters, so it's not entirely neutral, but I found the people there pretty helpful. They recommended I get a cheap copter and learn to fly first, which I've done over the last two weeks (Blade mQX). Now I'm working on a parts list to build my own.

You might also try Hobby King's "RC Groups" forum. It gets MUCH more traffic. Good for getting responses (maybe ... I only posted to them over the weekend and I accidentally posted in the wrong forum, so got no responses yet, trying to get a mod to move the thread), but bad because your thread can quickly disappear. I suggest posting in both places.

 

[Don]

Good. Sounds like you got some good information. Good idea to learn to fly one first (if I can only keep it away from my kids!). I'll start combing eBay for one myself. I also found some basic tutorials on how to build one on YouTube. Even if you don't decide to build your own, it explains what everything does and how it works together. Here's the one I'm watching now: Basic Quadcopter Tutorial - Chapter 1 I'm curious about the diversity of flight control boards. There's a wide range of prices.
Anyway, let me know what design you eventually start moving towards and I'll do the same.

 

[astrostu]

Check out posts under my name on the AeroQuad forum.

Posted the same thing as here as my first thread and I got a lot of advice on needing to back off and learn to fly first. Also went over how the basic parts fit together.

Second thread was on observations after flying for a few days. Got more advice on how to do stuff and better understood what features I want from the "real" one I do for photography.

Third thread is still ongoing and it's me trying to figure out what components I'm getting to build my next quad.

 

[ActionDrone]

Hey guys let me know if you guys have any questions. I'm reading some of your post on other forums. I have done plenty of trials and errors buying some products out there. Please post back if you guys have questions regarding what I think is the best flight controllers out there. Right now currently I own the KK2 board from hobbyking; APM 2.5 from 3d robotics with gps and telemetry. I also own DJI naza M stuff. Regarding motors and stuff I have plenty of experience from good motors to really bad stuff.

Let me know exactly what you need your quadcopter to do and maybe I can help you out. In regards to the video of the guy doing some Niagara Falls video he was using a FPV system to make sure he can fly over the falls without any line of sight issues. That is another beast to tackle.

 

[lpd]

Hi. I'm not a pro, but my first suggestion is buy something or even better, build something kinda small and learn to fly before even thinking about putting a camera on one. as far as fpv, learn how to flyp really well first.