What to do, what to do?

[A.O.]

Ok, absolute beginner here looking for ideas. Looking for a drone that takes videos, not professional or anything, just kind of surveillance, but at a distance. I own 100 acres that's long and narrow, just about 3/4 of a mile long. So I'm looking for one that will go from one end to the other.
I was in best buy the other day and saw the Phantoms and the Mavic that said they had a range of 22,000 feet which is a bit over 4 miles, so plenty. Also saw they had obstacle avoidance and return to home feature. I'm thinking this would be good, maybe it would keep me from running into branches if I'm flying low. Yes??
I don't really know anything about these drones and have no leanings towards any particular brand. So if you have ideas or suggestions that would be nice. Something that I can get help and parts easily is good too.
Price tag??? Like to keep it at under $1000 and would be even better if I could keep it less than that!

Also read somewhere on here to get a Eachine E010 Mini 2.4G 4CH 6 Axis Headless Mode RC Quadcopter RTF first to practice with... good advice I'm thinking, yes?

Thanks..

 

[yay]

just to save someone else hitting it,

i don't know if they're good to practice with for that level of quad, as afaik that kind of model more "flies itself" and is easier to operate. that may not be entirely true. but definately for racing or more hands on use, wrecking a toy is easier to budget for. i went thru a couple of e011s, which are said to well outperform the 10 for a few $ more, but i went through 3 of them as they blew away in stronger winds (no visible movement!) only ~15 feet up. which is kind of frustrating. i wonder if there's a toy model maybe $30 or so that uses 8.5mm motors.. the dm002 or similar... a few bucks more, but the practicality of having something that isn't helpless against a light breeze, so you can get it back and fly it again, might be worthwhile.

 

[A.O.]

They blew away? To where?
And yeah, I'm not looking to race or anything, more of a ranch tool.
But true, I want one to learn on, not a self flier. If/when I get the more expensive one... I don't want its maiden voyage to end up at the bottom of a pond or the top of a tree!!

 

[LoneRCRanger]

When you get it, don't name it Titanic or Hindenburg. Those are two names associated with catastrophic results on maiden voyages.

 

[A.O.]

Name it?

 

[LoneRCRanger]

Sure, my quadcopter is named "Chain Saw". That's because it has a marked propensity towards cutting down every tree it can find. It must have a "TLR" circuit I don't know about. Thats "Tree Locator Radar". No matter which way I direct it to go, if there is a tree, it goes right for it and tries to chop it down. It also likes bushes; they're easier on the rotors.

 

[ArmyVet]

They blew away? To where?
And yeah, I'm not looking to race or anything, more of a ranch tool.
But true, I want one to learn on, not a self flier. If/when I get the more expensive one... I don't want its maiden voyage to end up at the bottom of a pond or the top of a tree!!

You will be sorry or amazed that you asked,,,,,,,hahaha
Patience our new friend............

 

[Grandpawmoses]

I'd like to offer a small token of advice. Good idea about a cheap "beater" quad to learn how to fly totally manually. Then, before that "big" purchase, research the manufacturer's customer service.
The "high" end quads are very easy to fly due to all the features from GPS and compass including altitude hold, obstacle avoidance, return to home, etc.
But....when one of those systems fail (like loss of satellites) (and it will happen sooner or later) you're in trouble if you aren't able to at least react and land it manually.

 

[QuadKid]

Ok, absolute beginner here looking for ideas.

Well AO, I've been fly quads now for a couple years+ and I agree with Grandpa, best to start out with a quad that's cheap but has decent control and some wind resistance during flight.
Learn the aerodynamics first, while you are doing that watch lots of videos on U Tube about the DJI's, Yuneecs, ect (Especially the Tutorials available) ... they are semi-autonomous machines that require understanding of Firmware updates and configuring software.

That being said, in my opinion DJI puts out the best flying camera platforms for the price, also loaded with considerable features some which are very useful, some which are useless.
I have 2 P3P's, 2 250 class racing quads ( Bench Built ), 2 mini quads and just bought the DJI Mavic Pro. The Mavic is by far the best for portability, quality & price point. I'm amazed, I can fit the quad, 3 batteries, controller, cables & Phone into a standard 35MM camera Case and have it with me all the time for those rare photo/video ops.

 

[Chuck]

When you get it, don't name it Titanic or Hindenburg. Those are two names associated with catastrophic results on maiden voyages.

Yeah, "Bismark", "Hood", and "Yamata", didn't fair too well either....

 

[A.O.]

Well AO, I've been fly quads now for a couple years+ and I agree with Grandpa, best to start out with a quad that's cheap but has decent control and some wind resistance during flight.
Learn the aerodynamics first, while you are doing that watch lots of videos on U Tube about the DJI's, Yuneecs, ect (Especially the Tutorials available) ... they are semi-autonomous machines that require understanding of Firmware updates and configuring software.

That being said, in my opinion DJI puts out the best flying camera platforms for the price, also loaded with considerable features some which are very useful, some which are useless.
I have 2 P3P's, 2 250 class racing quads ( Bench Built ), 2 mini quads and just bought the DJI Mavic Pro. The Mavic is by far the best for portability, quality & price point. I'm amazed, I can fit the quad, 3 batteries, controller, cables & Phone into a standard 35MM camera Case and have it with me all the time for those rare photo/video ops.

Any suggestions on a cheap starter to learn on?

Seems like the DJI units are at the top of the heap right now, Started looking at the Mavic, and am now thinking Spark. I lose flight time and distance with the Spark, but I can get the Spark Fly more combo for $300 less than the Mavic alone.

 

[Grandpawmoses]

Just my opinion but I would get something cheaper to practice with.
Syma offers a new model, the X5UC two battery outfit with camera for about $50, and it's brother, the X5UW two battery outfit with FPV for about $75. I like them because they have on-off switches and "cartridge" type batteries that plug in like the Mavic. The OEM batteries for them are about $6 and aftermarkets are much cheaper. To me, they have a downside in that the props are gear driven, not direct drive. Makes a funny sound and not sure about long term wear. Parts are available and cheap.

 

[QuadKid]

Army Vet just posted this link, it was his starter quad and he liked it.
https://www.amazon.com/KiiToys-Tara...01180QV1M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Ready to Fly (RTF)

 

[Chuck]

Name it?

Why not? Naming both ships and aircraft (particularly military and experimental) goes back centuries. Even the class of ships or aircraft have names. Usually the first of a class is the namesake. Historic names tend to be reused on succeeding ships (Not counting the "Star Trek" franchise, the US Navy has named several ships, "Enterprise", with another one currently under construction).

 

[Rick M]

I wouldn't dare name my quads. I'd smash or lose them for sure. I leave them safely anonymous and they always come home.

 

[Rick M]

Just my opinion but I would get something cheaper to practice with.
Syma offers a new model, the X5UC two battery outfit with camera for about $50, and it's brother, the X5UW two battery outfit with FPV for about $75. I like them because they have on-off switches and "cartridge" type batteries that plug in like the Mavic. The OEM batteries for them are about $6 and aftermarkets are much cheaper. To me, they have a downside in that the props are gear driven, not direct drive. Makes a funny sound and not sure about long term wear. Parts are available and cheap.

All the X5's are great starter quads. They aren't new, innovative, fancy, or anything else (yes, Jackson, they're old technology!) except cheap, reliable, durable, and easy to fix. I lean toward the ones that don't have proprietary batteries because you can find all kinds of batteries that work in them (especially the SC, HC, and SW, which have more battery space). Some people stick 1000mah or 1200mah batteries in them. I fly them with 720mah or 850mah batteries. They also are easy to turn into a cheap FPV learner by adding a no-frills AIO camera like an Eachine TX01 or FX798T and a set of affordable goggles.

To be fair, there are a ton of other good start quads out there. Some may well be better than the Symas. But you can buy a whole mess of spare parts for the X5's on Amazon or Ebay without spending much money and that counts for a lot when you're learning.