Photo or Racer for first build?

[Matthew David Gholson]

So I've been watching videos of drones and trying to decide what direction I want to go. I obviously need to focus on not breaking or getting my Syma drone stuck in a tree, but I'm thinking about the future. I've watched the UAVvutures 99$ build and other start up guides.

So the coolest videos are the drone racing videos, but I won't have anyone to race against, and I'm not keen on the 3 minute flight time. But FPV is definitely something I want.

Aerial Photography with a gimbal is definitely something I want. I'd like to be able to do quality aerial video, just for friends and locals, but who knows, there's no one in my area who does it.

So here's what I'm thinking, tell me if I'm on the right track. The 200mm racing frames are going to be way more durable and fun to fly and much cheaper when I ultimately destroy it.

Goggles, radio, and batteries will be transferable to the photo build if I decide to do that later right?

Is there a reason to build a 450mm photo quad when you could buy a used Phantom 3 pretty cheap?

thanks!

 

[mozquito1]

3minute flight is down to how the battery is pushed.

 

[RENOV8R]

Is there a reason to build a 450mm photo quad when you could buy a used Phantom 3 pretty cheap?

thanks![/QUOTE]

Not really, unless you enjoy the satisfaction of building yourself

 

[BL Swagger]

Is there a reason to build a 450mm photo quad when you could buy a used Phantom 3 pretty cheap?

I would build a 200-250mm racer. The $99 drone build from UAVFutures isn't a bad place to start. I recently built that drone, but changed some of the parts to my liking. It wasn't my first build so I already had a bit of experience. My total came out to about $130 and it took me less than a day to build. Came across a few problems he doesn't go over in his video but I was able to work out the issues with the help of this forum.

Id recommend keeping it cheap at first. I spent a lot more on my first racer build and ruined it the first flight haha. Which led me to build the cheaper one.

If you want excitement, then the 200-250mm racer is the way to go.

With that said, my next build is actually going to be a 450 photography quad. I want to experiment with setting up GPS and the gimbal.

I don't really see a reason to transfer your 200mm parts to the 450mm. The motors will be different for one. (2300kv for a 200mm... 960kv for a 450mm) But if you do, just make sure you get a flight controller than can handle the capabilities you want in the 450 like GPS.