Posted on 12/17/2024 2:55:47 PM PST by fireman15
Learning to simply fly a drone can be a great, entertaining hobby. Take it to the next level when you use a drone to take some beautiful pictures and videos. When you first start out, you'll want to make sure to familiarize yourself with the regulations, then you can take your hobby to new heights.
If you're a professional video maker, having a drone can help enhance your work with aerial shots. It doesn't have to be a huge investment because good drones no longer cost an exorbitant amount. You can now get quite a few camera drone models for less than $500 -- which is perfect if you want to snag an affordable drone for someone on your list this holiday shopping season.
The market is flooded with drone options. You get various combinations of features, video quality and prices. There are options that suit every enthusiast, regardless of your budget. Whether you want a drone only for the thrill of the flight or to add some flair to your photo and video work, we've got some recommendations.
Our picks of the best drones on the market include the top options for beginners, intermediate users and "prosumer" enthusiasts. We've also included an introductory drone for folks interested in racing -- a whole scene unto itself. To help you pick the best drone for you, we've also included a more in-depth buying guide and FAQ on the best drones below, as well as the key factors to consider before you buy. We'll update this list periodically.
Best drones of 2024
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
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The codec thing on the Bwine is common thing as I found.
I have to say it’s got a lot of functionality and fast.
Actually, you need to get a part 107 license for yourself if you want to post videos on YouTube. If you are a private pilot it is simpler you can take a free online test from the FAA and then get your flight instructor to sign off in your logbook. And yes, you need to spend $5 to register your drone also.
Putting drone videos on YouTube is risky business anyway. Anyone who sees it can spot something that you have done wrong and then report you to the FAA. Even if it is complete BS you might have to hire an attorney.
Yes, they are very good drones, and they can also use 3rd party software that can add automation and other features. You might want to check if litchi has any features that you might be interested in.
I also use dronelink and there are other 3rd party apps as well.
https://www.dronelink.com/supported-drones
Litchi is the more versatile and cheaper app.
I have several drones big and small. The DJI is my fav by far and it’s a rugged little pup, and yes it takes exceptional pics and vids for its price range.
I want one but I’m afraid I’ll get myself in trouble with it ;-)
If you’re interested in FAA 107, this is the on line class I took and it was worth the price.
https://www.dronepilotgroundschool.com/
A couple of subjects I wound up consulting some YouTube for extra clarification and I am glad I did.
There were a couple of Youtube guy’s tutorials that helped me on some questions.
I made a 92 and I finished in about 10 minutes since I drilled a few times a day the week prior to the test.
Knowing why right is right and wrong is wrong was my mentality.
I have a Holy Stone HS900 besides my DJI mini 3. Good little drone.
I studied using videos and info from the FAA and also the AOPA. The test was also quite easy for me to pass since much of the experience from my years as a private pilot was applicable. Unfortunately, let my FAA medical lapse, so I need to get that reinstated. The disadvantage to getting part 107 privileges through your private pilot license is that you have to maintain your currency and your medical certificate.
My sister is a commercial drone operator who received her training through her employer, so we work together on videos that are not just for fun.
I can’t see myself getting a private pilot license.
One lady I worked with told me her dad went through and got a pilot license and never used it. A lot of money blown. His choice.
A game simulator is enough for me.
You probably wouldn't get yourself into trouble. If you live near a controlled airport you need to use a free app to get permission to fly which is actually very easy. You are not supposed to fly over people. Many municipalities and even states will not allow you to fly in many types of parks. And with drones which have miles of range you are not supposed to let the drone get out of your line of sight. Powerful flashing strobes and marker lights help with that and are surprisingly inexpensive. But they also get the attention of others who would never see or hear them otherwise.
I assume that at least a few of the reports of people concerned about drones has to do with all the lights that the FAA requires after dark. Tiny objects that are actually very close by but making very little noise can easily look like big objects that are far away and moving very quickly up and down and back and forth. It can be a little confusing even for the pilot.
I had been flying hang gliders and ultralight aircraft years before I got my private pilot license. At that time a Cessna 150 including fuel was $25 an hour when you bought a block of ten hours. The flight instructor cost $15 an hour. I watched the “King Videos” to take my written test. They had the videos free at our local library. My instructor signed of that I was ready for the written test. The test cost $40. The requirement was that you needed 20 hours of dual and 20 hours of solo time. I had a bit more of each, but all in all it didn't cost me that much to get my license.
It would have been cheaper if my brother who was a commercial pilot and flight instructor at the time had given me my dual time. He was living in Nevada flying tours of the Grand Canyon.
I got my license specifically for the purpose of buying an airplane and using it. We bought a 1969 Piper Cherokee 140 for $17,600 and started putting a lot of time on it. It burned regular car gas which cost less than a $1 a gallon. I normally used about 6 gallons an hour on local flights and around 8 gallons an hour when going on long flights when we wanted to make better time.
Of course there have been maintenance costs, but the plane is now worth two or three times what we paid for it. Airplanes are one of the only recreational vehicles that go up in value.
Flight simulators are amazing these days especially if you use them with a VR headset. Many years ago, I took one of my coworkers flying with me. He said he had been flying our airplane in the version of MS Flight Simulator that was current at that time. He had memorized all the speeds.. for our aircraft... stall, rotation, climb out, cruise and pattern speeds for downwind base and final. I was very impressed and after I showed him what to look for on the preflight inspection I told him that I was not going to give him any more hints. He took off from our airport and flew to another about 20 miles away and landed. I handled the radio work, but he did everything else without assistance.
A Piper Cherokee is one of the easiest and safest planes to fly. It is easier to fly it in real life than in a simulator because you are able to use all of your senses in addition to the instruments.
It is much more expensive to get your license these days because of the aging and declining fleet of training aircraft. Current trainers have instrumentation that costs many tens of thousands of dollars because most people getting their licenses are hoping to get into the airlines. Then there are higher fuel costs, higher insurance costs, higher labor costs and everything else associated. I think that it now costs most people $8000 to $10,000 to get their pilot's license.
Thanks for the links!
I haven’t done Part 107 yet but I am contemplating it.
I’ve had 2 DJI Phantom 3’s two Phantom 4’s and two Phantom 4 pro’s and one DJI Mavic 3 pro. I have several very nice cameras, I’m a hobby photographer so I got the drones to enhance my abilities to get pictures in difficult places to shoot.
Drones are easy to loose, drown or break, I’ve done all of those things. I thought about it for a long time before I bought my first Phantom 4 Pro. It takes a very nice photo’s and the video unlike the Mavic 2 pro, has no jello.
When I got the Mavic 3 Pro I thought I would use it along with my Phantom 4 pro but the Mavic 3 pro takes such good pictures with it’s 3 built in cameras I just never get around to getting out the Phantom 4 Pro.
Some of the cameras I either have or had are Nikon D300, Nikon D3400, Nikon D700, Nikon D800, Nikon D810, Nikon D850, Nikon Z7, Nikon Z9, Phantom 3, Phantom 4, Phantom 4 Pro, Mavic 3 Pro.
I’m an old fart now so don’t see myself upgrading again, but that is what I always say.
My huge favorites are the D850, Z9 and Mavic 3 Pro.
Yes, I have lost a couple and broken a couple others to the point that I had to send away for replacement parts from China. Fortunately, these were toy drones. But I have had run both the Mini 3 and Mini 4 pro into trees, buildings and tree branches that made them crash. I broke one of the arms off of my mini 3, but it only cost about $20 to get a new motor arm shaft along with a couple of new propellors... I am too cheap to buy their DJI Care warranty.
The obstacle avoidance doesn't always work on the mini 4 pro. I had it in follow-me mode when it smacked straight into our garage as it was looping around me. I am not sure why it did it, but I think the sensors that detect objects as it is flying sideways are not as dependable as the ones that face forward.
I have several toy drones with GPS that can just go completely out of control if they use the GPS signal. And this is in a dangerous way. I would never fly any of them close to people, and under trees is pretty iffy.
You probably should get that 107... it should be pretty easy for you. It doesn't really matter that much however except that you are a little at risk if you post your videos on YouTube or similar. If for some reason one of them became popular it could cause problems. I have a how-to video that I put up without any preparation and it ended up with nearly 300,000 views completely unexpected. If that had been a drone video after Part 107 went into effect, it could easily have caused problems because it earned several hundred dollars.
I’ve become a Nikon person in the year or so.
These days I am not a really heavy duty photographer but I have a D3500 and P1000. The Z9 is one I might get.
I have a Bwine I enjoy playing with. I’d like to upgrade to something with more flight time. What would you recommend?
Thanks.
L
When the Dji Mini 5 Pro is released later this year (if the dji ban doesn't go through) I am fairly sure that Costco will be selling DJI Mini 4 Pro kits with two batteries, lens filter kit and 128GB MicroSD card for around $600. It is a good drone with a lot of features. I would jump all over that. Then buy a used DJI RC2 Controller from eBay for around $200. People tend to lose or break their drones and perfectly good controllers sell for good prices.
Thanks for this post!
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