Drones / Quadcopters etc. Flying cameras

S

Stab

Well-known member
My parents were toying with the idea of giving me a quadcopter for my upcoming birthday. I'm not sure yet if it was serious and everything, but I actually never thought about those things because I didn't know they were so cheap.

If they're gonna buy me one, it will be a 'cheap' one, like €200-300.

So, anyone of you have any experience with those things? Is it worth it? Usable footage? I have a Panasonic GH3 and in theory, could buy a Quadcopter that can carry it but I'm not sure I want to take that risk yet. There are also drones with camera's build in. How are those?
Any recommendations?

Thanks!
 
Hi,
I know you would not be able to get a "cheap" quadcopter that would take a GH3. It would need to be either a hexacopter or octocopter costing thousands of euros! Currently the best budget model is the DJI Phantom that can take a 2 axis gimbal and GoPro Hero 3. I recently treated myself to one of these and it is enormous fun. Still learning how to get the best footage from it and without the third axis on a gimbal you do get quite a bit of twitching as the craft moves slightly round in one direction or the other. So I have yet to master how to lose that effect. Though have seen many videos which look truly amazing with that setup. Here are two videos I really like using just such a setup. Not done by me I might add.




There are other quadcopters that you either build yourself or from other companies. But for the moment the DJI Phantom seems to be leading the way for people starting off in this hobby. As with all new technology there have been issues with these crafts where they lose control over them and have a "flyaway". Still cannot say for certain whether it is user/pilot error or indeed a fault with the craft. So far my one has flown really well (touchwood!) and there are various procedures you should do before flying such as calibratating the compass etc. And with a lot of these losses it appears that people have not done all these- or panic when they lose sight of the craft.
But I guarantee if you get one you will become addicted!

cheers

bill
 
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