Need a Drone for Stock Footage - DJI Inspire One?

I had planned on buying the Inspire but have now put that off because of the impending FAA rules on commercial use. There is no way I am going to take the time and spend the money to get a pilots license which is what they appear to be leaning towards. They will have effectively shut out all but the big Hollywood guys from making some money at this in the USA.
 
Mark, I wouldn't put off learning a multicopter because of wild speculation about what the FAA may or may not do, read this piece by photographer Jeff Foster. http://provideocoalition.com/jfoster/story/drone-law-update-FAA


I think this analysis says it all:

Peter Sachs adds, "There is nothing wrong with requiring an appropriate level of aeronautical, meteorological and airspace knowledge. That makes sense. However, requiring a manned pilot license to fly a three-pound plastic drone commercially, is like requiring a medical license to apply a Band-Aid. If the reported FAA proposed regulations are actually adopted, the United States is destined to remain a third world nation with respect to drones."
 
Mark,

We had similar thoughts 10 years ago when we put our first camera on a copter. Looking back at how far we have come, and how much we have learned along the way, all with zero certainty of any kind, we have no regrets. It was hugely disappointing at times too. Conversely, had we not dove in back then I would have never forgiven myself sitting here now. There is no more certainty now than when we started and we keep making larger and larger investments. Everyone has to follow their gut in the end I guess.
 
I'm on the fence. I bought and used a phantom on a single production last year; it worked wonderfully and everybody was happy all around. At the end of the production I gave the phantom away to one of the crew that worked on it, partially because of the drone laws and partially because I knew I wouldn't be using it for a year or so. But it was possibly one of the single most useful pieces of production gear I've ever bought. I practiced a lot and had fun doing so, too.

Now as we enter 2015, the inspire is very tempting, but again, the laws are daunting and the uncertainty is keeping me from making the investment. The type of flying that I do is so outrageously low risk (almost always less than 50 - 100 ft, no people underneath) that it just seems crazy that this should require a license, but I'm a small time guy and dropping $3k on something that has the possibility of getting fined for is scary. I basically use drones as a more versatile crane or steadicam. Hell, if the FAA would drop all this if there was a hard coded height limit of 400ft in the drones I'd be all over it. Anyway, unsure what to do but they really are great tools when used responsibly.
 
Your use case is typical of many, just wanting to replace a crane and like you say it's an overly complex and costly process in many countries with lots of red tape.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top