Drone users I need your help

Hey everyone

I'm reaching out for the those who have used drones. I'm looking at getting myself a drone in the near future. My budget is around £200-£300. I'm going to want to use it for when I go walking and trekking and only want to use it for a quick aerial photo of landscapes. So I don't want anything g that needs a lot of air time just enough to get airborne.

So I'm basically asking those who have owned drones what are my options, what's the best value for money

Look into DJI Mavic

Should be about right for what you need.(go for a used one)

www.dji.com...

a reply to: baddmove
I've looked at the Mavic pros and they do seem to do everything I want but they are a little pricey maybe I can save a bit of extra money for one. But I haven't looked at buying a used one so maybe a little more research is needed on them

Thanks

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Don’t waste your money on the mavic.

Trust me when I say this.
Many people on ATS know I use drones every day.
I’m contracted through drone manufacturing companies to test/crash/develop their products.

The design engineer of the Mavic left DJI because those scum bags only care about the 1000% markup on their products. All the while, using the cheapest bidders parts.

The engineer left DJI and started his own and has a Mavic clone for Quarter the price... if even a quarter.

I have 4 DJI products. And sure they are great for what I need to do. But their customer service is garbage. They do not honour legitimate warranty issues. And they are massively over priced.
Get the Drone X. The Mavic clone.
It’s cheap and has better parts than DJIs

ETA: I just checked and it’s $131.

See what I mean when I said DJIs 1000% markup?

Drone X

If you're okay with a bit of 2nd hand and DIY the 3DR Solo could be worth a look.

Released in 2015 they're still one of the best 'smart' drones on the market.

You can pick them up pretty cheap now, sometimes still new in the box and with a tonne of accessories.

Only restrictions are no 'new' OEM parts, like batteries, but you can make your own new batteries and other parts easily enough or there are people in the community who will make parts for a fair price. (You can still get new OEM batteries but it's potluck how good they'll be.)
Also using official hardware go can only use up to a gopro4 black, but again people have found ways to add new gimbals and cameras. It has a pretty large modding community and is open source to boot.

Worth checking out any way if you want to get into serious flying and hardware for a budget.

Search facebook for 3DR Solo Owners Group, JBR's 3DR Solo Owners, 3DR Based UAV/UAS Buy Swap and Sell and the Solo Mod Club.

Possibly one of the most well documented drones on the market and imho still one of the best if you're willing to do a little work.

You have no idea what you're talking about. So many people have Mavics, including myself and have had excellent experiences. Sorry if you've got shafted but you aren't right where hundreds of thousands of happy pilots aren't.

a reply to: Macenroe82

a reply to: Macenroe82
Yes I think I recall you replying in a thread regarding drones, think it was the one about a drone at Gatwick airport in the UK. Thanks for your advice and input I will have a little research of my own before I pay for anything

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Not into it myself....but you can get a cheap drone/w camera under $40 US...for starters...and crashes ! Have fun, good luck,!*

*Wife is bugging me for one!😎

I do agree about the price of the mavic's. But truth be told, everyone that I know that has one, they work great.

I myself, build my own drones. OR will buy something cheap and upgrade it myself to do what I want it to do.

There are many options out there now, YouTube is your friend.

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

If I can make a suggestion. Before you get a drone. Get a cheap one to train with.

amazon

A hubsan x-4 is fairly cheap and you can learn how to fly a drone. And when you actually go out and buy the drone you want. You won't crash it the first time you fly it.

Thanks for all your replies I'll be doing such research before actually paying out some good money for one

atomickangaroo is correct,
3DR Solo’s are decent drones for the money, and fairly cheap now.

You can mod em and make em do just about anything you want.

I cannot stress this enough:
ensure you have the latest firmware installed before take off.
The first solo’s were known for dropping out of the sky.
Their accelerometer and gyroscope would “Disagree” during sharp turns, resulting in a spinning brick falling from the sky haha.

a reply to: hombero

A lot of people have had good experiences with Mavics sure.

But in the UAV community I am part of there are tonnes of stories where people have had nothing but problems.

Specifically having to get DJI to unlock their ability to fly in certain areas despite having clearance to fly there.

One guy was doing a commercial shoot at a private airfield over a 3 day period. He had full approval from the relevant authorities to fly there, contacted DJI and got his drone unlocked to fly in the restricted air space.
He then had to contact them every 24 hours as the drone kept getting locked out of flying, and then had to wait hours for them to do so.

So yeah, Mavics are good. But if you don't like having to get China to approve where you can fly them then might not be the best choice, especially if you're using them at a professional level.

Love my drone, it shows if an area is a 'no fly' zone on the map, but it doesn't prevent me ever from flying in it so I only have to get relevant permissions and I am good to go.
it's the only reason I myself avoid DJI products. If not for that I'd buy one in a heart beat.