Do you use drones?

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Abinoone

Abinoone

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Completely unrelated to wildlife photography, I'm considering acquiring a drone to get bird's eye views of my property and the surrounding area. I know nothing about drones other than the little bit that I've read about DJI drones being among the best available. However, DJI drones seem pretty expensive to me, considering the purposes I have in mind. Do any of you have experience using drones and, if so, what brands do you have and which would you recommend to a beginner? How do you use your drones, and do you have any tips for someone starting out?
 
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Almost none of the places I go for wildlife photography allow drones. Because I live along a final approach for an airport I can’t fly a drone at my house. Local parks have all banned drones which is a bit redundant because of existing FAA regulations. Some of the state parks where I camp do allow drones if you are fully credentialed by the FAA and you have signed permission from the park superintendent. They assign you an area to fly your drone which is usually away from other park visitors.

So, it’s just a big hassle I don’t need. Good luck with it, they do look like fun!
 
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Abinoone said:
Completely unrelated to wildlife photography, I'm considering acquiring a drone to get bird's eye views of my property and the surrounding area. I know nothing about drones other than the little bit that I've read about DJI drones being among the best available. However, DJI drones seem pretty expensive to me, considering the purposes I have in mind. Do any of you have experience using drones and, if so, what brands to you have and which would you recommend to a beginner? How do you use your drones, and do you have any tips for someone starting out?
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Bought one still own it, believe it’s a DJI maverick ll haven’t used it in years. Bit of advice, research it very carefully before buying one. If you plan on taking pictures with it be extremely careful. If you post, or even give away a picture it may be considered as commercial use which will require a FAA License forget the # of the license. There are many regulations and restrictions that apply for flying a drone. More than likely the person selling the drone will avoid the subject. I’ve heard some interesting stories that resulted in 4 & 5 digit fines. Research and be careful!!!
 
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As pnbarne mentioned, they aren’t allowed in many places. I have an old one that I’ve used a few times. DJI is one of the best ones and going with even a cheaper, smaller one from DJI is probably a better choice than a more expensive from a different brand. If I buy another, it would be a smaller, cheaper DJI. They do require an FAA license at a certain weight I believe. They can be fun but for me it wasn’t really my thing and I don’t use it.
 
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I have a small one that has a HD camera (720p). I haven't flown it much since it's very susceptible to winds. And you technically have to go through tests to use it anywhere and then pay if you're going to use it in more places. Not worth it to me. I just play with it in the back yard now and then for fun. But then it only cost $50 so not much of an investment.
 
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I have a couple small ones. DJI Mini series. I'm a certified pilot and actually fly much larger drones for a living training soldiers and doing test flights.

There's a small by aviation standards amount of rules and regulations to learn to operate one. The under 250 Gram variants are what you want as there's less restriction to use them and they're just much easier to bring with you. Image wise it's a small sensor but they can shoot RAW.

I use mine for interesting angles and it's generally really close by. It's sort of like a flying tripod for composition choices. I also use them for checking the roof of the house, spotting fish (you can see schools easily) animal pathways (trails) and for interesting placement to add clips into videos.

Due to warfare changing rapidly with them (FPV racing drones are basically now flying RPG's) I expect the rules/regulations to only get stricter. They can easily be turned into a guided weapon and it's a matter of time before a presidential assassination or stadium attack happens with one.

I'd recommend a DJI Mini series, no need to get the fanciest version.
 
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We have a dji maverick pro 2. You do need a drone license and an add on if you are making money from images or videos I believe. There are limitations where you can fly them but we have no problems finding places to use them. We live near lots of public lands. There are apps that will tell you whether or not you can fly in specific location if one has any concerns about an area. They are very easy to fly and have lots of safety features built into them to prevent crashes. I like it for stills and my husband likes to make videos. A bit of learning curve for learning how to make decent videos etc…
 
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WcWarren said:
We have a dji maverick pro 2. You do need a drone license and an add on if you are making money from images or videos I believe. There are limitations where you can fly them but we have no problems finding places to use them. We live near lots of public lands. There are apps that will tell you whether or not you can fly in specific location if one has any concerns about an area. They are very easy to fly and have lots of safety features built into them to prevent crashes. I like it for stills and my husband likes to make videos. A bit of learning curve for learning how to make decent videos etc…
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FAA pretty much requires a certificate of some form for any "for hire" activity with aircraft, even the smallest. They consider YouTube for hire if you collect ad revenue.

If you're in the USA this tool will guide you to what you need to know. Even just recreational there's a certificate (TRUST) for basic knowledge you need to have with you at all times.


All this sounds like a giant hassle but it's a basic knowledge test for recreational to get you setup with some airspace information so you don't accidentally fly where you shouldn't not knowing the general rules of aviation. DJI software is pretty good and will inform you or block the flight if you try to takeoff near an airport, near can be miles away from the approach/departure ends of the runway.

Others' like Autel don't block anything so you can easily get yourself in trouble if you were to fly near a major airport where they're using monitors to detect drone activity. You'll likely be looking at a very serious fine in that case.
 
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I have been flying them for 15 years or so and love it. I have only owned DJI products and currently have the Mavic 3 Classic. There is a learning curve as with anything but with better drones, the chances of fly aways and crashes are minimal. Lots of YouTube videos on getting started and even the cheaper DJI drones now are great for getting started. You have to take a written exam online that's just basic knowledge and print the card. If it's larger than 250G you have to pay $5 to the FAA and get assigned a number that must be on the drone. It's a very fun hobby.
 
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I have a first gen mavic mini, plenty enough for what i use it for.
It's very easy to control, much easier than an rc plane, especially since you have visual feedback on your phone.
I hardly see anything you could do wrong flying a drone, even the most basic one is steady and hard to crash is you fly carefully.
 
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Yes, and I'm busy flying them around in NJ, terrifying people. Just kidding, but yes, drones are very useful for a variety of applications including WL provided one uses them responsibly.
 
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I have the DJI Phantom 4 drone and added the Mini 3 Pro as it is light enough that a license is not needed to operate it. What is ironic is that at the marine sanctuary drones are forbidden but there are pilots flying fixed wing aircraft that operate below 500 feet on a routine basis. No policing of pilots until they crash.
 
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Calson said:
I have the DJI Phantom 4 drone and added the Mini 3 Pro as it is light enough that a license is not needed to operate it. What is ironic is that at the marine sanctuary drones are forbidden but there are pilots flying fixed wing aircraft that operate below 500 feet on a routine basis. No policing of pilots until they crash.
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There’s the manned flight rules for minimum altitude. If it’s totally uninhabited you can fly to the surface provided you can pull off an emergency landing. So an open dry lake bed out west with no people or structures, 5 feet off the deck if you want. The FAA is super vague about what constitutes other than congested which would then be 500 feet but I would interpret that as any people or minimum structures.

Helicopters are allowed lower.

Just so people are aware under 500 feet isn’t drone exclusive airspace or anything like that if your in a remote area and pilots can’t see you.

I’m sure if fixed wing were anywhere near as numerous as drones there would probably be way more regulation and especially if the required training was as minimal as it is for drones. It’s a bit of effort to get a pilot certificate and not cut out for everyone.

Everyone was terrified of the DJI phantom coming through the windscreen of a Cessna or into engine intakes on jets but DJI and others got smart and made them tiny and grey, out of sight out of mind.
 
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I fly drones, easy to carry in photo backpacks, cases etc. I also studied and took the FAA Part 107 UAS Remote Pilot test and took it to get my commercial license, even though I don't use my photos commercially, I didn't want to take any chances. There are stories of people getting fined for very simple things, using video or photos on youtube even. Easier for me to not have to worry about getting popped by the feds.
The test was fairly involved, and luckily I am a private pilot (not current) but the test is almost like you were taking the private pilot exam, so that helped a lot for the UAS Remote PIlot test.
I fly DJI only, I have the Mini 2 and Mini 4 Pro. Fantastic little crafts. I get some incredible video footage as well as stills.
I get contacted by my neighbors to do roof inspections after they saw me inspecting mine, lol. I found broken tiles and had them replaced, the roofer said if I had not caught the damage, there would have been eventual leaks into the house.
 
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tahoemike00 said:
I fly drones, easy to carry in photo backpacks, cases etc. I also studied and took the FAA Part 107 UAS Remote Pilot test and took it to get my commercial license, even though I don't use my photos commercially, I didn't want to take any chances. There are stories of people getting fined for very simple things, using video or photos on youtube even. Easier for me to not have to worry about getting popped by the feds.
The test was fairly involved, and luckily I am a private pilot (not current) but the test is almost like you were taking the private pilot exam, so that helped a lot for the UAS Remote PIlot test.
I fly DJI only, I have the Mini 2 and Mini 4 Pro. Fantastic little crafts. I get some incredible video footage as well as stills.
I get contacted by my neighbors to do roof inspections after they saw me inspecting mine, lol. I found broken tiles and had them replaced, the roofer said if I had not caught the damage, there would have been eventual leaks into the house.
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I do the same things with roofs. Beats getting on a ladder lol
 
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i have my part 107 certification. i fly ops for work quite reguarly, and i fly my own drone for personal use outside of work. currently, dji is the best option for drones. the mini 4 is a great option if you're not interested in using it for photography. it'll show you everything you need to see on the controller, but the photos aren't fantastic once you load them on the computer. you don't need to register the mini 4 with the faa unless you plan on using it for commercial use or add anything on to the aircraft that will increase the weight over the base 249g.

for better image quality i'd recommend the mavic 3 pro. when i say better image quality, keep in mind that it won't be comparable to images out of your camera. they're smaller images with not so great tonal range. the autel evo ii pro v3 is close to the dji mavic 3. i've used both at work, the evo ii pro has a better zoom, but the mavic 3t has the overall edge. my group uses the mavic 3t, but the evo ii pro is preferred for my industry and it's what we use to train other work groups who can't use dji drones. you'd need to register both of these drones with the faa due to their weight. it's not hard, takes a few minutes and a few bucks. the most inconvenient part is labeling the drone with it's tail number. you don't need a part 107 unless you're flying for commerical purposes, including a barter agreement.

i've flown most of the other dji drones, but most are no longer worth bothering with or are too pricey to reasonably consider.
 
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nokk said:
i have my part 107 certification. i fly ops for work quite reguarly, and i fly my own drone for personal use outside of work. currently, dji is the best option for drones. the mini 4 is a great option if you're not interested in using it for photography. it'll show you everything you need to see on the controller, but the photos aren't fantastic once you load them on the computer. you don't need to register the mini 4 with the faa unless you plan on using it for commercial use or add anything on to the aircraft that will increase the weight over the base 249g.

for better image quality i'd recommend the mavic 3 pro. when i say better image quality, keep in mind that it won't be comparable to images out of your camera. they're smaller images with not so great tonal range. the autel evo ii pro v3 is close to the dji mavic 3. i've used both at work, the evo ii pro has a better zoom, but the mavic 3t has the overall edge. my group uses the mavic 3t, but the evo ii pro is preferred for my industry and it's what we use to train other work groups who can't use dji drones. you'd need to register both of these drones with the faa due to their weight. it's not hard, takes a few minutes and a few bucks. the most inconvenient part is labeling the drone with it's tail number. you don't need a part 107 unless you're flying for commerical purposes, including a barter agreement.

i've flown most of the other dji drones, but most are no longer worth bothering with or are too pricey to reasonably consider.
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I had bought the pro version a few times in the past, but on the Mavic 3 I decided to go with the classic because of the 4/3 Hasselblad sensor. The sensor, while not having the zoom, takes exceptional photographs as well as video.
 
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I've been on the brink of diving into that rabbit hole for a couple of years.

In the meantime, I have subscription to Google Earth Studio which lets me pilot satelites and download 4k footage.
 
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sh1209 said:
I had bought the pro version a few times in the past, but on the Mavic 3 I decided to go with the classic because of the 4/3 Hasselblad sensor. The sensor, while not having the zoom, takes exceptional photographs as well as video.
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the m3 classic is still a good drone. i prefer the pro because i have the m3t at work and it's based off of the pro, i'm just used to having the zoom. the pro still has the 4/3 hasselblad sensor until you use the zoom, then it switches to the other two camera sensors depending on how much you've zoomed. it's pretty useful for scouting when you're in the air. the medium telephoto isn't too bad, but you have to know what to expect from it.

my comment on bad image quality is based on a few years of training people on the mavic and evo. most people think the photos are great. but the photographers who are new to drones wonder why the drone images aren't as big or detailed as their latest and greatest 50mp full frame mirrorless camera. and when they try to edit the image like one from their standard camera, the images fall apart quicker than they expect.
 
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I have a small airport 25 miles from my house and on weekends pilots will fly at 500 feet over my neighborhood and the Oracle stunt plane pilot does hammerheads and other stunts over the houses. Most plane crashes are the result of pilot error and not drones or bird strikes.

Drones can frighten some types of ground nesting birds and that is a different matter entirely.

For the price the drones are amazing pieces of electronics with good cameras and highly automated operation including a go to home capability and tree avoidance (for the most part).
 
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I wanted to try out Mavic, but looks like govt going to literally rob DJI drones from us, so I wouldn't recommend to buy any - US is extremely hostile toward drones anyway (especially best ones). In any location here that is worth filming drones are prohibited.
 
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kanonka said:
I wanted to try out Mavic, but looks like govt going to literally rob DJI drones from us, so I wouldn't recommend to buy any - US is extremely hostile toward drones anyway (especially best ones). In any location here that is worth filming drones are prohibited.
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That ban wouldn't affect already-bought DJI drones.
 
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