Anyone have a clue about drones?

[DemonDuck]

One of my kids wants a drone. I started looking and man way to many choices. I wanted to know of anyone could tell me a good drone with good range and such that can use my GoPro or has a decent camera and cost around $200? I have seen many and one even has me thinking of spending closer to 300 but not sure about any of them as far as brand or any of that. If you have the knowledge about these things then please share.

[fixxervi6]

I know a guy that put 2K into a drone then promptly crashed it into a lake, owned it less than an hour.

[DemonDuck]

Yea I don't plan to be that guy...... which is why I wont pay more than 300.

[Telomere]

Yea I don't plan to be that guy...... which is why I wont pay more than 300.

And you have kids. You should spend less $$$ on it since kids destroy everything. Get a nice one after they grow up and take care of expensive toys.

[DemonDuck]

I just want to make sure its not a complete crap one. Plus seeing as I will take it from the kid so I can play as well I want it to have some range and such.

[DarcShadow]

I got one for about $100 and have been very pleased with it, It's a WLToys V686G. Camera is only so so, but the thing has been easy to fly and learn on. It also came with the FPV setup so you can see what the camera sees while flying. It's a neat option, but not one I've been able to use very well yet. You just don't get a good enough sense of location to be able to fly only watching the screen. Got one for my Dad that has an altitude hold so his is even easier to fly. If you get one that can carry a GoPro, DO NOT turn on the GoPro WiFi. Guy here at work did that and watched as his quad copter and GoPro flew out over the lake and disappeared.

Battery life is pretty decent, about 10-15min of flight and extra batters are pretty cheap. I've got 6 batters and can easily fly for an hour swapping them out when the run down.

The quad is also small enough it doesn't have to be registered, anything big enough to carry a gopro will probably need to be registered, at least if you want to be fully legal.

Oh, and this one is purely an outside quad. Tried flying it inside a few times and it's just to big to do anything other than hover. There are some cool micro quads for like $20 that are pretty fun to fly around inside. Get a few of those and let them learn to fly with them. Then when they graduate to the bigger quad it'll be a piece of cake.

Here's a couple of vids of mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSq0ti-g7Rw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlER5wseUGM

[turismon]

lulz nice tree landing on 2nd vid.

[DarcShadow]

Took a lot of practice to nail that landing.

[111]

Buy hobby grade with spare parts.

Also! Forgive me, I forget the technical jargon, but some will go back to zero or hover when you let go of the joystick (for beginners). Some will require you to counter act your input(for the experienced) some have both functions. I highly recommend getting one that goes back to hovering. This will greatly reduce the number of crashes and increase overall life.

[DarcShadow]

Yeah, I tried flying one like that, it was a pain in the ass, apparently that is how a real helicopter is flown.

[JeffStrom]

Yeah, I tried flying one like that, it was a pain in the ass, apparently that is how a real helicopter is flown.

That is a dramatic oversimplification of how a real helicopter is flown.

[DarcShadow]

lol, well yeah, I was just referring to the fact that pulling the stick back to center doesn't negate the directional input you just gave it. Very unintuitive way to control something.

[JeffStrom]

Yeah, I get what you mean. It helps to think of it as momentum vs. position. When you move the stick away from center you are imparting a change to momentum (overcoming inertia). When it is centered it is neutral, not braking or reversing. The other drones that stop themselves on centering the stick have augmented stability.

[DemonDuck]

I am very twisted now. I am thinking about getting either the DJI Phantom 3 or the Parrot Bebop with the skycontroller.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... AWD4671932

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Both would have about a mile and a half range. The DJI has a better camera system and has a better battery life 25 min. But it is slower and I don't think it can do flips. The Parrot can do flips and is faster but has a 12 minute battery. BAH!

Ohh I can get either of them for about $350. Also.... if it is for the kid I think the parrot might be more her speed but if it is something she will get tired of in a month then I thing the DJI is the one I would personally get.

[DarcShadow]

The phantom is more an introductary entry to arial photography, the bebop is more in the toy world. I wasnt impressed with the reviews of the bebop when I was looking and if going for some in the toy class id go a bit cheaper. As I said I really like mine for the price. Its cheap and easy to repair if/when it crashes. And if it turns out to be something youre really intothenyou can spend more on something. Youll also have a better idea of what you want to do with it and how you want to fly.

The dji will be a good camera drone but will be a bit on the boring side to fly.

[111]

Don't know if you have a frys around you but they have a ton for sale.