Best Drone for Me

[SparkyJB]

I am looking to dive into the work of drones!

My goal is to make a little side money with it. I've done research for my area, and there isn't really any competition. There is an older gentleman about 25 miles away that uses his drone commercially, but his work isn't all that great, and he has multiple misspellings in the videos he makes for his clients! I feel like I have a good shot at being the go to guy in my area.

With that being said, which drone should I get? I don't have to have the most expensive drone available, but I don't want a cheapo either. I'd like to be able to shoot in 4k, preferably 60fps.

 

[With The Birds]

The first enquiry you should be making is into commercial certification and licensing- followed closely by insurance.

 

[SparkyJB]

The first enquiry you should be making is into commercial certification and licensing- followed closely by insurance.

Oh, yeah. I plan on getting certification and licensing before I try to make any money.

 

[nwairphotos]

Phantom 4 Pro.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Make sure your computer can handle 4 K. Save a little and buy a refurbished.

 

[SparkyJB]

Make sure your computer can handle 4 K. Save a little and buy a refurbished.

I have a pretty high end gaming computer. I think it would handle it just fine.

i7 7700k
16GB DDR4 RAM
8GB GTX 1070
1TB SSD

 

[With The Birds]

I have a pretty high end gaming computer. I think it would handle it just fine.

i7 7700k
16GB DDR4 RAM
8GB GTX 1070
1TB SSD

Add a second SSD and it will be great.

 

[SparkyJB]

Add a second SSD and it will be great.

Hopefully I'll be able to soon.

 

[SparkyJB]

Phantom 4 Pro.

I feel like that's just a tid bit over my budget. How well does the Phantom 4 Advanced compare to the pro? Is it that big of a difference?

 

[nwairphotos]

Look at the differences in the cameras. The image quality is much better in the pro. I would not attempt to sell drone photography services with anything less (though maybe for some applications you can get away with it).

 

[With The Birds]

Look at the differences in the cameras. The image quality is much better in the pro. I would not attempt to sell drone photography services with anything less (though maybe for some applications you can get away with it).

Are you suggesting the 4 Pro has a different camera to the advanced?

 

[nwairphotos]

Are you suggesting the 4 Pro has a different camera to the advanced?

Does the Advanced have the same camera?

I didn't know that.

How much cheaper is it than the Pro?

 

[SparkyJB]

Does the Advanced have the same camera?

I didn't know that.

How much cheaper is it than the Pro?

$300 cheaper.

Also. Is getting the version with the controller screen worth the extra money? Or could i use my Galaxy s7 edge just as well?

 

[nwairphotos]

I just checked it out myself. It's $300 cheaper, but if you buy the +, it's just $200 cheaper.

I like having the screen built into my controller, but I also have a second controller for mapping applications.

Anyway, I stand corrected and revise my opinion to that for the sake of image quality, you shouldn't buy anything less than the P4A.

 

[SparkyJB]

I just checked it out myself. It's $300 cheaper, but if you buy the +, it's just $200 cheaper.

I like having the screen built into my controller, but I also have a second controller for mapping applications.

Anyway, I stand corrected and revise my opinion to that for the sake of image quality, you shouldn't buy anything less than the P4A.

Do you think it's worth shelling out the extra money for the plus edition with the screen? I have a big galaxy s7 edge. Would this be sufficient?

 

[With The Birds]

Do you think it's worth shelling out the extra money for the plus edition with the screen? I have a big galaxy s7 edge. Would this be sufficient?

That’s a decision only you can make. I have gone from a long time preference for Android to iOS devices, purely because it is issue free, iOS devices just work with DJI stuff. If your happy to fart around with tweaking android go for it. The + isn’t an option if you want to use third party apps to fly with.

 

[SparkyJB]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074...65&keywords=dji+phantom+4+advanced&psc=1&th=1

Is this a good deal?

 

[nwairphotos]

If I had it to do over, maybe I wouldn't have bought the built in screen. I didn't know I would also need a regular controller and a tablet as well to do mapping, though on the other hand, I'm not sure I will be doing much with mapping anyway.

I own both and I like the brighter screen of the + (though I still need to shield it or move into the shade to see it well in bright sunlight, though I could rig up some kind of shade). Also, I like that it's lighter and I don't have to worry about cables or charging it separately.

I'm kind of on the fence comparing value and cost and convenience, etc., but now that I own it, I wouldn't sell it even at full price and just use the regular controller and my mini ipad. (I don't know anything about other tablets and what works, etc.)

I really love the P4P+. I've done aerial photography work for many years using both film and digital from airplanes and helicopters, and the P4P far exceeds my expectations both in flying and in image quality. What I really wish is that they would make it possible to change lenses as I would like to use a longer lens sometimes.

 

[msinger]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074CW8HFV/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508800468&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dji+phantom+4+advanced&psc=1&th=1

Is this a good deal?

Just the P4A and two extra batteries would cost you ~$1,497, so that deal is good even if you don't use all of the accessories.