This will be my first flying RC vehicle although I have a Hubsan X4 inbound for training purposes prior to even opening the Phantom up. The short story is my use will be recreational video with a significant interest in FPV and then potential for future commercial use when regulations and such are set up for such use.
Here's my breakdown for my options:
Phantom v1.1.1 that I got brand new for a stellar price of $362 - I would then need to add a gimbal and fatshark for about $650 more although could do that in steps. Batteries would be added at $25-50 dollars each for 2 so another 100. total would be around $1200
Phantom 2 I pre-ordered after LOTS of reading forums both here and elsewhere discussing the upgrades already installed on the phantom 2 with Zenmuse gimbal for another $190. This way at $869 plus fat shark I'm at $1040.
Sell the v1.1.1, cancel the P2 and just order the P2V and knock out all of the decision making and spare part buying along with no need to hunt down a Hero3 which adds about $350 to each of the other 2 prices and gets me a second battery.
I really want to keep it under $1500 but figure I will update in steps as I want to make sure my piloting skills improve first before I mess with cameras or FPV.
Then the other question is for that much money am I simply in the F450 or F550 territory with the ability to update to a larger gimbal down the road to make it a useful tool for video surveillance/videography/aerial photography?
Recently I though maybe I should just stick with the v1.1.1 and do no gimbal or fatshark upgrades, when I'm a good pilot then sell it and upgrade to an F550 with gimbals/cam/FPV.
Obviously the costs in this hobby just spiral up but I want to make an informed initial purchase that will allow me to grow on a very capable platform and I feel while the P2V makes the most initial sense I feel like it limits me too much and I'd have to sell it to change machines to grow.
Here's my breakdown for my options:
Phantom v1.1.1 that I got brand new for a stellar price of $362 - I would then need to add a gimbal and fatshark for about $650 more although could do that in steps. Batteries would be added at $25-50 dollars each for 2 so another 100. total would be around $1200
Phantom 2 I pre-ordered after LOTS of reading forums both here and elsewhere discussing the upgrades already installed on the phantom 2 with Zenmuse gimbal for another $190. This way at $869 plus fat shark I'm at $1040.
Sell the v1.1.1, cancel the P2 and just order the P2V and knock out all of the decision making and spare part buying along with no need to hunt down a Hero3 which adds about $350 to each of the other 2 prices and gets me a second battery.
I really want to keep it under $1500 but figure I will update in steps as I want to make sure my piloting skills improve first before I mess with cameras or FPV.
Then the other question is for that much money am I simply in the F450 or F550 territory with the ability to update to a larger gimbal down the road to make it a useful tool for video surveillance/videography/aerial photography?
Recently I though maybe I should just stick with the v1.1.1 and do no gimbal or fatshark upgrades, when I'm a good pilot then sell it and upgrade to an F550 with gimbals/cam/FPV.
Obviously the costs in this hobby just spiral up but I want to make an informed initial purchase that will allow me to grow on a very capable platform and I feel while the P2V makes the most initial sense I feel like it limits me too much and I'd have to sell it to change machines to grow.