Build or Buy Drone

[james12315]

Recently I have decided I want to buy/build a drone, mainly for video capture. I have done some research, but haven't really come up with a solid choice. My budget is around £450-£800 (UK Moneys, preferably around £550) and as I said I mainly want to use it to record videos. I have narrowed it down to the 3 DJI Phantom 3's (They are: £424 Standard, £680 Advanced, £700 Professional) as they appear to be the most used on the market, the other option is too make one but I am not sure i that will give me as much freedom with the camera movement etc.

 

I am happy to hear any other suggestions, as I am not really sure what I am doing! 

[EPPHO]

Buy it, it's not something to "fuck" with.

[Hackentosher]

Check out my So You Want A Drone Guide, hopefully that will help answer your questions. 

 

When it comes to AP/V (aerial photography/videography) a dji phantom is where it's at. Those are typically the best value and best built. 

[The_Denks]

24 minutes ago, james12315 said:

Recently I have decided I want to buy/build a drone, mainly for video capture. I have done some research, but haven't really come up with a solid choice. My budget is around £450-£800 (UK Moneys, preferably around £550) and as I said I mainly want to use it to record videos. I have narrowed it down to the 3 DJI Phantom 3's (They are: £424 Standard, £680 Advanced, £700 Professional) as they appear to be the most used on the market, the other option is too make one but I am not sure i that will give me as much freedom with the camera movement etc.

 

I am happy to hear any other suggestions, as I am not really sure what I am doing! 

I always say DJI have the best quality drones, but their customer support is shit. I mean shit. My neighbour used to have a Phantom 2. One day, when the drone was 20 feet away from him horizontaly, and about 10 feet above the ground, the connection died (not his fault at all, the reciever on the drone just died), the drone dropped dead in the middle of the street, and before he could grab it, a car ran it over. DJI refused a refund due to 'pilot error'.

 

Just wanted to let you know that before you buy.

[james12315]

1 hour ago, Hackentosher said:

Check out my So You Want A Drone Guide, hopefully that will help answer your questions. 

 

When it comes to AP/V (aerial photography/videography) a dji phantom is where it's at. Those are typically the best value and best built. 

Thanks, I have checked out your guide and I am going to order a cheap drone (The one you suggested) to get used to the flight controls and to see if I like it. After that would you suggest the Standard, Advanced or the Professional DJI Phantom?

[Hackentosher]

45 minutes ago, james12315 said:

Thanks, I have checked out your guide and I am going to order a cheap drone (The one you suggested) to get used to the flight controls and to see if I like it. After that would you suggest the Standard, Advanced or the Professional DJI Phantom?

It depends. If 1080p is all you need, get the phantom 3 standard. If 4k is more your style, the phantom 3 pro is probsbly a better option. If you need 4k and you can afford it, get the DJI Mavic. It's incredible, I'd argue it's better than the phantom 4 and its cheaper too. 

 

You can also check out the Autel Robotics X-star Premium, it's said to be pretty damn good, but DJI aircraft are more popular. That means there are more parts available for Phantoms and more people who know how to work on them. 

[Alpine]

I was in the same boat as you, couldn't decide on what to go with, so I went with building my own and would highly recommend it. Building your own will give you a deep understanding of how it operates and allows you to customise it to your needs, now and down the road. Although, be warned it can be a lengthy process to tweak it to perfection.

 

But if your someone that would rather just buy and fly, the DJI is definitely the option to go with and to be honest building your own to similar spec with GPS and 4k capability would be around the price range anyway.

 

Cheers,

[Silverwolf_7]

I had the same reason for wanting a drone. I built a tricopter and it works. However if you want to get professional results buy a drone. Nothing you build yourself in any reasonable amount of time will perform the same as a drone designed by a company with the proper R&D resources such as DJI. I had great fun building and flying my tricopter but it performs nothing like a Phantom. Good footage is hard to get without a proper gimbal and smoothed movement. If you want to have fun build a drone, if you want good footage and fun buy one.

[Hackentosher]

2 hours ago, Silverwolf_7 said:

I had the same reason for wanting a drone. I built a tricopter and it works. However if you want to get professional results buy a drone. Nothing you build yourself in any reasonable amount of time will perform the same as a drone designed by a company with the proper R&D resources such as DJI. I had great fun building and flying my tricopter but it performs nothing like a Phantom. Good footage is hard to get without a proper gimbal and smoothed movement. If you want to have fun build a drone, if you want good footage and fun buy one.

I'd beg to differ, but to get the same quality and position hold as something as say an Inspire, you have to spend quote a bit of money.