Chasing advice from other members

[Dieselman]

Hello,

I have been looking at drones for a while and am keen to hit the go button. I have read through a lot of threads here and I'm looking to get a few opinions from everyone. I'm keen on either the Mavic Air or the Platinum (only $200 difference here in Aust).

Main things I want to do with the drone are;
- chase the kids around while they are riding motor bikes etc
- stuffing around out the river camping - would love to get footage of my mates new boat cruising down the river
- I have 30 acres with about 50 sheep with lambs and a few crops to check. Gotta be quicker flying around than driving - opening gates haha. I also have a few sneaky foxes about and I would like to find their homes !!

The tax man will think I'm using it for work/farm so that will be a bonus. Would rather spend a bit more up front than wish I had got a better model later. I have never flown a drone so obviously whichever is easier to fly would be an advantage

Thanks in advance

Ben

 

[Goldchucker]

I have a Mavic Pro, but I doubt that you could go wrong with either of the two drones you mentioned. They are both well respected and popular drones.

 

[Dronason]

With a little more flight time and less noise the Platinum would be at an advantage in theory for your application but with the Pro price you can buy 1-2 extra batteries.

 

[CarlStarke]

You won’t go wrong with MP or MPP

 

[Simmo]

Yeah, forget the Air and go Pro, or Pro P. Get a fly more pack or custom pack. Dunno where you are but try uav me in Brisbane for their custom packs.

 

[Dieselman]

Yeah, forget the Air and go Pro, or Pro P. Get a fly more pack or custom pack. Dunno where you are but try uav me in Brisbane for their custom packs.

Thanks Simmo I will look them up. I'm in Swan Hill in northern Vic

 

[Irish-apple]

I have never flown a drone so obviously whichever is easier to fly would be an advantage


I would not spend that money on that sentence alone ... Learn first pal there quite easy etc but if your new your gonna be so so lost to all the stuff to check just my advice

 

[Dronason]

I have never flown a drone so obviously whichever is easier to fly would be an advantage


I would not spend that money on that sentence alone ... Learn first pal there quite easy etc but if your new your gonna be so so lost to all the stuff to check just my advice

Fully right, advise it to train your selves without stress of taking shoot or from other people, just flying and controlling it.

 

[Dieselman]

I have never flown a drone so obviously whichever is easier to fly would be an advantage


I would not spend that money on that sentence alone ... Learn first pal there quite easy etc but if your new your gonna be so so lost to all the stuff to check just my advice

Yep I understand what you are saying. I don't expect to be doing all that is on my list straight away but if I took my time and learnt the basics first could it be done even if I'm a newbie ?

What machine would you suggest for me to get started ?

 

[msinger]

What machine would you suggest for me to get started ?

All of DJI's consumer drones fly nearly the same. If you can fly one, you'll be able to fly any of the others.

Some people like to recommend cheap drones for beginners. I think it's better to start with a DJI drone since that's what you really want to end up flying. That way you'll understand how to fly DJI drones (instead of cheap drones that fly nothing like a DJI drone nor contain nearly any of the same features). If you're worried about crashing, then practice flying in a wide open area until you understand how everything works.

 

[Simmo]

Absolutely Steller advice Dr. Mike!

 

[aWingnut]

I had not flown quads but got a great deal on a Pro from Costco. It has many safety features that make it as easy to fly as any, IMHO. Take your time and read the info and watch the videos and start slow. You've got an advantage by having this forum at your fingertips. There are two types of pilots...those that have crashed and those that will crash.

 

[Wilbur&Garth]

Yep I understand what you are saying. I don't expect to be doing all that is on my list straight away but if I took my time and learnt the basics first could it be done even if I'm a newbie ?

What machine would you suggest for me to get started ?

If you don't feel comfortable spending too much on a drone, especially given you've never flown one, the refurbished Phantom 3 Standards are super cheap and still have a decent camera. However, if you're ok spending the money, I'd go with the Mavic Pro or Platinum. They're both fantastic in almost every way. Range, portability, noise level, and did I mention range?! I haven't flown the Mavic Air, but have heard the big drawback is the range on it can be more limiting than either of the Pros.

 

[Mossiback]

...Main things I want to do with the drone are;
- chase the kids around while they are riding motor bikes etc
- stuffing around out the river camping - would love to get footage of my mates new boat cruising down the river
- I have 30 acres with about 50 sheep with lambs and a few crops to check. Gotta be quicker flying around than driving - opening gates haha. I also have a few sneaky foxes about and I would like to find their homes !!...

• ... chase the kids - Platinum
• ... the river camping - Air
• ... check sheep and crops - Platinum
• ... foxes - Forget about it. They will be very difficult to find and track with either.

I favor the Platinum due to longer flight time, Occusync, and display on the RC. They are both easy to fly.

 

[Badtoro]

- I have 30 acres with about 50 sheep with lambs and a few crops to check. Gotta be quicker flying around than driving - opening gates haha. I also have a few sneaky foxes about and I would like to find their homes !!

First post on forum, apologies for digging up an old post but being a fellow sheep farmer the bit about the foxes grabbed my attention. If you want to spend some bucks, I saw an American video on YouTube where they located wild/feral pigs in a forest using a drone equipped with a thermal camera. That'll work to find your fox, above ground at least, but it'll cost more than he's gonna take in lambs unfortunately.