Drone Features You'd Pay Substantially More For

[moldorf]

if you could make a short wish list of what would make an 'ideal' drone from your perspective, what would those features be?

now, I'm about 17 light-years away from being a professional photographer so I can't speak to the intricacies of apertures and f-stops, but from my remedial perspective, these would be my top-3 wishes...and yeah, the list is subject to change as people educate me:

* Optical Zoom - now, I have a Mavic 3 as my primary drone so I have the double camera. I really like the video quality of the 4/3 sensor and I like the flexibility of the 7X lens. But it would seem that the best of both worlds would be an optical zoom if the weight issues could be mitigated. I imagine it's too much to ask for a 4/3 sensor with even a 8X optical zoom. But I'd wonder how feasible a 1 inch sensor with an 8X optical zoom would be....and how much it would cost

* Laser Range Finder on Drone Underside? - now, I really don't know how feasible this would be or how accurate the range finder would be ranging vertical to the ground. From what I've read it could work; and it sure would be advantageous, even if was only during hover, to get a decent reading of the distance to the ground eliminating the guesswork for that 400 foot limit

* Dual Hot Swap-able Batteries - again, I'm not sure how feasible this would be, even in a high level consumer drone. But being able to land and swap out one battery while the other keeps the drone activated would be really nice. It could also extend total flight time. My assumption is that the batteries would need to be stacked instead of side by side, creating better flight stability. And you would probably need to have a really light dummy battery in case you wanted to fly quickly with a single battery while eliminating the weight of the 2nd batter and protecting the extra battery compartment. It would make for a deeper drone, but coincidentally that would create room for that optical zoom camera and laser range finder on the underside!

I know these features are essentially in the DJI enterprise drones, but those are large swiss-army knife drones that cost 15-20K...yikes!

 

[old man mavic]

@moldorf ,i dont think that your wish list is going to appear on our lower end drones any time soon, unless as you say, we want to spend silly money on professional drones ,
we can only dream of such things on the sort of money most of us can likely afford to spend,
and things are only going to get more expensive ,as our monetary systems suffer, and the value of our currency keeps falling

 

[thispilothere]

Optical zoom is the grail for me. I was hyped for the M3 until I learned it was some Frankenstein version.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Personally I think they are already too expensive, especially for something that could be so easily lost or destroyed.
What's the point in hot swapping batteries?

 

[SmilingOgre]

8:1 BlackMagic 4K B-raw

 

[Felix le Chat]

Optical zoom is the grail for me. I was hyped for the M3 until I learned it was some Frankenstein version.

The Mavic 2 zoom is the most versatile drone I own, people might whinge on that 2x optical zoom on a consumer class drone is pretty wimpy, but the quality is great and it has opened up close quarters photography for architectural details while keeping the drone a safe distance from target. You can't beat optical zoom. But the price of these birds is high enough without paying a higher premium for hot-swap batteries and laser range finders.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

The problem with optical zooms are weight...more zoom = more glass = more weight, more glass = bigger gimbal motors = bigger gimbal motors = bigger motors, bigger motors = bigger battery to have a useful flight time and so on...
That's why that kind of thing is on the expensive heavy lift aircraft.

 

[Richard R]

Mavic 3 Pro? Will it have optical zoom? Perhaps, probably, maybe. Those 3 visible lenses look mighty intriguing. We'll find out in a few days.

 

[Frank Dracman]

I would like the ability to fly my drone in an area that the FAA has deemed safe and not have "the drone manufacturer" arbitrarily not allow me to fly.

 

[Ty Pilot]

I would like the ability to fly my drone in an area that the FAA has deemed safe and not have "the drone manufacturer" arbitrarily not allow me to fly.

I was just thinking the same thing. If I want a better camera or a zoom lens or what ever, I don't mind upgrading to a drone that has that. But as someone who came to the DJI platform from another brand, the mandatory, always "on" GEO zone - fencing 'stuff" is absurd. That we cannot buy an unlock with proper documentation and certification makes no sense.

I have another drone that is still very capable and I use when I need to - that has zero fencing and is totally unlocked and once you no longer have to coordinate with DJI and your regulatory body (FAA), the pilot's job becomes very streamlined and straight forward. I wouldn't say that an unlock is a priceless feature, but it is near the top of the list in my book.