Is there a better alternative to DJI?

[PMF23]

Although new here, my approach is going to be to stick with my air three for a very long time. That way I’ll get to know it quite well, including this week and strong points. So far I’ve had absolutely no problems with it and I hope that continues. this is just like so many other hobbies, though, if you feel you have to buy the newest, latest and greatest thing that comes out, sure you can spend a small fortune I just don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze in that case though. Everyone has their own approach to hobbies though.

 

[Cafguy]

Bottom line: DJI drones are EASY to fly and are well marketed thats all.
DJI builds a good drone and I really love my DJI Drones, BUT lets not get carried away.
They are able to produce their drones at an agreeable price to consumers without worrying about Taxes, Labor laws, Material transportation cost ( china is central located for materials) and a few others. Yes their Drones are VERY EASY to fly and they are built well, BUT in reality DJI Drones are, expensive for the Novice, and are not versatile enough to pass the budget test as a commercial option. Can you repair your DJI on-the-fly? - no you can't. Can you use the same accessories and batteries throughout your different models? No you can't .
I have NO compliants I have made plenty with my Air 2S BUT if I had known, I could have saved a little money and been more versatile by going another direction.
Let's take for instance the DJI FPV Drone. Yes its a nice built reliable Drone, BUT its also the MOST expensive way possible to get into FPV. and why were they purchased by so many?- Well it was sold right along side the other DJI drones and DJI takes priority in the marketplace (they pay well for it).
So now you have new FPV pilots learning to fly with HUGELY expensive drones (their choice of course) BUT I learned to FPV on a 300 dollar budget and got much farther than anyone with a DJI FPV will. Mine will bounce off poles and trees.
You cannot crash a DJI FPV and If you aint crashing much in FPV then you aint flying FPV.
I have pieced together a few of these DJI FPV drones for friends who have smacked them into trees, and to put it nicely they are a nightmare to repair -- You have to take the whole thing apart to replace a leg !! ( NO Really!)
All said this makes DJI NO better or Worse. BUT Remember- They make Great Drones BUT don't let one drone company dictate what equipment you use or you will miss a GREAT party!

 

[thepushercg]

the old bebop was a fun little unit to fly, sending it on missions and wondering if it would come back. always a thrill. wish they had stayed in the market. never got to fly the disco, from videos it looked like a crazy drone to fly. not really sure what new and innovative ideals a company could do now to compete with dji, drone industry is so heavy regulated and going to get more so. makes a lot of companies not want to dip their toes in the pond.

 

[Meta4]

Bottom line: DJI drones are EASY to fly and are well marketed thats all.
DJI builds a good drone and I really love my DJI Drones, BUT lets not get carried away.

It's not being carried away to recognise that DJI makes the best consumer drones.
They didn't get such a huge market share by making anything less than that.
If you're aware of a competitor who produces a better product, please tell us who that is.
I'd love to have a drone that's even better, but haven't been able to find one.

 

[Cafguy]

It's not being carried away to recognise that DJI makes the best consumer drones.

They make- good- Drones that consumers can afford. The best would depend on the drone or what you are using the drone for.

They didn't get such a huge market share by making anything less than that.

They got their huge Market share by taking advantage of American concessions given to Chinese producers- they make a good drone BUT DJI tells American retailers where and How to display there products and they also get to dictate where their competitors drones are displayed.

If you're aware of a competitor who produces a better product, please tell us who that is.

What would you like to do with your Drone? I could give you a list of positives and negatives for other Drones. Most Competitor drones I have seen are built with just as much quality as DJI Drones.

I'd love to have a drone that's even better, but haven't been able to find one.

Once again I could probably Help.
How much do you want to spend? and what do you plan to do with your Drone.
As for FPV- instead of the DJI FPV - get a GEPRC- There you go I just saved you a thousand dollars and got you a better Drone that you can use whatever batteries and radio you want to with.

 

[Torque]

They make- good- Drones that consumers can afford. The best would depend on the drone or what you are using the drone for.

They got their huge Market share by taking advantage of American concessions given to Chinese producers- they make a good drone BUT DJI tells American retailers where and How to display there products and they also get to dictate where their competitors drones are displayed.

What would you like to do with your Drone? I could give you a list of positives and negatives for other Drones. Most Competitor drones I have seen are built with just as much quality as DJI Drones.

Once again I could probably Help.
How much do you want to spend? and what do you plan to do with your Drone.
As for FPV- instead of the DJI FPV - get a GEPRC- There you go I just saved you a thousand dollars and got you a better Drone that you can use whatever batteries and radio you want to with.

Thats a stretch. Around $800 for a GEPRC long range racing drone that can fly as far as a DJI FPV drone. Another $400 or so for an action camera of your choice, and another $300 for a controller? I've saved a few bucks and sacrificed tech for an ugly stripped down racing drone?

 

[LoudThunder]

If you cannot propery pronounce the word PATENT then the rest is not worth listening to. It is not PAY tent, it's pat-ent

The Video speaker is a Brit in the UK and they often pronounce word differently as the accent may be on different letters or just a colloquial way of speaking… We in the US are no different, Google the different way folks from the New England states (Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Road Island, Vermont…) say their words…

My mother was a Scot (as in born and breed in Scotland and even though she spoke "English" many words were pronounced differently even though they were spelled the same.

We in the US use Webster's Dictionary for our official guide and this is how they say the word "Patent" is pronounced:

Definition of PATENT

open to public inspection —used chiefly in the phrase letters patent; secured by letters patent or by a patent to the exclusive control and possession of a particular individual or party; protected by a patent : made under a patent… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

Folks in the UK use the Oxford Dictionary and it accounts for regional pronunciations and this page has the various ways that a Brit might pronounce "Patent…"

patent noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of patent noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

PS: Dale, aren't you an ophthalmologist and since retiring, you have traveled the world? In the UK they have four different variations of pronouncing your occupation, it's discrete, but all are different… And having been to so many different countries, I would have thought you might be more open to regional dialects…

ophthalmologist noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

LT Signing off...

 

[Cafguy]

Thats a stretch. Around $800 for a GEPRC long range racing drone that can fly as far as a DJI FPV drone.

Sorry I am speaking of starter drones and you can get a starter kit for pretty cheap and I agree digital is a bit more expensive.

 

[RangerEd]

I need to know if there is a better alternative to DJI for pleasure flying? I cannot afford all the drones and different controllers and incompatibility. It costs me more in time and money and sweat and tears than flying real airplanes. I’m not interested in manual home-builds. I just want to fly without having to spend $$$$$$$$ and time on all these different peripherals and updates and nobody knowing anything…. Everything should be compatible. any advice would be helpful to my wallet and mental health. I’m a Macintosh user, but that’s not the issue because I updated everything on a rented PC. So frustrated I just bought a new computer just to make everything work. Specifically I bought the Goggles 2 Integra and It was the most expensive downgrade from the V2 goggles I ever made (see my thread on dji forum). I’ve owned and maintained two ”real” airplanes and I am spending wayyyy more money and time on drones.. There has to be a better solution. I’m ready to abandon drones and take up kite-flying. Suggestions?

Since you already own two airplanes and you don't want to spend too much money on drones, kite flying seems to be a very reasonable alternative.

 

[mavic3usa]

Because some of these DJI drones are the only drones on the market to reach a bunch of people, the public tends to think DJI also came up with these "inventions." For example, the latest sw update for the Mavic 3 Pro will allow the the pilot to see the video from the obstacle avoidance sensor. It's a camera....uh, just like the ones in the Skydio maybe? Hundreds of thousands of pilots will be wow'd by such forward thinking and brilliance from a heavyweight like DJI. I might take a look at this "camera" once or twice and I think it's cool but it doesn't impress me. Honestly, DJI would be remiss if they didn't steal all the cool features you currently find in a Skydio since those guys have decided to abandon the community. Like the drone shadow when it's landing or sticking the landing on top of an image (called case landing). Reminds me of Apple how everything thinks Apple invents everything in a smartphone because it's the first place they saw it. Great strategy.

eta: Just to be clear, I'm not knocking the feature. Not something I will find extremely useful but I know there are some folks out there who will get a kick out of it. I acknowledge that DJI is likely the first one to show the sensors to the pilot in camera video on the remote controller display. Your drone could be stuck in a tight spot and you are scared to move and instead of rotating the drone around to get a good look, just check the camera sensors. Maybe this might count for VLOS, too.

Russ makes a good video which shows a lot of cool new features:

 

[Droning on and on...]

I don't understand this thread, or the OPs point.

What incompatibility? Expense?

Buy one drone, and go fly. None of the issues in the OP. Get a Mini 2 SE, cheap, $339 at the DJI Store. Even the FMC is under $500.

You have the issues in the OP when simply flying around, having fun, taking some casual snaps and videos is not enough... you get that new designer drug in your blood, dronezol, and suddenly you need that new Mavic 3 because... because... well... IT HAS TWO CAMERAS!!!! It does waypoints!!!

And on and on.

Dronezol is a nasty drug. It makes you spend all sorts of money you can't afford. And unfortunately, it has a half life of 100 years, so once you've dosed, you're on it for life.

 

[anotherlab]

It's pronounced your way in the US, but in most of the rest of the English-speaking world it's pronounced the other way.

Wait until he finds out how they pronounce "aluminum" and "schedule"...

 

[Droning on and on...]

Wait until he finds out how they pronounce "aluminum" and "schedule"...

Yeah, where do the brits find that extra "i" in aluminum?

Or the "r" Americans seem to see in colonel?

 

[moldorf]

Man save some of the DJI Kool-aid for the new guys.
IF the OP just wants a fun drone to fly around- LOTS of companies make them and just as good as DJI.
If you want a fun to fly drone that won't cost you a fortune may I suggest an E-max or Beta-fpv Drone . PyroDrone has a huge selection of pre-built drones and many are compatible with the controller and goggles you already own.
FPV Drones are like having your own private roller coaster except you get to say where it goes. Pure -fun and some of them only weigh 50 grams. There is a small learning curve when it comes to learning to fly them but its all WELL worth it. you will love it!

a lot of people are not interested, at all, in FPV & racing drones. I'm sure not interested. I'd say the majority of posters & lurkers here are not. They are looking for a more controlled experience with various video and photo options. Drones that have a main purpose as a camera platform, not as a roller coaster

 

[mavic3usa]

a lot of people are not interested, at all, in FPV & racing drones. I'm sure not interested. I'd say the majority of posters & lurkers here are not. They are looking for a more controlled experience with various video and photo options. Drones that have a main purpose as a camera platform, not as a roller coaster

Yet when FPV like features traditionally found on an FPV drone are introduced to the camera drone (tilting, head tracking, high speed, home point indicator, goggles, joystick, cruise control, crashproof, etc) then all of a sudden, you guys go nuts. So yeah I agree less people are interested in the FPV but they sure do want the FPV features. I know it seems like a roller coaster but it's so much more. At first I was uninterested but after giving it a try years ago....so I understand the hesitation and the reservation. I'm still not a racing fan. However, FPV is not a market that DJI can afford to ignore.

 

[Torque]

then all of a sudden, you guys go nuts

Yup. I'll admit I do. With each drone release I get a little giddy.
Nobody else is making consumer drones with the amount of features, the quality, and the technology at the prices that DJI gives us. Nobody.
I really don't care where the the tech originates, or who was the first to introduce it, I just care that it is offered to me at an affordable price! My Yuneec Typhon will follow the controller - I'd love it if DJI copied that feature! LOL
I have analog cameras mounted on a couple of my fixed wing RC planes and on my 3DR Iris that do head tracking with my old analog Shark Fin goggles. Not new technology at all, I don't care what company came up with it, I am just glad I have it on my DJI drones now with clear digital transmission with no lag!
I'm really excited about the release of the Mini 4 and anxious to see what it will offer once we actually know.
I won't be buying it at this point, still happy with my Mini 3 Pro and the Air 3 has filled that in between gap well.

Now there is a little pocket drone with some DJI like tech that I'm intrigued by, the Hover X1. I just placed an order.
More like a toy perhaps? I'm curious to see what this little thing does.