Looking for a Drone.

[Bradd1146]

If there is another posting or thread please direct me to it but this is my first post here. I’m looking to get into drones and have never owned one before. Can anyone share any advice on where or what to buy ? I’ve been doing some research around and watching videos on YouTube and didn’t know if anyone could point me in a direction of making my first purchase. Thanks in advance!

 

[Callum]

Have you decided on the mavic?

Where are you located? Will help with recommendations of retailers.

 

[colinfowler]

welcome bradd
have you done any rc flying before? what sort of flying do you want to do, photography, racing or just flying?
how much do you want to spend?

 

[brilock1]

if you are buying and Dji drone then you have the support of the company who have schemes to help you if you crash. so my advice is buy where you get the best price and make sure the seller sends you one that's still got its seal unopened. These are complicated machines and you do not want a returned one trust me!

 

[Bradd1146]

From what I’ve seen the Mavic looks like a good choice. I haven’t done any RC flying at all before. I live in Goldsboro, NC. I want to get a drone just to fly around and take some good video and pics I would say. I’d be willing to spend up to $1000. Thanks

 

[msinger]

I haven’t done any RC flying at all before.

No worries. It's extremely easy to fly. Make sure you practice in a wide open area that is free of all obstacles until you're comfortable with the controls.

 

[colinfowler]

the mavic is a good choice and you will get lots of help and good guidance on this forum.
the mavic has a beginner mode that limits your range.
the only problems to overcome are:
learning how to control/fly the drone yourself and not rely entirely on the built in assistance (it will let you down at some point, so you will need to fly home and land yourself)

were are you going to fly, as there are NO FLY ZONES that the mavic recognises by your gps location. normally 5mile radius at airports.

you MUST read and understand the full downloaded manual

don't let this put you off, none of us were born knowing how to fly.


having said all that, I would recommend first investing $50 - $100 on a small drone that you can slowly learn to fly and not worry about trashing it. once you can fly a cheep drone the mavic will be much much easier.

 

[Bradd1146]

Okay cool. That makes sense buying a cheaper drone to fly first. I’d read the manual front and back for sure. There is an Air Force base just about 3 miles away from my house. I have some wide open areas surrounding my house as well and I could fly from my work too.

 

[Former Member]

I suggest bypassing the cheaper drones, and go for something that you will be able to keep, use, and resell quickly if youre not happy with it. DJI sells the Phantom 3 Standard, which is far inferior to the Mavic, but it will only set you back less than $400. It's a DJI product, cheap to repair, you can buy DJI Refresh insurance for it or State Farm PAP for it, and it will get you accustomed to the DJI Go app.

Then a few months or more from now, if you are wanting to step up to something better, you can invest in a Mavic or Phantom 4 Pro if you are using your Standard regularly, and it's not sitting on a shelf saying "Im just a $400 toy."

 

[colinfowler]

I suggest bypassing the cheaper drones, and go for something that you will be able to keep, use, and resell quickly if youre not happy with it. DJI sells the Phantom 3 Standard, which is far inferior to the Mavic, but it will only set you back less than $400. It's a DJI product, cheap to repair, you can buy DJI Refresh insurance for it or STate Farm PAP for it, and it will get you used to the DJI Go app.

Then a few months or more from now, if you are wanting to step up to something better, you can invest in a Mavic or Phantom 4 Pro if you are using your Standard regularly, and it's not sitting on a shelf saying "Im just a $400 toy."

good call (did not know they were that cheap now)

 

[Bradd1146]

Where is everyone buying drone products and parts from ? Is there like a “go-to” website or dealer that a lot prefer ?

 

[msinger]

Where is everyone buying drone products and parts from?

If you mean DJI drones, it's best to buy from DJI or an authorized DJI dealer.

 

[Howcroft22]

If you do buy a mavic or phantom, I’d suggest not flying it indoors. Find an open ball field or something and keep it close until you really get the hang of it. If you are going to buy a phantom 3. I would go to Best Buy. They have the phantom 3 SE. which has a lot more range than the standard. And other upgrades. The standard does not have much range. I ended up returning my standard because of this and bought a mavic. Even with a good amount of trees you’ll get way more range than the P3 standard would in a wide open area. I won some $200 drone in a raffle and learned on that. I was hooked from that point.

 

[MavicCF]

I still agree with colinfowler that spending an extra $30 on a cheap Amazon drone that you can practice flying (and crashing) on is a great idea. Even if you buy it alongside say a Mavic or P3, you could still get lots of good experience (not to mention some indoor fun on days you can’t fly the real deal). I would definitely pull the trigger on a Mavic though, worth every penny.-CF

 

[Bradd1146]

Thanks for the advice. I think I’ll buy a cheap drone for now and get proficient flying it and then upgrade. Starting out with a cheaper drone will make me appreciate a Quality one I’m sure anyways...

 

[joejaxvic123]

I got a Holystone off Amazon, almost 50% off, lightning deal. HS400, big bird, no gps, very challenging to fly but fun. I learned a lot with it.

 

[kathompson]

If there is another posting or thread please direct me to it but this is my first post here. I’m looking to get into drones and have never owned one before. Can anyone share any advice on where or what to buy ? I’ve been doing some research around and watching videos on YouTube and didn’t know if anyone could point me in a direction of making my first purchase. Thanks in advance!

Hi Bradd
I started flying small drones like the ones you can buy at Walmart.
After understanding how to control it in a controlled environment you can move on to bigger drones. It really takes time to get to the point of safely controlling a drone that can hurt you or someone else.

 

[joejaxvic123]

I just got my mavic. I learned a lot from boob tube. I actually never had heard of it until after I got the HS and was looking for vids of it. After awhile, the HS left me wanting more. I think I maxed out going for the Mavic. It is an awesome thing. All the horror stories scare the heck out of me, but I will try to stay optimistic.....

 

[kathompson]

I just got my mavic. I learned a lot from boob tube. I actually never had heard of it until after I got the HS and was looking for vids of it. After awhile, the HS left me wanting more. I think I maxed out going for the Mavic. It is an awesome thing. All the horror stories scare the heck out of me, but I will try to stay optimistic.....

After the first fight it becomes more and more easy to fly

 

[Bradd1146]

Looks like I’m not even supposed to fly outside my house.... that sucks.