new member, and newbie to drones.

Paulos · Mar 18, 2018

hi all just a little bit about myself first, my name is Paul and I live in Oxfordshire uk, I'm 38 yrs old and looking for advise about drones from uk members, I have never used one, but I'm toying with the idea of buying one, once I have saved up.
I used to do photography and I would like to use one of these for more video landscapes and pics,but also with intentions of upgrading the drones camera and bits if needed,
as I have never used one this size before, what would be the sensible way forward?
also what do I need in the way of licence or insurance?
I do live in the middle of nowhere and I'm surrounded by fields and a river, so I thought this would be a great place for practice.
which drone would suite me better also? maverick or phantom? all advise would be good

regards
Paul

AnzacJack · Mar 18, 2018

Depends what quality and your budget really. Check out some of the camera reviews online to help make your decision as this seems to be the main thing you are looking at. Phantoms and Mavic are great, but if your budget is greater then the inspire with its multiple camera options are also great.
Mavic Air is probably the starting point for decent pics

Paulos · Mar 18, 2018

anzacjack said:
Depends what quality and your budget really. Check out some of the camera reviews online to help make your decision as this seems to be the main thing you are looking at. Phantoms and Mavic are great, but if your budget is greater then the inspire with its multiple camera options are also great.
Mavic Air is probably the starting point for decent pics

can you upgrade the camera on a mavic?

AnzacJack · Mar 18, 2018

No, pretty much only the inspire has interchangeable cameras. The phantom and mavic class drones are updated pretty regularly so DJI doesn’t make camera upgrades for these at this stage. That’s a shame really because there are a lot of drones sitting on shelves that are great flyers, but the new model has a new camera

msinger · Mar 18, 2018

Welcome to Mavic Pilots!

Paulos said:
I do live in the middle of nowhere and I'm surrounded by fields and a river, so I thought this would be a great place for practice.
which drone would suite me better also? maverick or phantom?

The Mavic Air, Mavic Pro, and Phantom 4 Advanced/Pro (the newest Phantom models) are all great drones. There are pros and cons with all of them -- like the size, flight time, camera sensor size, and remote controller frequency range. You can compare the specs for these drones in detail here.

Here's a video that compares the camera on all of these drones:

Here's a video that compares the image quality of the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4/4 Pro:

tictag · Mar 18, 2018

Paulos said:
I used to do photography and I would like to use one of these for more video landscapes and pics,but also with intentions of upgrading the drones camera and bits if needed, as I have never used one this size before, what would be the sensible way forward?

With regards to DJI products, your only options for upgrade-able cameras are the Inspire and Matrice series, all other drones have non-replaceable (but excellent) cameras. But these are VERY expensive so perhaps not a 'first drone' choice. I'm not that familiar with other drone manufacturers but there are about 30 out there - somebody recently posted a list of drone manufacturers on this forum.

Paulos said:
also what do I need in the way of licence or insurance?

This very much depends on what you intend to do with the drone, and that really comes down to two choices: commercial and non-commercial i.e. hobbyist. For commercial use you will need a PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operations) from the CAA - search on CAAs website - and must have public liability insurance. For hobbyist, you don't (currently) need any license (follow dronecode) or insurances but a lot of people join clubs like the BMFA (British Model Flying Association) or Drone Safe (DSR Hobbyist Registration | Drone Safe Register - UK's Largest Network of CAA Approved Drone Operators For Hire) to take advantage of their members public liability insurance. Equipment loss insurance is, of course, a personal choice but you need to be careful - many standard household insurers do not cover drones. Ikopta did a brilliant summary of UK based providers here:

Paulos said:
I do live in the middle of nowhere and I'm surrounded by fields and a river, so I thought this would be a great place for practice.

That's fine but what's more important is whether you live in restricted airspace - the "NATS" app is recommended by the CAA (Introduction | Dronesafe) and shows all UK restricted airspace, NOTAMS and allows you to register your flight plan.

Paulos said:
which drone would suite me better also? maverick or phantom? all advise would be good

Again, if you want to be able to upgrade your options are either (1) DJI Matrice & Inspire, (2) Another drone manufacturer or (3) Build your own. But that said, The Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, and Phantom series really do have excellent cameras. For a first drone, even though I own a Mavic Pro myself, I would recommend the Mavic Air - it's simply the best prosumer drone on the market at this time.

msinger · Mar 18, 2018

tictag said:
if you want to be able to upgrade your options are either (1) DJI Matrice & Inspire,

Another option would be to sell your drone and buy the new model as DJI releases a new drone model with a camera that's superior enough to warrant an upgrade. You'll no doubt save thousands of dollars buy doing this instead.

Sanctuary1796 · Mar 18, 2018

Welcome. Go with a Mavic and gain your stripes before going for something like the Phantom as the mavic is a great starter drone with great quality

MiniPalourde · Mar 18, 2018

Paulos said:
hi all just a little bit about myself first, my name is Paul and I live in Oxfordshire uk, I'm 38 yrs old and looking for advise about drones from uk members, I have never used one, but I'm toying with the idea of buying one, once I have saved up.
I used to do photography and I would like to use one of these for more video landscapes and pics,but also with intentions of upgrading the drones camera and bits if needed,
as I have never used one this size before, what would be the sensible way forward?
also what do I need in the way of licence or insurance?
I do live in the middle of nowhere and I'm surrounded by fields and a river, so I thought this would be a great place for practice.
which drone would suite me better also? maverick or phantom? all advise would be good

regards
Paul

Unless you are ready to spend a few thousands on your drone, it won't come with an interchangeable camera. As others said above, you would need a Matrice or an Inspire to achieve that.

For beginning, I suggest you get a Phantom 4 or the Mavic Pro. Mavic Pro has more portability and also a few other advantages like RC telemetry at a cost of a smaller camera. The sensor on the Mavic Pro's camera is smaller than a lot of smartphones today, so it can be fairly hard to get perfect shots and will require more post-editing in my experience.

The Phantom 4 is obviously bigger, has smaller range but it does have a better camera. So it really depends on your needs: is portability important for you? Or is the camera all that matters? I suggest you look up comparison videos out there to answer your questions. Don't get me wrong, the Mavic has an awesome camera but it's not as good as the Phantom 4's.

Paulos · Mar 18, 2018

I did think I was shooting above my waist, thank you all for the info. I will keep you updated on my choice when I get it,definatly start with something cheap just in case of a few fails and scuffs

)

tictag · Mar 18, 2018

...also, as this is a first drone, do seriously consider the DJI Refresh insurance. Even though I only claimed once in the 12 months it operates for, it still saved me a ton of money after a 'misunderstanding between my Mavic and stationary tractor'....