New to Drones - Looking for any advice

[boneal2017]

Hello - thanks for all of the knowledge and advice I have seen on this board. I am a new drone pilot and am taking my FAA Part 107 exam tomorrow. Currently, I do minor drone imagery at my current company (with a PIC) and when I get my license, I am thing about starting a side hustle for aerial photographs for private property owners, real estate, etc. A few questions:

1. What is a good mid-level drone to purchase for this kind of work? (Really want to keep under $1,000)
2. What is a good software to use for this kind of work? (Again, looking for cheaper alternatives. Currently have drone deploy with my employer)

Now since I am new to this, I probably will not start off with the latest and greatest technology. I just want to see if any of you guys/gals had advice to provide me.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Gagey52]

Welcome to the forum from the land of Oz. Best of luck with your 107 exam. As for your drone question, that will depend on many factors, which I’m sure the members of this forum will help you with.
As for software there are a few out there cheaper than dronedeploy. Some are pay as you go, some are free and the others are subscription only. Just remember that you generally get what you pay for.
I might suggest that you direct this question to the commercial drone pilots forum. As those guys are at the coal front.
Regards

 

[thispilothere]

1. Used or refurb Air 2 or Air 2s
2. Use bootlegged software until you find the one you like, then buy it. People have very different tastes in software and it's insanely expensive to try out 5 packages before settling on one.

EDIT: For photos - Photoshop, Lightroom, AirMagic, Luminar, Capture One. For video - Premiere or After Effects, Vegas

 

[eEridani]

Based on some reading here:

DaVinci Resolve (available for free) - many users here will attest to it's qualities.
-- some of the higher end capabilities will cost, but you can learn and build what you need.

PhotoScape X (available for free) - a few users here.
-- looks reasonably powerful for free

Or to keep costs down on licensed software, something like this package:

I use an older copy of CS5 - and have used several video editing tools including Corel Studio Pro; I'm not real happy with the video tools I've used; so I purchased this package when it was on sale for $60 (the Photoshop portion is redundant, but hopefully gets me the latest RAW image drivers CS5 lacks):

Adobe Premiere Elements and Adobe Photoshop Elements, about $90 for both on DVD.
-- enough to get your feet wet in the Adobe World.

 

[adcimagery]

Hello - thanks for all of the knowledge and advice I have seen on this board. I am a new drone pilot and am taking my FAA Part 107 exam tomorrow. Currently, I do minor drone imagery at my current company (with a PIC) and when I get my license, I am thing about starting a side hustle for aerial photographs for private property owners, real estate, etc. A few questions:

1. What is a good mid-level drone to purchase for this kind of work? (Really want to keep under $1,000)
2. What is a good software to use for this kind of work? (Again, looking for cheaper alternatives. Currently have drone deploy with my employer)

Now since I am new to this, I probably will not start off with the latest and greatest technology. I just want to see if any of you guys/gals had advice to provide me.

Thank you in advance.

Air 2 or Air2s.

For video, DaVinci Resolve. For photos, Adobe's Photography CC package, which includes Lightroom and Photoshop.

 

[howardK]

Howdy from just south of you in Pearland.. The Air2 or Air 2S are both great birds. I fly two M1P's and love them. I got each for about $550.00. installed the NLD software so it removes many restrictions (but i still fly smart). Good luck with the 107

 

[Robert Prior]

For drones, you might want a Mini or other sub-250g drone, depending on location and regulations. Image quality is good even for the original Mini, and the Mini 2/SE are apparently a bit better.

(In Canada it would simplify planning because you wouldn't need a SFOC in certain areas. No idea about US regulations.)

If you have a Mac, iMovie will do for editing (unless you have serious colour grading requirements, in which case Davinci Resolve). For editing stills I'm a fan of Affinity Photo, which is like Photoshop but a lot cheaper (and a one-time purchase rather than rental).

Affinity Photo – award-winning photo editing software

The only fully-loaded photo editor integrated across macOS, Windows and iPad, Affinity Photo is the first choice of millions of professionals around the world.

affinity.serif.com

In terms of setting up a business, you will definitely need liability insurance that covers flights.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Hello - thanks for all of the knowledge and advice I have seen on this board. I am a new drone pilot and am taking my FAA Part 107 exam tomorrow. Currently, I do minor drone imagery at my current company (with a PIC) and when I get my license, I am thing about starting a side hustle for aerial photographs for private property owners, real estate, etc. A few questions:

1. What is a good mid-level drone to purchase for this kind of work? (Really want to keep under $1,000)
2. What is a good software to use for this kind of work? (Again, looking for cheaper alternatives. Currently have drone deploy with my employer)

Now since I am new to this, I probably will not start off with the latest and greatest technology. I just want to see if any of you guys/gals had advice to provide me.

Thank you in advance.

1) At a minimum you will want an Air 2, Air 2S, or M2P. I would strongly lean towards something with the 1" Sony sensor in it (Air 2S, M2P) if you have future aspirations of being paid for your work.

2) DaVinci resolve is widely considered one of the best if not he best (it is easy to learn and used for Blockbuster/Hollywood productions), and free unless you need advanced features. Can't go wrong here, and if you do decide to buy the full version, it's very inexpensive relative to competing options and the license is for life including all future updates. For photos, the Adobe suite is peerless, but it comes with a monthly fee which many do not like. Keep an eye out for teacher/student deals (if you apply), or consider one of their products that can be purchased standalone like Lightroom or Elements.

Keep in mind also that as soon as you start charging money for your work, or wanting to fly in restricted areas such as most neighborhoods, you need to consider things like advanced licenses (not sure how it works in Houston), flight approvals from the appropriate governing body, and liability insurance.

More importantly, regarding your side hustle, as you're probably aware, it's not something you can just jump into and expect people to pay you for - this thread may be of interest to you:

Question for the businessmen/businesswomen

So, I'm 16 years old and run a small "business" essentially buying and reselling things. I've been interested in starting a drone "business" ever since I was 13 but have been restricted because the minimum age is 16 (or 15, can't remember anymore). Anyway, I'm wondering if it would be wise to...

mavicpilots.com

Good luck!

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
Hope the suggestions others have given you help?

 

[66427cobra]

If you want to keep the price under $1000 and want to buy new then go with the Mini 2. You can get a decent package at Costco for $450. I bought the Fly More combo directly from DJI with extra batteries, props, case, and 2 year refresh coverage for $750.

I have done both real estate and golf course photos/videos flying Part 107 using the Mini 2 and get rave reviews for the quality. Great for testing the waters to evaluate the commercial market. If you generate enough revenue then you can upgrade your drone.

For video editing I use Davinci Resolve. The free version has everything I have needed so far. I also have Final Cut Pro on my Mac.

 

[eyeonwings]

The DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo Certified Refurbished is currently $499 at the Official DJI Ebay store.