NEW TO DRONES

[DRONE1934]

Howdy,

I am new to drones and have never owned or flown one. I do have a question that might guide me to the better drone to begin with.

I am looking at the DJI MAVIC PRO PLATINUM of course. In reading another forum that I apparently could not access, those on there stated that the DJI MAVIC Pro Plat does NOT have a "follow me" feature.

If that is the case, then why would I want to spend DJI money for that top of the line model when the company Smarter Image sells one for HALF the money that in their video, shows theirs being able to follow the operator as he walks, runs, turns, etc. on a ball field?
Smart Image Done:
4K Follow-Me Live Feed Drone
Item # 206041

I do not want mine to get lost or bang into trees, buildings or other obsticles.
Can anyone give me good, usable information before I spend any money on the wrong drone?
Thank you.

 

[msinger]

In reading another forum that I apparently could not access, those on there stated that the DJI MAVIC Pro Plat does NOT have a "follow me" feature.

It definitely includes the Follow Me flight mode (as well as all of these flight modes).

 

[PT_Mavic]

Howdy,

I am new to drones and have never owned or flown one.

In that case, my advice is to get a $50-100 drone (to help you select a good one, look up "RC Saylors" on YouTube - they have dozens of drone videos for newbies and hobbyists, plus "Best for $50/100" annual summaries, and if a drone is crappy they don't hesitate to tell you that) and learn the basics of controlling one - don't have your first few crashes be with a $1,000 Mavic.

In fact, just go order a Furibee F36 or Echines E010 for less than $25 - they're very nice little indoor flyers and if you can learn to handle one of these well, you can fly a Mavic.

And don't use 'headless mode' on the cheap ones; that's just cheating and the Mavic doesn't have that mode.

 

[Flawless]

Not sure what OP was trying to accomplish with this thread, but it reads like a bot or referral post - but with a broken link.

And don't use 'headless mode' on the cheap ones; that's just cheating and the Mavic doesn't have that mode.

The Mavic has two headless modes - Course Lock is equivalent to cheaper (non-GPS) drone's Headless Mode. Home Lock is a more advanced version of headless mode where "back" (Mode 2 Right Stick down) is always towards the Home Point.

 

[PT_Mavic]

The Mavic has two headless modes - Course Lock is equivalent to cheaper (non-GPS) drone's Headless Mode. Home Lock is a more advanced version of headless mode where "back" (Mode 2 Right Stick down) is always towards the Home Point.

Well yes, sort of. They're not like the "headless mode" everybody thinks of on other drones in that you don't have complete freedom of movement in any direction, as I recall. In fact, Course Lock confines you to the same heading, IIRC. I haven't messed with either in months, but have seen a couple of good examples (51 Drones' YT video is pretty good) of situations where they'd be handy.

 

[Flawless]

Well yes, sort of. They're not like the "headless mode" everybody thinks of on other drones in that you don't have complete freedom of movement in any direction, as I recall. In fact, Course Lock confines you to the same heading, IIRC. I haven't messed with either in months, but have seen a couple of good examples (51 Drones' YT video is pretty good) of situations where they'd be handy.

Course Lock does exactly what "Headless Mode" does in non-GPS drones (like the Syma X5S). Course Lock uses the orientation when activated (like the X5S and every other drone I've flown that has it). Forward and Backward become static directions instead of being tied to the way the "head" of the drone is facing (hence, headless). Right and Left are at 90° to Forward/Backward.

Home Lock is more advanced as it uses GPS to set Forward as away from home point, and Backward as toward home point. Right becomes clockwise around homepoint, and Left becomes CCW.

Both modes allow complete freedom of movement without affecting the static definitions above, just like "Headless Mode".