Potential Pilot

[DCinga]

Hello all, I'm DC and new here.

Recently I've become interested in aerial photography and aerial sightseeing. Found my way here researching the different model drones on which would fit my needs/wants.

Read quite a few posts here; you gentlemen have a wealth of knowledge and opinions I'd like to tap into if I may.

If I do step into the hobby, I'll wait a month or two before making a purchase which should give me time to narrow down the choices.
Seems the Mini 3 Pro was designed for those such as myself.

One thing that interests me that the M3P does not have is substantial zoom (it does 4x?) I've seen what the Mavic 3 does and it's pretty impressive!

Does the Mavic 2 have the same zoom capability as the M3? I can see using zoom as a way to locate intersting spots and for tightening up focus for pictures.

I'm colorblind, so some of the nuances of camera lenses and what sets the more expensive ones apart from the rest are lost on me.

Another aspect of drones that I don't quite appreciate yet is their noise level. I've only actually seen one in action and it certainly made its presence known. Guess this is question 2:

What are the quieter drones on the market?

Thank you for reading, I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions.

DC

 

[rgarjr]

Mini 3 Pro is a very quiet drone and flies really smooth.

 

[Gagey52]

Welcome to the forum from the outback of Australia. The mini3 is a stable little ac, and as with all the mini’s it is great learners platform.
I’m not sure how colour blindness would effect your photography, but there is more to taking a photo than colour. Sharpness and composition are just two factors involved. I’m sure you will find your way when you get started, plenty of help out there.
Regards

 

[JoelP]

I am a dichromat (cannot see red) who is more colorblind than most and also being very familiar with the human vision system and color space I can comment on where this handicap will or won’t affect you.

For the most part your Mini3 Pro will be shooting outdoors and will capture colors correctly. When in low light you might occasionally find that you need to do some color correction, but tools like Resolve and other video editors as well as Photoshop can autocolor correct pretty well. Sometimes I bring along a standard white target so that I can have Photoshop or Resolve force the white point to the correct value, but that is only needed for lighting challenged shots.

When using Dlog there are LUTs that will automatically transform the color from the logarithmic recording to a linearized recording and restore good color automatically.

I only get in trouble when making composite still images to match the color temperature of a foreground subject that I add to a background, but now there is an AI tool in Photoshop to do this color matching for you automatically. I have yet to find such a tool for video, but video compositing is beyond my capability anyway.

As for the Zoom on my Mavic 3 I have yet to find it of great value other than to figure out if it is worth flying closer to some feature. It is OK if you only use the optical zoom and not the digital zoom levels.

 

[Tarmactripper]

Welcome to the forum, I am relatively new to drones myself, but an experienced R/C helicopter pilot, and a keen photographer, I currently fly the mini 2, and am absolutely delighted with it, the photo and video capabilities have amazed me.

 

[frcaloy]

Air2S

 

[Chrislaf]

Welcome to the forum!

With regard to colour blindness and how it relates to drone selection, you might want to ask @Dale D as I think he is a retired ophthalmologist and is drone pilot/photographer. He may have some insight or suggestions that may be helpful to you.

As others have suggested and your own research has shown, the Mini drones and the new Mini 3 Pro are excellent choices for someone starting out in the hobby. The Mavic 3 has an excellent wide angle camera and the tele camera is very useful and produces very good results but it is a much more expensive drone and one I probably would not recommend for one just starting out in the hobby.

Here is a review of Photography drones done for Photography Life by Alex Coleman who I believe is a forum member on this site.

Chris

 

[GFields]

Hello all, I'm DC and new here.

Recently I've become interested in aerial photography and aerial sightseeing. Found my way here researching the different model drones on which would fit my needs/wants.

Read quite a few posts here; you gentlemen have a wealth of knowledge and opinions I'd like to tap into if I may.

If I do step into the hobby, I'll wait a month or two before making a purchase which should give me time to narrow down the choices.
Seems the Mini 3 Pro was designed for those such as myself.

One thing that interests me that the M3P does not have is substantial zoom (it does 4x?) I've seen what the Mavic 3 does and it's pretty impressive!

Does the Mavic 2 have the same zoom capability as the M3? I can see using zoom as a way to locate intersting spots and for tightening up focus for pictures.

I'm colorblind, so some of the nuances of camera lenses and what sets the more expensive ones apart from the rest are lost on me.

Another aspect of drones that I don't quite appreciate yet is their noise level. I've only actually seen one in action and it certainly made its presence known. Guess this is question 2:

What are the quieter drones on the market?

Thank you for reading, I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions.

DC

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama, welcome to the forum!

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Crossroads of America DCinga.

Good luck with your choice and welcome to the Forum.

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your participation and your view of the world.

 

[Dbez1]

Air2S

Great drone but not particularly quiet. If you have the budget, I’d take a serious look at the mini3 if noise is a primary concern. If not of primary importance, then take a real hard look at the Air2s as frcaloy said. Refurbished drones are a very good money saver.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
Please and do be sure you have read our guidelines.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[DCinga]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'm enjoying the community here!

I appreciate all the feedback from each of you.

Colorblindness isn't a big deal normally, but I have seen a couple vids where the creator will comment on how much better a shot is than the other. At least one was referring to a Mavic 3 shot over a Mini if I'm remembering correctly.

Real world question: how close can you get to say, a deer? I'm on a little bit of land with open pasture here and there. I see myself trying to capture a shot (or video). Is this feasible without a zoom lens?

A link to any video demonstrating the zoom in action would be great.

I have a couple articles on standby that go over the rules and regs of piloting a drone. I'm sure to have some Q's after reading them.

Again, thanks to all.
DC

 

[Drone Master]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots! Enjoy the forum!

 

[danwnz]

Welcome to the forum from OZ. I went with the Mavic 3 over the others for low noise and better sensor, and I believe the Mavic three would be more stable in higher winds. If you don't care about any of those things the Mini 3 Pro

 

[LoudThunder]

I'm DC

Hey DC,

Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA. We have a Member's Map in the Upper Right of the Title Bar.

Members map

mavicpilots.com

As a Potential New Drone Pilot, you will need to get your TRUST Certificate. You can get that at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…) .

Link to the TRUST Certificate at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…)

FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute

Get your FAA TRUST Certificate of Completion to legally fly drones for recreational reasons in the United States.

trust.pilotinstitute.com

You might want to also log onto the FAA's Web Site, lots of good information there on how to legally fly a drone…

Link to the FAADroneZone (Optional Registration for Drones under 250-Grams…)

FAADroneZone

faadronezone.faa.gov

If you are considering acquiring your Part 107 License, here is a link to get you going…

Online Ground School: Aviation Classes - Pilot Institute

Pilot Institute offers courses on drones and airplanes from world-class experts. Pass the Part 107 or Private Pilot exam and take to the skies.

pilotinstitute.com

Since you live in Georgia, there are specific laws and rules for you to follow, please check the link below for all the Rules and Laws that are in effect in your neck of the woods and it also links you to some of the Best Places to Fly in your area… Also, if you travel on vacation, visit friends, and relatives in other parts of the country, check back here so you do not run afoul of the law.

Drone Laws and Best Places to Fly in Every US State - Pilot Institute

pilotinstitute.com

There are many YouTube Drone "influencers" who get to test various drones and offer their Pros and Cons… You'll learn a lot about each Drone and what they offer as compared to their costs. So do not get too enamored with just one, so look at lots of different ones…

I would also advise you to use YouTube and watch a lot of the Videos on flying and setting up the Drone. When it is too dark, too cold, or too wet, you can "fly it vicariously" through YouTube. Also watch some of the Blooper Drone Videos and learn how not to fly your "New Baby."

Happy, Safe and Legal Droning…

 

[Kendallfordguy]

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

[DCinga]

Hello again and thanks to the others that have welcomed me.

I went ahead and took the Trust course. It is pretty straightforward emphasizing safety. I'll also go ahead and register once/if I follow through and get an aircraft, even if it's below the 250g cutoff. The Mini 3 Pro, as we all know, rises above that criteria with the Plus battery, which I most likely will spring for.

My birthday is around 2 weeks away and I'm visualizing myself driving an hour away to the nearest BB and getting the M3P. I'll check their stock beforehand, but as of today they are on the shelf.

 

[AnDronioBanderos]

Welcome to the forum from Ireland Dcinga!

As you have so rightly noted, there are a wealth of very knowledgeable, experienced people from all walks of life; who are kindly willing to share their experiences with members and visitors to this fantastic forum.

As others have mentioned, the mini 3 pro is unbelievably quiet and super capable.

I've had a fair few dji drones over the last few years and currently have an air 2s and a mini 3 pro with dji rc, (which I would highly recommend.)

It's affordable, offers fantastic value with the rc package and is extremely quiet and super capable.

I've had a mini 1,2, air 2, air 2s, and a p4 pro plus, a few mavic pros and other dji drones and I can honestly say the mini 3 pro is the quietest I've ever had. I absolutely love it. it's so quiet that small birds follow it but out of curiosity and not fear.

Images, features, portability, value and user friendliness are top class with this drone.

Im not going to say it's the one you should buy but if noise, budget and user friendliness over take the zoom you look for, and then you should research this drone.

Image crops are fantastic and features will improve with firmware updates and if you don't like the hobby then you could easily sell this.

Anyway, irregardless of the drone you choose; welcome to the forum and I look forward to seeing the posts on your journey into such a fantastic and fun photographic journey.

Have fun!

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!