Other drone options?

QuadFlyer · Dec 30, 2016

I know I have seen on here or somewhere talking about other possible inspire like and greater drones, but have not been able to find any companies... (I know about typhoon etc... wanting higher grade) I know DJI is from the most part the major player, but what are some others...? Also I am interested in even maybe building one... are a lot of people that build still using DJI parts? Are there kits out there???
Thanks....

The Editor · Dec 30, 2016

QuadFlyer said:
I know I have seen on here or somewhere talking about other possible inspire like and greater drones, but have not been able to find any companies... (I know about typhoon etc... wanting higher grade) I know DJI is from the most part the major player, but what are some others...? Also I am interested in even maybe building one... are a lot of people that build still using DJI parts? Are there kits out there???
Thanks....

Assuming you want cinematic/photography platforms rather than other uses
Have a look at.....
Freefly Systems – Camera Movement Systems for Filmmakers
AERIGON | Intuitive Aerial

Jay Baldwin · Dec 30, 2016

The Editor said:
Assuming you want cinematic/photography platforms rather than other uses
Have a look at.....
Freefly Systems – Camera Movement Systems for Filmmakers
AERIGON | Intuitive Aerial

That information and link will certainly wake him up! Only men are allowed on that platform with a pocket depth of 4 0s minimum

The Editor · Dec 30, 2016

Jay Baldwin said:
That information and link will certainly wake him up! Only men are allowed on that platform with a pocket depth of 4 0s minimum

He did say he wanted higher grade.

Casey53 · Dec 30, 2016

The Freefly Altas are nice units in the $18K range. The xFold is another pricier brand that gets up to $30K. Both are just the copters sans any cameras which can add another equal amount easily. I've seen a Freefly Alta 8 up close and it is a very nice rig, although about half the size of my couch! The photos don't look that big, but in person it is quite large. Add a For.A FT-ONE-OPT Full 4K Variable Frame Rate Camera (About $128K) and a Fujinon 14.5-45mm PL mount lens ($99K) to the xFold and you are wrapped up for about a $260K cinema quality drone. Buy a whole lot of insurance!

Creative Live has some online drone class for cinema where the guy mentioned some outfit had one that cost $80K and they lost it into the San Francisco Bay. The instructor also dumped his newly home-made one the first flight right in front of him on camera. Then two pros in the class both lost theirs in strike accidents during the class.

QuadFlyer · Dec 30, 2016

Lol yep I think those were them! I am just so shocked that there really is not any other options out there!! Just had to verify that! I thought there were a bit more lower priced ones out there that could be used with like for instance a nice DSLR...
DJI really needs some competition! We all should get together and make a nice open source platform!
Thanks for the info!!!

cheebs · Dec 30, 2016

To be fair, most pro-grade rigs are custom made and do cost in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars, but not everything has to cost $100k+ to get very good results.
You CAN have a very nice DSLR-carrying X8 or similar with a good gimbal (Gremsy comes to mind) and digital video transmission for under $10k.
And about open source, there's already all of the ArduPilot effort, with the brand-new Pixhawk 2.1 flight controller recently released. DIY is alive and well!

SanCap · Dec 30, 2016

cheebs said:
To be fair, most pro-grade rigs are custom made and do cost in the multiple thousands of dollars, but not everything has to cost $100k+ to get very good results.
You CAN have a very nice DSLR-carrying X8 or similar with a good gimbal (Gremsy comes to mind) and digital video transmission for under $10k.
And about open source, there's already all of the ArduPilot effort, with the brand-new Pixhawk 2.1 flight controller recently released. DIY is alive and well!

I agree but probably 90% of the people in these forums have no idea how to build your own or even have an interest in doing so.

QuadFlyer · Dec 30, 2016

Ok sweet, this is the stuff I Think I remember reading about ardupiolt etc... perfect thanks!! I guess I just needed to be pointed in the right direction!
Ya see I have built quads before... but were I was getting hung on was trying to find a comparable video/control transmitter that can achieve DJIs lightbridge and interfering that all with the gimbal, gps etc... looks like I have lots more research to do!!
Cheebs have you got into this yourself?
If you or anyone else have any other great resources that can point me in this direction I would appreciate it!
Thanks again guys!!

SanCap · Dec 30, 2016

The more I look at it the more I want an M600 Pro. After flying the M600 on a demo from Florida Drone Supply I think I will do what I can to get myself into one of these.

Paul K · Dec 30, 2016

QuadFlyer said:
I know I have seen on here or somewhere talking about other possible inspire like and greater drones, but have not been able to find any companies... (I know about typhoon etc... wanting higher grade) I know DJI is from the most part the major player, but what are some others...? Also I am interested in even maybe building one... are a lot of people that build still using DJI parts? Are there kits out there???
Thanks....

As a pro photographer I am thinking of building craft to lift nikon D800 ( I am nikon user and I have inventory of cameras and lenses)
I was thinking of putting together s1000plus , A3 , light bridge 2, but I have problem to find a gimbal for D800 .
Or, I should wait to see what quality the x5s will be for still pictures to be printed in large format.

Casey53 · Dec 30, 2016

Paul K said:
As a pro photographer I am thinking of building craft to lift nikon D800 ( I am nikon user and I have inventory of cameras and lenses)
I was thinking of putting together s1000plus , A3 , light bridge 2, but I have problem to find a gimbal for D800 .
Or, I should wait to see what quality the x5s will be for still pictures to be printed in large format.

There was someone on dpreview who used a Nikon D810 with their 14-24mm lens on a S1000. Found it: D810 & 14-24 over Iceland (Drone Photography): Nikon FX SLR (DF, D1-D5, D600-D800) Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

It does sound like he hobbled it together verses another who used a Canon Mark something and found the gimbal easier to use as well as the camera plugins with the Canon. The link above shows it in his thread "Technical Information."

I did find some other cheaper drone which holds a D800 here: Infinity-6 RTF: V2, Dual Operator, 3-Axis Gimbal, FPV, Retractable Skids, 16,000mah 6S Batt, Charger Looks like a bit of DIY too.

Don't know how the X5S will perform either, but at least there are some good lenses out there for it.

Ftolino · Dec 31, 2016

Bryan Conover · Dec 31, 2016

The Editor said:
Assuming you want cinematic/photography platforms rather than other uses
Have a look at.....
Freefly Systems – Camera Movement Systems for Filmmakers
AERIGON | Intuitive Aerial

So DJI has pretty much killed everything.

Ftolino · Dec 31, 2016

Yeah almost with a p4p

The Editor · Dec 31, 2016

Bryan Conover said:
So DJI has pretty much killed everything.

Absolutely not.
DJI don't make a rig that will comfortably carry something like an Arri or an F55 rig.
Nor does it make anything with the level of redundancy a 16 prop machine offers
Don't forget, DJI firmware is flakey as well and not forgetting they still can't make a camera.

That includes the X5R etc. They still seem to believe that horsepower alone makes a good camera which of course it doesn't.
It's almost as if they have said "OK, if you are going to criticise our cameras we will make something so powerful and capture at such a high bitrate it will be fantastic and beyond reproach"
Unfortunately, they still just don't 'get it'.

davidbnz · Dec 31, 2016

Has anyone had a look at this -

Powervision Robot

An in between machine for the not so serious ...up from the basic Inspire V1 and not the cost of the V2

Bryan Conover · Dec 31, 2016

The Editor said:
Absolutely not.
DJI don't make a rig that will comfortably carry something like an Arri or an F55 rig.
Nor does it make anything with the level of redundancy a 16 prop machine offers
Don't forget, DJI firmware is flakey as well and not forgetting they still can't make a camera.

That includes the X5R etc. They still seem to believe that horsepower alone makes a good camera which of course it doesn't.
It's almost as if they have said "OK, if you are going to criticise our cameras we will make something so powerful and capture at such a high bitrate it will be fantastic and beyond reproach"
Unfortunately, they still just don't 'get it'.

So DJI has pretty much killed everything that is ready to fly and cost less than $2000.

Bryan Conover · Dec 31, 2016

davidbnz said:
Has anyone had a look at this -

Powervision Robot

An in between machine for the not so serious ...up from the basic Inspire V1 and not the cost of the V2

For $4000...I would not make that gamble.