Buying a Drone

Hollies64

Hi

I'd like to buy a drone which takes good photos and video footage. I'd like to be able view the video footage on my laptop / pc. I think I would like to have onw with at least 20 mins flight time. It must be able to hover whilst recording video. Primarily I want it to do surveys of roofs but also I live near the coast so for recording beautiful scenery as well.

Also, a really user friendly one would be great.

Any recommendations from experienced owners?

Many thanks

Mr.Generous

Get one like they use near London airports, even the police can't catch 'em.

bob_a_builder

Stock answer would be a DJI Phantom or Mavic

Whose roofs ?
Are you aware of the rules around them with regard to where you can and can't fly them
i.e.
Not within 50M of people an properties
Not within 150M of crowds and built up areas

https://dronesafe.uk/drone-code/

Gatwick is only going to cause restrictions to get worse

Hollies64

Quite a bit expensive for me.

Just my own roofs and my dad's.

Chino

Hollies64 wrote: »

Just my own roofs and my dad's.

So maybe just borrow a ladder?

bengalknights

If you want a cheap one get a MiDrone does HD flies for around 15 minutes and you can use the VR Headset/mobile to operate with.

agrinnall

Could be a waste of money, I would expect severe restrictions on drone ownership and flying to be brought in that might make it prohibitively expensive for the casual user. At the very least they should all be fitted with a chip that broadcasts a unique ID, with jail for anyone found to have removed or altered that.

forgotmyname

If you want something good enough for surveys then it wont be cheap.

You can buy cheap ones, but they will be cheap for a reason. Limited range and battery life and cheaper materials.

You can get a 1080 camera but that doesn't tell you what the video quality will be like. It could have cheap plastic lenses that wont focus very well.
Just check the cheap dashcam reviews to see the variations in video and picture quality.

Have you flown one before?

Hollies64

No. I haven't flown one before but I have seen my cousin use his one and it looked straight forward.

I will look into the reviews - thanks for all help.

forgotmyname

Very straight forward right upto the point where it hits the ground or object at speed.

motorguy

agrinnall wrote: »

Could be a waste of money, I would expect severe restrictions on drone ownership and flying to be brought in that might make it prohibitively expensive for the casual user. At the very least they should all be fitted with a chip that broadcasts a unique ID, with jail for anyone found to have removed or altered that.

Whilst, sadly, that will come due to the actions of a very small minority, its unlikely to happen soon, and unlikely to happen retrospectively.