I am new to drones and looking to purchase my first one. Seems like a lot of drones are used while out exploring, so I figured I would ask here. I would love a DJI drone, either a Phantom or a Mini Pro, but those are way out of my price range. Just wondering if anyone uses cheaper drones and if so, what do you use and recommend?
looking for a drone
- Thread starter cr500taco
- Start date
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
Ive been running Hubsans with excellent results.
They have proven to be inexpensive and reliable.
The 501S is a great starter Drone.
Its a nimble GPS camera drone with decent battery/flight times.
Its a cheap 1080 camera, but without a gimbal so video isnt the greatest.
Pretty slick for decent stills though.
If you want a much better camera and updated controls, look to the Zino.
Truthfully, the video and stillc amera quality is remarkable.
They have proven to be inexpensive and reliable.
The 501S is a great starter Drone.
Its a nimble GPS camera drone with decent battery/flight times.
Its a cheap 1080 camera, but without a gimbal so video isnt the greatest.
Pretty slick for decent stills though.
Amazon.com: HUBSAN H501S X4 Drone 4 Channel GPS Altitude Mode 5.8GHz Transmitter with 1080P HD Camera RC Quadcopter RTF Standard Edition Black: Toys & Games
Amazon.com: HUBSAN H501S X4 Drone 4 Channel GPS Altitude Mode 5.8GHz Transmitter with 1080P HD Camera RC Quadcopter RTF Standard Edition Black: Toys & Games
www.amazon.com
If you want a much better camera and updated controls, look to the Zino.
Truthfully, the video and stillc amera quality is remarkable.
Amazon.com: Hubsan Zino Pro 4K Drone with 3-Aix Gimbal GPS Quadcopter Live Video 5G WiFi 4km FPV Drone Brushless for Beginners(Camera Lens Filter and Two Batteries Included): Toys & Games
Amazon.com: Hubsan Zino Pro 4K Drone with 3-Aix Gimbal GPS Quadcopter Live Video 5G WiFi 4km FPV Drone Brushless for Beginners(Camera Lens Filter and Two Batteries Included): Toys & Games
www.amazon.com
Thank you, I have seen the Hubsans and the brand seems to be decent. I like the Zino for the 3-axis Gimbal and will research that more.
Plenty youtube reviews of the Zino
Its a nice little drone
I saw a couple of videos and I like it. In the videos they say it's just as good and cheaper than the DJI maveric mini.
robert
Expedition Leader
DJI has been accused of sending info back to China by not only the government agencies but also users. They also have been big supporters of licensing, geofencing, etc. I haven't seen anything about the Hubsan but researchers seem to keep finding Chinese back doors into everything they make so if that's a concern.....
workerdrone
Part time fulltimer
Yeah the problem is that there really aren't American made options yet, especially for smaller affordable drones
Plenty youtube reviews of the Zino
Its a nice little drone
I saw a couple of videos and it seems like a good one.
Looked into it. A little bit more than what I want to pay especially for the fly more. But, I'm considering it.
billiebob
Well-known member
Call me naive but what information can China access that me, regular guy, flying a drone, should be concerned about.
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
robert
Expedition Leader
Well that's why I said "... so if that's a concern..... ". A recent article that came out, there are others: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/29/7276...s-warns-of-spy-dangers-of-chinese-made-drones
Joe Regular probably doesn't have much to worry about just flying around his neighborhood- but take the drone near critical infrastructure, military installations, into areas where they may be able to gather useful info such as for corporate espionage or use it for work and you can start to see how it could be a problem and why more and more places are limiting not only drones but personal electronics. If it has a backdoor and you plug it into your phone or computer then you may have just granted access to additional information (why a lot of places don't allow their employees to plug outside devices into work computers for example, and don't allow personal phones into certain areas, etc.). Three of the more well known cases involved Lenovo laptops sending info back, the security issues with Huawei and the backdoor found on potentially millions of computer chips (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...ny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies). It's easy to dismiss but small bits of information can help paint a larger picture which can allow for theft of intellectual property, market manipulation, etc.
Again, that probably isn't a concern for you or you may just not care, but for people who work in sensitive positions or may have proprietary information on their computer or phone it may be a very real concern. In a nutshell, because as the Hong Kong protestor so eloquently put it- "Don't trust China, China is ---hoe."
Airmapper
Inactive Member
A few things you need to be aware of regardless of the drone you get.
Drones are not toys. While they seem innocent and harmless enough, the powers that be, mainly the FAA, considers them an aircraft and treats them as such.
In 3-5 years there is most likely a clampdown coming. Those of us who watch such things have seen the proposed rule making. Hobby flight of drones or model aircraft will likely not be feasible for the average individual if it goes as proposed. I hope I turn out to be wrong on that, we shall see. So get one now and enjoy it the next several years, but be aware.
A lot of drones are used while out exploring by dimwits, keep that in mind as well, and don't be one. Bottom line, if your use goes beyond recreational in nature for compensation or not, you must be an FAA licensed remote pilot. (Which I am, it's not necessarily difficult, but is no walk in the park either.) So if you are trying to build a monetized YouTube channel or make your travels some kind of tax write off business and do a bunch of social media crap, you must be a legal pilot.
Use on social media has been argued some and is not necessarily against the rules. By and large the consensus I've gathered is if you are not very popular on that platform and thus are not monetizing your videos, you are most likely still considered recreational use. That's key, if someone finds your stuff are they going to think you are perusing a hobby or trying to build a business.
I share the concerns over Chinese drones but there is no real alternative. I'm not aware of any US drones that are not highly specialized custom aircraft for commercial applications that run $20k plus. I'm certainly not aware of any consumer grade drones not made in China or with parts from China. I think a lot of that is probably the fault of the US not encouraging the tech here and promoting it's development instead of vilifying it. Now they find themselves in a situation they cannot even get inexpensive mass produced drones for their own government use. However the Chinese are not the only ones spying on you, US feds can see where they fly as well if they are interested enough to look, but unless you are flying in major cities or near sensitive areas, I doubt anyone cares.
I own a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, I will say spying concerns aside DJI makes excellent aircraft that are very robust and capable. If I were you looking for recreational use I'd look closely at the Mavic Mini. My understanding is it does not even meet the requirement to register on the hobby side being under the weight limit. It's also small and quick to deploy, and I hear yields pretty decent video.
But PLEASE do your due diligence, read up on the rules, be a responsible pilot and not a nuisance. Know where you can and can't fly. People have an irrational and unfounded fear of drones and may get hostile with you, try to avoid situations where you might bother folks, they only use it to play into an already strong government bias to outright eliminate the hobbyist.
rayra
Expedition Leader
@Airmapper, could you talk about any efforts or methods of thwarting China's 'phone home' stuff in the DJI drones. I've been wanting one for years but I am troubled by their access and would like to know if there's any way around it. What are the conditions that trigger it and what can be done to restrict what data / info gets sent back to China?
Not viewing the FAA's quest for dominance any more favorably than China's behaviour and want to limit my contact or exposure to the US Depts of Making You Sad any way I can. So I just keep looking at the Mavic Mini in my e-shopping cart.
Not viewing the FAA's quest for dominance any more favorably than China's behaviour and want to limit my contact or exposure to the US Depts of Making You Sad any way I can. So I just keep looking at the Mavic Mini in my e-shopping cart.