banjonut Loc: Southern Michigan

The Grand Canyon was just an example, Death Valley is another. Canyonlands. Plenty of wide open space to fly a quadcopter with no one in site. And yet, a blanket ban. Ridiculous. I have been to the Grand Canyon on a number of occasions. Sometimes the tour aircraft are thick as bees. Not so long ago, one tour helicopter crashed in the canyon. No outcry concerning the damage done, but many times more than a quadcopter.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Aside from watching videos they shoot, I have no interest in drones. As for shooting them down, it's a violation of federal law to shoot down aircraft, and thank goodness for that!

nikonboy Loc: Apple Valley, MN and Pine Island, Florida

Imagine a tripod equipped camera that you can move around in the air, up to 400 feet in altitude, and as far away as you can see it with your naked eye. Put a 20 megapixel camera on it that can take 4K video at 60fps. And then shoot photographs using the drone as a tripod for HDR shots, panoramic shots, and exposures up to 10 seconds long from the very stable, GPS controlled and stabilized camera platform.

With this amazing camera you can stay up for as long as 30 minutes. Because it is GPS controlled you can let go of the controls anytime you choose to scratch your nose, or have a cup of coffee and the drone will stay right where you left it. In the unlikely event you lose radio contact with it (the range is up to several miles) the drone will automatically return to the location from where it took off, at the altitude you requested earlier, and then will come down and land automatically, usually within 5 to 10 feet of where it took off from.

This is reality right now. DJI has just introduced the Phantom 4 Pro that does all of these things and much, much more. The Phantom 4 Pro retails for $1500. Their Phantom 3 Pro, which I have, does all the above but it is a 12 megapixel camera and only does 4K video at 30 fps. And the battery limits you to about 20 minutes. It retails for $829 from Amazon.

Drones have earned a bad reputation by irresponsible people, often young boys and teenagers, who fly them where they should not be, and without consideration for people who don’t like their annoying buzz. When used responsibly they are amazing photographic tools that anyone can easily fly. No longer do you have to worry about crashing a hard-to-fly airplane on your first flight. You can press one button and the drone will take off and hover at 4 feet in altitude, waiting for your next command. You can press another button and it will automatically return home and land itself. You can see exactly what the camera is seeing with the 720p video downlink to enable you to set up your shot. Naturally, the camera can be pointed straight down or up to 30 degrees above the horizon. You can set it to automatic exposure, or set the exposure manually, anytime in flight. It shoots in RAW or JPEG, or RAW and JPEG. The video and photographs are stored on a micro SD card.

I could go on and on, but I know some people will never consider using one of those “terrible” drones. I also know that among our readers are some that have an open mind, don’t mind thinking outside the box, and like to try new things photographically, and it is for these people that I am sharing a few photographs I have taken with my drone. In the last six months I have made over 150 flights and it has become one of my favorite cameras.

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Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

Well stated, Nikon Boy! I don't have a drone and may never get one, though I'd love to have one. I think the airborne perspective is a wonderful viewpoint. One we can't get otherwise. And, the IQ and image stabilization of these newer units are amazing. 👍😎👍

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

The guy up the street had a Drone. Last year he was flying it around taking photos of the fireworks the month or so around the 4th of July. I printed out the licensing requirements and rules about flying a drone within 3 miles of the control tower of an active airport (we are 6 blocks from the airport). He ignored the information and refused to contact the control tower to let them know he was flying his drone in the area (and give them his GPS info). In September of last year, his drone was confiscated by the FBI and the NTSB and he was charged with illegally operating a drone within 3 miles of an active airport. He no longer has a drone and is sticking to remote controlled cars. He was in the Army reserves and lost his security clearances too (at least until they get around to reviewing them, which is like waiting for South Eastern Utah State University to win the NCAA Division 1 Football National Championship). There are penalties for not reading and following the rules. He didn't bother to get the licensing (all he had to do was contact them and get the license number and include a copy of it on his drone) and get permission from the tower of the airport each time he was going to fly and give them the gps location and keep his drone out of their way.

sailor2545 Loc: Victoria, BC

i would love one, maybe in the near future....my wife says i have to much camera stuff already

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

I'm surprised no one has mentioned some of the other useful drone functions such as aerial views for real estate marketing, inspection of tall buildings and other structures, etc. Most of the drones that interest me are north of $1K so I won't be getting one soon.

I have an irritating neighbor who I wouldn't mind harassing. Couple hundred bucks for a cheap drone that can hover legally over my property, keep an eye on everyone who comes and goes, and dare him to shoot it down and go to jail for discharging a firearm in the city. Yes, that would be worth it! ,

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

its all because they would not stop calling them drones, if they would have said quad, or model airplane. No problem but the public hears drone on the news and they think everyone is spying on them or going to fly a bomb into them.

It's funny how you don't hear about them on the news anymore even though there are more then ever out there. The news is always looking for the crisis, let's get the people all worked up then they stop and move on to something else, like Zika. That crisi went away as soon as trumb started pulling up to Clinton. No more Zika crisis.

Djedi

You can buy a small drone that will fall below the FAA rules in terms of weight and still take decent video. Here's one that is just a little bigger that got away from me. Taken right after my shoulder surgery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-eKu8g62rs
The camera is a small 808 keychain camera.
Lots of fun!

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

That was fun! Drone just couldn't fight that wind... Glad it was recovered without any damage.

Djedi

Glad you enjoyed it. I will have to take the new one (4.5 Oz) for a flight at some point when the weather calms down, here in upstate NY.

Wenonah Loc: Winona, MN

I wonder who reported him?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Probably the 2 dozed people he was bothering.

DLCinP Loc: Harris Co., TX

Considering how many are maimed and killed on our roads and highways, maybe it would be a good idea to ban driving except for police officers.

I've always wanted a drone, but I guess the idea got shot down.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

No comparison. Pretty stupid.