g-man Loc: Texas

Uh-Oh, GAS has stricken me again. Actually with all the floods down here in TX, I've seen some pretty cool videos taken with these gadgets. It seem they could be alot of fun around the lake here.I don't know much about them. Can anybody send me a link to some that are worth having. It seems they range from 200 to ???.
Anyway any advice will be appreciated.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

This should get you started:
http://www.droneflyers.com/2014/11/best-quadcopters-for-2015/

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

What lake do you have in mind?

g-man Loc: Texas

We live at lake LBJ in Kingsland

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

I own this right here, and it flies well, takes excellent video for the cost, and also includes 1st person view, so you can see what you are filming. The reviews on Amazon are mixed, but I personally have not experienced any of the problems described. You will find good reviews on You Tube and many instructional ones as well. Good Luck!!

http://www.amazon.com/WLtoys-V686G-Quadcopter-Helicopter-Camera/dp/B00SQNN17M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433090273&sr=8-1&keywords=wltoys+v686g

Dr.db Loc: Central Point, OR

If you want to go ahead and blow some money on one that's really easy to fly and shoots 4K video, the DJI Inspire is extremely cool. (I've been working as 2nd op. "shooter" with one lately.) Many video professionals have been critical of the shoot quality of the built-in camera (of course), because you are stuck with the stock lens, and sometimes the footage will not quite measure up to the stuff coming out of Panasonic GH4's and other (heavier! and more expensive) cameras. But I think that overall the quality is way better than acceptable for nearly any application.
There's a lot of Inspire footage on Youtube that you can assess as to its quality... (well, come to think of it, maybe not so much "quality" on Youtube, but at least you can see what the built-in lens does.)

RJM Loc: Cardiff, S Wales, UK

DJI Inspire and Phantom are probably the market leaders.

You get what you pay for!

There is a learning curve and whichever you buy you will need to consider safety at all times - they can induce heart attacks sometimes!!!!!

mrjcall Loc: Woodfin, NC

The Yuneec Typhoon+ is one of the better entry level quadcopter with a decent 16 mp camera with all the goodies. To get any results worth keeping, you're going to spend in excess of a grand for sure!

http://www.amazon.com/Yuneec-Quadcopter-SteadyGrip-Propellers-Included/dp/B00VPD9174/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433155939&sr=8-3&keywords=yuneec+q500

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm surprised they don't have protectors/shields for the props. With one bad landing, there go the props. Some of them have guards as options.

Peter from NH Loc: Dublin NH

I have flown a Phantom for two years. It is great and takes stunning video. However, they take a pretty big learning curve to fly well. I have two significant crashes, one that required a new camera/gimbal and another a flyaway that resulted in a lost Phantom in a lake. These aren't toys and even good pilots have problems.

However, the landscape is changing pretty quickly. The new wave is quadcopters that have increasing robotics technology integrated. That allows greater focus on shooting and less on flying. I have pre-orders in on three different quadcopter that are exploiting this technology. Each has different strengths. Buying them in preorder can save a lot of money.

The CyPhy LVL 1 Drone is made by some of the team that started iRobot. They also make military grade drones. It is a novel approach (6 canted motors) that allows it to fly flat. It is $5-$600 on preorder (it will retail for $1000?). https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1719668770/cyphy-lvl-1-drone-reinvented-for-performance-and-c

The Zano is a very small copter made in England. It has really good sensors and can do a lot of things with greater safety and ease of use. Much cheaper than others because it is lighter and smaller. http://www.flyzano.com " rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.flyzano.com Around $275 preorder.

And finally the Lily. This is optimized to follow you by being tied to a wearable control unit. It is going to be really good for following or preceding a boat, kayak, bike, skier etc. It is waterproof and seems to be relatively foolproof. Around $500 in preorder. https://www.lily.camera" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.lily.camera

No doubt there are others coming out in different price points and capabilities. My basic point is that unless you want to devote a fair amount of time to mastering flying one of these things, the next generation are going to be using increasing amounts of robotic technology to make them easier and much safer to fly. These are really fun and give great results but when things go wrong they can be heart stopping. Even though I use a Phantom, I have a pre-order in on each of the above because they will allow me to do things that I can't or would take unbelievable skill to do with the Phantom.

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

I don't own one, but I've heard from people who do and who use them frequently that the question is not if it will crash but when it will crash.

mrjcall Loc: Woodfin, NC

I've heard pretty serious rumors that the Lily pre-order is a major scam and that there is a high likelihood that it will never be produced. Neat video on it however... :|

g-man Loc: Texas

Ok, so I pulled the trigger on a DJI Phantom Vision V.3. B & H had a killer deal including a hard case. Now just waiting for the brown truck :-).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=DJI+Phantom+Vision+V3&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

I've flown ALOT of RC stuff over the years so I don't think the flying will be an issue. BUT, these things are little techy marvels, THAT might take some time.

Now off to watch videos all over the place on how to setup and get going.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

A commonly trusted supplier selling the current market leading brand:

The successful current, and market accepted, standard: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1089995-REG/dji_cp_pt_000084r_phantom_2_vision_v2_0.html

The newest upgrade that is almost ready to ship that does 4K Video: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1133098-REG/dji_phantom_3_professional_quadcopter.html

Same, but a little cheaper because it is limited to 1080p Video: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1133099-REG/dji_phantom_3_advanced_quadcopter.html

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA