Beginner photo drone under $150

Lwombat81 on 11/07/2017 - 21:40

Gday all. I've done plenty of reading on here about this topic but I'm after more specific advice. My son is 10 and wants to get into drone photography. Now I very clearly realise that any drone under $1500 isn't going to do a great job of this, but this will be a starting point for him to learn a bit and decide whether a bigger investment is worthwhile. So I'm not after any amazing features but I do want something for which spare parts are readily available. Part of the deal is that my son maintains it and repairs and replaces parts when necessary.

I'm wondering if something with FPV is the way to go, like a JXD 510G. Or am I better off foregoing the FPV is favour of a better camera like a Syma X8G? Or any other suggestions?

Thanks a lot

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • andy19363 on 11/07/2017 - 22:21

    Pity you missed this one…. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/316080

  • Rumbaar on 12/07/2017 - 08:32

    10 and drone photography and budget of $150 … they all sound like a recipe for failure. Any sub value drones are a nightmare to control for a 'skilled' adult let alone a child, and anything under $150 will require more skill to pilot than a basic "STD" model phantom.

    Personally you'll not be teaching them anything, getting them to fly a cheap drone. It's like driving a car without power steering and assisted brakes, it can be done but it's not a valid method anymore.

    Go for the cheapest Phantom STD model and though it's only WiFi connected, that'll allow it not to get out of visual range and be 100% easier and more enjoyable to fly for a 10 year old. But you will have to bite the bullet and get a tablet/phone to act as the interface.

  • bcarp on 12/07/2017 - 08:43

    Depends on what he's after. Some cameras are not adjustable downwards so if he wants aerial photos of land/cars/houses/etc, some may not be suitable. FPV at 5.8GHz gives real time video, good for flying FPV. Wifi FPV is good enough for photos but range is limited & the lag means you can't fly using FPV alone.

  • Cabrinha on 12/07/2017 - 10:09

    What about this https://www.banggood.com/Hubsan-X4-H502S-5_8G-FPV-With-720P-… just a little over your price range but has GPS, altitude hold and FPV screen on the controller. I concur with bcarp the camera on this is not adjustable or controlled by a gimbal so videos will be jittery and you will be better off to just take still photos. I would imagine he might get pretty bored flying at a snails pace to take photos anyway ;)

  • wombat81 on 28/08/2017 - 12:45
    +1

    FWIW he ended up deciding on a Syma X5SW. It's reasonably basic in that the camera quality isn't great and it doesn't have altitude hold, but it does have FPV which is what he wanted. The other good thing is that parts are readily available and he can repair and maintain it. I also think it's good that he's had to learn how to fly it without altitude hold, which obviously required a lot more skill. The biggest downside is how the wind affects it. He initially found it quite difficult to control even in light breeze, but now that he's more accomplished, the wind doesn't bother him too much unless it's quite strong.

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