Quadcopter Aerial Photography and Video on a shoestring budget

Drone and Quadcopter Aerial Photography and Video (APV) on a budget.

A large percentage of of the new hobbyists taking up this pursuit have interest in the photography and video aspects of quadcopters. People are often impressed when you show them amatuer pics such as the one below – and they want to know how much it costs to set up a similar rig.

This article will explain some of the options available from $80 to $700 (total) for getting aerial pictures and video.

———————Lowest End – under $200 Total

WL Toys Model 222

The v222 is a 6-axis quadcopter, which means it has self-leveling capabilities. This means you are somewhat less likely to lose control and crash.
It is a small quadcopter – defined as a “mini” and is of toy grade, meaning that it’s somewhat disposable (or repairable) over time. Still, at a price point of $75-$95 – complete with camera – it’s a great way to get your feet wet in aerial photography and video. Just don’t expect oohs and ahhhs when you post the low resolution pictures and video online. As with any video, having the capability to edit the footage before posting will result in a more watchable movie.

Advantages
Very Low Price – ready to fly out of the box.
6-Axis Stabilization
Low priced repair parts available

Disadvantages
No altitude hold or GPS – use only in no wind or low wind situations
Low resolution video and stills – you may not want to share these!
“toy grade” means you’ll be replacing motors and gears after a few (2-5) hours of flight time.

Summary – this is for beginners…can be a good first or second quadcopter, and will provide experience and a glimpse into the capabilities of larger models. Buy it, break it – repair it – and then sell it or give it away to a friend (if it survives that long) who has interest. You’ll learn a lot.

WL Toys Model 262

The v262 is also a 6-axis quadcopter (self-leveling). It is a much larger than the v222 (more payload), however is still “toy grade”
The price point of $90 to $110 – without with camera. Add in a Mobius ($75-$85) or Keychain 808 #16 Camera and an extra battery and you have a $200 platform which is a nice step up from the v222.

Unlike the v222, you can’t control the Mobius camera from the Transmitter (TX). You can set the camera to take a still photo ever “X” seconds, or start the video before you take off.

The quality – in terms of price/performance – of the Mobius is exceptional. The RI photo above was taken with this camera. My preference, due to potential loss and damage (crashes) is to follow this rule of thumb:
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NEVER FLY A CAMERA THAT COSTS MORE THAN THE QUADCOPTER OR MULTIROTOR WHICH IS FLYING IT!
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Pilots have asked about flying GoPro’s or other cameras with a v262 – sure, it would lift them, but why take the chance of losing $250-$400 when the wind blows your quad into the trees or water?

Advantages
Very Low Price
Decent quality still pictures and video (video only in very light winds and carefully edited – otherwise likely to have a lot of vibration and jello).
6-Axis Stabilization
Decent Payload
Easy to see at medium distance (due to size and LED’s)
Low priced repair parts available

Disadvantages
No altitude hold or GPS – use only in no wind or low wind situations
toy grade means you’ll be replacing motors and gears after a few (2-5) hours of flight time.

Here is a link to our First Look at the v262 Quadcopter

Here is a sample video (HD) taken with a v262 and Mobius

———————Middle End – $201-$400 Total

Eye One Extreme ($140) or Skyartec Butterfly 6-Axis Brushless ($200)

In this price range, we step up to quadcopters with brushless motors. These are more powerful and will last much longer. Other features such as altitude hold (not GPS based) are included. Two examples of smaller brushless quadcopters are the Eye One Extreme and the Skyartec Butterfly. Either can easily fly the $80 Mobius cameras, making for a stable and longer lasting platform for decent still pictures and even some relatively stable video in light winds. Adding in some spare parts, camera mounts, etc. we are still well under the $400 mark.

Advantages

Affordable to most hobbyists
Decent quality still pictures and video
6-Axis Stabilization
Decent Payload
Better grade of components

Disadvantages
No GPS – use only in low wind situations
Compact size means you will likely lose visual sight at about 100 meters (300+ feet).
Repair parts are costlier than toy quads

———————$401-$700 range – Total

DJI Phantom (various configs)

The DJI Phantom is specifically engineered for stable flight – which fits perfectly with the needs of hobbyists and photographers. In addition, these models have GPS and other stabilization and safety features, making them easier to fly than most quadcopters. In fact, I’ve let my wife and my 83 year old dad have a hand at the controls, and both of them did fine (with me watching and coaching, of course!).

In this price range, there are a number of Phantom configurations which could be put together.

DJI Phantom FC 40 – this can be had for about $500 (on sale) and comes complete with a video and still camera as well as FPV capabilities using your iphone. The downside is that the included cameras is not of very high quality and resolution – BUT, you could add a Mobius ($80) in addition to the stock camera and still be under our price point! That would give you HD video, higher quality stills, etc.

DJI Phantom (original model, usually 1.1.1) – This machine can be found as low as $400 when on sale and can be outfitted with various camera combinations. Other than the FC 40 (above), these will not include FPV, so you are in effect flying blind. I set my Mobius to take a picture every 2 seconds and then download and go through them to find the best ones. Or, you can take video and then do editing later to do away with the parts not needed – something you’d have to do even if you had a monitor on the ground (FPV).

At our target price of less than $700, you could use the following high quality cameras:

1. Mobius ($80).
2. GoPro Hero 3 White ($200)

If you know a bit more about photography, you can even rig up some other point and shoot cameras such as the Canon S95 ($150 used from Amazon), which can be hacked to do interval photography. These are better for still photographs – video will be better with a Mobius or GoPro. Here is an article and review on setting up small Canon cameras to do aerial photography.

Unlike the less expensive quadcopters, the Phantoms can be flown in fairly stiff winds – the GPS will keep it fairly stable for still pictures, although video will suffer. And, most importantly, you are much less likely to lose your machine when a stiff breeze blows it over the tree line!

Advantages

Good quality still pictures and video
GPS, Return to Home and other advanced features
6-Axis Stabilization
Larger Payload
Better grade of components

Disadvantages

Larger Initial investment

Here is a link to our article describing the various Phantom models.

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Moving on up

The setups above can produce some very decent video and still photographs. However, those who wish to move a couple steps up will get some or all of the following features.

1. Waypoint and/or Autonomous Flight – this allows your quadcopter to be programmed to follow a certain route before takeoff – for example, to fly around the perimeter of a property and take pictures of the building from all angles.

2. FPV/Monitoring – more expensive models allow you to see what you are filming – using googles, a monitor or a tablet/smartphone.

3. Camera Gimbal – The use of a gimbal allows you to control the camera angle from the ground and also stabilizes the camera so that it remains steady as the quadcopter turns and is buffeted by the wind.

4. Telemetry – allows you to always know exactly where the quadcopter is and other information such as battery life, etc.

As of this writing (May, 2014) a quadcopter with all of these features starts at about $2,000, which puts it out of the range of many beginning hobbyists. However, prices are coming down and capabilities are going up, so it’s likely that such a machine will soon be affordable to more consumers.

Keep in mind that the perfect quad for photography is often not the one you want for racing or even for FPV fun. The drones mentioned above are noted for their stability – something you don’t desire as much when you want to flip the machine and fly at high speed through the trees.

Other Links:
Here is our look at the Mobius Camera

Link to our book on Getting Started with Quadcopters
(note: Amazon sells many models mentioned above as well as others)

Further discussion and comments/question on this article can be done by the Facebooks comments below – or at our forum continuation thread of this article:
https://droneflyers.com/talk/threads/quadcopter-aerial-photography-and-video-on-a-shoestring-budget.450/