I have been an advanced photographer in the past and am getting back into it. The versatility I'm seeing in this drone age are amazing! So I'm hitting the market for one. I have a go pro so I'm assuming that mounting what I already have would be my best economical option. Can I build a drone and just add a mount to it? Can these mounts rotate while in flight? Im looking at long flight times for something that can follow an 18wheeler at medium speeds, am I reaching for the stars? A range of 2,500ft+ would be ideal. I don't see a point (for me) to fly something so far away I can't see it or it ends up colliding with manned craft. There is a lot of marketing for control by smartphone- is there a noticeable delay or has technology caught up? What kind of feedback can a drone provide? or, how are people maintaining good composition? Im sure I have 100 other questions before I'm ready to buy one but that covers my main thoughts and curiosities. Note* Im willing to spend on a quality and user friendly product. Would rather spend $500 once and build from there than spend $100 8 times as I realize cheap isn't working for me. Ive never needed to look into these so any and all help is appreciated!
If you're mechanically inclined by all means build!!! If $500 is your budget I'd go for a 600mm size drone (carbon fiber frame) be sure your frame comes with adequate landing gear height so your camera can fit underneath. If you want to steer your camera in flight you'll need a camera gimbal (Ebay) The whole project will take time and some home work, but it isn't hard. With good motors, ESC's, and dual batteries you should be able to get pretty darn good speed. For photography I'd plan on a GPS for position hold for better quality pics and videos. There are telemetry add-ons you can get for your drone to send info back to you.... like location, motor temp. battery status and so on. If range in important consider adding an FPV (first person view) camera system. If you're flying you drone far it isn't practical to fly by line of sight. The FPV camera is cheap and with the goggles you'll see what you drone sees. Hope this helps.
You are 100% correct about cheapo quads - I'd suggest staying away if you want to get pics. Now let's move on to your other questions and concerns. Here is some general advice.... 1. If you only want to shoot still photos your GoPro with interval shooting will be OK. However, trying to add FPV and stuff like that will bring the price up and you will end up with "less for more" in many cases. This was not so a few years ago but things have changed in terms of what you get for your money. If I wanted to fly a GoPro or similar cam "blind" or close by with a basic Analog FPV, I'd purchase a used or old-stock Phantom 1 or Blade 350qx for about $250 to $300 w an extra battery. You can get a basic FPV setup for $100-$150, bringing the total up to about $450. You will have to start the GoPro on the ground with interval shooting (1 pic every 2 seconds, etc.) and then sort them out when you land. You will not be able to adjust (move) the GoPro as far as tilt, etc. in the air. 2. If you want the whole setup ready to go - with FPV, camera, telemetry, etc. then you are going to spend more. The lowest price in that type is the Phantom 3 standard - you can find a review of it on our front page. This allows you FPV, camera control, stable video and much more. 3. Building is a separate hobby than photography and video. Don't build to save money - only tackle it if you want to learn. In this case "learning" means that it is unlikely it will work well without a lot of fiddling and research/advice. Even then - I know some guys who have been dead-serious builders for many years and they use a Phantom 3 (Pro or Advanced usually) when they want to do photog and video. They still have their builds and use them for other things... So the Phantom 3 series is going to give you composition for video and photo, telemetry (battery, distance away, GPS, etc. etc.)...to duplicate that in a "build" model is very difficult. As Joe suggests - you definitely want a machine with good GPS so the wind doesn't blow it away, etc.
