I think it's a price point thing...this is down near the price of a AR with GPS - although it doesn't include the cams... I think the market will dictate what these manufacturers come up with. Based on that article you posted, DJI are selling tens of thousands of the Phantoms - I'll bet the sales curve is still going up! Personally, I think there there is a size range being overlooked - something smaller than these (Hoten-X size or a bit smaller), which has GPS and decent built-in cams as opposed to using a more expensive GoPro. The minis at too cheapo and the Phantom, at $1K with cam, is too expensive to lose or break. I'd like to see a bunch of $175-$300 all inclusive machines! Anyway, I'm holding fast to my prediction - that the first manufacturer who provides customer service AMERICAN STYLE (think Apple, etc.) is going to clean up. It's amazing that DJI doesn't even answer emails! That is bound to change once this quad comes out - if DJI has any brains, that is!
I think the Eye One Extreme due out in a month or so from RC Logger comes pretty close to what you're suggesting. No GPS, but it does have auto level and altitude hold and there is supposedly going to be a FPV version coming down the road. It's a 180 mm quad so it's right in between the Sygma class and the Phantom class. Best part is the price, starts at $120. I'll probably get one and just throw an 808 #16 on it for FPV/video recording.
Yes, that's perfect in size and payload - if the flight controller is good, they will have a winner. Put one of those new Mobius cams on it (50 grams or less) and it would take some nice video!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mobius-ActionCam-Full-HD-Sports-Camera-1080P-30FPS-720P-60FPS-Pocket-Camcorder-/151071891306
Wow that camera looks sweet, and the price is right too! Do you know if that does video out for FPV? If so I may just go with that instead of the 808 for the Eye One cam
I would assume it does have analog video out - you'll need the right cables. It's made (I think) by the same folks who made the #16....except it is tuned a bit better specifically for R/C. Same guy, Tom Frank, seems to have a hand in it - and it has Android control over the software, etc. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1904559
I just watched a video review on it and I'm totally sold on this camera. It does do AV Out, the recorded videos look great, and best of all there seems to be no lag at all in the video feed when doing AV out which is critical for FPV. I think this will be my Eye One cam, and later on my Blade 350 cam (lame attempt at a topic save there...)
