Which Drone?

[WestyCarl]

I fancy getting a drone to add to my photographic ability but have no idea which one (although internet research has me leaning towards the DJI Spark)

Main requirements would be;

Good picquality
Portability / ruggedness
Under £750

Any suggestions?

Also what editing software is best. I'm thinking specifically of being able to get a good quality still from a movie, is this possible?

[Simpo Two]

WestyCarl said:

I'm thinking specifically of being able to get a good quality still from a movie, is this possible?

If you shoot 4K, yes.

[BGARK]

Following, I am also new to this and looking for the right kit.

I have a particular interest in 3D terrain / architectural mapping if anyone can point me in the right direction?

Thanks. J

[R7]

I'd be looking at a used Mavic to be honest at that price. The DJI Spark is good however it is more of a hobby-level UAV, marketed at the non-commercial market. Remember, if you intend to use the drone as part of photography as a service or business, you will need a PFCO.

[WestyCarl]

R7 said:

I'd be looking at a used Mavic to be honest at that price. The DJI Spark is good however it is more of a hobby-level UAV, marketed at the non-commercial market. Remember, if you intend to use the drone as part of photography as a service or business, you will need a PFCO.

Won't be using as part of a business, just a hobby, hence the Spark appealed. Anyone got any experience of one?

[Magic919]

Have a search for the threads on here. There is at least one big one.

[Bacardi]

WestyCarl said:

... I'm thinking specifically of being able to get a good quality still from a movie, is this possible?

Depends on what is acceptable quality to you. The Spark only does max 1080 video resolution, so not really, might be ok for a small snap on FB. 4k is better but if you’re set up for best quality video, with smooth motion blur between frames, it’s still not very good.

The Spark does do 12mp stills, similar to the Mavic, so if you want better quality stills, this is the way to go. Unfortunately the Spark only lets you take JPGs. If they are anything like the JPGs from the Mavic, like all JPGs, a lot of the info is thrown away. Still, better than frame grabbing from the video.

The Mavic does have the ability to shoot in DNG as well as JPG and whilst not the highest quality and suffers from moire in fine details, is waaay better than JPG. Also has the ability to swing the gimbal into portrait mode, which is fun for stills.

So for the budget, I’d look for a s/h Mavic. Not as small as the Spark, but still compact and portable when folded, doesn’t take long to set up, longer flight times, 3 axis stabilisation rather than 2 and more capable overall. The gimbals can be fragile so maybe look to buy from a dealer, with some sort of warranty.

[GetCarter]

Sorry... late to the party with this one.

I have the Phantom 3 pro... which has the same camera as the 3 SE that you can but from DJI.

My 3 has flown at least once a week for the past 27 months and is still going strong. It's a bit bulky, so you might consider the Mavic (same camera).

Here's some of the images I've captured:

http://stevecarter.com/random/Aerial.htm

...and a vid (which looks stunning in 4k)... knocked down to 1080 here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCbHziHvpRs&fe...

By the way, to answer your question, you can get a very decent 'screen res' shot from video, but as mentioned, it's nowhere near as good as a RAW photo taken in flight.

Here's a 'frame' from a vid:

Edited by GetCarter on Sunday 29th October 10:54

[mojitomax]

Portability = mavic pro. Folds down tote size of a bag of sugar

4K video and 12MP stills in RAW

Can set autopilot waypoint functions for powerful video shots

a good entry/hobby drone.

I love mine