Good starter drone?

[holden j caufield]

Anyone have any suggestions? Is this a good starter drone?

http://www.amazon.com/Syma-Explorers-6-Axis-Quadcopter-Camera/dp/B00MNG37C2

 

[nickbits]

I had that one. It is fun to fly but the camera is worthless. It's as bad (or worse) than the first phone cameras.
I played around with it indoors for about 2 months, then I lost it the first time I flew it outside.
I was excited to get it initially but after I lost it I had no desire to get another or better one.

Also there is an revised X5C-1 model (which is what I actually had) that has a few improvements. I forget all of them but I think the range is slightly better on the -1 model.

 

[ultimatebob]

Unless it can fly itself, it's not really a drone. It's just an RC quadcopter.

That's difference is going to become more important now that the FAA is going to require you to register the bigger models.

 

[JTsyo]

I suggest the Global Hawk. Top speed above 300 mph and once you remove all the surveillance equipment, you might bring it down to $150 million.

 

[Rakehellion]

 

[ultimatebob]

If the OP wants to get a REAL drone with autopilot and a good camera and not just a toy, he should get a DJI Phantom 2.

The retail cost is insane, but I see them on sale a lot. The daily deal sites like Woot and Meh occasionally have the older models for under $300.

 

[holden j caufield]

Thanks I looked at the Phantom but find them too expenisve, but I'll keep an eye out at those sites, how is the AD1 drone?

 

[Linux23]

good thread. i'm looking to get one myself. the one you linked on amazon shows a lot of people lose them if it's windy outside.

 

[ultimatebob]

good thread. i'm looking to get one myself. the one you linked on amazon shows a lot of people lose them if it's windy outside.

Yeah, that's how I lost my Hubsan X4. One unexpected gust of wind, and it disappeared. It's probably still rotting in a salt marsh outside somewhere.

What really pissed me off is that my MicroSD card was in that thing when it flew away. I probably lost some cool aerial shots on that card.

 

[ViperXX]

I bought the X5C off Amazon last week. Got it yesterday. For $40 it's a lot of fun. Fly's great indoors. Outside if its not to windy it does fine. I flew mine over the house today with the camera enabled and lost control of it as the wind took it. I just let it come down an applied power as it came to a soft landing. Lot of fun I recommend it. The only negative is the battery life sucks. I plan on buying a 5-6 pack of batteries and the charger.

 

[John Connor]

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[Loop2kil]

The Hubsan x4 is a great way to start out...it's cheap, parts are cheap and it works quite well. it's also fully manual and will force you to learn how to fly without all the 'auto' features of the more expensive ones. it's not terribly difficult to learn but if you have never flown one before it will take several runs to get even somewhat comfortable.