Only have one choice

[N8@HILLYERHOBBIES]

Salute,
Been flying for some time now, and as everyone else has, ive watched the FAA roll in and cause us extra work just to be a hobbyist.
And as such laws are not going away, and i actually agree with alot having a pilot background, I feel the "hobby" has disappeared and Im going to try to earn a dollar when i fly now.
But im not a wealthy man and can only afford 1 major purchase until it creates income. SO.. Ive looked over alot of brands and options narrowed down awhile ago to 3 choices that have the High End intro model and the eventual pro version, and they were DJI's Mavic with great gimbal,4K and over 5 mile range. Power Eye 4K thats amazing, and the Yuneec Typhoon.
I want to buy Q500 to start, but heard so many horror stories, my fear is do i skip the Q, and just fork out the cash for the typhoon? They are fairly similar flyers and can have same issues i believe. So anyone able to put the typhoon well above the Mavic for me?

 

[ChuckBridges]

Does your country have VLOS rules for flying a drone? If so, having a range of over 5 miles is moot if you are not legally allowed to fly that distance. The Q500 has a bit of a short range when it is in the stock configuration. You can extend the range with an Itelite antenna kit for the ST10+. I haven't flown a DJI or a Power Eye 4 so I cannot comment on those makes. If you wish to use the UAV for making money, I would skip the Q500 4K, which is a stable platform in my experience, and go with the H line. The H line, with the Gimbal that will turn 360 degrees unlimited, a 4K camera, longer range, six rotor redundancy, and retractable landing gear is a wonderful platform.

 

[Fred Garvin]

You say you want to turn “Pro”.....to answer your question and make a proper recommendation, what is it that you want to do, professionally?

Photography?
- Real Estate, Construction Progression, Insurance, etc.....
Surveys?
Mapping?
Search & Rescue?
FPV Racing?

There’s no One Size Fits All Aircraft yet.....what is it you do with a drone that people will pay you to do?

 

[5prock3t]

Shoot high, aim low.
Why not start w the Q? For under $400 youre started.

 

[CraigCam]

Q500 is fine for above building survey and house shots. Not so much for a wedding. A Mavic will do everything you want but you deal with DJI. The H has a lot of useful features for good commercial grade cinematography. It’s best feature is the retractable gear and smooth gimbal movement. You also have to try pretty hard to put props in your shot. The 480 is pretty much done as far as upgrades and features so there are definite deals out there as the line looses its position on its way out. That’s why low price Q500s are popping up lately as its so old now, it’s not really a talked about platform or competitor. There is enough parts and stock to own more then one 480 and get into team mode and have redundancy which you need if you intend to try to monetize your camera drone. Good luck.

 

[AH-1G]

Go for the H, you'll be glad you did.

 

[Good time Charlie]

Lets see,

Mavic 2
$1500 minimum.
5 mile range (useless for vlos work and 99% of any paying gig)
DJI weirdness with a GO4 app and the expense of buying an Ipad mini to run the app
Props in shot (alot)
Limited gimbal
Highly portable (huge plus)

Powereye 4k
$2700
variable lens compatibility (huge plus!)
360 gimbal
requires inexpensive tablet for app
20-25 minute flight times

Typhoon H w/RS
$750 refurb with warranty
Decent camera
360 gimbal
no tablet, no IPad required


IMHO it's a no brainer for entry level photo work. Go with what works, allows for redundancy in extra aircraft and won't make you cry when you crash one.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Keep in mind that these aircraft are simply tools to put a camera in a position that normal things like tripods and dolly's can't achieve, they are tools for photographers, videographers, surveyors and the like. As a business, the aircraft and camera are only a tiny fraction of the big picture of the hardware and skills you will need to succeed which; is ultimately how you need to approach your decision path.

Having said that, if your just starting out, keep in mind that you can give a novice a great camera and give a seasoned professional a Gopro and 9 times out of ten the pro is going to capture better images, it's just the nature of the business. I would echo the above: The Typhoon H is far more versatile and is at a very good price point while at the same time has a great entry level camera that can produce high quality DNG's for commercial work. Save some cash to invest in a good aftermarket battery charger and other equipment that you will find necessary along your path as you build your business. While I now use my Typhoon H Plus for work, my Typhoon H is still here as my backup and I can't say enough good things about it.

 

[Good time Charlie]

Btw... skip the Q500 4k. I owned 3 of them. Every one exhibited a horrid snap yaw in any kind of wind. You'd be cruising along, getting good footage, pull a little yaw to pan the scene.....nothing.....nothing.....BAM! The aircraft would snap the other direction. Hard. Sometimes doing a complete 180 degree turn before stabilizing. No amount of tuning or setting rate curves or cleaning joystick contacts could correct it. 3 separate ST10's and three Q500's. Yuneec blew it with a fantastic flight system on a crap airframe design.

 

[PatR]

I’ve flown the earlier Mavic Pro and the recently released Hassleblad Mavic. The Pro maneuvers badly and the latest version does fly better if you make some adjustments, but it’s small, pretty noisy, and disappears from view quickly. I’ve also flown a Phantom 3 Pro and found it wanting. It can’t hold a decent position in winds above 10mph. All three require you add your own phone or tablet (mo money) to fly them. Phones are too small for any kind of decent view and a tablet puts a lot of stress on the P3 controller mount. Neither a phone or a tablet provides any better viewing in the sun than a Typhoon H.

I’ve also flown the Inspire 1. Although it flies better than a Mavic or Phantom it’s still nothing to write home about and you don’t have manual control of exposure compensation. They make an automatic adjustment based on the ISO setting that rarely fits the condition as well as it should. You have the same phone/tablet scenario that’s present with the other DJI products.

Then you have DJI’s airspace drone control to contend with. You’ll find it quite irritating when your drone won’t arm because it thinks it’s someplace it should not be, and when you double check the airspace you see there was no reason for the drone to refuse to arm because it was in legal airspace.

Personally, I find the Typhoon H the better deal, it only lacks the Apps DJI has. You’ll find the screen in the ST-16 an easy match or even exceed the screens you’ll have to supply for the DJI rigs.

 

[Madbull]

I have the q500 have had no issues as of the post. 4-6-2019

 

[Dougcjohn]

Flown several DJI models, PowerVision Eye & Egg, Autel EVO, and Yuneec H Pro, H920.
As several have indicated, there are multiple benefits of each; your available funds & needs would narrow that down.
The H Pro is a great stable platform, handles windy gusty days nicely; you've probably read various threads on various landing procedures... some find it a little challenging to consistently land. The preference of the controller style has it's roots to what you've previously used most or adapted to quickly. My personal opinion is the ST16's screen is poor in bright light and I find the controller on the cumbersome side due to width, but I think that's mainly due to me being used to narrower RC's by other manufactures. The H Pro uses an older excellent camera and is limited in software app options, currently I believe there's 1 3rd party app beyond the default app on the controller. That isn't a negative unless you desire additional functionality. The new H Plus is a step up in camera & electronics adding to stability, control, and camera.

The PowerVison units have a roughness to them... The Eye flies & controls less fluidly compared to the H Pro and other Platforms. The PV Eye is an impressive machine on paper, but the connectivity isn't always as quick as desired.... I suggest watching a few YouTubes not by PowerVision. It uses an older method of separate radio, transmitter modularity, and the screen is limited to Phone size mount. The PV Egg... well it's just a fun one to own, it flies sluggish and not meant for much other than just being a Unique Shape with a 4K camera... but shares the connectivity design & operation. The PV Eye will probably be the most "closed" platform, I don't think 3rd party is involved with the platform. To clarify, I don't own a PV Eye... looked & flew one several times and decided to not purchase.

The Autel EVO after the last 2 recent Firmware updates is actually a very nice craft. Very similar to Mavic design... I'd call it a Mavic 1.8+ version. It has a very nice compact controller with a screen that can be a visual or information console screen depending if you have a phone or tablet connected. The EVO is noisy, if you've heard the Mavic Air the EVO is similar but at a lower tone pitch. There is a 3rd party mount that will allow the EVO Radio to mount a tablet if larger screen is desired.
Another EVO incentive... they are currently offering the EVO discounted to $999, and adding the Bonus Pkg: 2 additional batteries, 1 prop set, and travel bag, and a $100 BestBuy Cash card... that's about a $320-500 discount depending if the EVO goes back up to $1199 or remains at $999. But saving $220 on Bonus Pack & $100 BB Card is a sweet deal.

One advantage all the above have in common is non-DJI NoFlyZone software controlled restriction and no need for Internet connection for various feature activation. Although, always an unknown, this could change with a FW upgrade to anything adding possible restrictions. I'll be adding a Yuneec H520 soon, 1 reason is the avoidance of the DJI NFZ software.

The Mavic 2 - Pro or Zoom is a small craft as previously indicated. It's native color is poor for distant visibility, adding a skin can greatly improve. It is considered a quite craft, I personally find it the lowest noise craft, held previously by the MP with quite blades. I've had it 50' on realty tasks in tourist towns multiple times and it's gone unnoticed by surrounding people. There are hundreds of YouTubes expressing it's strengths in video quality, stability, noise, etc. I'd highly suggest you watch several videos. It's not officially supported, but you can easily swap the Pro & Zoom cameras and the firmware recognizes both without issues. It's been out long enough now, the Zoom Gimbal or Pro Gimbal is easily available on eBay.

The Mavic 2 transmission - OccuSync 2 provides a very stable transmission & fluid video.
One advantage if you're wanting to add devolped specialty software or simply want to explore low cost optional software: Litchi, AutoPilot, Mapping, Roofing, etc... the Mavic has hundreds to choose from, most under a few $bucks.
The Radio controller is very compact, and provides the ability to use pretty much any size screen in iOS or Android you prefer. The Ultra Bright CrystalSky screen will also mount, a pricey option but provides a clear screen in bright Sun. For excellent tablet view, the Hoodman screen hoods are great too.

I also own all the Mavic's, Inspire 1 Pro & Raw, Inspire 2, Matrice M210, M600Pro and few others. The Inspire 1 is an old craft, but still highly supported in 3rd party and probably the most adaptable in Camera options: X3, Z3 zoom, X5, X5Raw and XT 640 Radiometric Thermo. The I1 is a no-frills performer, lacks the modern avoidance systems and complex sensitive electronics; it isn't the best of the Best for 2019, but it's always capable to perform the work. For the obtainable price in today's market, it's a great buy. If you look for a I1, focus only on the V2 version with updated motors, props, retract rack, X5 mount, better carbon.

I'd agree the H Pro would be a nice choice, the older Inspire 1 Raw, and the Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom.