Are drones just a passing fad? Are you bored with your 'Phantom'?

[gringorio]

What my point was is that people have been crazy about RC for decades and people have been crazy about photography and videography for way longer so no way is it just a fad.

I agree! I flew R/C on and off for a long time before getting into quadcopters (Phantom series). I think it will be true for many that it is a passing thing. But likewise, many of us will continue to fly multi-rotors ("drones") for years to come and continue to enjoy it...

 

[Mark The Droner]

So, I've owned a drone for about 4 months now and after the first 2-3 months, I am starting to get pretty bored with flying it. ...

You could put it in manual mode and try to master it. That should keep you busy for a while...

 

[dirkclod]

That's what I am going to try and do with this new Mia 3 being #2 bit the dust
Just a little more work and this will be interesting .
As for getting bored with flying I haven't had that issue yet
Then there will be a racing drone

 

[Jaime Ray Vaughn]

Its one of the few things I've tried that I haven't gotten bored with. Ive had both of mine for six months now and I find new applications every day. I sure keep my eyes open when I drive down the road and Ive pulled over and taken some pictures a few times.

 

[TheTanger]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm sure it's just like anything else-depends on the person. It just felt like it became a novelty to me that wore off...I'll get excited again for the couple of projects I have in mind but I doubt I'll be out flying every day or every other day anymore. I suppose if I were a photographer I would just consider it another tool...kind of like my guitars.

 

[kennedye]

I'll be bored with my Phantom when pigs fly

Just make sure you stay out of their airspace!

 

[silvertonesx24]

For me flying my P3 is like playing a video game for adults, (you hold a controller and watch a screen.) You will get bored if you play the same level over and over. Going to fly in new places is like unlocking a new level so to speak, that is why I bought a backpack instead of a hard case and trying to increase your photography skills is also a good way to stay interested. I really like low altitude slow moving video (flying right above tree tops etc). That is why I am excited about the P4, I will be able to more easily get the low flying shots and it adds a few other things to keep the hobby interesting (sport mode, object tracking etc).

This. I usually do day long bike trips on summer weekends. I am looking forward to this year having my phantom on my back to capture new areas. I live in a major city and am relatively limited to where I can safely fly, so without effort to get to new places it absolutely can get old.

I also enjoy trying sweeping shots or low movements. That's more interesting to me than just taking it up a few hundred feet and spinning around.

 

[silvertonesx24]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm sure it's just like anything else-depends on the person. It just felt like it became a novelty to me that wore off...I'll get excited again for the couple of projects I have in mind but I doubt I'll be out flying every day or every other day anymore. I suppose if I were a photographer I would just consider it another tool...kind of like my guitars.

It's like my seven string- sometimes I go months without playing it, but when I think of new ideas or hear something I want to learn, it inspires me to pick it up again.

 

[sacooke]

For me flying my P3 is like playing a video game for adults, (you hold a controller and watch a screen.) You will get bored if you play the same level over and over. Going to fly in new places is like unlocking a new level so to speak, that is why I bought a backpack instead of a hard case and trying to increase your photography skills is also a good way to stay interested. I really like low altitude slow moving video (flying right above tree tops etc). That is why I am excited about the P4, I will be able to more easily get the low flying shots and it adds a few other things to keep the hobby interesting (sport mode, object tracking etc).

I love that! Very well said!

 

[djphantom2015]

I never cared for a RC, I never cared for photography. Nonetheless flying a camera allows you to see things in many different ways and stimulates creativity. I don't think I could ever get bored, because nature has so much to offer and appreciate it. In a way you can be come addicted and never stop wondering how good a shoot or a footage turned out on that particular flight. Once you start to edit it, find the right music, in a way you are not any different then an artist. Just look at some videos on vimeo of what people have done with a copter and you will be inspired.

 

[artichoke]

This drone lets me fly like a bird. I can get up above things and have a look. I can even take hi-res videos and higher res photos. I took a very detailed photo of my roof. If there were a problem, I would know and could have it fixed. Now I know how tall my trees are, and which trees are taller than others. I think differently about my own area, having seen it from above. There are some spectacular views I didn't know about, too.

I am getting a little less excited about flying around my neighborhood because now I've done that. I know what I'll see pretty much. So I am less excited to fly it, even as I am still in the learning stage to some extent. The easy stuff I've done is already much of what I wanted to do with this drone. If I travel with it I can see sights I could not do otherwise. That's plenty for what I paid, already.

It lets me be a bird. For under $1000. Yeah the charging, downloading etc. is a little bit of effort, but it's a lot easier and cheaper than being a pilot. To be honest I don't care about creativity or making videos for other people, or perfecting my skill beyond what's required for max safety and reliability. I just want to have a look from up there.

 

[Bill S]

My third Phantom and finding compelling content and creating interesting approaches to the shooting takes time and prep. The biggest issue that I see on the forums are a million fly arounds at 150 feet. Good morning/evening light helps but low level is where it is at for me. And, that adds a little pucker factor. Certainly flying well planned missions helps a lot because it minimizes flying issues and allows for focus on camera position. I use Litchi and Litchi Hub.

 

[SouthernPhantom]

I agree with Othan1. For me, it's primarily a flying camera -- and a new, exciting gadget with amazing technology!

Think about each new car you got, or other hobby stuff you love.

I am a camera guy. So with any new camera, the first few days I shoot my friends, the house, family, pets, etc. Then I start to invent reasons to drive somewhere locally to take more photos. Then, there's always the first scenic airplane trip. Then ultimately, it sits on the shelf until the next special event comes along.

And with the Phantoms, there are the added issues of legality and safety. Where are we allowed to fly legally and safely? And how often can we take the same photos from those local locations, without boring ourselves and our friends?

But, it's absolutely worth it to have one! When the right opportunity comes along, it's amazingly exhilarating. We get awesome photos and videos!

And as the other folks have said, flying it is a great part of the fun!

 

[Jimmykjimmy]

So, I've owned a drone for about 4 months now and after the first 2-3 months, I am starting to get pretty bored with flying it. I used to constantly be charging batteries in hopes of being "on the ready" to get out, but haven't plugged one in in weeks. Once I realized I maxed out the range on my P3A at 21K feet (because of battery), there's nothing left range-wise as a challenge. I hesitate to spend any more money "modding" something I'm losing interest in. P4...meh. Same thing really. What am I gonna do with it? Other than modding my first quad (P3S) and then some fun drama on here BS'ing about stuff, it's getting really boring.

If they changed the rules and made something easier than a 333 for going into business, it still wouldn't be all that fun to be honest with you-just tedious and probably not even worthwhile monetarily. A side business with little income is my guess.

These aerial photography platforms are a whole different type of thing vs. small toy quads or RC racers. It's neat be able to get 'that' shot, but the stability of it and the lack of skill required makes for a dull flight, even in Atti mode. It's often more fun to fly my Syma X5C in the street than taking out the 'Phantom.' For sure I'll be taking it on vacation and such, but there's just so many landscape/aerials shots one can stomach. The video editing is honestly more fun than getting the footage to me. Often, upon playback, what is interesting to me as pilot is really not all that interesting to others usually.

So, my question is...does anyone else think the GPS aerial photog drone thing is a passing fad or not, and are you already bored with it like me?

Thank God this is finally happening. Knew it would, you can only fly by your house for so long before it gets boring...less flyers means less trouble.

 

[PeakXV]

I can still hit a tennis ball against a school wall for an hour, have a blast, & then want more. The point being we are all hard-wired differently, and thus I wouldn't be so egotistical to think that my interests/attention span/mental focus for any given activity/hobby applies to anyone else on this planet. Maybe yes, maybe no ,,,,,,,

 

[witold]

Did you ever consider why DJI markets it as "tripod in the sky"?

Phantoms are not supposed to be for active flying. They are a photo/video tool, and any other uses that come about are secondary as far as DJI is concerned.

If you want to fly, get a 250-ish racer. It's very fun. I think this is what you are looking for. Especially if you get a few people together and set up your own race course, it's fun.

 

[DaveWithDrone]

4 years ago I bought a Super Cub and modified it with a new motor/ESC and put floats on it. Flew it on my lake and loved it. Landing it on the water with the floats was fun and people on boats LOVED it.

After I got bored with my Super Cub I bought Real Flight RC simulator and mastered flying faster bigger EDF Jets on it. Then bought five 50mm EDF jets, learned how to build them, learned about ESC's and everything LIPO (how it's C rate increases performance, its effects on the ESC and how to match motor KV to battery for max speed). One of my EDF's goes over 100mph with a Don's Wicked RC motor. Its ridiculously fast and fun to fly, but stressful. To be honest, I haven't flown any of my planes in over a year. They're sitting in my basement neatly displayed on a large workbench to look at. I'm sure all my lipos for them are trash at this point.

I had no interest in quads at all until my dad gave me a AR drone 2.0
for Xmas 2 or 3 years ago. I flew that around my yard with my phone and of course had to mod that. I learned how to balance props and put a bigger battery in it. It was fun but still didn't "sell me" on quads in general.

Then, along comes the P2V+. My brother bought one and started a side gig filming houses for a local real estate agent buddy of his. He brought it to a family reunion and showed everyone its capabilities. I was hooked on how cool it was, the FPV on his iPhone and amazed at the technology. I thought about buying one but never did.

He ended up buying the P3P the next summer and showed me the improvements it had over the P2, the increased range it had and the quality of the camera. SOLD.

I bought my P3A last July and got into the forum research, mods, etc. I quickly realized that flying it is fun but the whole aerial photo and video thing got boring after about a month of filming the same stuff.

So I have been upgrading it, using Litchi to send it on long range missions and BSing on here.

I have to agree with you that it gets old pretty fast. I'm not into driving anywhere "to fly at a new location" because I really have no interest in filming stuff. I still love to fly but the wow factory isn't there. Hoping to get that back, I've maxed out my P3 in the accessory department and added the DBS antenna. So after this summer I'll probably be completely bored with it. On to the next one.

Agree 100%. I learned to fly RC Helicopters and was ecstatic when I finally could take off, hover and land where I wanted to without a costly crash. It took a LONG time to be able to master the RC helicopters at that time. When I first saw a quad (Blade QX 350) at the hobby shop, the owner did a demo for me. He had it hovering about 100 feet up, took his eyes off it and started talking to me. It was unbelievable... If you take your eyes off a copter for a second, it will move off in one direction or other on it's own and accelerate in that direction. I was sold! Wow! Such an easy RC to fly..... Well after flying a few times, the newness wore off and yes it became kind of boring as it took no skills to fly..... Any person without any RC experience can pretty much master taking off, hovering and putting it back down in a day. Not too much of a challenge.

 

[daveleeds]

Nope, not even then. [emoji6]

I'll be bored with my Phantom when pigs fly

 

[TheLightSpeedz]

Then sell your stuff bro and take up painting!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Private dancer]

So, I've owned a drone for about 4 months now and after the first 2-3 months, I am starting to get pretty bored with flying it. I used to constantly be charging batteries in hopes of being "on the ready" to get out, but haven't plugged one in in weeks. Once I realized I maxed out the range on my P3A at 21K feet (because of battery), there's nothing left range-wise as a challenge. I hesitate to spend any more money "modding" something I'm losing interest in. P4...meh. Same thing really. What am I gonna do with it? Other than modding my first quad (P3S) and then some fun drama on here BS'ing about stuff, it's getting really boring.

If they changed the rules and made something easier than a 333 for going into business, it still wouldn't be all that fun to be honest with you-just tedious and probably not even worthwhile monetarily. A side business with little income is my guess.

These aerial photography platforms are a whole different type of thing vs. small toy quads or RC racers. It's neat be able to get 'that' shot, but the stability of it and the lack of skill required makes for a dull flight, even in Atti mode. It's often more fun to fly my Syma X5C in the street than taking out the 'Phantom.' For sure I'll be taking it on vacation and such, but there's just so many landscape/aerials shots one can stomach. The video editing is honestly more fun than getting the footage to me. Often, upon playback, what is interesting to me as pilot is really not all that interesting to others usually.

So, my question is...does anyone else think the GPS aerial photog drone thing is a passing fad or not, and are you already bored with it like me?[