Looking to buy my first "Drone"

[Joshwaa]

I have read through a some threads but wanted to see if I could get a more precise recommendation. I am looking to purchase my first real drone. I used to own a Parrot AR but I do not think that qualifies. I also have a indoor small drone that I have used to practice for quite a while.
Main purpose would be for when my kids go out trail riding. So I can check in on them to see if they are ok. Some trails I ride with them but due to a back injury I can not go on all the trails anymore. Last outing one of my sons fractured his arm. He made it back safe as he had friends with him but I was looking at drone anyways and this is a good reason to get one IMO. I want something that has good "follow me" characteristics. Most of the places we ride does not have a dense tree population. Secondary reason would be checking on some hunting lands I manage to make sure people are not building cabins or other structures on them. I would like something with a good camera. 4K or better would be nice. I do not own a gopro currently. I mention that as I have looked at the 3DR Solo. I am not opposed to going that route if that would be better. Currently I am looking at the DJI P4P, Mavik Pro, and 3DR Solo. My father and brother in law both have the DJI Phantom 4 (non-pro) and they seem happy with them. I would say a budget of 2000.00 or less as this is my first one. Do not want to spend 8000.00 and then not use it much or not like flying it. Please ask any questions to help me narrow this down. On a side note I have been using R/C toys for a long time. Bashers, Rock Crawlers, and Planes (got out of planes a while back though).

 

[BigAl07]

Welcome to the forum AND the addiction LOL!

I'd suggest Mavic Pro because of GREAT distance, easy to fly, and great portability. It's really a Win-Win-Win.

 

[9245]

Not sure the phantoms really will do what you want here.

Here is why:

The flight time is only 20-30 minutes, so unless the area your talking about is right next to where you are you will not have a lot of loiter time.

The unboosted range is only about 3 miles.

The camera does not zoom.

The phantom is not really a surveillance bird, it's great for scouting or doing an assessment, but by your description it sounds like you want something akin to a Predator or an aerostat up there monitoring the area.

You may just be describing it poorly, in that case the P4P would probably get the job done just fine, if not, then I would suggest a fixed wing bird, which you will probably have to build yourself, a fixed wing will give you lots of range and a decent loiter time if you have it setup right, but they are not as versatile or fool proof as a quad, and it's going to cost you.

Also be mindful of the VLOS rule. You COULD in theory send a fixed wing to monitor something 50 miles away, but the FAA will frown on that.

 

[Joshwaa]

Welcome to the forum AND the addiction LOL!

I'd suggest Mavic Pro because of GREAT distance, easy to fly, and great portability. It's really a Win-Win-Win.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have heard thru a friend that the Mavic does not handle wind as good as the P4P or the 3DR is this a true statement? Also is the collision avoidance systems the same on the P4P and Mavic Pro?

 

[BigAl07]

The Mavic I flew handled wind as well as my P3P but I don't own a P4 to compare it to.

 

[Joshwaa]

Not sure the phantoms really will do what you want here.

Here is why:

The flight time is only 20-30 minutes, so unless the area your talking about is right next to where you are you will not have a lot of loiter time.

The unboosted range is only about 3 miles.

The camera does not zoom.

The phantom is not really a surveillance bird, it's great for scouting or doing an assessment, but by your description it sounds like you want something akin to a Predator or an aerostat up there monitoring the area.

You may just be describing it poorly, in that case the P4P would probably get the job done just fine, if not, then I would suggest a fixed wing bird, which you will probably have to build yourself, a fixed wing will give you lots of range and a decent loiter time if you have it setup right, but they are not as versatile or fool proof as a quad, and it's going to cost you.

Also be mindful of the VLOS rule. You COULD in theory send a fixed wing to monitor something 50 miles away, but the FAA will frown on that.

The trails are right next to where we camp. So I would have VLOS unless I was flying very low and obstructed by small trees and shrubs.

Predator? Do you think I need missile capability. jk Yea you might need to ask me some more questions to narrow things down and get us on the same page. If you are talking about the "checking on the hunting lands" I do not think I would need a fixed wing. The largest property is 1200 acres. If I see something I could always drop the drone down for a closer look. I think it would be easier than what I do now a drone would be much easier to take with me to North Georgia from South Florida than my side-by-side on a trailer.

 

[Joshwaa]

Also I have Android phones and tablets. I would most likely use either my LG V20 or my Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. I have read some posts that say the DJI Go app is not great on Android. Any insight into this would be helpful.

 

[Meta4]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have heard thru a friend that the Mavic does not handle wind as good as the P4P is this a true statement?

That's a common myth spread by people that haven't flown the Mavic and based solely on its smaller size.
The 3DR Solo is not suitable for what you want.
It's very old tech, plagued by GPS issues and has short range and short flight times.

 

[Joshwaa]

Thanks Meta4. Any thought on the Android app or is that a myth also?

 

[9245]

The trails are right next to where we camp. So I would have VLOS unless I was flying very low and obstructed by small trees and shrubs.

Predator? Do you think I need missile capability. jk Yea you might need to ask me some more questions to narrow things down and get us on the same page. If you are talking about the "checking on the hunting lands" I do not think I would need a fixed wing. The largest property is 1200 acres. If I see something I could always drop the drone down for a closer look. I think it would be easier than what I do now a drone would be much easier to take with me to North Georgia from South Florida than my side-by-side on a trailer.

No, no missiles (though having a few hellfires would be awesome), just very long range and long loiter time and you can put a nice zoom camera on it, maybe with IR if you really want the COD feel. Lol

Your original post made it sound like you wanted something to hang around in the air all day and babysit the kids, or to fly out and check remote land. For those purposes a fixed wing really would be the way to go. The way you describe it now though, which makes a lot more sense, sounds like the Mavic, or P4P would do just fine. I would lean toward the P4 though for the longer battery. An Inspire 2 would probably do even better but might be overkill, not to mention much more expensive. The new Matrice 200 might do well too but I am unsure on the battery or price.

 

[Meta4]

Also I have Android phones and tablets. I would most likely use either my LG V20 or my Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. I have read some posts that say the DJI Go app is not great on Android. Any insight into this would be helpful.

There are many different Android devices.
DJI Go is very demanding and might not run so well on a device that isn't up to it but it's not the fault of the operating system.
DJI Go runs very well on my Nvidia Shield K1.

 

[BigAl07]

That's a common myth spread by people that haven't flown the Mavic and based solely on its smaller size.
The 3DR Solo is not suitable for what you want.
It's very old tech, plagued by GPS issues and has short range and short flight times.

I'm glad you said that. I thought that due to it's small form factor etc it would catch less wind and actually be BETTER up to a certain speed of wind.

 

[Joshwaa]

Ok so it looks like my choices are the P4P or the Mavic. I think due to the camera it will be the P4P. Going to do a bit more research and check a couple other things and see what I come up with.

 

[blomdido]

Anything, not made by DJI