Which is a better choice for making money with 107?

[Phoenix One]

Hello all. I have an autel evo currently with quite a few new batteries. So I already have something to start with once i get my license. I want to make sure I have a reliable and adequate fleet to wow customers and give the best footage and experience possible. I have a few choices on a new drone. What do you think would be the best all around choice as far as producing the best quality video and having happy customers? Here's my picks

1) Dji Inspire 1 v2 black edition 3 batteries very low flight time. Used. He wants $1800 but i bet I can offer $1500. With the zenmuse x5

2) autel evo 2. $1600 rugged bundle 3 batteries etc. Love my first evo. But that's a good chunk of cash but 8k and 6k and options for other cameras.

2) mavic air 2. $1000 flymore. 3 batteries. Seems a pretty good buy for $1000 plus nd filters and all. Supposedly takes good pictures. And has some cool options. But I have a fold up drone that does 60fps and has zoom etc.

Here's my thing. Which would be better or different enough from my evo 1 to make a difference and be worth buying to be a good useful edition to my fleet and making money and running a business? I appreciate everyones input and opinions. Ill consider them all closely. Also might make a difference. Im kinda leaning towards the Inspire if i can get it for $1500 to $1600. But im not sure how the x5 holds up today. but i run android galaxy s9 plus and s10 plus and just got a msi gt73vr 6RF titan pro. With 32gigs and a Nvidia GTX 1080 with a 1080 screen with a 120hz refresh rate. Just figuring it out. But hopefully it will be enough to edit on. Anyway thanks a bunch!

 

[Meta4]

I want to make sure I have a reliable and adequate fleet to wow customers and give the best footage and experience possible.

Forget buying a drone to "wow customers", wow them with your work, not your toys.
Very few customers would care about which drone you use.
You don't give any details about what you want out of the drone or how you would use it so it's not easy to give detailed recommendations.

1) Dji Inspire 1 v2 black edition 3 batteries very low flight time. Used. He wants $1800 but i bet I can offer $1500. With the zenmuse x5

The X5 is a fine camera, capable of very good results but do you want a huge, heavy drone with low battery life and old technology?
The Inspire is very awkward to transport and scores 0/5 for easy portability.

 

[Phoenix One]

Your 100 percent right. I didn't mention what i would use it for because im not 100 percent sure..I guess mostly for now realty and more creative and advertising purposes I suppose because I honestly dont know much about 3d mapping or things of that nature. So mostly rely on my editing skills which I'm still working on. I guess that rules out the inspire. I think the evo 2 might offer a little more but its considerably more. Im kindnog leaning toward the air 2 for the price

 

[Meta4]

Your 100 percent right. I didn't mention what i would use it for because im not 100 percent sure..I guess mostly for now realty and more creative and advertising purposes I suppose because I honestly dont know much about 3d mapping or things of that nature. So mostly rely on my editing skills which I'm still working on. I guess that rules out the inspire. I think the evo 2 might offer a little more but its considerably more. Im kindnog leaning toward the air 2 for the price

Before getting in too deep, don't imagine that having a drone and 107 is the path to easy income.
The market is oversupplied with people with drones, hoping to make a business with them.
And there's a drastic undersupply of potential customers wanting their services.

Real estate clients are notorious cheapskates but in my part of the world they went extinct a couple of years ago when they got their own cheap drones.
If you did find a real estate client any of those drones (and other similar ones) would be adequate.
Most real estate work is not particularly demanding when it comes to hardware.

If you were looking for a good drone for serious commercial use, the Mavic 2 pro or Phantom 4 pro are the best machines available in that price category.
They have proved themselves as commercial workhorses and the 1" sensor of their cameras gives superior image quality over the many drones with smaller sensors.
The Autel Evo 2 might be good too, but it's not been around long enough to know how good it is and it's not going to be supported for use with 3rd party apps for mapping or waypoint flying.

If you do get into commercial use, it's good to have two drones using the same batteries, chargers etc to ensure you have a backup when needed.
But you need to get into it first to see if the income potential would justify the expense.

 

[Phoenix One]

Thanks for the help i ordered the mavic air 2 but untimely canceled the order a few hours later after telling myself i need to work on my skills not boost my ego with a new drone. The money would be better spent on premier pro. I believe my evo is plenty capable. For the moment. Thanks for the help.

 

[cneedelman]

Thanks for the help i ordered the mavic air 2 but untimely canceled the order a few hours later after telling myself i need to work on my skills not boost my ego with a new drone. The money would be better spent on premier pro. I believe my evo is plenty capable. For the moment. Thanks for the help.

No need to spend money on Premier, I use Davinci Resolve, which has a free version and is more editor than you'll ever need, speaking as a professional in the video business for many years.

 

[Aerial Imaging]

Hello all. I have an autel evo currently with quite a few new batteries. So I already have something to start with once i get my license. I want to make sure I have a reliable and adequate fleet to wow customers and give the best footage and experience possible. I have a few choices on a new drone. What do you think would be the best all around choice as far as producing the best quality video and having happy customers? Here's my picks

1) Dji Inspire 1 v2 black edition 3 batteries very low flight time. Used. He wants $1800 but i bet I can offer $1500. With the zenmuse x5

2) autel evo 2. $1600 rugged bundle 3 batteries etc. Love my first evo. But that's a good chunk of cash but 8k and 6k and options for other cameras.

2) mavic air 2. $1000 flymore. 3 batteries. Seems a pretty good buy for $1000 plus nd filters and all. Supposedly takes good pictures. And has some cool options. But I have a fold up drone that does 60fps and has zoom etc.

Here's my thing. Which would be better or different enough from my evo 1 to make a difference and be worth buying to be a good useful edition to my fleet and making money and running a business? I appreciate everyones input and opinions. Ill consider them all closely. Also might make a difference. Im kinda leaning towards the Inspire if i can get it for $1500 to $1600. But im not sure how the x5 holds up today. but i run android galaxy s9 plus and s10 plus and just got a msi gt73vr 6RF titan pro. With 32gigs and a Nvidia GTX 1080 with a 1080 screen with a 120hz refresh rate. Just figuring it out. But hopefully it will be enough to edit on. Anyway thanks a bunch!

like many businesses photography drones videos thers is really not 1 drone do it all , those above mentioned products are all awesome and will depend on a few variables which comes with flight experience as a pilot it takes time to fly manually as we should all know how for those bad days ,learn how to be comfortable with your equipment these choice all feel and react differently when we fly under the exact same conditions , as the old saying goes its not the equipment that counts , its the skill set and Quality work we do either its mapping in 3D with a P4P or do under ground inspections in confine space with a ELIOs 2 or a Perfect EVO2 Pro with a 1 inch sensor , its best to go out there apply to as many mission as possible and complex high paying or low just fly we all have different taste in woman same goes with Birds the more the marier ;-) i personally own 8 to 12 drones and always reselling or experimenting or repair crash ones i get on ebay for cheap then i fly them and resale unless i like the way they feel then i keep them longer flying drones for a living is amazing and its one of my passion next to fishing ,its also good to have back ups. Good Luck and Happy flying

 

[Osmosis]

Hello all. I have an autel evo currently with quite a few new batteries. So I already have something to start with once i get my license. I want to make sure I have a reliable and adequate fleet to wow customers and give the best footage and experience possible. I have a few choices on a new drone. What do you think would be the best all around choice as far as producing the best quality video and having happy customers? Here's my picks

1) Dji Inspire 1 v2 black edition 3 batteries very low flight time. Used. He wants $1800 but i bet I can offer $1500. With the zenmuse x5

2) autel evo 2. $1600 rugged bundle 3 batteries etc. Love my first evo. But that's a good chunk of cash but 8k and 6k and options for other cameras.

2) mavic air 2. $1000 flymore. 3 batteries. Seems a pretty good buy for $1000 plus nd filters and all. Supposedly takes good pictures. And has some cool options. But I have a fold up drone that does 60fps and has zoom etc.

Here's my thing. Which would be better or different enough from my evo 1 to make a difference and be worth buying to be a good useful edition to my fleet and making money and running a business? I appreciate everyones input and opinions. Ill consider them all closely. Also might make a difference. Im kinda leaning towards the Inspire if i can get it for $1500 to $1600. But im not sure how the x5 holds up today. but i run android galaxy s9 plus and s10 plus and just got a msi gt73vr 6RF titan pro. With 32gigs and a Nvidia GTX 1080 with a 1080 screen with a 120hz refresh rate. Just figuring it out. But hopefully it will be enough to edit on. Anyway thanks a bunch!

Buy the P4P -

 

[Phoenix One]

No need to spend money on Premier, I use Davinci Resolve, which has a free version and is more editor than you'll ever need, speaking as a professional in the video business for many years.

Thanks yeah i came to that conclusion. I already have resolve and am learning to use it didn't know if the paid version was worth it. They say it runs way smoother if you pay for it.. lol but I appreciate you taking the time and giving me your opinion and experience. Thanks I really appreciate it

 

[Phoenix One]

Thanks for the help guys I took my evo out and flew it. That's all I needed to do. Lol it made me realize the video with my evo is better than most right now. So apply what I know and what ive learned and fly it and make videos. The evo is a little harder craft to fly. But Im pretty used to it. Thanks for all the help

 

[Recoveryone]

What may surprise you, is the few opportunities that may come your way starting out for you to do the editing/post work. In the real estate market, most often they only want the raw pictures or unedited footage.

 

[Phoenix One]

Well that kind of takes the fun out of it then I suppose but hey.. If that's what they want ill work on my videos for other stuff. Weddings events etc.

 

[Phoenix One]

And i still went and bought a new drone not long after i posted the thread. A p4p obsidian plus.. Lol got a good deal on it though. Anyone wanna trade for a Evo 2 pro? ?

 

[Capt. Guts]

Forget about the drones. Get the 107. Start tomorrow.

The most difficult thing is getting clients. What is the plan? A website? Local newspaper? Local tv station? Flyers at the supermarket?
Don’t say social media.
So let’s hear it.

 

[Phoenix One]

Heres my cards made with a laser engraver. Working on it. I have located many wedding venues locally plan on stopping by. Ive already started making myself known around town at local events. Cars shows etc. By jan ill have the license Made this sticker on my too with the laser engraver.

 

[Capt. Guts]

The Car Show : As you hand out the cards, what do you tell them? Did you do a video of the show on the QT. You should, let the guy in charge see it ( you brought your lap top ,right ). Give the SD card to him and tell him you will come next week and do custom photo for the club. Or the next event. Do they drag race?You’ll video the event. For a fee of course. Tell ‘em they can be be on YouTube.
Handing out cards is better than nothing. But handing cards at a wedding .... I would have it out with you. Get creative.

So what do we get out of this? At these event you mention...... take some photos, videos while your there, get to see the guy in charge, show the work, tell them what a great guy you are and give him the sample SD card. That’s you adverting expense.....$12.00. Tell him you’ll go the extra mile.
When are you starting the Sec 107? Suppose you get a gig before you get you FAA license?

 

[Phoenix One]

I always bring the laptop ?and I always talk to the guy in charge. I've been to a few cars and coffees. As well. A local race track and always talk to the owners. To make sure i can fly numher one. but I also make sure they know who i am and what i can do. And state that its just a hobby until i get the license. No gigs. But still have done plenty of stuff for fun and experience. Now its just me slowing things down. But new years is my time. Winter will be over soon. And ill make sure to post a pic of my part 107 here. Lol. But really thanks for the advice and the ideas and the push back to get me motivated. I kinda need it apparently. Winter and holidays are a tough time. Plus getting dark at 500pm really hurts my. Flying sunsets when im still at my real job.. Lol

 

[SeanC107]

Before getting in too deep, don't imagine that having a drone and 107 is the path to easy income.
The market is oversupplied with people with drones, hoping to make a business with them.
And there's a drastic undersupply of potential customers wanting their services.

Real estate clients are notorious cheapskates but in my part of the world they went extinct a couple of years ago when they got their own cheap drones.
If you did find a real estate client any of those drones (and other similar ones) would be adequate.
Most real estate work is not particularly demanding when it comes to hardware.

If you were looking for a good drone for serious commercial use, the Mavic 2 pro or Phantom 4 pro are the best machines available in that price category.
They have proved themselves as commercial workhorses and the 1" sensor of their cameras gives superior image quality over the many drones with smaller sensors.
The Autel Evo 2 might be good too, but it's not been around long enough to know how good it is and it's not going to be supported for use with 3rd party apps for mapping or waypoint flying.

If you do get into commercial use, it's good to have two drones using the same batteries, chargers etc to ensure you have a backup when needed.
But you need to get into it first to see if the income potential would justify the expense.

Hi all. first post. I'm a 107 pilot with 200+ hours flying T&D assets with I2. Quoted post is correct, with the caveat that the $$ to be found in flying drones these days is in asset inspection, not real estate. specifically, transmission/distribution lines, and cell tower work. That work pays. a lot. OP, for 107 work, the best choices, as stated in the quoted post, are M2P and P4Pv2. The two major differences are: 4k @60fps with mechanical shutter on P4P vs 4k @30fps with electronic shutter on M2P.

For most gigs you can get by with a Mavic. but for mapping work in particular, or cinematography, and you can't afford an I2, you want the P4Pv2. that mechanical shutter(mapping) and 4k @60fps(cinematography)is gonna be what clients want, even if they don't know they want it. Don't bother with the other choices. Inspire 1 is old. I2 with an X5/X7 is the correct choice on that level, IMO. If you go to the autelpilots forum, you'll see that autel 2's s are having...issues. I wouldn't buy until they're more stable. Good luck with it, whatever you choose.

 

[Phoenix One]

Thats really solid advice. I mentioned a few posts prior i actually ended up coming across a p4p obsidian plus for a great price and jumped on that. Just did a little comparison with the p4p and evo1 on some civil twilight shots of some xmas lights. The p4p blew the Evo out of the water. I was honestly a little surprised. Probably shouldnt have been. Also your advice confirms i need to work on my industrial skills more than weddings and realty even though i believe the market here for those gigs is pretty strong. Here in Nc you have to get a dot certification as well. Maybe that will help more with the inspection side. And things like that. Really the only thing holding me back is myself. I suppose in fear of failure.

 

[dgibbphoto]

And i still went and bought a new drone not long after i posted the thread. A p4p obsidian plus.. Lol got a good deal on it though. Anyone wanna trade for a Evo 2 pro? ?

View attachment 120914

You can't go wrong with the Phantom 4 Pro. Still a relevant drone today. 1"sensor, adjustable f-stops, mechanical shutter, and side sensors...whats not to like?