We have a small farm, occasionally either our horses/dog get loose, or a neighbor's gets loose. I'd like to get the least expensive model needed to be able to fly FPV and spot a horse or 50 lb dog, no need for high def video or extensive flight features. I've flown cheap drones line of sight so I know how to fly, but never had FPV or anything with a gimbal. I'm thinking something like the Air or Mavic. I'd like something that can range 1/2 mile or more to make it a practical tool for searching for animals that can move fast, and has sufficient connectivity that the response is not jerky. I looked at the dji website but couldn't find any way to get a gross comparison of features like flight time, cost, FPV, etc. So it's a bit overwhelming.
Which model to look for animals
- Thread starter MarkL
- Start date
With the release of the Mavic 2 Pro & Zoom models many people are selling their Mavic 1 Pro and Platinums for REALLY good prices.
Yep, both Mavics are great drones at affordable prices now (almost makes me wish I'd waited buying mine... almost). The Air isn't bad, but I believe it lacks in range what the Pro and Platinum have. The Phantom 3 Standard is super cheap, but has even worse range. My vote would be Mavic Pro.
Thanks, I see there are quite a few Mavic I Pro on Craigslist and Ebay. The refurb prices on dji site don't reflect a drop for older Mavics yet, I'll keep an eye on that too.
Mark: We use our P4P+ for filming herds of wild animals.
First, I would question why you need a drone to look for a horse or dog? Won’t the dog, for example, come when called?
Anyway, locating animals from above is easier said than done. The P4P+ is obviously too expensive from what you say. Yet the camera quality is excellent and the integrated screen is much brighter and sharper than a cell/mobile phone normally used as a drone screen. Despite this added high quality, it’s not easy locating a bunch of large animals - and we’re professionals. Movement is the biggest help in finding the beasts, but animals can easily just stand still - and this would especially happen with domesticated animals which are used to human activities. The very wide camera angle doesn’t help because you’re looking at a wide area. “Needle in a haystack” might well be used in summary.
If you want to move forward, I would suggest first doing a trial. Has a friend or near neighbour got a drone? If not, place an advert locally for someone to come and fly over your property.
Again, please don’t underestimate how difficult it is to locate animals from above on a small screen - even when you do have a high quality image and bright/sharp screen. I’m assuming they’re not just on low grass and flat terrain, as might be the case with cows or sheep on a farm/ranch, because simple eyesight would be sufficient. In our case, we rarely have to worry about trees (other than along river banks) - but wild knee-high vegetation on undulating ground nevertheless makes spotting a dozen or so large animals (horse-size) far from easy.
First, I would question why you need a drone to look for a horse or dog? Won’t the dog, for example, come when called?
Anyway, locating animals from above is easier said than done. The P4P+ is obviously too expensive from what you say. Yet the camera quality is excellent and the integrated screen is much brighter and sharper than a cell/mobile phone normally used as a drone screen. Despite this added high quality, it’s not easy locating a bunch of large animals - and we’re professionals. Movement is the biggest help in finding the beasts, but animals can easily just stand still - and this would especially happen with domesticated animals which are used to human activities. The very wide camera angle doesn’t help because you’re looking at a wide area. “Needle in a haystack” might well be used in summary.
If you want to move forward, I would suggest first doing a trial. Has a friend or near neighbour got a drone? If not, place an advert locally for someone to come and fly over your property.
Again, please don’t underestimate how difficult it is to locate animals from above on a small screen - even when you do have a high quality image and bright/sharp screen. I’m assuming they’re not just on low grass and flat terrain, as might be the case with cows or sheep on a farm/ranch, because simple eyesight would be sufficient. In our case, we rarely have to worry about trees (other than along river banks) - but wild knee-high vegetation on undulating ground nevertheless makes spotting a dozen or so large animals (horse-size) far from easy.
I fly a P3Pro in areas of mixed forest and small open fields. I can easily spot elk and bears in open areas but smaller animals are very hard to distinguish. I suggest that instead of a drone you invest in the Marco Polo pet tracker, a very small radio device with excellent battery life. I use the Marco Polo on my dog when mushroom hunting in dense forest -- it could easily be attached to any animal. As "African wildlife" describes, the idea of tracking animals with a drone is attractive but in actual practice it isn't that easy or effective.
I have a p4p pro plus and use it to check my cows from time to time. 100 acres mostly low grass not any thick woods. They are easy to see and i can see my neghbors animals too in thiet pastures. It would be hard to tell mine from theirs if mine got out. I can see my dogs too if kinda close, depends on vegetation and easier if they are moving. Just my 2 cents.
Yesterday afternoon, we were filming a colleague walking along part of our 60+ mile boundary fence. Twice, it was really difficult to locate him or the high game fence - even though this is a filming routine we’ve done a number of times in the past four weeks. It’s very easy to get disoriented - even with the clear/bright P4P+ integrated screen and a very good mind.
Parrot makes a Bebop thermal drone for $1500. It has an infrared sensor that should work for detecting warm blooded animals.
$1500 could also buy a hell of a lot of fencing materials and possibly a contractor or two to erect it.
A refurbed Spark w/ fly more combo or a refurbed P3SE are good affordable options. Both available on DJI's web store for under $500 USD
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