Is the DJI F550 a good choice?

R

Rourke

New Member
Hey guys my name is Rourke and this is my first time posting on this forum.
I have a few questions,
So I want to get into arial photography, but I don't know what air frame to start with. I like the looks of the DJI f550 because it is priced well, it seems like a popular airframe, I like that there are a lot of options, and finally I can order it from my job using my discount. What do you guys think? Should I bite the bullet, or go a different route?

Thanks.

FYI: I have experience with a tricopter using the kk2.0 board.
 

R

Rourke

New Member
I also want to say that I will be doing photography for some people and also I wouldn't mind slapping some fpv gear on it for some fun once I get everything flying well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:


W

W. Reimer

Member
Do you have any multi-rotor experience at all? If you're completely new to the whole thing, the 550 would serve you quite well
for a fairly long while. The biggest obstacle is that you will have a pretty steep learning curve at the start, as well as the inevitable
crashed that may cause more frustration than you're willing to deal with.
Have you considered a quad at all for a beginner airframe? A Phantom, or a 450? They are smaller, give you great stability, are good value
too. You have a relatively sophisticated aircraft in the 550, and by the time you have it in the air, there's a good bit of Money tied up.
 


P

PeterLester

Member
It is a good choice relatively speaking but I found it a challenge to get decent flight time after adding all the extra components especially the GoPro3 camera and 2 axis servo gimbal system. The Brushless gimbals systems are significantly heavier. So plan on getting motor arm extenders, larger motors and props and moving up a couple of battery sizes to regain good flight time. For RTF systms , the Phantom systems can do it all with better flight times.
 

J

Jaybeast

Member
PeterLester said:
It is a good choice relatively speaking but I found it a challenge to get decent flight time after adding all the extra components especially the GoPro3 camera and 2 axis servo gimbal system. The Brushless gimbals systems are significantly heavier. So plan on getting motor arm extenders, larger motors and props and moving up a couple of battery sizes to regain good flight time. For RTF systms , the Phantom systems can do it all with better flight times.
Click to expand...

Totally agree about the arm extensions. I added the extended aluminum arms from ReadyMade RC to my F550 as well upgraded the motors. It's essentially a 650 now. With 12" props, 2 3S 4000mah lipos in parallel and AUW of 3kg I get over 12 minute flight times. Included on my rig are a Gaui crane 3 gimbal for a Sony Nex 5, and Immersion FPV cam and tx. Very happy with the performance overall.
 

LeeT

LeeT

Wannabe AP Dude
Jaybeast said:
Totally agree about the arm extensions. I added the extended aluminum arms from ReadyMade RC to my F550 as well upgraded the motors. It's essentially a 650 now. With 12" props, 2 3S 4000mah lipos in parallel and AUW of 3kg I get over 12 minute flight times. Included on my rig are a Gaui crane 3 gimbal for a Sony Nex 5, and Immersion FPV cam and tx. Very happy with the performance overall.
Click to expand...

I need to upgrade my motors as well. If you don't mind saying which motors did you go with?

Thanks.
 

gtranquilla

gtranquilla

RadioActive
I did not make the best choice on the motors as I did not realize it was better to get the KV down when using larger diameter props. But more recently I went down the following path....
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/..._4822_570Kv_22Pole_Multi_Rotor_Outrunner.html

Use eCalc for Multirotors to get it all right the first time or be prepared to own some mismatched items etc.

Eventually I ended up with my F550 converted up to the following 800mm motor arm length to handle much larger props for greater efficiency.... The 800mm airframe cost me only $65!!!:View attachment 17770
 

Attachments

  • RCT800.jpg
    RCT800.jpg
    151.3 KB · Views: 340

You must log in or register to reply here.
Top