Quad, Hexa, or Octo

N

Nick L.

New Member
I am planning to build my first multi-rotor copter and I plan to put a gimbal with a DSLR on it. I have been looking around for a couple of days and can't find any good answer to how many rotors I should have.

What I have have learned so far is that it is recommended I go with Hexa or Octo because of the motor failure protection since I'm going to be strapping a $2000 camera+gimbal to the bottom.

One last thing to note is that the camera and gimbal I plan on using will weigh just under 2800 grams.

What do you think the best multi-rotor setup for me would be and why?
 

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
I was in the same spot over 3 years ago. Against the advice of many on this forum, I built an x8 to carry a gh3 or 5d. the 5d turned out to be a bit heavy, although it flew fine with the gh3.

I know own 8 multirotors and way too many gimbals. About 4 months into my flying the first x8, I built a small 450 quad with gopro and Naza v2. Smartest thing I did. Should have listened to peeps and started that way. I got more flying and experience with this one. The next year I took apart the first x8 and built a 2nd x8 the correct way.

The biggest advice (experience) I can relay is that with the bigger unit and good camera, it was nerve racking. Very stressful and overall, I was so careful, I didn't get much flying experience. Once I got the smaller unit with gopro, I flew many more hours getting valuable experience and confidence.

To this day, I still fly that little guy for fun. For halloween, as per my photo pic, it turns into a lit Halloween ghost.

You certainly can go with an octo, x8, or hex to start and carry a couple grand worth of gimbal and camera, but from my sperspective, that's not the best way to go. Waiting a few months while you get some flying experience on a smaller unit is only going to benefit you and help you build or buy the best MR for your needs.
 

John Doecliff

John Doecliff

Member
I second jfro's comments. I think a hex that has 12" props would be too small for what you want. So you will have to go larger than a 680mm. You need a larger hex or octo to carry a DLSR but the bigger you go the cost goes up exponentially as well. Also there are numerous little decisions to be made during the build, what battery, what kind of connectors, what's the best way to mount or power this and that? All good things that you learn during previous builds. Jumping in big for your first time will make some of those decisions a little harder. I'm not saying don't do it, if that's what you want then go for it. Just realize that you may not be 100% satisfied or successful the first time around. My first build was a flamewheel 450 then I rebuilt a pair of used walkera turbo aces, I built a Tarot 680 and I'm currently building a Tarot 960. The flamewheel took a year to complete, It was crashed and entirely rebuilt and redesigned and changed around more than once during that year, I learned a lot. The 680 went through the same process and I'm still not satisfied with the gimbal setup and I have rearranged the battery mount at least 4 times. Along the way you discover what works and what doesn't.
 



N

Nick L.

New Member
Thanks for the help. I have decided to build medium to small Quadcopter to learn how to how to fly and maybe do some FPV racing and then build a Hexeacopter at a latter date.
 



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