What would you buy for £10k-£15k

[midnight999]

Hi guys, just getting back into multi's after a while out of it and want to get going with a professional rig, what would you buy/ build with a budget of £10-£15k? what flight controller, airframe, gimbal etc and what camera would you want. It would be for professional AP use. How would you say a high level "hobby" type rig like this would compare to say an Asctec Falcon 8 or other commercial unit? Are there any units out there that will geotag your images together with gyro readouts from the IMU's? Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Droider]

Aye Up.. long time no hear, welcome back.

What is your thinking behind gyro read outs etc?
What camera/cameras?

The world of MR's is moving fast. New flight controllers from the likes of FF and DJI are on the horizon.. Just what they are capable of we will have to wait and see. Check out my build thread here for a what I think is a great machine for operating in the UK and is within your budget.

http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?7018-Droiderbuilt-SkyJib-Lite-4x

Dave

 

[Lanzar]

Well Asctec Falcon 8 is realy nothing moret than high level hobby type rig with custom electronics. Same is with Draganfly and many more. I suggest you sweap threw the main questiones.
What i need now and will need later.
Camera weight, flight times, gps, poi flying, telemetry and data recording........

And then work from there.

 

[FerdinandK]

The entry into (whatever level) multicopter is not a one-time invest. If you have a budget of 10K (whatever currency) per year, then I would buy a rig for 5k and save 5k for repairs or renew. Next year it is very likely that you will fly a different copter than this year. Especially in AP, what is new today, can be old crap tomorrow, so your invest should pay of within the first one or two jobs (if you want to do this commercially). If you plan the invest to amortize over let´s say two years, this is the wrong business.

best regards

Ferdinand

 

[midnight999]

Aye Up.. long time no hear, welcome back.

What is your thinking behind gyro read outs etc?
What camera/cameras?

The world of MR's is moving fast. New flight controllers from the likes of FF and DJI are on the horizon.. Just what they are capable of we will have to wait and see. Check out my build thread here for a what I think is a great machine for operating in the UK and is within your budget.

http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?7018-Droiderbuilt-SkyJib-Lite-4x

Dave

Hi Dave, good to see your still flying, how are things.
Main reason for geotagging is for running in software to produce orthophoto's/ DEM's, it used to be a requirement for most of the software to create accurate results.

Lanzar:- With regards flight dynamics etc the Falcon 8 doesn't offer anything over normal rigs, but the software implementation does seem very good.


Ferdinand:- I've quoted my startup budget for a rig prurchase, I have set aside other funds for maintanence etc.

 

[ChrisViperM]

Hi guys, just getting back into multi's after a while out of it and want to get going with a professional rig, what would you buy/ build with a budget of £10-£15k? what flight controller, airframe, gimbal etc and what camera would you want. It would be for professional AP use. How would you say a high level "hobby" type rig like this would compare to say an Asctec Falcon 8 or other commercial unit? Are there any units out there that will geotag your images together with gyro readouts from the IMU's? Thanks for your help guys.

This is what I did:

After a long search, comparing different rigs (mainly Droidworx and Cinestar) I came along this Copter: http://www.multirotorforums.com/sho...-octocopter-quot-KRATOS-quot&highlight=kratos

This is a pic how it looks like before shipping:

View attachment 11823

It includes the frame, legs, detachable arms, LED's, ESC's, Motors, Power Distro Board.....just about everything, exept Flight Control, Props, Lipo's (you can get GensAce from them if you like) and Gimbal. The price for that set-up will be arround 5.000 Euros, which is compared to a similar set-up from Droidworx or Cinestar absolutely great, althought price was not the main reason for my decision.....

The people at Flexacopter (they are in the Netherlands) are just uncomparable helpful and nice....if you want some special modifications (like to use the Droidworx retractable landing gear or possibility to mount a Zenmuse) they would do it for you.....
With the remaining money from your budget you should not have too many troubles to choose a Flight Control and a Gimbal....I am going to use the ZeroUAV YS-X6 since I have it already sitting at home and Flexacopter used it with great success, which makes tuning a lot easier. As for the gimbal, I have a Cinestar 3-Axis Gimbal with Radian gimbal stabilizer at home as well, and since it will take a while until there is a out-of-the-box compareble brushless gimbal avalible, I will hold on to what I have.....once tuned it will give great results....could also mount my Zenmuse gimbal to the Copter....

If this not your type of rig, talk to the guys at kopterworx (http://www.kopterworx.com/) .....they really know what they are talking about and wouldn't sell you anything just to make sales....

As for Geo-tagging, you might have to use a camera with built-in GPS or (depending on your camera) use something like this: http://www.gisteq.com/phototrackr/phototrackr-plus-n.php or this: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2291423,00.asp


Chris

 

[Dewster]

I like Droiworx frames. I think I would go with an X8 or a foldable frame if I could get decent flight times. Having a fancy, expensive rig that only stays in the air three minutes is no fun. It's like having a sports car and a drop of fuel in the tank.

I personally don't want a big rig.

Portable, vibration reducing frame.
Nice FPV camera capable of flying in extreme lighting conditions (day or night)
Tablet/monitor for framing photos or FPV flights and or good video googles.
quality motors that's a nice blend between torque and RPM (and quiet running)
good props that won't self destruct under load
radio & video transmitter/receiver capable of interference free 2km flights
ESCs sufficient to handle operation of the craft (ones that won't fail)
A brushless camera gimbal for cameras similar to Sony Nex in size/quality

Flight controller that's stable, reliable, and easy to set up and use. I like having different flight modes and built in features that support tablet based ground stations.

Telemetry, for battery sake and GPS read out if it ever crashes so I know where to look.

Lipo batteries that are light, have high capacity and discharge rates that are reliable. I wish there was new battery tech to power these machines. I want to keep the craft light enough with gear to sustain an 11-15 minute flight.

Finally, a nice case to transport the craft in an almost or ready to fly state. Carrying a heavy bird through the woods to get a shot of a waterfall is a pain. Lol.

Big Santa list huh?

 

[DucktileMedia]

I'd buy a cheap gopro quad and save the rest for a rainy day. Things are about to severely change with gimbal tech and that is one of the biggest things to focus on now. If you spend $5k+ on a droidworx frame you will no doubt have a quality frame but what are you gonna use for a gimbal? You first need to decide if you need to lift a red/fs700/bmcc and make everything work around that. As there aren't any affordable brushless gimbals for the larger cameras yet you will be sorry in 6 months to find that some company sells the same thing for a thousand bucks. Unfortunately were in a turning point and its not really the best te to buy anything for the larger rigs. Now if you're content using a servo based gimbal you are in luck.

 

[midnight999]

After much consideration I have decided to go with an S800 with Zenmuse gimbal, would you say the Sony nex7 is a big improvement over the nex5n, also what transmitter is good for having all the functions for 1 man operation, maybe with remote gains etc.

 

[ChrisViperM]

You are a free person and can do what you want....but did you actually read any of the treads concerning all the issues with the S800 / Zenmuse / Wookong M ?????


From all Copters avalible, this would be the worst choice....rather take that money and throw the hell of a party.....or just burn it.



Chris

 

[Carapau]

Hi Midnight999, I see you are hoping to do everything as a one man band. Just be aware that if you wish to get your BNUC-S, you will need to operate as a two man band- they don't like the pilot also operating the camera. Just some food for thought. Please don't take me for being a pain in the backside, just hoping to ensure that you press the button on the right setup as it is an expensive mistake to get it wrong. All the best.

 

[midnight999]

Hi Chris, to be honest I haven't had a great deal of time to run back through everything yet, what are the biggest issues with the S800, how would a cinestar 6 with WKM and the cinestar gimbal compare?

Carapau, thanks for the advice, I looked into doing this a couple of years ago when I had my last hexa, didn't realise it would be an issue will they simply not pass you if you have 1 man operation, what if you were running commercial equipment like the Asctec Falcon or Aibot X6 that are both 1 man operation?

 

[Carapau]

Doesnt matter what equipment you use. The reason behind it is that as a pilot you need to be focused on piloting the craft, not taking your concentration off and focusing it elsewhere. There is also the need to keep an eye out for other aircraft and other dangers. If you are trying to operate both the camera and aircraft, you just wont be able to keep the situational awareness that you need. That's the thinking behind it anyhow and I have to say that it makes huge sense. I know that 'auto pilots' such as the WKM are getting better by the day but look at commercial planes and the sophistication they have and they still go wrong.

 

[midnight999]

Wow, imagine how youd feel if you shelled out £33k on the Aibot and found out you couldn't get a licence with it

 

[Droider]

After much consideration I have decided to go with an S800 with Zenmuse gimbal, would you say the Sony nex7 is a big improvement over the nex5n, also what transmitter is good for having all the functions for 1 man operation, maybe with remote gains etc.

DONT DO IT!!!!!

Chris is bob on....

 

[Droider]

Hi Midnight999, I see you are hoping to do everything as a one man band. Just be aware that if you wish to get your BNUC-S, you will need to operate as a two man band- they don't like the pilot also operating the camera. Just some food for thought. Please don't take me for being a pain in the backside, just hoping to ensure that you press the button on the right setup as it is an expensive mistake to get it wrong. All the best.

EH! that aint correct, sorry.

There is nothing in any CAA documentation saying you cant operate as a single person.

Dave

 

[midnight999]

DONT DO IT!!!!!

Chris is bob on....

Whats the main issues Dave? been trying to trawl through everything but there's loads to read and I need to make a decision soon. What about a cinestar 6, can that carry a Zenmuse, whats your opinion of nex 7 or nex 5n?

 

[Carapau]

There is nothing in any CAA documentation saying you cant operate as a single person.

Absolutley correct- but you wont get your manual approved if trying to do it all on your own. You can operate as a single person providing that you get someone on location to operate the camera for you providing they have had a good brief- or at least that is how I understand it. I'm very happy to be corrected if I am wrong but at least we are discussing this before his purchase not after!!!!

 

[swisser]

but you wont get your manual approved if trying to do it all on your own

I did, so I'd say that's not correct.

midnight999 I think to get the most useful answers to your questions you need to provide more information. What do you need to lift? And what do you need to do with it? Stills? Video? And as for Nex 5n versus a 7, why do you think you might need one or the other? What matters to you?

 

[midnight999]

I did, so I'd say that's not correct.

midnight999 I think to get the most useful answers to your questions you need to provide more information. What do you need to lift? And what do you need to do with it? Stills? Video? And as for Nex 5n versus a 7, why do you think you might need one or the other? What matters to you?

Hi Swisser, all I need is a rig for construction progress photography and real estate photography, Nex 5 type camera should be fine but if the nex7 is considerably better then I would rather go for that.