Please select Into the mobile phone version | Continue to access the computer ver.
OK, It's Time to Buy the Bird -
12Next >
3986 64 2015-3-24
Uploading and Loding Picture ...(0/1)
o(^-^)o
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

I have been researching for two months straight, I came up with a solid business plan, got a 10k loan, and now I'm ready to buy everything I need for my Start-Up.

I live in Chicago, IL U.S.A.

I'm not sure where to buy yet and would like some feedback from non-sponsors -

Here is what I learned so far about the I1


1) - Most everyone trustworthy has the same price -

2) - An rcgrouper posted that there is an "A" version and a "B" version.
One has ugly, prototype looking carbon fiber arms, while the other has that nice checkered look to it.
(which one is which?)

3) - some guys report lenses in the camera box, but the early adopters ........... "no soup for you!"
      (is there a build date on the inspire BOX, a before and after date to have customer service look for?, I want lenses)

4) - Most importantly please give me some feedback on who to buy it from and why?
      Obvious important factors are longest no hassle return, customer service, replacement parts, (and things I might not be thinking about).
      I like Amazon cause I'll sign up for Prime and get everything I order in two days, (and I have lots of stuff to get as you ALL know).

      I want the duel controller package, and when I look around, I see "package deals" here and there, (but their pics don't show everything sometimes).
      This looks like a good deal (free sd card) but I don't see a lense in the pic and I don't see any extra props, (all I1 come with 8 total props correct?)
       http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... smid=A36VT43W2I07N0
      If I can get any advice from you guys on where to buy I would be eternally grateful -

  5) - I have decided on two NVidia Shields as they are half the price as Air2, have built in screen recording, hdmi out, and don't crash mid-flight like ios.
        (I understand the ios app is nicer/more features but that's all it has going for it as they are both pretty lag free)
       My question is, are there any current sales going on, which cables should I purchase? sunscreen?

  6) - I plan on getting this PC unless someone here has had a bad experience with it I should know about? (or any feedback, even good).
         http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... ;smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

  7) - So that's it for now, unless you guys wanna start telling me about all the stuff I'm probably forgetting -




Bob   



HONK if you like my avatar!

  
        
      
      


2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Serious talk, Bob. What type of work are you planning to do with your I1?
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

jonlip Posted at 2015-3-25 12:39
Serious talk, Bob. What type of work are you planning to do with your I1?


1st, I love ur avatar, awesome decals.

Well Jon, I have a ton of ideas and don't know where the sweet spot is gonna be.
My plans were to hit the many local farms out here. I'm sure the farmers would love to have a look at their fields after the snow melt and spring rains to easily see where the trouble spots are at, as well as monitor growth, etc through out the season.  Real estate of course. Gonna hit all the municipalities around here. Lots of transmitters on water towers that may need a looking at when there's trouble. Waterparks, Golf courses, ski resorts, fishing resorts, and I have more idea written down. Sorry I can't narrow it down for you, but I'm more than happy to listen to whatever you have to say about any of it -
2015-3-24
Use props
Colonel Angus
Second Officer

United States
Offline

Do  it Bob and pick up those goggles fast too
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

Colonel Angus Posted at 2015-3-25 12:53
Do  it Bob and pick up those goggles fast too

I'm definitely getting the Cinimizers, (I had them budgeted and after the feedback I received on this site, definitely!).
2015-3-24
Use props
dundee
Captain
Flight distance : 33550 ft

Thailand
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 12:59
I'm definitely getting the Cinimizers, (I had them budgeted and after the feedback I received on t ...

Think about 2 different tablets, IOS and Android.
I use Ipad Air and Samsung Galaxy TabS. Both 10.5 inch

Why ?
If there are issues with 1, you still have the other to work with.

Example:
The community is still waiting for the android simulator.
Apple can be naughty some times, so good to have an android.

Its not so bad idea if you think about it

2015-3-24
Use props
bornish
lvl.4
Flight distance : 91447 ft
United Arab Emirates
Offline

Hi Bob!
I am not in US so can't recommend a dealer for any of the purchases.
Indeed, there were 2 versions but like you have said already, all I know they only differ in the pattern of the carbon fiber. The one with the "army" pattern seems to be the newer one, but I don't think it has better resistance or any other improvements, thus should be safe to get any of them. I actually think you won't be able to find the first kind (no pattern) as the demand was so high for this bird that those batches were sold right away. In most countries, people had to wait for DJI to deliver 1-2 months, even with full payment made. Make sure they give you prop locks! When I got my bird it did not come with prop locks inside the box, but the dealer gave me a free set later when they arrived. It seems that DJI has delivered them in next shipments for free to all dealers.
What should be in the box:
- aircraft
- 2 remotes (since you want dual set) already paired; both have the phone / tablet mounting on them
- 1 TB47 battery
- 2x4 props (4 black and 4 silver)
- 6 prop locks
- 2 MicroUSB cables (no lightning cable for apple products)
- 1 home-charger
- 1 cable for charging remote from aircraft battery (assuming you have spare ones in the field and no way to charge the remote)
- camera box containing, obviously the camera with attaching gimbal (gimbal electronics are covered with a plastic cap), the 16 Gb 600x Micro-SD card inserted in the camera, an UV filter and the ND filter (one filter is already mounted on the camera while the other is in a protective polyester bag); you have mentioned extra lenses but these are filters, not lenses
- small carton box with some manuals and 2 sticker pads for storing batteries on long term
I hope I haven't forgot anything.
I recommend you getting 2 additional TB48 batteries and an extra home-charger. It seems DJI delivers additional home-chargers without the wire part that goes to the wall socket, thus you need to visit the local hardware store for one or borrow from an old lamp or other home appliance with a similar 2 connector plug.
I have no comments on NVidia Shields. I use Android devices too, but haven't tried these ones. Android 5.0 has built in screen recording and Android 4.4 has support for it without the need to root the device. I would recommend any Android phone / tablet with anti reflective glass retina display with minimum HD resolution. Try getting one that supports OTG and you will be able to review the footage immediately after the flight simply by inserting the micro SD in an USB card reader plugged into the phone tablet with a 2$ OTG cable (looks like an adapter cable with male micro-USB on one side and female USB on the other side). Great for sharing a few snapshots right after the flight, without the need of a PC.
Regarding the laptop... my vote is NO! These are the reasons:
- I do not trust any Dell product
- at half the price you should be able to find one sufficient for your needs
- find one with SSD or get the dealer to swap the HDD for an extra charge; recommended size at aprox 500 Gb SSD
- i7 processor would be a waste of battery life; i5 processor should be sufficient for your needs and you  will have a much slimmer, lighter, more battery laptop
- couldn't find any details on the graphics card and this is one of the most important component for processing data captured with I1
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Bogdan
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

dundee Posted at 2015-3-25 13:28
Think about 2 different tablets, IOS and Android.
I use Ipad Air and Samsung Galaxy TabS. Both 10. ...


Man, I have had every iphone up til 5s and really don't wanna get sucked back into apple, BUT .......
you make a good point Dundee, I'll give it some thought. thx
2015-3-24
Use props
dundee
Captain
Flight distance : 33550 ft

Thailand
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 13:33
Man, I have had every iphone up til 5s and really don't wanna get sucked back into apple, BUT .... ...

Hi Bob, also think a bit about charging yr batteries.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=10240

This works very well for me although i'm working on a 3D print holster for this
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

bornish@gmail.c Posted at 2015-3-25 13:30
Hi Bob!
I am not in US so can't recommend a dealer for any of the purchases.
Indeed, there were 2 ve ...

Thanks Bogdan for that wealth of info -

I meant filters, (not lenses)


Let's talk PC please, cause I researched my butt off and you have concerns -

Firstly, my research tells me that an i7 is gonna be way faster rendering HD and 4k than i5.
Since we are talking present moving to the future why would I not want 3.36ghz i7-4712 HQ ?

Secondly, I have been really fighting myself over the choice of drive.
I have researched and fully understand both drives and how they work.
I was really on the fence between the higher speed 500g SSD or the much roomier 1000gHDD
Do you think the SSD is worth giving up all that extra storage, (HD and 4k files are huge). If you really think so, I'll do it.


This machine is high end with GeForce GT750m 2g video card and the price is up there because of the outstanding 3200x1800 4K touch screen. I know I don't NEED the screen, but it will sure be nice to edit 4k vid and then be able to see what it looks like.

So please tell me why ur so adamant about the SSD vs the much bigger/slower HDD and please post a link or two of the machines you would recommend. (I am ordering tomorrow and need to make a final decision).

thx again for all replies
2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 12:48
1st, I love ur avatar, awesome decals.

Well Jon, I have a ton of ideas and don't know where the s ...

Cool, its sounds like you're doing lots of research and taking this exciting new venture seriously and methodically. However, I'd like you and others with similar prospectives to consider this before buying a I1: As of right now with the Inspire you only have ONE lens. A fixed 20mm focal length. That is ALL. This is great for some cool scenic wide shots and sure you can just fly lower or closer in lieu of a longer lens but I PROMISE that you will very quickly realize its limitations only after you drop a substantial amout of $$$...
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

dundee Posted at 2015-3-25 13:46
Hi Bob, also think a bit about charging yr batteries.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthre ...


Oh, I have, and I caused quite a stir over on rcg last month when I told everyone the power supply was weaker than chit and I was going to do something about it.  "OMG cutting and soldering", (I was flamed of course) - lol.
Then Adam's video surfaces and cut/solder is now ok - lol.
I will be making my own power supply system, and if I have to sacrifice the tb47 to find the sweet spot, so be it!
(but I will indeed find the sweet spot and ill be charging all 4 of my tb48's in about 40 minutes!)
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

jonlip Posted at 2015-3-25 14:22
As of right now with the Inspire you only have ONE lens. A fixed 20mm focal length. That is ALL....


Yes, I understand that, but I have a budget.
I researched the octo's and the nice cameras, but it's the all-in-one I1 that had me put together a good solid business start-up plan for only 10k that secured the loan for start-up
What are my other options with only 10k?
2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 14:33
Yes, I understand that, but I have a budget.
I researched the octo's and the nice cameras, but it' ...

Get your business rolling with a Phantom and a GoPro, spend less up front. Learn to shoot well, edit and start building a name for yourself in your community.
2015-3-24
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Bob, don't buy a computer for the memory, if you are doing photo and video work you will want a fast processor and lots of ram with a real good video card. Store all your shots and clips on an external hard drive. You will not burden your computer as much.
As for the loan thing.... Hmm. Not sure I would have done that but. You may find the ROE on quad businesses is not as good as you initially thought but hey you could be on to something. My wife is a pro photographer, prefers film stock but now has to use digital. She will be doing the majority of my camera work. But having watched her work I can say this, it ain't the gear. She has the ability to see things and capture stuff that is invisible to normal man. And then there is the post production, this is an art in itself. And then the legal bits, don't think you can overlook this aspect of it, you will get bitten. There is copywrite law and photo release documents, invoicing and tax law assuming you want businesses to hire you? They will also require insurance for liability. The shoot you took a day to do will require at least that in post and then you may need royalty free music, don't want to get sued now. Honestly, most folks get one of these things thinking they are gonna pay for it with jobs and end up with a really cool, very expensive toy. Have fun though and you will have fun.
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

jonlip Posted at 2015-3-25 14:47
Get your business rolling with a Phantom and a GoPro, spend less up front. Learn to shoot well, ed ...

That's child's play dude. The I1 blows that kiddie chit away.
I have been shooting rc aerial pics and vids for over 15 years now so I know what's up.
I am also an expert rc pilot with a crap load of experience and I can tell you that the phantom is a weak little toy compared to the powerful Inspire, (these birds are apples and oranges my friend).
The I1 is extremely impressive even if it's firmware and reps are not. This bird will fly and grab shots that the big octo's can't get to. I have seen a TON of high quality video from guys on this site, (and others) and the camera system will only get better as it's the ONLY thing modular, (save the lipo packs).

I appreciate your time jon but I passed right on by the phantom as I researched, (wouldn't have even considered starting this business with it). It wasn't til I found the Inspire that I decided to go for it -
2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Bob, the I1 is a floating tripod and to be honest, the camera isn't that great. Im just trying to help you out my man! Good luck!
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

Dangair Posted at 2015-3-25 14:53
Bob, don't buy a computer for the memory, if you are doing photo and video work you will want a fast ...


You mean "storage". I'm going to get the 500g SSD. I was on the fence and Bondan swayed me.

I appreciate ur advice as negative as it was ("don't do it" is what I am getting from your post), but ........ I was the one who researched this business model, not you, so only one of us knows what's really up. I have everything covered my friend, applied for my LLC yesterday, applied for my 333 exemption today, have my insurance all set up with 1m in liability and theft/crash coverage for all my gear up to 10k with a 10% deductible. Gonna register my I1 with the FAA and get my N number (as soon as I have a serial number for them). This is something I'm going to do, and I will succeed at it. I know that your heart is good and you are just telling me how you feel and offering ur advice, again, thx, I appreciate it. Please do me a favor and read this thread I started. Anyone who is going to talk about the "rules" should actually know what they are, and I fear you do not. Check out this thread, it is very interesting reading, and when you are done reading it, you will know what the rules are. (Don't "skim" it, read it. You will thank me I promise).

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... amp;page=1#pid79511
2015-3-24
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

jonlip Posted at 2015-3-25 15:16
Bob, the I1 is a floating tripod and to be honest, the camera isn't that great. Im just trying to help you out my man! Good luck!...


I'm sorry jon, please don't leave mad.
No one is gonna convince me the Phantom + GoPro is a better option than the Inspire and it's 4k camera.
(it may not be a Big Red, but it'll get my foot into a lot of doors). thx again, don't be mad.


I really wish someone would comment on the topic of "Where should I buy this Bird" - lol
2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 15:31
I'm sorry jon, please don't leave mad.
No one is gonna convince me the Phantom + GoPro is a bette ...

Haha I'm not mad at all, bob.

I'm excited for you and can't wait to see what you create!

2015-3-24
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 15:25
You mean "storage". I'm going to get the 500g SSD. I was on the fence and Bondan swayed me.

I app ...

Those rules don't apply to me I am Canadian. It's cool bro go hard I'm on your side. You've done your homework. As a business man myself I borrowed money too, but my ROE was instant and fairly decent. It enabled me to buy things like this for cash and not need to make a profit from it. Instead I can enjoy the process and not worry about smashing my $10,000 dollar bank loan into a tree and potentially not be able to earn an income with it. I come from a different angle when it comes to making money that's all. I like a sure thing and so I can buy seasons skiing passes for my kids and big boy toys for me. Perhaps I was trying to suggest you may be putting the cart before the horse in a business sense. However, I do know a lady in Calgary that has put some serious money into quads and stuff but she quickly realized there was better money selling them packaged with licensing to farmers etc than actually flying them.
2015-3-24
Use props
dundee
Captain
Flight distance : 33550 ft

Thailand
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 14:22
Oh, I have, and I caused quite a stir over on rcg last month when I told everyone the power supply ...

Wrong link you posted i think, but anyways, i hope you keep me posted
on that sweet spot you talk about.  
2015-3-24
Use props
jonlip
lvl.1
United States
Offline

One last thing Bob, when your first big client asks you to get in a little tighter on your subject, pull some heavy parallax moves and fuck it, shoot wide open to get some creamy bokeh too... What are you gonna do? Show them your business plan and LLC certificate?
2015-3-25
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Let me break it down for you in another way. The average price paid here in Canada for a realestate photo is between $150 -$ 200 the average film footage paid by agents here at the lake $500. Let's just look at the time and fuel to drive there, do the shoot come back to home and process. A day for a photo maybe more for video. $500 ? You won't get video all the time. It will take 20 video shoots to pay your loan back and another for the interest. You haven't eaten yet or payed the car or the mortgage or the broken shit. Meanwhile I buy a lawn mower and trailer and a blower and rake and a weed eater for $4,500 bucks and charge a buck a minute to do lawns, that's $60 bucks an hour for an 8 hour day = $480 . The ROE or return on investment is way higher almost double actually even more because the original outlay was half your 10 grand. Also any one of my peices of gear can break and be replaced today at way less cost. I started my business doing lawn care and then started a tree service. Now we don't do lawns anymore, but two people mowing and blowing can easily do $ 800 a day no problem. Then you buy your Inspire 1
2015-3-25
Use props
bornish
lvl.4
Flight distance : 91447 ft
United Arab Emirates
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 14:08
Thanks Bogdan for that wealth of info -

I meant filters, (not lenses)

Bob,
I have used an i7 for a couple of years and noticed that not very often I was really using all 8 cores.
Even well written multi-threaded software would rarely take advantage of 8 cores over 6 cores, thus i5 would most likely provide close performance to an i7. Of course assuming that all the rest of the hardware is the same and the i5 processor is the latest generation offering a 2.8 Ghz (upto 3.2 Ghz with turbo boost). By all means, if you can find an i7 laptop that is slim, light and has great battery life (6-10 hours)... buy it. But you have much better chances in finding an i5 with all these benefits and will do the job just fine.
The SSD is a great investment. Once you start using one you will never go back to HDD. Lately, SSDs came also in different flavors and used to be very expensive (the first one I have purchased was costing as much as a laptop). Recently the prices dropped and only the "professional" ones would cost a fortune, but again you do not need them. The regular ones would speed your entire machine hugely compared to a HDD. Why? Because their speed is comparable to DDR3 memory (the ones I have are faster than my RAM) and also because your OS will not need to run in the background a lot of services like "File Indexing" as needed when running on HDD. Note that when you clone a HDD to a SSD and swap them, you should either re-install the OS (new laptop with no personal data yet) or tweak the OS configuration to be optimized for SSD which is what the OS would setup on installation on SSD drive. There're plenty of tutorials on how to tweak the OS after exchanging the HDD with SSD. When you need the extra storage for your videos, simply get external USB 3.0 HDDs. They are cheap and keep your data safer. Having the OS and all the software run from an SSD will make everything run extremely faster. Software, libraries, drivers are also loaded from the faster SSD and is much more important than loading your videos. Power on and shutdown your PC will take a few seconds... hibernation function is useless when you have an SSD. A 500 Gb SSD should be under 200$ and should be enough space for a huge number of software and data to work with.
The NVidia card on that Dell machine is great in my opinion. Do not look only at the dedicated memory of the GPU; number of cores, core speed, memory bus also reflect in the overall performance of the card. Check also the supported features of the card, for example CUDA support of NVidia cards. On this chapter, simply try to get the most advanced one and your cash is well spent.
Regarding the monitor of that Dell, my personal opinion is that you are going to waste the money for nothing useful. Touch screen is nice but useless (in fact I prefer keyboard over mouse most times and definitely prefer mouse over touch). The 4K resolution for a laptop screen is redundant. I own a phone (similar size with iPhone 6 Plus) with Full HD resolution and from experience I can tell you that it does not make sense to have so many pixels on a small screen. Is nice to use Team Viewer on that phone, but the same effect I would get when scaling a Full HD screen of a PC on an HD screen of a phone. The eye would never be able to see the difference. That is why Apple invented the term: Retina Display (means small enough pixels for the eye to not notice any further improvement). If you do not own a 4K TV in your home, that would be a much better investment to make. Get a 55 inches or more 4K TV with 3D (actually stereoscopic support) and great 120 Hz frequency (ignore the dynamic 1 mil Hz which is another BS). These also are very affordable these days and hooking up your laptop to it would really make a difference.
Buying a laptop could be as difficult as buying a car. It depends on what you need it for; should be reliable and affordable; too many options and too many models to choose from; cannot ever find one that really has everything you need, but taking your time searching before purchase should give you an option for something you can settle with; some customization can be done after purchase, and as long as you don't need to change the engine, transmission or other core components, you can still consider it the best choice.
Regards,
Bogdan
2015-3-25
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Sounds kinda preachy but hey, I had a regular job too and decided the $25 buck an hour thing wasn't gonna cut it. I worked on an oil rig and the 10 grand a month thing away from my family also wasn't gonna cut it. So I had to create my world and that's just what I did. Now you can say don't tell me this and that but I will tell you one thing, it ain't about the money. If you really love what your doing GO FOR IT! But do it smartly. Stay away from debt its a black frikin hole man. Time is money but I realized something a few years back, when someone asks you how much you want to be paid for your services? what you should ask yourself isHow much do I want to sell my heartbeats for? If I were to sell chunks of my life here on earth what price would I ask? I can tell you my time ain't cheap!
2015-3-25
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

bornish@gmail.c Posted at 2015-3-25 16:11
Bob,
I have used an i7 for a couple of years and noticed that not very often I was really using all ...

WOW, thanks for the great info, again, much appreciated.
Here is what I decided to do after soaking up all your valuable info ........

1) - I'm going with your idea getting the 500g SSD (and ditch the 1000g HDD)

2) - I'm going against your idea of i5 and getting i7. IF the i5 is adequate now, it will not be in 3 yrs. Most folks keep their computers 4+ yrs and it's my advice to buy the best specs you can afford, (like u recommending SSD over HDD).

3) - I have been on the fence between 4k screen and standard HD. I can see the difference between my Note3 and Note4  (standard HD vs 4k). I will go to Best Buy today and get a "hands on" look at all the different screens B4 I order. I'll post my decision when I make it in case anyone is curious -


Thxs for all ur time and valuable info - much appreciated.


2015-3-25
Use props
capalvch
lvl.4
Flight distance : 71125 ft
Venezuela
Offline

I bought it with amazon prime sold by sonic copters. Delivery on time. Service of sonic copter excellent!. (Mine came without the prop locks, so I email them and they sent me 6 for free in an overnight service.)
2015-3-25
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

capalvch@gmail. Posted at 2015-3-26 06:22
I bought it with amazon prime sold by sonic copters. Delivery on time. Service of sonic copter excel ...


OMG, someone actually answered the original question. lol

Thank you Sir, I will do just that tonight, thx again -

Anyone have any advice on anything else, (I have yet to order anything yet)
2015-3-25
Use props
arunmehta
Second Officer
Flight distance : 120909757 ft
  • >>>
Canada
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-26 06:29
OMG, someone actually answered the original question. lol

Thank you Sir, I will do just that ...

Coptershop.com......i recommend them highly next day delivery to Canada....faster than canadians
2015-3-25
Use props
bostonlines
lvl.4
Flight distance : 1045558 ft
United States
Offline

Hey Bob. Do you have any videography experience wrt clients paying you for your work?  Do you have a demo reel?   I agree with Jon in that all the gucci equipment and a solid business plan will never overcome the lack of a good eye.  I'm only trying to manage your expectations when it comes to this business. It took me several years and lots of networking to get where I am. I do this as a hobby for the most part, but I have steady clients who give me enough work to keep me busy 1 or 2 days out of the week.  Good luck to you and remember to never give up.
2015-3-25
Use props
Chris Con
Second Officer
Flight distance : 501175 ft
United States
Offline

1)- Most everyone trustworthy has the same price -
I purchased from coptershop.com . They are awesome. Multicopterwarehouse.com and 1uas.com are also all highly rated.

2) - An rcgrouper posted that there is an "A" version and a "B" version.
One has ugly, prototype looking carbon fiber arms, while the other has that nice checkered look to it.
(which one is which?)
Version A has the the traditional checkered carbon fiber pattern. Version B has the army/prototype pattern. The version is listed on the box so you can specifically ask the seller for whichever type you prefer.

3) - some guys report lenses in the camera box, but the early adopters ........... "no soup for you!"
       (is there a build date on the inspire BOX, a before and after date to have customer service look for?, I want lenses)
All Inspire 1s ship with an ND Filter (lens). The newer ones come with a protective case for the ND filter. No real difference.
4) - Most importantly please give me some feedback on who to buy it from and why?
       Obvious important factors are longest no hassle return, customer service, replacement parts, (and things I might not be thinking about).
       I like Amazon cause I'll sign up for Prime and get everything I order in two days, (and I have lots of stuff to get as you ALL know).
Resons to buy from certain vendors - Amazon.com - They will take a return in 30 days with no questions asked (you have to buy from amazon directly and not a third party vendor on amazon) and even pay for shipping on the return. They are by far the easiest vendor to deal with for returns.   Coptershop- Super fast shipping. You can call and ask for the version you want. Multicopterwarehouse- They stock more parts than nearly all other vendors.  Coptershop and Multicopterwarehouse also won't charge tax if you are shipping out of state in the US. Do not buy from DJI. Ever.

       I want the duel controller package, and when I look around, I see "package deals" here and there, (but their pics don't show everything sometimes).
       This looks like a good deal (free sd card) but I don't see a lense in the pic and I don't see any extra props, (all I1 come with 8 total props correct?)
        http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... smid=A36VT43W2I07N0
       If I can get any advice from you guys on where to buy I would be eternally grateful -
Buy your add-ons seperately

  5) - I have decided on two NVidia Shields as they are half the price as Air2, have built in screen recording, hdmi out, and don't crash mid-flight like ios.
         (I understand the ios app is nicer/more features but that's all it has going for it as they are both pretty lag free)
        My question is, are there any current sales going on, which cables should I purchase? sunscreen?
Going completely different with this. Buy the Air1 on ebay. It actually doesn't crash like  the air 2 and sells as cheaply as the NVidia shield. Best version of the app for around the same price. Regarding accessories. I have the hoodi. I don't like it. It keeps falling off. Other people love them here.

-chris


2015-3-25
Use props
Chris Con
Second Officer
Flight distance : 501175 ft
United States
Offline

Bob Marley Posted at 2015-3-25 12:48
1st, I love ur avatar, awesome decals.

Well Jon, I have a ton of ideas and don't know where the s ...

Regarding Agriculture- This is what I do for a living.  I own a garden center in the Hamptons that specializes in rare, ornamental trees and shrubs.  I visited three farms today and deal with growers on a daily basis.  I honestly think it will be hard for you to fine a toehold in that industry.  The farmers that are interested in using drone footage to monitor crop problems and successes are also the ones that are purchasing UAVs themselves. They want to be able to fly over certain areas at very particular intervals and they also "know what they are looking for".  It's more worthwhile for them to purchase a machine and learn how to use it then try to interface with a third party that is unfamiliar with their crops.   

Hope this makes sense. Good luck with it though.  I think your sweet spot is going to be aerial photography (real estate, weddings, etc) and not specialized things like crop monitoring or water tower/power line checking. These industries just make more sense for the user to buy their own UAV.
2015-3-25
Use props
arunmehta
Second Officer
Flight distance : 120909757 ft
  • >>>
Canada
Offline

For better return policy buy from B&H photo video NY NY.. MY first one with "problems" was taken back within 30 days for full refund
2015-3-25
Use props
jhogge
lvl.3

United States
Offline

I have done business with both coptershop and multicopterwarehouse. Both impressed me with the speed and level of communication. Excellent customer service from both.
2015-3-26
Use props
doug
lvl.3
Flight distance : 1897198 ft
United States
Offline

bostonlines@gma Posted at 2015-3-26 07:13
Hey Bob. Do you have any videography experience wrt clients paying you for your work?  Do you have a ...

I couldn't agree more with bostonlines. All the snazzy equipment in the world is meaningless when devoid of talent, experience, and gumption.

Bottom line: Put down that keyboard and get out and shoot! If what you produce has any value then the $$$'s will follow.

~Douglas
www.nowpicturethis.com
2015-3-26
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Chris Con Posted at 2015-3-26 07:29
Regarding Agriculture- This is what I do for a living.  I own a garden center in the Hamptons that ...

I disagree, this aircraft is ill suited for agricultural surveys, it is far to inefficient rang wise. A fixed wing is the preferred aircraft for large area surveys. The standard foaming delta wing is just the ticket. Also they can be built, crashed and rebuilt way cheaper that this quad. This thing is a short range video platform advertised as a long range solution, that is really an inaccurate description of this product. It's extended line of flight range is nothing more than added security. Plus for crop surveys you need a ground station or autonomous flight system. Again, this aircraft is not that.
2015-3-26
Use props
Chris Con
Second Officer
Flight distance : 501175 ft
United States
Offline

Dangair Posted at 2015-3-27 02:01
I disagree, this aircraft is ill suited for agricultural surveys, it is far to inefficient rang wi ...

Not sure what you disagree with regarding what I stated.  My point was simply that the farmers and horticultural professionals I work with on a daily basis purchase their UAVs as opposed to pay someone to fly one for them.  I said nothing about the Inspire 1 being good for this application or not.

Here in New York the majority of farms, nurseries and vineyards are 50 acres or smaller (relatively small farms).  Everyone I met is using UAVs and not fixed wing. This is probably due to barrier of entry and ease of use. Honestly, most people that are using the technology are doing it more as a hobby right now (finding ways to incorporate the drone as a hobby into their commercial production). Common applications are verifying irrigation coverage via overhead shot, checking greenhouse roofs for glass breakage after snowfalls or storms and surveying for insect/disease damage on tall ornamental trees where ladders or lifts won't reach.  

Fixed wing seems like it would definitely be a better choice for a 500 acre cornfield though that you might see in the Midwest and I also agree with you that for repetitive accurate surveys of an area that you need to overlay, a ground station would definitely be mandatory.
2015-3-26
Use props
Dangair
Second Officer

Canada
Offline

Chris, I'm not poopooing you're statement, I was disagreeing with the Inspire being suitable for agricultural use much beyond a hobby farm. Though green houses seems interesting? The smallest commercial farms we have out here are quarter sections and the best application farmers have here is hunting varmints and finding cattle. Other than that I suppose you could use them for find pot plantations on your land? Seems to be a real problem in these parts.
2015-3-26
Use props
Bob Marley
Second Officer

United States
Offline

doug@nowpicture Posted at 2015-3-27 01:30

bostonlines@gma Posted at 2015-3-26 07:13
Hey Bob. Do you have any videography experience wrt clients paying you for your work?  Do you have a ...

I couldn't agree more with bostonlines. All the snazzy equipment in the world is meaningless when devoid of talent, experience, and gumption.

Bottom line: Put down that keyboard and get out and shoot! If what you produce has any value then the $$$'s will follow.

~Douglas




You guys are both flipping idiots!
If you are NOT even going to READ my posts, how in the hell do you expect to participate without looking like complete fools. I have a crap load of EXPERIENCE shooting both terrestrial and aerial. Since HS I have been taking classes and I have spent a crap load of money and 35 yrs in the field framing and shooting EVERYTHING. Now my friends,  it is time for Bob to Cash In! Even the FAA says, "it's going to be a multi-billion dollar industry" and I'm gonna go grab my share of it, no doubt about.

Why don't you two knuckleheads go and READ the 2nd sentence from the post I made on 3-25 15:04
Then, leave me the hell alone. I posted a thread ABOUT WHERE TO BY THE I1 and you guys turned it into a circus with all this b.s. smoke coming out of both your bottom orifices!

Not that I give a Rat's ass, but after all this time, u guys don't have any idea who the hell I am? - ha ha
(of course I'm going to succeed) -

2015-3-26
Use props
12Next >
Advanced
You need to log in before you can reply Login | Register now

Credit Rules