I have noticed a number of add ons for phantom drones and I ended up ordering some: Prop guards and landing skids. I have not used them yet but I expect the extra weight and air drag will probably affect the flying time of the drone. What has been the experience of drone fliers who have these fitted? I thought the landing skids would be useful when landing in long grass which I have done sometimes with the camera then in the grass after landing. Not sure if prop guards will help much if flown into tree leaves and branches which I haven't done yet but close in some gusty wind. My drone is a PH3 SE.

The very best add on, for many of the DJI drones are Lume Cubes.

Those diminutive LED lights, with suitable mounts that greatly increase our VLOS, day or night.
& add much light to all of our photography abilities... DSLR included. ;-)

http://www.lumecube.com/164.html

RedHotPoker

I would not recommend you mount the third party accessories on your drone. It will shorten the flight time and affect the flight performance.

Hi DJI Elektra, Thank you for your comments. I notice on this site the DJI store has Phantom 3 Propeller Guards for sale (out of stock now) so are these guards ok to use but will still affect the flight performance?

RedHotPoker Posted at 2017-11-16 21:01
The very best add on, for many of the DJI drones are Lume Cubes.

Those diminutive LED lights, with suitable mounts that greatly increase our VLOS, day or night.

Lumes Cubes are my next "after christmas" items.  The demos of the difference it makes in lower lighting is outstanding.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-11-19 19:16
I would not recommend you mount the third party accessories on your drone. It will shorten the flight time and affect the flight performance.

Yes, that is true, my flight times can be slightly shorter. But who cares?
I want to see where my drone is, after looking down at the RC, checking stats or battery voltage remaining.
There are no flight performance negatives for me, so far. ;-)

Ask DJI-Ken about this, to get the truth. He bought a set for his drones.


Chas

Kuya Kano Posted at 2017-11-20 12:07
Lumes Cubes are my next "after christmas" items.  The demos of the difference it makes in lower lighting is outstanding.

Good for you. I know that you will like them a lot. I sure do.
As do all the others I have spoken to, about theirs..

My only complaint would be about cost. But I don't drive a Rolls either. Ha


RedHotPoker

After reading the recommendations for Lume Cubes I have ordered a set for my drone. Not cheap so hope it all turns out ok when I get them.

Hat light from Bushnell $9, 28.5 grams ea.,75 lumens,  hinged for adjustable angle, for putting on a ball cap but I zip tied 1 on ea. front leg of my P3 SE...Works awesome and effected flight time by 3 overall minutes. Take um off if ya don't need them.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-11-19 19:16
I would not recommend you mount the third party accessories on your drone. It will shorten the flight time and affect the flight performance.

Lume Cube design is very aerodynamic, and all though hefty, the Phantom 3 Pro of mine, carries them like a champ. No problem at all.
Yes the flight time is shortened, by a couple or few minutes, but the secure feeling, and vastly longer VLOS is well worth the effort.

No problem for me...


RedHotPoker

The landing skids are great and weigh next to nothing

My main add-on is the frame to carry a GSM Lost model finder or my Soloshot 3 Tag. This frame mounts via the screws holding the legs on ... supplied with longer screws to fit.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TK-10 ... :g:Gz4AAOSw5dNWj6ij



The GSM LMF takes a PAYG SIM card and you just send a simple text from you phone and it sends back GPS co-ords so you can find it.

The Soloshot 3 Tag is a GPS transponder that the SS3 remote camera system tracks to record video of the item Tag is mounted on.

Total weight of either 50grams ... and makes virtually no difference to flight of the P3.

Nigel