http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thiswayup/audio/201798989/drone-buyer's-guide

flynkiwi:

 

Most opinion is that 4k is around future proofing yourself. Definitely some things to mull over.

 

I would have thought the Drone tech would become obsolete faster than the camera!

DJI Phantom 3 Standard Edition - currently $939 at Noel Leeming and you'll get a free $250 gift card. Other DJI drones are eligible as well.

I just got a standard also, after being convinced I needed 4K when I read up on it, I decided not at this stage. 4K pretty hard to edit and they reckon for most of us we can't see the difference. I love mine and am glad I didn't spring for the extra at this stage - maybe the Professional later. Would be handy to have the ability to add filters.

As an alternative, check out the Flypro XEagle drone on Kickstarter at the moment.  

I have a pledge on the US$369 one at present.  They look pretty good...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1039972432/flypro-xeagle-smartwatch-controlled-autonomous-dro

You might wanna consider the more expensive option if you are wanting aerial shots, as it has a better gimbal, remote control, obstacle avoidance etc.

thanks everyone for the feedback. Not too sure about kickstarter - some of those things sound good in concept but then the real output can be a bit shy of the mark.

Another option has just opened up as I see that Noel leemings has 60 months interest free. hmmm very tempting and an easier sell with the WAF as its not a big lump sum out of the account.

flynkiwi:

 

Another option has just opened up as I see that Noel leemings has 60 months interest free. hmmm very tempting and an easier sell with the WAF as its not a big lump sum out of the account.

 

Check what the admin fees are though - last time I looked at an "interest free" offer from random large retailer the admin fees hidden away in small print were a deal breaker... 

Looks to be a $55 establishment fee and annual fee ($52 Gem Visa/$50 GE Creditline) apply

Noel Leemings chat feature is great! Answers straight away.  Since I already have a GE card with something else on it then there is no establishment fee and I am already paying the yearly fee anyway as I pay off a previous purchase so no additional costs. Huzzar! Still have to get it past the WAF.

So my choices are the Standard at $959 12 months interest free or spending a bit more money but spreading it over 60 months at $1599.

From what I see not sure the extra $600 for 4k is worth it at the moment. Sounds like most here have made a similar decision and 2.7k is sufficient for the next few years. Any other thoughts?

flynkiwi:

 

Noel Leemings chat feature is great! Answers straight away.  Since I already have a GE card with something else on it then there is no establishment fee and I am already paying the yearly fee anyway as I pay off a previous purchase so no additional costs. Huzzar! Still have to get it past the WAF.

 

So my choices are the Standard at $959 12 months interest free or spending a bit more money but spreading it over 60 months at $1599.

 

From what I see not sure the extra $600 for 4k is worth it at the moment. Sounds like most here have made a similar decision and 2.7k is sufficient for the next few years. Any other thoughts?

 

I have the P3 Advanced and would recommend that over the Standard version. The range is 5km on the Advanced vs 1km on the Standard. If you only ever fly in a park, the 1km range is more than enough but if you take it out to the country side it becomes quite limiting. The long range flying get quite addictive but of course that you need to be sensible and fly far away from people.

I think regs say you're meant to maintain line of sight so you should really have a spotter to fly that far to my understanding. You can get a range extender for the Standard which is supposed to be quite effective for $109 USD. The Professional and Advanced have a better camera than the Standard but I think the difference is fairly minimal? You can't attach filters to the Standard but there are some push on ones that are meant to work. It really is a lot of fun!

vroom:

 

I think regs say you're meant to maintain line of sight so you should really have a spotter to fly that far to my understanding. You can get a range extender for the Standard which is supposed to be quite effective for $109 USD. The Professional and Advanced have a better camera than the Standard but I think the difference is fairly minimal? You can't attach filters to the Standard but there are some push on ones that are meant to work. It really is a lot of fun!

 

Yeah, the line of sight is as useful as 50-100 meters tops with the Phantom. Then it just blends in with the sky and that's that. Having the ability for the live feed with low latency should really be consider as the replacement for the 'line-of-sight regulation' as it is way more useful anyway.

I believe that the cameras on the Phantom 3 line looks exactly the same (the lens/optics anyway). You can unscrew the UV (clear) filter that is included with the craft and swap it for ND or polarizer. There are a few manufacturers in this business as well as some dji branded.

I got the Phantom 3 4k at the Noel Lemming Queens Birthday sale. It was only a couple hundred more than the standard and with 12 months interest free decided a couple more hundred for 4k and better remote with slightly further distance 1.2km was worth it. Unfortunately I couldn't justify the extra $400 on top of the 4k for the advanced.

I think most flying will be all within this distance anyway.

Took a few videos and some still pics and so will be working through to see how I can improve these. Smoother movements with the video etc.

This is my first drone and found it was easy to fly and I went from 'I hope I don't crash it' to 'this is great fun' by the end of the flight. Just need more flights to build up my confidence. Wasn't able to get out last weekend due to the weather.