Cheap drone to position a GoPro for photos?

joeKel73

I have a GoPro Hero 5 and I'm wondering is there a cheap (~€100) drone that anyone would recommend to carry it?

I know that's a very low budget but since I'm primarily interested in photos I'm not looking for something with really smooth flying, tracking, obstacle avoidance etc.. just something that can carry the GoPro into the sky and hold it fairly steady in position. I could also use the GoPro remote to trigger the camera.

MajesticDonkey

J o e wrote: »

I have a GoPro Hero 5 and I'm wondering is there a cheap (~€100) drone that anyone would recommend to carry it?

I know that's a very low budget but since I'm primarily interested in photos I'm not looking for something with really smooth flying, tracking, obstacle avoidance etc.. just something that can carry the GoPro into the sky and hold it fairly steady in position. I could also use the GoPro remote to trigger the camera.

Anything for that price will likely have no built-in GPS, so it won't be able to hold itself in position in the sky (i.e. you'll be fighting with the controller to keep it steady), and on top of that, it won't have a gimbal, so any vibrations from you fighting with the drone will be shown in the photo unless you have an extremely fast shutter speed.

Marlow

Most of the smaller stuff won't carry the payload to lift the Hero 5.

But to be honest, you forked out about 500 quid for the camera. I wouldn't risk flying it with something cheap and cheerful, just to see both the multirotor AND the camera being binned, because the multirotor wasn't able to support the weight of the camera.

Your best bet is a DJI Phantom 2, Flamewheel F450 or similar second hand. They do turn up for around 150-180'ish EUR often enough. You could start out with a static mount under the drone and see, how you get on, then upgrade from there.

The range of the GoPro remote will be limited, so is the app, but you can start with that and see, what sort of range you get. Now it's hard to get good pictures without seeing, what you're aiming at. And the app on the phone will give you a max range of maybe 40-50m.

/M

joeKel73

Thanks for the advice.

I was looking at this one, reviews look good...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06XSM4JG8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495874407&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=drone+blue&dpPl=1&dpID=51tYM3ukP1L&ref=plSrch

Any thoughts?

Marlow

J o e wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

I was looking at this one, reviews look good...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06XSM4JG8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495874407&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=drone+blue&dpPl=1&dpID=51tYM3ukP1L&ref=plSrch

Any thoughts?

The 1800 mAh battery they supply will only do the 15-18 minutes, they say, IF you have no camera mounted.

A Phantom 2 has a 5400 mAh battery and archieves 15-20 minutes with that with the GoPro mounted. It carries more weight though (approx 1.5 kg with GoPro and 3D gimbal mounted).

The one you posted may do the trick, but you'd about 10 minutes flight per battery, when you add the GoPro. This might just go under 1kg with the GoPro and hence also not need registration.

My Fotokite, which is a tethered quadcopter, is much lighter and that gets about 10 minutes with 1300 mAh batteries and GoPro Hero 4 mounted. The Hero 5 you have is heavier, the drone you posted, too.

/M

ozmo

J o e wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

I was looking at this one, reviews look good...

Any thoughts?

Looks a fun drone - going to be tricky to photograph anything without video feedback of what exactly the go pro is looking at though.

Marlow

ozmo wrote: »

Looks a fun drone - going to be tricky to photograph anything without video feedback of what exactly the go pro is looking at though.

You can actually use the wifi connection to the GoPro app for remote view, but it's limited range and messy. Very messy.

/M