The amazing world of Drones
I am sure we have all bought one sometime or another, that present for a younger family member, that curiosity or should I say childish fascination we still have as adults for gadgets or maybe you have purchased one for business use such as filming real estate?
Today there is a massive choice out there for drones from those at under £10 that are ideal to fly around the house with very little chance of ever flying in a straight line to those used on Hollywood movie sets cost £100,000’s – There are even drones that are designed to carry people… Who knows where technology and design will take us in a few years time!
There is of course a big difference between using drones for pleasure or business and already guidelines and regulations are in place to make sure that we do not have drones flying all over the place flown by whoever – To use drones professionally you will need to have a licence and training etc.
Drones though certainly have their place in today’s world and helping to advance many industries professionally from live sports broadcasting to reporting on natural disasters (current footage from Hawaii following volcanic eruptions are quite amazing). The choice of drones really reflect the advancements this sector has seen in just a few short years – Here is an interesting list of drones currently on the market today:
EHang 184 – Passenger Drone – $200,000 +
More or less a quad-copter design and ability to take one passenger and backpack. Apparently you drive the drone by a Surface tablet inside in order to take off, fly and land.
Augmented Aerigon Drone – $250,000 + combined with Flex4K
Here is a drone that is designed for industry standard video cameras, those for movie / live broadcasts, and is built to take cameras such as the The Phantom Flex4K. It may not look pretty though for the professionals it is exactly what is required in order to capture amazing aerial footage.
DJI Inspire 2 – £3,000 +
The upgrade from the successful Inspire 1. Ability to record at up to 5.2K in CinemaDNG RAW, Apple ProRes, and more. It is also a speedy number with a 0 – 50 mph in just 4 secs.
Hubsan X4 Air Pro – £150 +
The Hubsan group have quite a vast array of drones on the market so it is not always easy to choose the best for your needs! Here though is the X4 Air Pro that comes in at under £200 yet offers functions similar to many at must costlier prices. GPS streaming, GPS positioning, control or mobile app controller for live video streaming and 1080p Camera.
Vortex 250 Pro – £450 +
Now here is the faster side of drones with the Vortex Pro able to offer a top speed of 60MPH. It is generally a racing drone for those competitive amongst us, though still has the ability to carry a camera to capture footage.