Yes, two, both small or smallish.
And several "single horizontal rotor" variants, too, ranging from small enough to fly indoors (if you're skilled enough) to only an idiot would contemplate even trying to fly indoors.
For me, the interest is in the flying, more than the filming, hence the emphasis on helicopters.
There are discussions a foot inside EASA looking at clarifying the rules on super light drones. Given that you can get good video from <0.5kg now things should be in different classification, for broadcast and the like that require higher mass then those should be regulated differently. Myself I'd like to see an unlicensed category, maybe with a yearly reduction in weight for it. For instance: http://www.micro-drone.co.uk/ is ~30 grams. Who would have believed that 10 years ago?!
It's definitely an area progressing fast, and I don't think many people would advise anyone to early adopt. But the legislation needs to be better. Currently it is ignored by far too many, I've a pilot's license I could lose if I take liberties, but I still will fly my drone responsibly if not in complete accordance with the letter of the law, I know I'd demonstrate the spirit, for what that is worth. Much like driving at *ahem* 71mph on the motorway when it's 3am and good weather conditions.
I've also had negative experience of drone operators. Once when flying a veritable antique with a friend someone decided to fly (I think it was a DJI Phantom) right next to our approach to land, my friend I was flying with had failed his medical due to ill health, so needing a safety (me!). He announced that he had killed people in Korea before as we had to pull him off the drone operator a fraction of his age, both people scared me frankly, it's not good to be having to use force that makes your concerned about the impact on your elderly friend, he was so angry, he took it almost as attempted murder.
So drones are a complex issue. Currently the law is so wrong everyone ignores it, but there needs to be enforced law, this is lacking.
throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)
I think this would be one solution!
Saracen (14-08-2015)
The law, as usual, struggles to keep pace with technology.
In this case, the technology is in that drones are relatively easy to fly, and some, very easy. Similar devices in heli form have been around for years, but they are nowhere near as easy to fly. For instance, I have a small heli (Blade Nano CPX) not all that much bigger than that MicroDrone, in that it's about 7" long, and weighs slightly less, at 29g.
But it is NOT easy to fly. If anyone follows that link and think it looks like fun, my firm advice is DO NOT buy one until you can already fly basic heli's competently. It might be small, but the CP design is inherently unstable and requires constant micro-adjustments just to keep it in the air. And it is fast, fast, FAST. For the unwary, if you manage 3 seconds before crashing, you're doing well.
Drones, on the other hand, are generally inherently stable, even the tiny ones like the aforementioned X4. And the slighly more sophisticated ones have quite a lot of built-in stability aids which, unless turned off deliberately, make it FAR easier for the complete novice to buy a box, charge the batteries and go fly it. Even then, while keeping from crashing is far easier, keeping it under control and doing what you want isn't quite so easy.
But it's that ability to buy a box, know nothing, including the relevant law, charge batteries and get airborne, that presents the risk. Sooner or later, by accident or deliberate intent, somebody's going to go REALLY wrong, and somebody(s) going to get hurt, or worse.
And THEN we'll see a knee-jerk over-reaction to change the law.
Lowe (17-08-2015)
I rather dislike the term drone. That to me suggests a semi autonomous device.
Quadcopter on the other hand...
I've got 3 smallish budget types. A LaTrax Alias, a Hubsan X4 HDV and a Hubsan Q4. As Saracen says, they're very easy to fly and you can have great fun bombing around an open field. Because they're small you need to keep them close else you lose sight of them - a somewhat costly mistake.
Where I do have misgivings is the amount of 'buy/charge/fly/record' all in one quads that are still relatively affordable at around £500-1000, but offer FPV and long range flight that isn't line of sight. DJI Phantom I'm looking at squarely at you. These things are an absolute menace because they'll end up with the hobby being ruined by a change in the law. You only need to look at Youtube to see these things being flown utterly irresponsibly, in circumstances that frankly blow the mind. This is a perfect example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkkibFolmY4
Doesn't take much to have a motor failure, battery failure, bird attack etc and then you've got 1kg of dead weight falling into a packed football stadium. A few are going to spoil it for all of us.
On the other hand FPV and long range can be used for good fun. It's becoming quite popular to race quads FPV with goggles and there's some amazing footage around. I really fancy a go at that one of the days.
What about a moter hooked up to a 9v battery? Then still no then.
I have a wife......
Until she reads that. Then you have an angry tornado. With claws.Originally Posted by abaxas
I really want one of these:
https://www.lily.camera/
I have no idea what I'd do with it, but it looks cool!
This bit in the FAQ amused me ....What didn't amuse me so much is $700 (+VAT, import duty, etc) for pre-order, and $1000 (+ VAT, etc) once shipping. They say they charge NOW for pre-orders, basically because the need the money to finish development, but will refund orders cancelled prior to shipping ..... which seems to me to presume they still have any to refund.Can I use Lily to spy on my neighbors?
Lily is always pointing at you and less than 100ft from you (pro tip: best shots are in the 10-30ft range). Also, Lily’s motors make noise. So other people will most likely notice Lily and quickly figure out where you are. You are better off climbing up a tree and using binoculars.
And what if they never do finish, and ship?
Buying now seems like a $700 (+VAT, etc) punt, betting on successful conclusion of development, and shipping. Buying later is $1000 .... for what?
Oh, and non-replaceable internal battery? On my dro .... sorry, UAVs, no battery lasts forever. Depending on how you manage them, probably 30 charges at worst, up to maybe 100-ish if you're careful. But, depending on which heli/quad it is, batteries are anything from £4 up to £40-ish. Some other types can be significantly dearer.
But, I carry several. So, after a flight, of from 4 to 15-ish minutes, I land, let things cool, change battery and go again. With this, you land, can't change batteries so spend two hours charging before next use. And what do you do when the battery dies?
So sure, it's cute. But $700-$1000 (plus tax) of cute? Not for me. Not even close. Others may get differing mileage, of course. Personally .... nah.
Yeah, I'd never buy something like this before it's officially launched. It just looks cool!
Sucker for a pair of pretty blue eyes, eh?Yeah, I'd never buy something like this before it's officially launched. It just looks cool!
I don't have a drone, but I have been looking at something like the Lily specifically for snow sports, though it would be nice if it could also be used for scenery.
It is the first time I've heard of the Lily, but the other two I have looked at are the Hexo+ and the Airdog. I'll wait for the tech to mature and price to fall before taking the plunge, but definitely am interested.
Last edited by TooNice; 20-08-2015 at 01:02 PM.
At the risk of teaching grandpa to suck eggs, and only having looked at Lily, not those two, a word of caution.
IF you want reasonably professional looking footage, the camera base needs to be very stable, in flight, taking out random movements created by, say, course changes, or wind/air currents.
"Proper" drones have expensive motorised gimbals on them to do that, where the gimbal alone, never mind drone or camera, can cost hundreds. Without that, you risk viewers ending up feeling seasick from the video jerking about all over the place.
Lily claims to achieve that via "digital gimbal", I think they called it, which appeared to be basically some sort of smart-cropping of the raw video. Personally, I'd want absolute convincing of the effectiveness of that before forking out Lily-esque money. Dunno about those other systems.
And there are members here better equipped to advise on gimbals than me. So I'll shut up now.
Yep - the wife bought me a blade nano a few years ago - very hard work. I got myself a parrot rolling spider in the amazon sale for my birthday and its quite amusing as a toy , though the battery life is on the short side !
my Virtualisation Blog http://jfvi.co.uk Virtualisation Podcast http://vsoup.net
Personally, Moby, I'm of the opinion that if you can fly the Nano, you can fly just about any RC helo. The exceptions would/might be the .... eccentric .... models, like some scale models, twin engine/motor especially, and even some triple/quad rotor (as opposed to quadcopter) models.
The Nano has all the inherent instability of collective pitch, while at the same time, being so light that it responds so, SO fast, and can get caught by even light gusts of wind ... though it also has the power to fight them.
How'd you get on with it? Any upgrades? I found a swash upgrade to ally, and the Blade brushless motor kit were .... fun.
But by 'eck is it an agile little .... begger .... or wot?
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