Railfan Technology > What is the preferred Drone for railfan photography

Ok, there seems to be a lot of choices out there in the Drone market. I am looking to take the plunge, but have no idea what to buy!

What is a good and what is bad?

Key things I am looking for are:
Image quality (HD Video)
Ease of use / flying
Availability of parts and accessories

Know of a few people with them, Seems DJI is there choice. A little more expensive but great results.. A fellow TO friend of mine here RioGrandeFan has a DJI.. Maybe he will chime in on good and bad..

Mike Keithly
Kimball, NE

I'm in the UK, and for railfan photography I opted for the DJI Phantom 4 Pro. First off - it seemed the most popular choice by others when I went through uploads on flickr. Secondly, I picked this because it has a built in screen in the control unit. Because of this, it starts up very quickly, and I don't have to instal a cell phone and get it talking to the drone - another interface to fail, which it will at the most awkward time! Here in the UK I need the cell phone whilst the drone is flying to check on the trains progress, which I can do on Real Time Trains app. (This is a UK reason for not using the cell phone with the drone). The camera on this drone is akin to a fully adjustable DSLR/ bridge camera with regard to all the settings. Sadly, no zooming is possible. Picture quality is excellent, although I only shoot still photos. Two recent images attached. Finally, the drone is very portable - I brought it over to the States earlier this year. Oh - it is dead easy to use, I've never crashed it and never needed any spares. There, that's the kiss of death!!! Chris UK.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/18 13:56 by 55002.

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Among local photographers the preferred drone is the DJI Phantom 4 Pro. Some of the other drones have ridiculously wide angle lenses that distort photos too much to be acceptable.

KG

Yes,
it seems that DJI is definitely the dominant manufacturer. I have seen people using both the Phantoms and Maviks, but no clear run down on the pros and cons of each platform.

I started in drones for train photography. I'm a retired pilot and wanted to know something about drone flying before plunking down $1200 for something that would supposedly fly itself. I bought a little $25 Whoop with controller. It has no autopilot and YOU must fly it. You can't watch enough YouTube about the subject. Watch the drone flying lessons and get good enough that you can assume command of your expensive drone and fly it home. I have a DJI mavic pro. I agree that the Phantom 4 is a much better platform and great to fly. Watch Ken Heron videos on YouTube. His videos are about this drone and are remarkable. I have since taken up drone racing and my drone photography has taken a back seat. I recommend YouTube, YouTube, and more YouTube. This will make your experience much more enjoyable and much cheaper.

Great topic.

I’m a new Mavic Air owner, and am loving it.

I chose this machine for many of the same features you are looking for, plus some others. I figured this was the best “entry level” choice for me (and my bride, who is a much better photographer than me, and loves to shoot waterfalls + landscapes) for cost, portability, ease of use, “smart” batteries, specific programs like “point of interest,” and with enough photo quality to be useful. I also opted for the “fly more” package AND the repair/replacement insurance, which I’ve used once and been pleased with.

I am confident the newer Phantoms have a lot more capability, but are also more expensive. That was a factor in my choice.

Other posters have mentioned benefits of extensive research on YouTube, which I also recommend, as well as discussion forums such as “Mavic Pilots.” I have learned a LOT from these sources.

Flying cameras are an awesome tool for railfan photography. I wish you many hours of successful flying, and look forward to seeing your photos!

HH

Thanks for the insight and suggestions. I understand that DJI is about to release a new MAVIC 2 / MAVIC 2 Pro, so I will definitely wait to see what that drone will offer as compared to the Phantom 4 PRO. Autel also just released their new EVO drone, which I am watching YouTube reviews on.

I have a friend who runs a drone group on Faceplant, who lives up in Calgary. He says the most prominent drone in thier club (over 200 people) is the DJI Mavic.

Agreed, being able to fly the drone without the help of the autopilot / smart app is a necessity!