Hi to all UAV enthusiasts. I hope someone could help me or at least give me some advice. I want to buy ( if it was that easy I wouldn't mind building my own kit from scratch :) ) a heavy lifter octocopter system that is capable of flying a mark3 or red epic (with just base configs ) ; because I want to use it for pro works such as promo vids or commercials for TV etc I need a good camera stabilizer for it. So far I couldn't find a lot of websites online that sell that type of heavy lifter octocopter. What would you guys suggest me to buy ? and how much would they roughly cost ? What would a full kit include ( or what should a full kit include when you consider it will be used a whole day on the set.)
The idea of using a octocopter might be very new for me but I had to start from somewhere and this site seems to be the perfect place. I hope you can help me, any suggestion would help. Thank you :)
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I also need help for upgrading parts or if i'm doing it wrong or right for aerial video productions/photo, here is my set up:
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/multicopter-not-lifting-too-heavy...
Hi again Joshua. I knows it's been a long time since I last posted :) Well I have bad news and good news. Bad one first. This guy who was going to build me the hexa tried to rip me off so I took him to court and got all my money back :) The good news is I decided to build my own octocopter from scratch. I had to increase my budget a little but after all the drama from before I was highly motivated :). So these are the parts I ordered , listed below.
Tarot Iron Man 1000mm octocopter frame
Sunnysky 320kv motors
Hobbywing Platinium 40A ESC's
4x Carbon Fibre 1447 Propellers.
DJI Wookong M (with DJI view for telemetry info etc)
I bought a turnigy 9x controller for learning basis and I might upgrade it to a dx8 (or if I find the cash by the time I finish a dx18) The controller has a 8ch receiver but don't really know how good it is till it arrives. To learn quicker and safer I also ordered Aerosim RC simulator software which has quite a lot of multirotor models which include octo's.
Those are the parts I actually ordered and they are on their way at the time I'm writing this post. I know I took a great risk by trying to build a big multirotor with very little knowledge but like I said , after trying to been ripped off I'm very determined to build this myself. I suppose I like it the hard way lol. I still have to buy some li pos and the connectors ,distribution board etc which I might ask for your advice. I was planning to buy a 6S 9000mah from foxtech but they are out of stock and have to wait 2-3weeks maybe. What would you suggest ? I read a few threads about power distribution boards and related power wiring for every part thats to do with the octo. What li po config shall I go with ? Would it be ideal to connect 2 high capacity li pos in a parallel set up ? or shall I go with a single high cap. lipo ? What power distribution board would you suggest ? and what type of connectors should I use ? ( I somehow wanna avoid doing soldering but If I have to I will do it ) this is a power distribution card I saw what do you think ? http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__38061__Hobby_King_Octoco...
After I sort out the powering and wiring I can tweak the octo and do some safe flight test before I actually use it properly.
After I'm cool with the octo 100% I'll be buying the gimbal but I might be out of budget by that time so I was thinking to get a basic cinestar 3 axis gimbal (and yes I do need a 3 axis one for the camera shots I'm intending to do ) with its default servos on it and use tarot gimbal stabilizers. But I still have time for the gimbal. First thing first :) I need to build the Octocopter. I'd love to hear any advice you can give me . I'll probably ask more questions once I actually start building it. (For e.g the best way for setting up /programming my ESC's hehe ). Have a nice day. (pheww sorry for writing a mini novel again :)
Hi again Joshua :)
I did a mini research about all the options you mentioned yesterday. To be honest I'm happy that there are a lot of different options for different type of workflows. I still haven't came to a conclusion but I narrowed my need-list. Like you said I opted out the Red Epic because smaller cams will do the job for me :) My main concern is obviously camera stabilization due to the jobs I will be doing with the copter. Would you suggest a octocopter or hexacopter when it comes to balance and stabilization? I think for me the most important part would be the gimbal setup. For cameras like go pro 3, Panasonic GH2/3 etc what type of gimbals should I go after or take note of ?
ps : one last question :) sorry for keeping you busy with annoying questions. Would you suggest me trying to build my own droid the DIY style ? Would it be cheaper ? I mean that way I could build a custom droid for my needs for e.g buy a good gimbal and build the rest DIY with better engines etc.
Thanks for all your help, oh and thanks for the Panasonic GH2/3 tip Andrew, was helpful :)
Thanks again for the quick reply :) Yes I do live in Turkey buy my mum is from England so I could get them shipped to UK maybe. I will check out all the test footage and options for the copters and camera alternatives but brace yourself I will be coming with more questions :) thx a lot I will check those sites too ;)
Thank for the quick reply :) Like you said Red won't probably be a must but I do need some decent quality for pro works and especially for HD productions for TV. Like you said I will check out the NEX-7 and RX-100. I don't own a Red and I know it would be a great risk flying a 50k+ camera lol :) But I think a Canon 5D mark3 would be ideal for such projects. Probably the projects I would be working on wont be shown on cinemas or so but they will be on HD tv so I need a decent cam. What do you think of a mark 3 Joshua ? I suppose its much lighter than a Red Epic and the video quality is great for such a small camera. But maybe like you said it would be a better option to start smaller for now. I'll have to check those other cameras test footage to see if they are ok for tv productions. Btw when you said $8-10k is that just for the gimbal ? or is it gimbal + the copter ?
Thanks again and thx for the link :)
If you want to put a Red up in the air, plan on spending at least ~$8-10k on a gimbal and ship that can carry the weight.
The MkIII can be flown with a powerful hex, but it's still going to be expensive.
Do you already have these cameras? I personally think the Red is overkill, and a lot of money to risk. 4k or 5k images are intense, but what are you going to display them on? If it's not going to be projected on a big screen then you are just killing your work flow handling all that data for no real advantage.
There are so many smaller and cheaper camera systems available that are very capable -- NEX-7, Hero3, RX-100, etc. -- good enough for most projects
Check out Jeff Scholl's page, he shoots with a lot of different cameras and copters, and gets great results from small cameras.
I would recommend a quad with a GoPro3 to get started, the wide lens can be a bit limiting creatively, but you will have a very robust and capable system to get up to speed with--for the cost of a couple of Red batteries!
In general, I think the age of the large expensive cameras is going away. Get the flying part figured out first, the camera tech will just keep getting smaller and better. I'm waiting for something with a form-factor like the Black Magic, but optimized for aerial.
I know this doesn't answer all your questions, but that would take a small novel -- and it would be out of date by the time I finished writing it.
;-)