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  • Hans H. August 6, 2014 at 7:04am

    Lester & Phil: Thanks for the humor. I apologize. Sure there are plenty of good journalists.
    Just the few who do not understand percent have it so much easier to "find" sensations ... who wins prizes for journalism ... and create "established truths".

    I have built a dozen drones and the "design journey is long":
    - A small drone who can not lift a camera while still having a reasonable flight time is not useful.
    - A small drone that has great flight time with the camera, but where the pictures are rubbish, are not useful.
    - A big drone with good flight time and a camera that takes good pictures and good ... too bad that it not possible to take on the subway or airplane.

    I'm working now on three different new versions. The whole system needs to fit in a backpack medium or medium cabinbag, take good pictures, have good flight time and be durable.

  • David Beesley August 6, 2014 at 4:13am
    There's definitely a niche market for drones specifically designed to meet the needs of today's journalists, who are now often required to be master of all things: writer, cinematographer and photographer - a simple to fly tablet based drone would address many of these requirements (although perhaps not the writing ...) - the biggest hurdle to overcome seems to be a lack of legislation and regulation which is preventing a lot of these technologies from achieving their full potential.
  • Phil Gordon August 5, 2014 at 5:27pm

    @Han`s you make me laugh, I`m a photojournalist and I know that 2x2=22 lol.

    I`ve been working on a platform for my own use for sometime,there are not a lot of multi rotors out there that are cost effective and are able to withstand the riggers of working in developing countries.

    Not all of use are completely stupid.

  • T3
    Stephen Zidek August 5, 2014 at 12:48pm

    While I think the folding design and built in carrying handle are certainly showy, I think they would be better served by a non folding design which can be stowed in a light-weight carry case.  I would worry about the folding craft being bumped and damaged during transport.

  • Moderator
    Gary Mortimer August 5, 2014 at 11:54am

    Wot Lester said about journalists and Chris might agree.

  • T3
    Stephen Zidek August 5, 2014 at 9:21am

    News crews will soon include the camera operator, the boom mic operator, and the copter operator.

  • Alex Lee August 5, 2014 at 7:21am

    if you removed the prop shields, and if the arms could hinge where they meet the main hinge, the thing could fold flat enough to put in a tube. Then you could carry it and the camera on your back.

  • Ian August 5, 2014 at 6:59am

    As VP for the PSDJ ( http://www.dronejournalism.org/ )  I applaud the move to specific job aircraft, it may not be perfect yet, but there are a lot good things in the design. What is important is that not all journalists can spend the time learning even the basics of flying. The simpler the control systems the better, tablet way points are probably the best although lack the fine tuning of stick flying it's easier for journalists to pick up and operate in the field.

  • Lester Haines August 5, 2014 at 5:21am

    @Hans H: I'm a journalist and must protest your outrageous slur against our mathematical abilities. If I had a euro for every time I've heard that we can't do maths I'd have, er, hold on, I need a calculator, what's five times six again.....?

  • Hans H. August 5, 2014 at 1:32am

    Is the intended customer journalists?

    Drones are complicated technical stuff and journalists often have problems with the simplest forms of mathematics and physics. Calculating percentage is far beyond journalistic knowledge. Fly a drone?

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