Calling all aerial videographers

December 5, 2014 11:32 PM

Seeking a flying machine for less than $100 that can lift an iPhone. Does it exist?

Is there such thing as a quadcopter, drone, or other flying machine in the $100 or less range that can carry an iPhone (or other decent camera)? I've found many on Amazon for under $100 that come with "720p" cameras, but a Youtube search reveals their video to be choppy and optically poor. There seems to be quite a gap between the $100 and below toy quadcopter and the $500 and up prosumer rig. Not much in between that I've found.

I'd gladly take something which does no fancy tricks, but is somewhat stable and can carry the weight of my iPhone 6+ (which weighs 172g or 6.1oz). I know a GoPro weighs less, but I don't have one. I already have the phone, and it has a great camera, it's just maybe a little heavy for this.

posted by bigtex to Technology (9 answers total)

Best answer: Short answer: not to my knowledge. Your market research is spot on. Closest thing in your price range is a Hubsan H107C, which has all problems you discussed. You're going to need to spend well north of $100 to safely lift an iPhone, and significantly more if you want stabilization (and you do, if image quality is that much of a concern).
posted by Alterscape at 11:56 PM on December 5, 2014

Response by poster: Kind of what I figured. Darn. Maybe I'll go the DIY route and try building one...
posted by bigtex at 1:37 AM on December 6, 2014

A balloon tethered w fishing line or a kite ?
posted by stuartmm at 3:27 AM on December 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

My dad uses a telescoping pole that is normally for cleaning swimming pools with good results.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 6:21 AM on December 6, 2014

You probably want to go with a kite as stuartmm suggests in that price range. You don't state how high or for how long you want to fly, but kite gives you reasonable hight with short range and a long amount of flight time subject to wind conditions.

As for the camera, iPhone 6+ indeed has a nice one, but *it is a nice iPhone*. I don't think they tested "drop from 100 feet" at the factory. Plan on your rig testing those impact design limits of your camera.
posted by hobu at 7:15 AM on December 6, 2014

Best answer: Yeah, I think that's really quite doable for $200-$250, but even DIY for $100 is a tall order. Let's see, it's been a while since I last did this:

Transmitter and receiver, $70
Quad bundle, $105
Flight controller, $25 (different warehouse, HK won't let you order from multiple depots at once)
Battery charger, $12

$212 + shipping? And while it would lift an iPhone, you're probably going to be really annoyed the first time you crash and the big glass screen cracks. The current value for dollar is usually around the Mobius ActionCam, which is only $70 or so - far cheaper than a GoPro, but the video quality is still fairly decent. (I believe the biggest complaint is that it tends to be a bit oversaturated...)

Still, that's $300. Only 3x your target price point! But maybe some food for thought.
posted by Kyol at 7:18 AM on December 6, 2014 [3 favorites]

I asked a similar question a ways back.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:26 AM on December 6, 2014

Response by poster: I see now that this was too tall an order for the budget.

Thanks for the feedback folks. I think I'll start out with one of the lower cost ones like the Husban that Alterscape mentioned, and live with the low quality (but lightweight) camera. That should get me some practice, and some time to learn what else I'd want out of a flying camera.

Then I can take my time on a DIY solution (thanks Kyol!) that better matches my needs, or just save up for something higher quality. Each new iteration of Parrot seems to get cooler and more polished.
posted by bigtex at 11:03 AM on December 6, 2014

Here's a question for you: do you want a video downlink, or to fly from the ground, take some video, and review it later? If you're interested in the live video angle, I recommend the Hubsan H107D instead of the H107C. It's about $100 more expensive, unfortunately, but it does have a 5.8GHz video downlink. It doesn't record on the flying machine, though -- instead, the remote/video display records SD video (with all the noise and video artifacts). Depending on your goals this may be a benefit or a bug.

Caveat: The 5.8GHz video downlink is not FCC Part 15 certified and uses amateur radio bands. If you're in the US, you should have an amateur radio license ($30 and a couple of hours of self-study), and comply with the station ID requirements, to operate it. I'm not clear on the legality of super-low-power transmitters like the one on the H107D, but in general, a tech class license is a great thing to have if you're doing anything with radio.
posted by Alterscape at 12:53 PM on December 6, 2014