UAV/Drone/Quadcopter Photography?

I am looking to give this a go and am interested in guidance. If you do this or know of a good technical forum I would appreciate knowing about it.

Subscribed. Been meaning to look into this very thing so keen to see what others can contribute...

forum:
http://www.phantompilo​ts.com/

videos:
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=UMzlFfjOwiI
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=9ae7rCL1Iz8
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=8aDCWEZnNkI

Thanks, Todd.

Hey Todd, was that you out at the wildlife refuge doing that, maybe a couple of weeks ago, or so?

MedicinSC wrote in post #17025031
Hey Todd, was that you out at the wildlife refuge doing that, maybe a couple of weeks ago, or so?

Nope. But I know someone else in town has one. I saw them out beside the old bridge downtown.

Didn't know there was anyone else in Beaufort here.

I've recently moved to Beaufort, maybe four months ago. I was in Hardeeville before that, near Savannah.

DwightMcCann wrote in post #17024267
I am looking to give this a go and am interested in guidance. If you do this or know of a good technical forum I would appreciate knowing about it.

I posted a broader thread in the Talk about Photography forum if you want to stop by there and see what people have to say. I'm about to buy one of these drones too.

Check around the following forums for FPV details, aerial photography, as well as how to fly:
http://www.rcgroups.co​m/forums/index.php
http://www.aplanding.c​om/forums/forums.php
The DJI phantom systems are the defacto standard right now for entry level systems. There are many imitators but just like cameras, you get what you pay for.
Regulations are changing very quickly, about as rapidly as the technology is improving. Lots of rumor and hype on UAVs for commercial purposes, be very careful.

Be very careful about running afoul of laws, CFRs and related regulations on commercial use of unmanned aircraft. And yes, if you're selling images (or any service related to same), it's commercial use and yes, that's an aircraft.

To the best of my knowledge this is an extremely unsettled area from a regulatory perspective at the present time, so if you're going to get involved in it you need to pay very close attention to current events in that regard and be willing to lose your investment in the device(s) you buy if the regulatory environment is or goes the wrong way on you. I would NOT advise trying to play fast and lose with said regulations; they're federal and the federal government is not one to trifle with.

CRCchemist wrote in post #17076882
I agree. I have formed a shell LLC to handle anything related to aerial photography or videography that should act as a corporate shield for the main business. The only asset is the drone and a single associated business checking account. There is also only two employees. It should be very difficult to pierce that corporate shield to get to the person. I don't care if the drone is lost because the going rate for aerial photography and videos is $400 per project. So can always get a new drone at those rates. We do a separate filing for everything, and it acts as a associate company separate from the studio and services provided. On the positive side, there seems to be some question as to whether the regulations are even legitimate, because the FAA didn't hold a hearing period for the new rules when they were drafted!!

I'm with TickerGuy on being cautious. An LLC will not protect you personally from being prosecuted. The fact that you are charging $400 per project means you are taking commercial aerial photography against the regulations. Doesn't matter if they are legitimate or not, they are currently in place and if you got in trouble you would have to go to trial for probably years to overturn the rules. Don't be the test case.

I personally am waiting until 2015 when the FAA will hopefully come out with reasonable guidelines.

I am delaying my first purchase for a couple of reasons, including time to play with it, and I really don't understand the motivation for such draconian control. Plus, at the rate these things are being bought/used, they are just going to be overwhelmed.

DwightMcCann wrote in post #17078325
I am delaying my first purchase for a couple of reasons, including time to play with it, and I really don't understand the motivation for such draconian control. Plus, at the rate these things are being bought/used, they are just going to be overwhelmed.

The draconian control is because idiots have crashed their drones into cars and others have had them fall into crowds and people have been hurt. So after a few of those tort cases handed down decisions in favor of the plaintiffs, the FAA got involved and banned their commercial use. Why they didn't ban ALL use is unknown. I'd guess it's probably because too many hobbyists have been flying these for years with virtually no incident and they didn't want to penalize those people. Now the masses have recently got access to them and are crashing them all the time now... like this idiot:

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=GfxdeRx2fLA

or this idiot:

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=QIvpcBQo2BM

how about you watch this genius play with his little drone and crash it through the window of a building (yet misses a moving car by 10 feet):

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=go0ZNQREXCQ

and this one shows how a drone used for an Animal Planet show got away from the operator and crashed:

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=FCHPR031J9o

Stupid people like him are the reason that the FAA is trying to ban these things. A high profile accident by someone who flies one of these near an airport (causing a plane crash) or too close to a freeway (causing a multi-car pile-up), will be the death knoll of the free use of copter drones. The hammer will come down hard and then there will be far more aggressive pursuit of people breaking the rules.

Hobby use of unmanned aircraft ("model aircraft") has been mostly incident-free because the aircraft are intentionally flown in places where people are not, over open fields away from people and property.

As someone who has owned them when younger, and has crashed them a few times too, they make very impressive sets of pieces when they impact the earth. If you're there when it happens you're going to have a very bad day. There's a protocol for hobbyist use that most organized fields use and demand you adhere to, including frequency management (so you don't jam someone else's transmitter -- a very bad thing for obvious reasons.)

Commercial anything in the air has always been associated with increased regulation, just as is commercial anything on the road or water. I can drive what is technically a Class 8 truck on the road with an ordinary driver license (being licensed in Florida) if I use said device as an RV for personal use but if I use the same vehicle to haul anything for money I need a CDL. I can operate ANY size boat on the waters of my state and internationally without ANY license whatsoever, and this is perfectly legal, provided I am doing so for recreational purpose. If I take ONE paying passenger or haul ONE pound of cargo, I need a USCG Captain's license -- period. And I can fly some aircraft (specifically certain ultralights) for personal, recreational use without ANY license whatsoever, provided I stay out of controlled airspace. The SAME plane used for ANY revenue activity requires not only a pilot license but a COMMERCIAL pilot license!

Not only can you wind up being fined for breaking these rules your property can be confiscated and, most-seriously, you might get charged criminally. Never mind the liability aspect; most insurance is void if the incident is associated with an intentional violation of law or regulation by the insured entity.

tickerguy wrote in post #17079592
Hobby use of unmanned aircraft ("model aircraft") has been mostly incident-free because the aircraft are intentionally flown in places where people are not, over open fields away from people and property.

As someone who has owned them when younger, and has crashed them a few times too, they make very impressive sets of pieces when they impact the earth. If you're there when it happens you're going to have a very bad day. There's a protocol for hobbyist use that most organized fields use and demand you adhere to, including frequency management (so you don't jam someone else's transmitter -- a very bad thing for obvious reasons.)

Commercial anything in the air has always been associated with increased regulation, just as is commercial anything on the road or water. I can drive what is technically a Class 8 truck on the road with an ordinary driver license (being licensed in Florida) if I use said device as an RV for personal use but if I use the same vehicle to haul anything for money I need a CDL. I can operate ANY size boat on the waters of my state and internationally without ANY license whatsoever, and this is perfectly legal, provided I am doing so for recreational purpose. If I take ONE paying passenger or haul ONE pound of cargo, I need a USCG Captain's license -- period. And I can fly some aircraft (specifically certain ultralights) for personal, recreational use without ANY license whatsoever, provided I stay out of controlled airspace. The SAME plane used for ANY revenue activity requires not only a pilot license but a COMMERCIAL pilot license!

Not only can you wind up being fined for breaking these rules your property can be confiscated and, most-seriously, you might get charged criminally. Never mind the liability aspect; most insurance is void if the incident is associated with an intentional violation of law or regulation by the insured entity.

You're right. We're going to need a commercial UAV pilots license soon.