Hi, padre & hippo

[G+_Arman Zaman]

Hi, padre & hippo...

 

It would be a huuuuge post, so buckle up.

 

Since the lunchbox, I have been a regular viewer of knowhow.

And oh boy, what a great start I have had with KnowHow, The golden age of quadcopters.

 

I have been thinking of asking you guys for suggestions about a possible project, that you can help me with.

 

I am a civil engineer in profession. A surveyor to be precise. I am working with my dad with our surveying company and We do many mapping and volume calculation work of stockpiles. And we use the old surveying procedure for that.

 

But now as aerial photogrametry is getting more accessible with the help of quadcopters, I was planning to use a quadcopter and a good camera with a fixed focal length lens for to take photos. And use Mission Planner software to plan the route & Agisoft PhotoScan to stitch the photos to get a point cloud out of it.

 

The main thing is that i live in Bangladesh where suppliers like 3DR or DJI is not available, and although I could get it shipped to me from USA, the maintenance would be a big problem. If its a DIY, than I can maintain it by myself. Also cost is a great concern of mine, it must be lower then the ready to fly products.

 

From my research what I found that I will need a quadcopter with 30+ min flight capability with a gimble and a camera with good lens.

 

So, in summary, my main questions are,

 

01. Should i go for a Quadcopter or Hexacopter or a Octocopter?

 

02. Which controller should i use, (I here good things about PixHawak.)

 

03. Also Suggest me a good gimble and a camera with 16mm or lower focal length lens. (Sony NEX???)

 

04. Suggest me a good GPS module.

 

Thanks for the great show...?

[G+_Arman Zaman]

Thanks... for the link man. Igors thread was very comprehensive & contains lots of details.

I agree with igor about the Sony NEX being inferior quality.

Also dji's s800 (s900 new) or s1000 with wookong controller are more expensive. Almost $7000.... ??

 

Still going throughly through the post, let's see if I can have some of my questions answered.

[G+_Arman Zaman]

Wayne Hobbins? Swapping out battery is not a problem for me. It beats working in 30-38'c whole day.

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

Hello Arman Zaman !

 

With the work you're planning on doing, in the space you're planning on doing it, I would suggest an X8 over a quad, hex or standard octo. -- The X8 gives you motor and ESC redundancy that, paired with the proper flight controller and transmitter, will give you time to get the craft down safely in the even of a problem.

 

As for the rest: Take a look at the FrSky Tarranis. It's my primary radio. It does 8 channels out of the box, can be expanded to 16 if you use the bus, has levers on the side specifically designed for camera operation, and supports telemetry.... all for less than $300.

 

I like DJI gimbles, but they are horrifically expensive and you can do the same with a cheap, sub $100 gimble if you keep the payload small. I suppose you want something better than a GoPro 4, so might I suggest the new mini series from Blackmagic? Small, light, GREAT lensing and will fit on the less expensive gimbals.

 

For the flight controller, the Hawk or the Naza are decent out-of-box solutions. If you want to get fancy, you could get a clear-flight compatible board. If you want to get REALLY fancy, get a Hawk and link it up to a RasPi 2 so you can do semi-autonomous flight.

 

With that payload, you could go with 3 x 3s 5300mAh packs. That should get you in the 25-30 minute range.

 

Have fun!

[G+_Arman Zaman]

Thanks Padre,

 

Awesome thoughs. But one question though, I am going to use the camera only for still picture, which is my main concern, Isn't blackmagic is for video? I might get separate gopro for fun. Can you suggest me a still camera that has good still capability, almost dslr quality but - the weight.

Thanks again, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ? & Wayne Hobbins?

 

BTW, liked the Apple Watch unboxing at BYB.