I went out with someone who had a DJI Phantom 2 Vision plus today and was amazed.  Now I have the itch to get one.  Is that the one to get, or are there others I should look at.  I know very little about these things, but sure looks like fun.

All I can say is get one with enclosed rotors or you'll be sorry! OR, buy a lot of spares!

To long to list here. There are better deals to be had.  First person view, camera all can be configured to your liking.  There are an infinity of motors, batteries, props, R/C controls.  It's the same as building an AR.  My sons and a friend are heavy into this as well as other hobbies.  Unfortunately all expensive, of course.  One thing is for sure if you spend 1,200 plus on a DJI you will be buying aftermarket parts to tailor your requirements.  I know my sons did not like DJI because of the batteries and connectors they use. Non standard I believe.  I will ask them the name of the company they use, my youngest works shows for them on occasion.  I will post it here.

Thanks T-bill. Look forward to learning more.

Howard, they are using a Blade 350 QX quadcopter with accessories from Horizon Hobby.  Their dealer is Time Flys. He's a HobbyTown dealer in Scranton, PA.  I know they buy a lot of parts off of the internet, ebay and such.

Thanks, I'll check it out.  I am getting a lot of conflicting advice on this.  Some (like you) are telling me to buy a cheaper one and add components while others are telling me to just get the DJI with all the bells and whistles.  I am starting to get the feeling that this is like PC's, you can buy a Dell or build your own.  The Dell has everything out of the box and support but you may pay more for non-standard stuff; while when you build you design it the way you want but by the time all is said and done you may actually spend more money and have "issues" but you may get some better features.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  

Well you may be right there.  My guys are build o' holics.  Goes with the territory.  Both work for a company that designs, builds, and sells custom solutions for the government and industry.  Remote visual inspection and non-destructive testing as well as stuff for airline industry and even NASCAR. 

 

I like it because I have complete access to a fully featured machine shop and powder coat shop. Makes those projects I work on a lot smoother.

Lots of details/setup/video at this page on the DJI Phantom:

 

http://paulstamatiou.com/getting-started-with-drones-quadcopters/

Thanks, will check will check those out!

 

 

 

-----Just going through it now, some very insightful info there.  Thanks.