I'm considering to get a drone for help to capture photos/videos of birds. Searching for this subject returns posts telling that birds get stressed from drones, may see it as a danger, may attack the drone... They all seem to talk about flying the drone near the birds. That was not my idea. My idea for using a drone in bird watching was to place a remote controlled camera at some location that is hard to access in other ways - like a cliff. The idea is to land the drone. Turn off it's propellers, and remotely operate the camera, and fly back when done. I've never used a drone before, so maybe my idea is a total waste of time.
I'm trying to set up a list of requirements for such a drone. I'm not expecting to find a drone that fills these requirements, but I'm looking for a drone that can be modified to fit most of them.
1) Battery capacity: Most drones seems to be able to fly for 20-40 minutes. I'm guessing the battery will last way longer than that if drone is sitting on the ground just operating the camera. But even if this doubles the battery time, I need more battery. I imagine that I will fly the drone in before sun rise, let it sit in a power save mode, waiting for birds to wake up, then start the camera, record when something happens, then fly out after sunset. So say I'll need 10 times more battery than standard. I'll most probably need to build some drone body extension to allow for more batteries.
2) Lifting capacity: The extra batteries adds weight. From what I've read in specs a typical small drone battery weights 50-60g. Then adding 10x battery capacity would add about 600g.
3) Landing gear: I'll probably need to attach legs to the drone - something like a wide tripod so that it will sit still when landed.
4) Camera placement: In order to land on places that may no be visible from the operators location, the camera must be able to tilt all the way down. Basically - film the landing zone during landing
5) Camera gimbal - manual control: As the landing most likely is not on a flat surface, there is a need to camera to be on a gimbal. This must be remotely operated in 2 axis (tilt and horizontal rotate), while the third axis should be automatic (make sure the tilt is vertical and horizontal rotate is horizontal).
6) Camera zoom: Zoom is required. Optical zoom is preferred, but I think if the camera chip has very high resolution, digital zoom can do the job. If a 20x digital zoom maintains a native HD resolution, I think that is good enough
7) Range: I'm hoping for up to 4000m with trees blocking line of sight, or 500m with rocks/mountain blocking line of sight
8 ) Video link: As I'm planing to land the drone on places that may be out of sight, I need the video to not lag far behind. I guess camera resolution can be reduced during flight, and raised during recording
9) Video storage: a large memory card in the drone would be preferred.
10) Aux-connection: One or two remote controlled binary outputs on the drone would be preferred. This may be used for landing lights, or maybe add a clamp under the drone (if there is a clamp under that can be remotely operated to open, the drone may be able to land on top of a tiny bush or grass, and grab onto it so the drone doesn't get thrown away if there is a bird attacking.)
Any suggestions for changes to the list?
Any suggestions for drones that could be suitable as a base for modifications to come close to this list?
I'm trying to set up a list of requirements for such a drone. I'm not expecting to find a drone that fills these requirements, but I'm looking for a drone that can be modified to fit most of them.
1) Battery capacity: Most drones seems to be able to fly for 20-40 minutes. I'm guessing the battery will last way longer than that if drone is sitting on the ground just operating the camera. But even if this doubles the battery time, I need more battery. I imagine that I will fly the drone in before sun rise, let it sit in a power save mode, waiting for birds to wake up, then start the camera, record when something happens, then fly out after sunset. So say I'll need 10 times more battery than standard. I'll most probably need to build some drone body extension to allow for more batteries.
2) Lifting capacity: The extra batteries adds weight. From what I've read in specs a typical small drone battery weights 50-60g. Then adding 10x battery capacity would add about 600g.
3) Landing gear: I'll probably need to attach legs to the drone - something like a wide tripod so that it will sit still when landed.
4) Camera placement: In order to land on places that may no be visible from the operators location, the camera must be able to tilt all the way down. Basically - film the landing zone during landing
5) Camera gimbal - manual control: As the landing most likely is not on a flat surface, there is a need to camera to be on a gimbal. This must be remotely operated in 2 axis (tilt and horizontal rotate), while the third axis should be automatic (make sure the tilt is vertical and horizontal rotate is horizontal).
6) Camera zoom: Zoom is required. Optical zoom is preferred, but I think if the camera chip has very high resolution, digital zoom can do the job. If a 20x digital zoom maintains a native HD resolution, I think that is good enough
7) Range: I'm hoping for up to 4000m with trees blocking line of sight, or 500m with rocks/mountain blocking line of sight
8 ) Video link: As I'm planing to land the drone on places that may be out of sight, I need the video to not lag far behind. I guess camera resolution can be reduced during flight, and raised during recording
9) Video storage: a large memory card in the drone would be preferred.
10) Aux-connection: One or two remote controlled binary outputs on the drone would be preferred. This may be used for landing lights, or maybe add a clamp under the drone (if there is a clamp under that can be remotely operated to open, the drone may be able to land on top of a tiny bush or grass, and grab onto it so the drone doesn't get thrown away if there is a bird attacking.)
Any suggestions for changes to the list?
Any suggestions for drones that could be suitable as a base for modifications to come close to this list?
