Quad copter plus go pro?

[ARIX]

Any of you guys have one with a go pro? Im looking to grab one and was wondering bout the best platform. Any input would be appreciated.

[barronj]

Can't contribute to your query, but thought I'd share something anecdotal-

At Easter, a teenager (18?) had a hexacopter with a go pro, and a screen mounted on the control box so you could see what it saw (they kept calling it a drone). This lucky little shit was telling me that he had it set so the GPS would "chase" the GPS signal on his wakeboard boat so that they got the sickest videos of them wakeboarding. He mentioned that he'd ruined his wakeboard boat by letting it sit over the winter with salt water in the manifolds, and had to sell it for next to nothing. #richkidproblems

[MustangPoser]

For doing what Barron is talking about (GPS follow/go home), and autonomous flight, you will need the quad copter, camera, and:

http://www.openpilot.org/products/openpilot-coptercontrol-platform/

with
http://www.dragonlinkstore.com/v2/ (streaming video/UHF, ~15 mile range. 2.4ghz = 1 mile range)

Have one I'm going to be using soon on the disc golf course to capture video for one of my websites. Also have a 2 meter fixed wing. When you start doing research, your going to stumble across DJI and many other platforms. Their good for buy and go, but they are far overpriced and over-hyped.

Your best bet is to buy a frame and outfit it as you see fit, based upon your requirements. Here are some cheapies:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?whl=XX&idCategory=502&v=&sortlist=P&LiPoConfig=&CatSortOrder=desc

If you just want something to dick around with, get something like this:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26944__IDEAFLY_IFLY_4_Quadcopter_with_Motor_ESC_Flight_Controller_PNF_.html

It's not highly advanced stuff, and while major manufacturers make everything sound so high tech, it's really not all that advanced. People building them at home might tell you it's hard, but some people consider doing brakes on their car a challenge..

[Tannerm]

Uh. But doesn't the Parot AR.Drone quadchopper not have a front and down facing cam? It does. Syncs to your iPad, iPhone, or android device and can record. Around $300 bucks at brookstones. Bad ass IMO. But the stock battery life is shit (5-7 minutes?!)

Edit: poser posted some sweet stuff! I'm new to this stuff and am impressed. I want one bad. Just to play with. Dang cool.

[Quadforce]

my father is in to this stuff he has built a couple different ones the camera set up is FPV set up and he says it is pretty cool. Lot sof people are getting into this for arial photography and they do not have the cost and risk associated with helicopters

[85whtgt]

I would look into a dji phantom. Has built in GPS features( will literally fly itself home if you turn the transmitter off), comes with a gopro mount and will go up to almost a thousand feet.

[Rotortrash]

I have a dji flame wheel 550 hex, with a gyro stabilized mount for the go pro. It depends on what you want to do with it as to what the best setup is. It has a gps auto pilot, etc, etc. it takes some AMAZING video!