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Drones with zoom recommendation needed.

mikeydz

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Hello.

I need a recommendation for a drone under $4k that has good zoom capability.

I work for a Cellular provider, and we use Phantom 4 Pros v2 for our tower surveys. However, towers also tend to attract birds and their nests. So on occasion, before we can do a survey on a tower, we need to identify if a bird site is active without disturbing the birds or there nests, so as not to potentially violate US federal laws. So my boss has asked me to recommend a drone that can take a good quality image from over 660ft away from a tower for this purpose. I took a test image with the Phantom, and while I was surprised I could generally identify the equipment on the tower, it's really to blurry to identify if a bird nest is active or what types of birds.

So what should I recommend they look at. I know the Mavic 3 would fit within the budget, but I've read different stories on the quality of the zoom images (everything from "its outstanding" to its just ok for generally scouting a site from a distance). Would the zoom capability of the Mavic 3 work well for what we need to do, or are there other drone options within our budget that would be better?

Thanks.
 
I don't think you are going to find anything under 4k with quality telephoto lenses. I don't know where you are flying but here in California we have the red tailed hawks and eagles that are a real pain at time, they are very teritorial.
I would recommend getting rid of their nests.
 
I don't think you are going to find anything under 4k with quality telephoto lenses. I don't know where you are flying but here in California we have the red tailed hawks and eagles that are a real pain at time, they are very teritorial.
I would recommend getting rid of their nests.
Hi.

We basically fly all across the US. The problem with getting rid of the nests is that most birds that nest on a tower are protected federal law, so if it's active, then unless you get a permit (supposed to be extremely hard to get), you can't touch them. I forget the exact rules off hand, but it's a real pain. And if it's a possible eagles nest, then I believe you have to stay 660ft away, which makes determining that it's an eagle nest or if it's active especially difficult. Which is the reason they want to find a drone that can get a decent image from at least that distance to make the determination.
 
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Greetings from Birmingham Alabama, welcome to the forum!
The only drone that I know of under 4k and does a decent job is the Mavic 2 Zoom.
Thanks for the welcome!

So the Mavic 2 Zoom's digital zoom will get a better photo than the Mavic 3's hybrid? I guess I can see that, since the sensor on the 2 is a 1in, whereas the Mavic 3's zoom camera only seems to be a 1/2in.
 
I don't think you are going to find anything under 4k with quality telephoto lenses. I don't know where you are flying but here in California we have the red tailed hawks and eagles that are a real pain at time, they are very teritorial.
I would recommend getting rid of their nests.
That sort of defeats the purpose of his request bud. He needs to identify their nesting areas prior to flying them in order to NOT disturb the nests and stay on the good side of the Regulations.
 
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...... I took a test image with the Phantom, and while I was surprised I could generally identify the equipment on the tower, it's really to blurry to identify if a bird nest is active or what types of birds.
.....
IMHO, if the test images from the P4 were marginal, then try out the M2Z. It's not the best Zoom on the market it probably is one of the best within that price range. I'd check locally and see if someone has one you can fly and TEST out before buying the M3.
 
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Hello.

I need a recommendation for a drone under $4k that has good zoom capability.

I work for a Cellular provider, and we use Phantom 4 Pros v2 for our tower surveys. However, towers also tend to attract birds and their nests. So on occasion, before we can do a survey on a tower, we need to identify if a bird site is active without disturbing the birds or there nests, so as not to potentially violate US federal laws. So my boss has asked me to recommend a drone that can take a good quality image from over 660ft away from a tower for this purpose. I took a test image with the Phantom, and while I was surprised I could generally identify the equipment on the tower, it's really to blurry to identify if a bird nest is active or what types of birds.

So what should I recommend they look at. I know the Mavic 3 would fit within the budget, but I've read different stories on the quality of the zoom images (everything from "its outstanding" to its just ok for generally scouting a site from a distance). Would the zoom capability of the Mavic 3 work well for what we need to do, or are there other drone options within our budget that would be better?

Thanks.
Hi Mike, I was curious how a person can seek work in the industry? I would really like to explore doing tower surveys. What would you recommend?

Thanks,
Addie
 
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Mike
Living here in the Northeast, I myself would like to explore getting into tower surveys. Recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pete
 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Mike
Living here in the Northeast, I myself would like to explore getting into tower surveys. Recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pete
I have been testing the Mavic 3T for my commercial work the past couple months. So far I am happy with the results for mapping and thermal work. I have not focused much on the zoom capabilities yet, but will try to capture something soon for reference regarding tower inspection.
 

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