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S6-Pro Multicopter and Gimbal
  • Anyone have experience with the S6-Pro hexacopter?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/S6-PRO-UAV-Combo-w-DJI-Wookong-M-Free-Shipping-/271126940723?pt=US_Radio_Control_Control_Line&hash=item3f206ccc33

    Only a few videos I've found online and not much in terms of opinion or reviews.

    I'm trying to find the cheapest solution for aerial video that still gives good results and I need to be able to fly more than a GoPro. GH2 to 5D range in weight.

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  • There's a few videos but nothing in the realm of personal opinion or feedback. It's nice to know if something is "easy to use" or "took a long time setting up" rather than just watching tests clips.

  • "Cheapest solution that still gives good results". That is very subjective, we would need to know your exact budget situation and your exact goals, and even then we would be guessing. (in other words it's impossible for anyone to answer except you).

    My advice: buying the right parts for aerial video is only a very small part of what it takes to get "good results". If you don't know if this multicopter will work for your situation, then you likely need to do a lot more research before you buy anything. Specifically, this multirotor has a some cheap electronics that I probably wouldn't trust with a nice camera. Also it does not come with a R/C controller or any radio equipment and is far from a complete kit. In short you could get a better setup for less money if you do a little research.

    However no multirotor is going to give you "good results" for aerial video right out of the box. If you are serious about getting "good results" then get ready to spend a LOT of time for research and learning about electronics, radio controllers, motors and batteries, balancing motors and props, tuning flight controllers, tuning gimbal controllers, etc etc. That doesn't include the time it takes to learn to operate these effectively and safely.

    But if you want current advice about buying equipment, unless you are in a huge rush to get a project done (in which case I recommend hiring a pro crew), then wait and don't buy anything now. The new generation of brushless direct drive gimbals are right around the corner, they are already available for go-pro and small cameras and will be available for lager cameras very soon. They will be cheaper and magnitudes better than the servo reduction gear gimbals available now. In the mean time you should buy a small cheap quad copter and learn how to fly it, fix it and tune it to fly again after the unavoidable crashes.

  • +1 for onlocation - currently working on brushless motor based gimbals, electronics are here, motors hand wound at the moment. Have seen motors with the high torque low speed windings for sale on US web sites.

    There's new firmware for the NAZA series since about a week ago - makes em even easier fly, but until you can master the nose-in hover you shouldn't be on a set ;)

  • @onlocation @andyharris Thanks guys. Appreciate your feedback and advice. I'm looking to learn as much as I can and will be the first to admit I know very little. However the problem is that the online community does not appear to be very helpful to newcomers. At least that's the impression I get.

    I know this stuff is complicated but I'm very willing to learn, just need the right tools. Forums are full of information but it's almost impossible to track down good, solid, and intelligible content that actually teaches something. There isn't an Andrew Kramer or Philip Bloom of multicopters? There should be.

    Does anyone have any links to informative videos that break this stuff down in an easy to follow manner?

    In the short time since looking at the S6-Pro I think I have found some better solutions for what I need. Looking into the Tarot Iron Man 1000 for a frame, a DJI Naza V2 as the flight controller, and some 620KV motors. But as I research more I'm sure all that will change as well haha.

    I'd like to get a fully operational copter for under $3,000 total. Not "cheap" but certainly more affordable than $7K+ any suggestions are appreciated.

  • @Xenocide38 you are getting into a whole new world, there is no easy route.

    Sure a Philip Bloom camera guide might make sense to you now, but if you were a complete novice to photography and didn't understand even basic camera terminology, then his advice would probably not help at all, and at worst seem overly complicated and discourage you.

    That is where you are at now in the R/C aerial video world. It may seem overwhelming because there is a lot of new information being presented at once, and there is no easy way to learn except to dig in and start reading everything you can find. A lot of the info you need to learn will first require you to have a basic understanding of something else. Almost all of the systems are electronic based, so that is a good place to start. For example understand volt, amp, watt, resistance, capacity, and things like that first, then learn about battery sizes and voltage regulators for on-board accessories, and it will all make a lot more sense.

    The reason people don't appear to be helpful to you now is because there are literally hundreds of guys showing up all over the forums looking for the easy route just like you (nothing wrong with that, it's just that you are not the first one). Asking questions that have already been asked hundreds of times will not get you much help, and making more posts dilutes the good information and makes it even harder to search for. Just about every good question and every major concept has been discussed in depth so it's better to learn good searching skills and get ready to read a LOT, rather than make new posts.

    Once you get to a basic level of understanding, you'll find in fact there are plenty of people out there that are very helpful. For example some of the latest and greatest brushless gimbal controllers are open source and guys are working together to develop the hardware and the software for free. That type of stuff is way over most of our capabilities so it is amazing they are willing to share (just like here on these forums).

    ***And just remember, no matter how hard you think getting into aerial video is now, it is magnitudes easier now than it was just a few years ago, so you may not get much sympathy about the complexity of the subject from guys with more experience. ***

  • @onlocation Thank you, from a novice perspective it is very difficult to find the right resources and information but I'm diligent so will continue to read through forums hopefully picking up useful advice here and there.

    I guess my main point though is that there doesn't seem to be a supply of quality videos regarding the subject. Forums are great and I do understand the frustration of people constantly having to repeat themselves to the newbies who show up daily. Seems the best way to combat this would be for people to produce videos explaining those basics. Obviously that's a lot more work but I just figured someone would have done it by now.

    This video series was one of the few I found and was actually very helpful.

    But it's just one guy, from hoverfly, it'd be nice to have various perspectives and personalities. So maybe that's my challenge to anyone reading this, if you have the knowledge, explain it and share it with others.

    Maybe once I figure it all out I'll make some videos.