I have a pretty limited set of needs…I need it to be reasonably priced. I can't justify 1000 bucks on something. I need it to have some basic "you can't screw this up" features.

There are rare occasions when I may need to inspect a roof with it. These are rare but some two story houses are simply too dangerous for me to get on, especially if the damage to the roof is unknown.

Second reason is for overview ****s of a roof in super high resolution for me to cad my own measurements.

The last reason I need the drone is for completion photos. It's really cool to have an overview of a finished roof. I use these pics on my business page. It highlights the completed product and with enough photos, it helps customers see what I do and how nice it is finished.

I don't need to do any high speed tricks or video marketing stuff. Mostly I need decent high res photos and an inability for me to wreck the damn thing while doing it.

Does DJI have something that would suit me without breaking the bank? At the end of the day this is still a luxury but it does have some nice benefit.

I've never owned a nice one and I'm terrified of it getting away from me or getting a wind gust and losing control…I need something you'd feel ok letting your 5 year old fly. Lol.

It's more than what you want to spend, but fits your description of the rest. I love my DJI mini pro 3.

The DJI Mini 2 SE doesn't do 4k video but has a 12mp camera and can be purchased for less than $350.

I use a dji phantom 4 pro for my home inspection roof inspection. Probably use it on 80% of my Inspections now. Great 4k video, cane take stills while videoing (which is a useful feature not all drone have.). Basically flies itself with lots of avoidance sensors.

Would be a bit more than your price range and it is bigger and bulkier than the mini or mavik versions. For what you describe the mavik or mini line will probably be sufficient. Believe most of the also are pretty foolproof to fly. Just get the best camera specs for what you want to spend.

I have a mini 2 and it would probably work well enough for what you are wanting, but you will eventually want something a little beefier I would think. I enjoy flying mine, but it weighs 249g (to stay just shy of the 250g marker which brings FAA registration or at least did when I bought it). But flying it for commercial reasons you will have to register it anyway.

It is great as long as it isnt windy. Any wind and the thing would be unreliable at best for doing what you want.

Mini 2 SE or Mini 3. You've just got to figure out how much you want to spend. The fly more combos, which will give 2 extra batteries (3 total), a charging hub, carrying bag, spare props, etc., are $489 for the Mini 2 SE and $658 for the Mini 3. Both are great deals imo. Mini 3 will give you better resolution (4k vs. 2.7k) and longer flight times. Mini 3 Pro and Mavic Air 2 are probably out of your price range.

Also worth mentioning that any commercial use of a drone technically requires a FAA Part 107 license. I'm sure there are tons of people that operate without it though. Do with that information what you will...

The license is very easy to get and not expensive. Recommend doing it just to be compliant in the event something goes wrong.

One nice thing about the phantom is that it is very good in wind. I have flown in some pretty darn windy/gusty days, that really almost surprised me.

Absolute said:

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The license is very easy to get and not expensive. Recommend doing it just to be compliant in the event something goes wrong.

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How'd you do on the test? Did you use any study guides? I'm trying to take the test sometime soon. I've done some online courses/study guides and feel like i've got a decent grasp of the material. But there's no testing centers near me so i haven't taken it yet

I passed. Been long enough that I don't remember the score. It is open book monitored - their book. It comes down to being familiar with the material so you can find the answers. I found a study course online and took that and their few practice tests. 5 or 6 years ago when I did it, there were not a whole lot of options. Might be more now.

Actually thought the test was really stupid as far as what they test you on. The majority of the content is about reading maps and radio frequencies and terminology. None of which apply to drone piloting in my experience. IMO they did a really poor job adapting the real pilots test to a drone test. You will rarely if ever need to read the maps they test you on nor will you be communicating real time with traffic controllers. At least not for the kind of flying I use it for. It never really leaves my sight.

I have 2 Mavic Pro units and a Mavic Air. Comparable pics all around.
You can pick up a used Pro for $4-500. I bought the Air on this board for $300.
I get 8-10 flights (3 mins or so) for roof overview inspections per battery. For a full-on inspection figure 5 per battery. I have 5 Pro and 2 Air batteries.
I swap out depending on wind. No wind, I'll use the Air. 15+ I use the Pro.

A co-worker bought a Mini, and it was useless if wind speed is 10+.

Thanks for the info. That gives me something to read up on. I appreciate it.

I have a mini 3 pro I'll sell with the standard RC. Comes with hard case, standard battery and extended battery.

Not many flight hours as I bought it and then upgraded to a Mavic 3.

If interested we can PM. Just sitting there. If close I'd meet in person so you can see it fly and ensure I remove myself from the account before handing over.

I'm in cypress. Prob make you a good deal.

Rexter said:

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I have 2 Mavic Pro units and a Mavic Air. Comparable pics all around.
You can pick up a used Pro for $4-500. I bought the Air on this board for $300.
I get 8-10 flights (3 mins or so) for roof overview inspections per battery. For a full-on inspection figure 5 per battery. I have 5 Pro and 2 Air batteries.
I swap out depending on wind. No wind, I'll use the Air. 15+ I use the Pro.

A co-worker bought a Mini, and it was useless if wind speed is 10+.

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Last part on mini is bad info. Depends on model. My mini 3 pro will do just fine in 20 mph winds. There are FB groups everywhere that can validate.

Does no one here have concerns about DJI being Chinese?

No. Nearly everything in your home is Chinese.

Azariah said:

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Does no one here have concerns about DJI being Chinese?

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Might be silly, but I use an iPad that isn't really connected or used for anything else, instead of my phone. It's one one of the reasons I like the phantom. The set up of the remote makes it easier to use a tablet.

Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many none Chinese options out there. At least not last time I was buying.

V8Aggie said:

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I have a mini 3 pro I'll sell with the standard RC. Comes with hard case, standard battery and extended battery.

Not many flight hours as I bought it and then upgraded to a Mavic 3.

If interested we can PM. Just sitting there. If close I'd meet in person so you can see it fly and ensure I remove myself from the account before handing over.

I'm in cypress. Prob make you a good deal.

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If you still have let's talk. schmidtaggie at yahoo dot com

Revisiting this, still haven't pulled the trigger but I have a few two story houses I need to inspect and I just don't feel comfortable anymore crawling on them.

What licensing do I need to make this legit? FAA Part 107? Where do I get that? What does it cost? Are DJI still the way to go? I think Costco has DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone with RC-N2 Controller Bundle. Is this good for my purposes? Can I trace a track and let the drone do it's thing? I'm terrified of crashing this.

Jason_Roofer said:

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What licensing do I need to make this legit? FAA Part 107?

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Yes. Your drone will also need to be registered, but that's only 5 bucks

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Where do I get that?

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Map of Testing Centers

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What does it cost?

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$175, but you may also want to purchase some sort of course to study.

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Are DJI still the way to go?

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Probably

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I think Costco has DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone with RC-N2 Controller Bundle. Is this good for my purposes?

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Probably

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Can I trace a track and let the drone do it's thing? I'm terrified of crashing this.

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Yes, the DJI Mini 4 can fly waypoints, but honestly they are stupid easy to fly.

Most DJI's are super easy to fly. If I didn't crash my Mavic, you'll be fine.

boy09 said:

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Can I trace a track and let the drone do it's thing? I'm terrified of crashing this.

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Yes, the DJI Mini 4 can fly waypoints, but honestly they are stupid easy to fly.

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I don't think you would want to do this. They are inherently stable in flight (until they are not - then they crash) Flying the good drones is not the issue. There is a small learning curve, but it's easy. Trees are your biggest enemy, since the avoidance sensors don't pick them up very well and it only takes a small branch and propeller interaction to cause a crash.

You will want to get close in on some areas to see things. Otherwise you will probably do like I do and fly a logical pattern to see every part of the roof from around 10feet away. If they had a drone with a nice zoom camera, that would be nice for this application.

My typical roof inspection flight is around 15 minutes. I video the whole flight and take stills of areas that I can identify on ipad while flying. Then I review the video back in the office for more issues or to check things that I thought I might have seen. Have gotten pretty good and seeing most defects on the ipad in the field. Speaking of which, a drone that allows the use of a screen bigger than a phone will be your friend.