From floridarealtors.org
For real estate agents look for a more affordable drone, you’re in luck.
In one corner, action-cam manufacturer GoPro, which recently unveiled its first drone, the $800 foldable Karma.
In the other corner is DJI, the No. 1 drone manufacturer, which responded by revealing Mavic Pro.
Like the Karma, the Mavic is small and totable, with a full-featured 4K camera and software for easy flying. The camera will sell for $999 and be available this month.
Also this month, rival Yuneec released a smaller, easier-to-fly but more bare-bones $599 Breeze.
To compete, DJI, which has a 70 percent market share in drone sales, is offering more of the full-featured qualities seen in its Phantom series but in a smaller, less expensive package.
Drones, and the ability to photograph the world from a different, overhead perspective, have emerged as one of the most popular consumer tech gifts.
The Federal Aviation Administration says 1 million drones were sold in 2015’s holiday season, and more are expected this year.
They’re also becoming increasingly popular in the real estate industry.
Zillow.com said the many benefits include capturing:
• Encompassing aerial views of the entire property and land
• What the drive home or the kids’ walk to school looks like
• The neighborhood and surrounding area, including the home’s proximity to amenities
• Civic developments or local improvement districts the buyer’s property taxes might contribute to
• Property maps and surveys
Zillow.com said many real estate agents obtain elevated photography using airplanes and helicopters, which can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars per flight and limit the number of properties agents can afford to shoot.
Drones can significantly cut the cost of shooting elevated imagery and enable agents to use their aerial footage on many more listings, regardless of price range, the website said.
Depending on the equipment setup, drones can shoot stills, video or both. Agents can edit and share the video using a number of tools and without extensive experience or expertise.
Zillow.com said drone operation mostly requires a steady hand. But even if an agent does choose to outsource drone photography, it might still be less expensive than hiring an airplane or helicopter.
USAToday.com recently accompanied DJI’s director of education, Romeo Durscher, for a test flight of the Mavic.
The takeoff and landings are touted as virtually automatic, and after the quick tutorial, the drone really did respond accordingly.
But most impressive was the footage, which included smooth, sharp and awe-inspiring video of the Mavic soaring off the cliffs.
Another high point — the ability to select a person on the screen for the drone to follow.
DJI says the Mavic is its first “personal” drone, small enough (the size of a water bottle) to “toss in a bag” and with easier-than-before flying via a controller and a smartphone app, which can stream live video to Facebook and the Periscope app.
GoPro’s Karma will sell without an attached GoPro camera, which can cost an extra $400, but it comes with an attached grip to use the mechanical stabilizer on land for similar drone-like footage on the ground.
DJI also sells a land grip setup, the Osmo, for $549 with a built-in 4K camera, or $299 for the Osmo Mobile, which connects to your smartphone camera.
On paper, the Karma sounds like the better deal. We know how cool GoPro cameras look and the biggest negative to them has been shaky footage.
Now, with the stabilizer of the drone, that problem has been addressed, plus you get the land grip for free.
But DJI has one huge selling point: This company knows drones. That’s what they do, while GoPro is new to the business.