I want to buy one of these

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3#page1

But the FAA says I cannot use it legally for selling stock video. Do any of you use drones for aerial stock? Do all the major agencies accept it?

Does the FAA not have rules and issue permits?  In Canada, transport Canada issued new rules, still a LOT of paperwork and insurance but one can do it and do it often enough for a year with no incidents and they issue blanked permits apparently.

I believe agencies will accept the footage, I've seen lots of it out there but you are on your own should FAA see it and track you own since you have already given them the evidence for a charge, also keep in mind that law abiding non-drone equipped camera ops can drop the dime on you as well and the fines are massive and can put you out of business.

A ton of people here are doing it illegally for real estate agents, they advertise on Kijiji and other places, they are sitting ducks for when investigators come looking and lay charges.

Believe me I was so tempted but in the end I decided not to, can't legally do it for business unless all the regulations are met and not only are there huge fines but you name might go out in a press release....online, and now your name comes up in  a bad light in any Google search by any prospective or current employer.  Not worth the risk doing it illegally in my opinion.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/general-recavi-uav-2265.htm?WT.mc_id=1zfhj#safety

http://blog.flitelab.com/2015/01/17/canadian-commercial-drone-regulations-for-dummies/

http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2015/06/19/264038.htm

The FAA is not pursuing anyone at this time as in a year it will be legal and you will need a license anyway. I just got a drone and I say fly smart. I steer clear of crowds and film in town at sunrise where traffic is the lowest. I use it with planned shoots for another angle and stay smart. I plan on getting my license and then head into the commercial and real-estate markets in my area. Getting my skill and practice in now. You will also need insurance which is wise anyways!

thanks much jeff~, What did you buy?

Just a thought, have you purchased a $40 husban mini copter, just to see if you can do it?  They don't exactly fly themselves, its true with GPS they will hover around in a small area, but you the pilot still have to avoid things like tree limbs and power lines.  I have flown RC for 25 years, and flying one around the yard is OK, but trying to fly while looking through video googles or looking at a monitor is something totally different.

I have a medium sized tricopter with a gopro and found that without a gyro stabilized camera mount, its not usuable.  I have purchased a stabilized gopro mount, but haven't finished installing it yet.  Some say that when it becomes licensed by the FAA, it will be for flying a much more expensive copter than the DJ quads.

good suggestion on learning to fly with a cheap copter. thanks
the new Phantom 3 has a stabilizing gimbal that i believe does what you mentioned. check it out and lemme know

I bought the DJI Phantom 3 Professional

I've done some brief research as to the situation re stock footage from drones here  in the UK to see if its viable for me personally.

To use a drone for producing commercial footage  in the UK (which will included submitting to stock agencies) the operator must have Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) permission. Permission is granted on an annual basis at a cost of up to �226 depending on the weight of the drone + equipment being used.  Permission is only given to pilots who have undergone their approved training courses, which cost �1000 and upwards.

There have been a number of recently reported near misses between drones and commercial aircraft in the UK and also serious flouting of CAA regulations by unknown operators, including  one drone flown near a full football stadium. I suspect that the CAA may well start to come down heavily on those who flout the regulations and I personally would not take the risk of operating without the legal requirements being sorted. You can also bet than any insurance an operator has taken out would be declared invalid by the insurer if the drone was operated illegally.

I like the idea of shooting stock from on high, but I'm not convinced the costs involved will be easily recouped just by royalties at microstock rates, so I have abandoned the idea as far as my own work is concerned.

Quote from: Holmes on June 20, 2015, 23:34

I want to buy one of these

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3#page1

But the FAA says I cannot use it legally for selling stock video. Do any of you use drones for aerial stock? Do all the major agencies accept it? 

To answer directly.
Yes, stock agencies will accept video from Inspire 1 / GoPro / Phantom 3 Pro (same camera as Inspire) as long as it is stable and reasonable quality.  There is generally a bit of paper work involved but flying drones can be legal is most countries if you do your research.  Norway (where I am based) has a good system to approve pilots to work commercially.  A headache to get everything in order but nice when it is complete.  In retrospect, much of the paperwork and requirements are also very necessary (ie. insurance, proper operation manual, flight logging etc)

the FAA now has a "petition process" in place offering "exceptions" from some Sec. 330 regulation which effectively allows commercial AP/V operations within certain safety limits etc. (Check it out on the FAA.gov website, if you happen to be U. S. based).

Myself much more interested in Norway, could you point me to the process (some link?) and where I would have to apply? Thanks :)

Quote from: jjneff on June 22, 2015, 06:00

I bought the DJI Phantom 3 Professional

Jjneff, is the quality of photo and video stock acceptable?

yes it is.

Yes, just shoot at sunrise and sunset for best results. One word of advice aside from all the flying laws is to shoot at sunrise, less people out and safer for you and the drone. I have not be questioned or bothered once in 4 months I have owned it. I stay out of people's way!

tahanks jjneff, I was considering getting Phantom2 with GoPro4 but my research shows that Phantom's3 camera gives better quality still photo. on the other hand having a copter without built in camera gives you possibility to change optics when there is something new/better on the market without changing a drone. Sending a dslr into the sky is very expensive, i was thinking about compact camera, but gimbals are also expensive toys. There are some rc tech guys willing to assemble the system for compact, but I don't want to carry a soldering gun in my bag and all those sticking out wires looks user unfriendly.

Have you been exercising on smaller copters before flying P3?

Love that Niagra Falls video. It certainly seems like you should be getting more than micro prices for it.

I bought the Phantom 3 DJI and used it last weak on a real estate photo shoot. Worked out great and plan to use on lots of stock still and video.

Here is a sample of some of the stock stuff I have done with a drone in the past 2 years.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hceIbMYDtXE all the aerial shots are done with a phantom 2, gopro and gimbal. It's taken 2 years to pay for the drone through stock, so... not exactly a great investment as far as I'm concerned. It's been fun though, I fly mostly from a boat, so it's exciting if nothing else. One wrong move and your out a couple grand. Click HD button and turn on the music if you decide to watch.