Believe it or not Mirela, I heard about this about a year ago and most Realtors thought it was a joke. But apparently some have bought it. It seems a bit extravagant in my opinion, and I never heard of the quality of the photos. What if you crash the plane into the neighbors house? Does your E&O insurance cover that?? : ) Seems like an aerial helicopter might be more appropriate.

OK, Mirela, this sounds like one of those model planes my brother used to fly when he was a kid - and he was always crashing the things!  So is this a spoof?

I would have to see the quality of the pictures, and also, how can you get a specific photo? Does it just take a general wide angle shot? 

It seems a bit shaky to me.  I'm up in the air about it.

*groan*

(there, I did it for everyone.)

Patricia:  No, I'm actually going to try it.  It seems legit.  I was wondering if someone else has tried it.

Gary:  lol.  I'll practice on the beach first.  It couldn't do any more damage than a seagull... 

Karen:  That's funny: "up in the air about it"!

I guess we'll never know until we try....

Mirela~ Is this for REAL?  I looked at the "Target"site you recommended.  Do YOU know anyone that has used this?  I am going to come back to your responses to see if anyone has used it or knows someone that has.....  How would you know WHEN to take the photos?  How would you know what it sees in the lens?  Please let me know if you find out anything... Thanks, Vickie

GREAT! Another toy for me to buy.....wait a minute. We can now add that to the list of services WE provide to our clients! "Mrs. Smith, I will be by tomorrow with my plane to take an aerial shot of your property....can I launch from your driveway?"

Great, now we have to worry about getting hit by little tiny planes too.

That's pretty neat.  And pretty scarry at the same time!

Mirela,

First I read your blog, I was ecstatic. Then I read the comments, and they cooled me a bit. But still, what a cool idea. I am actually thinking that someone should jump on the opportunity to build something for Realtors, maybe a chopper like Gary suggests. There is so much potential. I am simply afraid that for a toy for 12 - y.o. kids they would not put a decent camera, and the quality could be poor. Keep us informed of your experience.

Jan:  I have been surprised before when I try new things that other people are skeptical about.  I have a can opener that is amazing, and I got so excited about it. It just crimps the can open, it doesn't cut it (it just unseals it open), so there is never any particle of metal in the food.  I tried it and it works better than anything else.  I am horrible with gadgets, but I'll try it anyway.  If I do well with it, everyone else can.

By the way, my daughter has had a camera since she was 5.  By 12 she took better pictures than most adults. 

Ron:  Why scared?  I guess you could raid your competitor's neighborhood...   Just think of the applications....

Michael:  ...Better than being hit by BIG planes...  Have no worries, this is innocuous enough.

Wow, we had not heard of this yet. We will have to check it out at Target. Seems pretty interesting...

Mirela, This will be a great gift too!.  I can think of several different ways to utilize it in my business.  Depending on the quality, Ill be sure to share my first pictures.

This is funny.... I literally was at a remote controlled airplane store YESTERDAY in fact inquiring about this type of thing.

After spending an hour with someone very knowledgeable this is what I walked away with:

RC airplanes are the cheapest way to go and the easiest to learn, HOWEVER (BIG however)....

You need a runway to land and take off... just like real planes.  For taking photos in residential areas (my main focus), it's just not practical as you don't have the oftentimes, and you have neighbors, trees, powerlines, etc.  

What is a FAR better choice is a remote controlled helicopter.  However, they are more expensive, and evidently the learning curve with something like this is quite extensive.  But since you can elevate the helicopter from the sitting position, you don't need a runway, but maneuvering the thing looks like a pretty intense learning curve.  Then you add in the cost of a very lightweight camera, etc.

And for photographing houses, it's important to be able to learn how to accurately steer the helicopter so you can get the correct shot - not an easy thing to do.  You can get a remote that will allow you to 'watch' your pictures from a remote link on a laptop, but then you're getting into some big money.

I decided I'm sticking to my pole photography - it just makes more sense for residential photos.

So, I get to buy a toy I've ALWAYS wanted to try (and I'm 52), charge it to biz, and it may help me make money? 

Wonder if the pics are any good

Okay, round 2.  I went to the Estes web site.  They have no info on the camera, so probably not a very high resolution, but here's the catch in my mind.  4 minute flying time.  Means you have to get really good at flying, get in position quick, and snap one of your 26 photo's at the right time.

Call me a negative nay-sayer but really, this is probably not going to be very useful for real estate photography and it will be a very expensive "experiment."  I'll be happy to be proven wrong...

This might be great for large estates - or large farms, or taking general "cityscapes" but overall, I think it might not be the best investment.

But I'll wait and see what someone else does and what kinds of pictures it produces...and then I'd like a follow up review six months later.  Lots of times I'm THRILLED with something right out of the gate but after using it a while the honeymoon phase enters "real world..."

...like my experience with the Kodak v705  I loved the camera when I first got it, but after I used it several months I became exasperated with the limitations of the camera and now I probably would NOT recommend it unless it could be purchased for  $50-$75...that's about what it's worth to me, and I spent over $200 for it.

Wow!  So I don't need to do the research, I can just write the blog and wait for your input?  Works for me!  You guys are great!  Thank you for all your input! 

I will still try the plane, although, I must admit, that Fred's suggestion is even better - a helicopter.   I'll let you know how well it works.  Stay tuned!  Revisit my blog in a month or two!

A friend of mine does this for a living. Check it out!

http://saiphotos.com/

I have his photos framed and hanging in my office.

With a remote control plane like this one? 

YES! It's probably a bigger/better setup, but he started this years ago. He straps a light digital camera to the plane and takes hundreds of photos at a time with it. He does a lot of corporate work.

Clever Idea as long as you can control it.  I can just see it crashing into a roof, expoding like in the movies and seeing your E & O insurance go up in flames while watching the fire department put out the house fire. lol.

Only 4 minutes of flying time?  Ouch.  Better work fast.

That would be a hoot if you had a cheating spouse.  Keep the plane flying while following them to their destination...then buzz them.  4 minutes would kill it though.

Thanks for the tip.  This looks like it could pay for itself the first time it is used.  I'd like to hear some good testimonials before purchasing.  However, I'll be looking into it.

Pam

My husband was interested in getting a plane to fly.  We went to an arts and craft store and they suggested we buy an expensive program on learning how to fly.  It's something like what an actual pilot would do.  This is serious stuff.  The reason is because if you crash your plane, you might not be able to revive it.  You also have to make sure you have plenty of room for a runway.  You wouldn't be able to just go in any neighborhood and do this.

I can see the headlines now: "Realtor loses control of RC aircraft over freeway, 87 car pileup with traffic blocked for hours. Police, FAA, and local mental health professional are investigating."

Flying one of these bad boys is not as easy as you might think.

Great Idea as usual

Spencer:  Thank you very much!  I appreciate your  lovely comment!

Stay tuned! I'm delving into the Helicoper issue.