Beware...this is a wall of text.. :)
There are different sizes and with those, different uses and so on.
There are a couple of paths that you can go on...
Prebuilt(non Modifiable): If you don't want to mess with wiring everything up
Prebuilt(someone built and is selling them as a starter): This allows you to change, upgrade and learn a bit more about the craft, plus you know that you could replace parts by shopping around.
Build em yourself: For those of us that either like the build process, the learning of how they work, or the pulling the hair out and hours of searching online for why something doesn't work.....I fall into this group because....A, technology, B, I've been into RC stuff since the 90's, C It's fun!
Prebuilt entry level
Something like these are great learner craft and can take a lot of abuse. Easily flyable in the house or outside.
Syma X5c
H107C
Prebuilt fpv
When you want to get a taste of that POV of the craft....this is pretty awesome and the downward spiral to getting the bigger stuff. :D
Hubsan H107
Prebuilt advanced.
This gets expensive...
DJI Phantom 3
Quality is great with these but you are limited to what you can repair and it can get very expensive in a crash.
Prebuilt Pro
You could by a used car with the cost of these....
DJI Inspire 1
This is an amazingly beautiful craft...best left after gaining some flight experience....
they are a solid piece of kit and have started getting some traction various areas(movie industry outside of the US)
Google the name and you should see some amazing video.
If you want to build em yourself and are prepared for it, read on!
There are different sizes of craft, small, like the ones that I had with me, to very large(heavy lift that can lug around a RED DC setup)
The pair that I had brought and that you saw are around the 250-300 size, meaning distance from rotor to rotor on the opposite corner. These are great park flying craft, and can get up to speed very quickly, very maneuverable(the P-51 of the multirotor world). These can range from 150 for the cheapest of the cheap(not recommended) to easily over 450 for the more expensive gear. The ideal price point is around 250-275 for a very flyable/enjoyable setup.
Required parts for flying:
Frame:
ZMR250 This is a good, pretty durable and fairly decent frame(I have 2 of them) for $35ish, it's a real bargain.ZMR250
ESCs:
12A for starting is good. This is also a decision point. ESC's come in a couple of flavors, ones with a BEC, and ones without (aka OPTO)With opto's you need to provide the power that the BEC enabled ones come with. This isnt a bad thing and I've gone this route on a few.
Opto: ZTW Spyder ESC
BEC enabled: MS ESC with BEC
You'll need 4 of them...but I recommend 5 just to play it safe...never know when you can fry one on accident or one is a dud..
Motors:
1806's are a good size to start out at.1806 motors
Here are a few, and though MRSS has the airbot motors
http://www.readytoflyquads.com/rtf-mini-motor-x1806-2300kv
for the same price, these are suppose to be pretty much the best bang for the buck(had I known they were going to be on sale, I'd have bought them too!)
cheapy 1806's
Flight controller:
Another area of fun. There are some made for just flying, and some that have some extra features. For the most part, I've stuck with the basic one though I've also got the upgraded one to see how much better it was. Both are good and if you want alt hold or to use a gps, the later is something to consider, though the firmware for these don't have the greatest of gps support....so...These also require you to plug them into a compter to configure them.
These are your entry level FC's
NAZE32 Acro
Naze32 Acro V5
This is the basic get it flying one, no special frills, just the basics
NAZE32
Naze32 Full
This adds to the basics with a baro, some logging memory and magnatometer(useful for using compass features in an OSD(heads up display pretty much) and some other things related to GPS).
KK2.1.5
HK kk2.1.5
I've used this one and thought it was pretty nice. you can set it up without having to plug into a computer. It's been given a bad rap because it's not a pro board with other wizbang items, but it was what I started with and it actually worked out great.
RC Radio(TX):
This is a tricky one. Going cheap is fine and you could get away with less, but if you want a good radio with just ridiculous features....and another steal for the price, this is the one....Taranis Plus
http://www.alofthobbies.com/radio-gear/frsky-transmitters.html
I think the Turnigy 9x is a nice radio, though I haven't used it. I believe it can be had for around $90ish.
You want mode 2 for this one(not just the v2 model).
RC Reciever(RX)
Another tricky area as you want to pair the radio with this and you also need to consider wiring.D4R-II
D4R-II RX
This is a great receiver and works with the Taranis very well. Though at it's base it's a 4 channel output radio, it can support up to 8 channels with a 1 wire interface connection using a PPM signal. this cuts down on wires by quite a bit(it gets ugly in the small craft).
If you go with the Turnigy 9x, I think the 8 channel rx would be ideal...though again, wires...
UPDATE
There is an alternative RX that uses SBUS
The X4R also allows for using the spare servo connectors which extends the functionality of this rx greatly
Batteries
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/battery/3s-1300mah-35c.htmlGreat batteries, I have about 7 of them.
Charger for batteries
This is simlar to what I have, but there are a lot of options out there
http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-TB6AC-Power-Balancing-Charger/dp/B00466LEMC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1433025102&sr=8-7&keywords=lipo+rc+charger
Requird for flying fpv(first person view using the camera on the nose)
Video TX/RX combo:
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-video-transmitters-receivers/5-8-ghz/ts5823-5-8-ghz-32-channel-200mw-transmitter.html
This is a great little tx...I've had very little issues...be warned, never power on without an antenna....it kills the transmitter.
Display device:
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-video-transmitters-receivers/5-8-ghz/skyzone-702-5-8-ghz-32ch-diversity-lcd-fpv-monitor.htmlDiversity setups have 2 rx's in them. This is like the display I had on my radio, though another brand. It's great and really helps with signal loss as you can set it up with different antenna
FPV Video camera:
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-cameras/sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-ir-sensitive-346.htmlGreat camera and from what I recall, also confgurable however mounting can be tricky.
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-cameras/sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-ir-sensitive.html
This is a good fairly easily mountable one.
Nice to have parts.
Small camera like a mobius or a gopro(not a great form factor for these little ones, but still it's possible)
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-cameras/mobius-actioncam.html
OSD This is a mix of nice to have and really should have. If you don't, this is where the Taranis TX radio and the RX combo really help out as they allow for monitoring of voltage from the craft and transmitting the info to your radio. You can set alarms that let you know you are low on your battery....this is really neat.This is where the Telemtry really comes into play.
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-osd/osdoge.html
This is a really nice setup for what it is. OSD video camera power filtering to keep noise from the motors out....Worth it
This also can be easily attached to the Naze32 flight controller
If you don't want to spend that kind of money...this works as well
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-osd/mavlink-osd-minimosd.html
It's nice, but the wiring was less than fun.
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/fpv/fpv-osd/miniosd.html
Pretty much bare bones, but it shows you the voltage of the battery, this is important when flying...
Crash alarm or battery alarm.
In lue of not having an osd or radio that facilitates it, a battery voltage alarm is a must.
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/battery/lipo-battery-voltage-alarm.html
Recommended sites:
http://www.multirotorsuperstore.com/
The guy that runs it is great and has been very helpful/responsive when issues have arisen. He's a little more expensive, but it's also for the piece of mind that if something is broken/not working, it's pretty quick response and parts are on your door in a couple of days. He's located up near Montery, Ca. so deliveries take about 2 days to get down here.
http://www.getfpv.com/
Good quality stuff, though I've only orded stuff that I could find from the site above.
http://www.readytoflyquads.com/
Good motors for the size I fly plus he has some other good electronics that are a little less expensive. Not too bad if you know what you're looking for.
http://www.hobbyking.com/
All things RC...be prepared to get lost....also be aware of which warehouse location you are ordering from as they have a east, west, and china locations....the later gets you parts in a month unless you pay the extra for fast shipping...though they also have a lot more to chose from.
The next sizes that you usually find are the 330, 400, and 550.
400-600 are great for longer flight time, a little quieter, and usually can lug around a gimbal camera setup.
This is an image of the smaller one that I had brought, next to a larger 550.
http://i.imgur.com/h9SWb3v.jpg
The larger one has a flight time of about 20 minutes, a better flight control, better hover characteristics, flight planning, altitude and position hold(via GPS and Barometer). This also has the gimbal (2 axis only) on the nose. This was also a piece together setup, but was a fun project. I haven't flown it much due to locations being available to fly in.
I built this one for longer distance flying and just being able to get some video above the treeline.
Hope this helps in your hobby decisions!!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
