Hi i would like to find a cheap drone that has thermal capabilities. Can anyone recommend any? I would love to use it soley for finding missing animals in the scottish borders or where ever i could help, i do not work so money is tight, also i am facing homelessness but i love animals, if anyone has any recommendations or thoughs if some how i could get funding to buy one to help missing animals that would be great, The reason i am more interested in animals to help is that not a lot of walkers go missing, but i would like to help anyone and anything if i could
Cheap and thermal don’t go together in the same sentence.
If you let people know your budget you’ll get some suitable recommendations rather than people recommending you buy a Zenmuse XT2 (which incidentally, is on offer at the moment).
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Pretty good offer too …
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Thanks, i was looking at the mavic 2 enterprise advanced drone, mavic 3 thermal and the m30t used, maybe when newer drones come out the older ones will drop in a price range where i can get one, and hopefully use it to help missing animals and people. I am going to do my a2 cofc, so have to do that first,
I’ve been using a Parrot Anafi Thermal drone for a couple of years for lost dog SAR flights. Unfortunately, Parrot don’t make or support this drone any more. It does have some battery issues which need very careful monitoring to avoid sudden loss of power. IR image resolution is OK but not a match for a DJI M2 EA the later being a much better all around drone package. It’s by far the cheapest option and lightest but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The DJI M2EA is good and will probably do most things you need but the DJI M3T is quite a step up for not much more money. The DJI M30T is a beast and has the added advantage of being able to fly in the rain - a very useful feature for SAR flights. Unfortunately, its size makes it a less mobile package and for me that is important as dogs tend to go missing in some really remote areas - carting a 4kg drone around can and will get quite tiring. In addition, being 4kg - the A2 CofC will give you no advantage with regard to flight restrictions as it only covers drones up to 2kg - you’ll need a GVC (more cost) if you want to fly an M30T in/close to built up areas/people and even then you won’t be able to get that close.
I’ve just got myself a DJI M3T and with my A2 CofC it covers alll the options for my needs. Still getting to grips with it but very impressed so far.
Others options would be an older Inspire 1 with an XT camera or maybe even a Matrice 210 with a an XT2 but once again quite large drones and the mobility problems that go with large drones.
Also on the list Autel Max and the Swellpro 4 - only seen the Swellpro in use with our local RNLI station and their drone operator is very keen on it - its totally waterproof and can even land on water. Main downside is its price and there won’t be many on the secondhand market.
Sorry for the long post but I HTH with your decision - its basically my thought process which ended up with me getting the DJI M3T 
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Thanks, You have given me good ideas and avenues to explore. Going to do my A2 cofc and maybe by then i can hopefully look into funding or even fund raising.
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I’m doing my A2 CofC with the UAV hub. What a fantastic course. I’m just doing my mocks before sitting the final exam. This is so informative and includes so much information you don’t even think about.