I see a lot of interest in people looking for drone rental in New York and the Hudson Valley where Flying Cow Drones is based. I suppose that we all have occasions in life that drones for rent might be useful for. If you are looking to capture something from the air your best bet is not to rent the drone. Instead rent the drone AND the pilot together. The basic flying of a drone is not terribly difficult, but there is a learning curve. Capturing anything beyond a very basic shot from the air is not that easy. Why not leave flying the drone to someone else and have them capture the aerial photography or the video that you are seeking? Here is what you avoid when you hire a drone pilot:
Liability - Having someone else fly the drone and capture the images and video you want mean that you are not libel if anything goes wrong.
Legality - In order to use anything you shoot for any commercial purpose whatsoever (even a monetized youtube channel) requires an FAA license. Getting that is both labor intensive and costly. The FAA is really cracking down on this as well and fining people who are using drones for commercial purposes without a license.
Cost - Renting a drone is not cheap since people have to factor in that their equipment can/will/may get damage during the rental.
Less then stellar quality - Again experience flying a drone and taking aerial images is key to getting the result you are looking for (such as a drone for real estate photography).
Risk - Professional drone pilots have been trained to assess risk both to the drone and to others when they fly. An understanding of both the rules governing flight of drones and weather conditions that allow for flight are important and can't be conveyed with simply renting a drone as part of the drone rental.
Editing - Most images and video that a drone produces needs to be edited in some fashion. Do you have the time, equipment, skill to edit both images and video on a professional level? It's a kind of secondary skill set required to get the best possible results.
So do yourself a favor in that if a 'drone rental near me' is what you are looking for, please keep the above in mind. There are likely a number of companies that can help you with your aerial imaging needs. It might cost a wee bit more than a DIY drone solution, but you'll be happier you went that route.
If your goal is to try out a drone and see if it's something that you might be interested in purchasing either for hobby or professional purposes, then I would also urge you to seek out a professional drone pilot to ask those questions of (I offer drone consulting just for such instances). That will also get you much further down the road than simply renting a drone ever will.
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