We here at FiveSix Productions happily employ the DJI Inspire 1 drone for out aerial needs. So far we have been very pleased and have captured some awesome footage. Recently we were perusing the DJI website to research the Osmo, and we came across their selection of octocopters, which got us wondering about the difference.

So far as we can tell from our research, the difference between a quadcopter, hexacopter (wasn’t aware that existed), and a octocopter is concurrent with each step. With a quadcopter, obviously you get more power than with a helicopter, more stability, and greater payload potential. As you step up to the hexacopter, and then again to the octocopter, the same benefits are there, just in greater amounts. I’m not a mathematician, so I’m not sure if the speed and payload capacity increase exponentially, but that’s neither here nor there, since we aren’t attending MIT.

The cons of course would be increased size and price as you add more engines and propellers, but if you have an expensive camera on board, you’re going to want more power. Here’s an article from Dronebly, a website that’s all about drones.