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DJI and 3DR are two of the most popular manufacturers of RTF (ready-to-fly) drones. If you don't have much experience with flying model aircraft, I'd definitely recommend that you practise with a micro multicopter such as the Hubsan X4 H107C. You could also join a drone user group - see dugn.org - there's a group in San Francisco that is focused on startups.

Thanks, i'm actually based out of Boston. I'll try to find some groups here.

http://3drobotics.com has a number of options with open source autopilots

I would reach out to a local makerspace. There is a ton of DIY drone enthusiasts in the commumity.