WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A DRONE?
Some people want to fly a drone for fun, but most want an aircraft to take aerial photos and videos. And if you want them to be good, you need to spend more than £7,000. We have yet to see a cheaper drone achieve stabilized, high-quality video.
The higher the price, the better the camera, and the more features (like obstacle avoidance) are included if you have a reasonable budget for drones.
1. FLIGHT TIME AND RANGE
The flight time is very variable and is independent of the price. The Mavic Mini is DJI’s cheapest drone but flies up to 30 minutes on a charge. However, the DJI Spark costs more but has a flight time of 12-15 minutes. The Spark is now quite old and looks like it will be replaced by the excellent Mavic Air, Mavic Air 2.
Don’t pay too much attention to range. It looks great for being able to fly a few kilometers away, but most local laws say you must always keep an eye on the drone.
Tiny and light drones can be launched in the wind, so having GPS on the body is a must: it allows the drone to stay in place automatically.
2. SPARE PARTS
Almost all drones come with a complete set of spare propellers. Despite the rarity of parts in most drones, crashing is a distinct possibility. First, check the easy availability and prices of spare parts for a particular drone.
3. QUALITY OF CAMERAS
Not all drones have cameras. If you don’t need a camera, you should always keep the drone in your field of view while flying.
At the cheaper end of the price scale, you’ll be lucky to get even 720p (1280×720) video, but if you want a drone for aerial video, choose at least 1080p (1920×1080). Remember that – as always – you can’t rely on specs alone. Follow the reviews to find out how good each drone camera is.
However, you will only get excellent quality footage if you buy a drone with a gimbal. This is a stabilized mount for a camera that keeps it steady when the drone tilts or moves. Parrot’s Bebop 2 has a fixed wide-angle camera that does a reasonable job without a gimbal, but the quality of all DJI’s drones is usually markedly better.
Some drones record video directly to a microSD card, but others record from the remote control or even over the air to a smartphone. Direct recording is generally more reliable and of better quality, as the video does not need to be transmitted before it is recorded.