If you want to get into drones but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place!
Welcome to my blog, this is the first article! I thought I’d make it useful. We’re going to talk about the best drones for beginners. You’ve never flown one, or maybe played around and you’re ready to get in the game. Here’s what to look for.
I’m Jeremy Morgan, and I was curious about drones for years. It wasn’t until I actually flew one that I got hooked. I have become mildly obsessed with them since. I’ve been flying for a few months, I got my part 107, and I’m racking up a ton of hours. I’ve flown nearly every single day since I got started. But enough about me, let’s talk about you.
What do you want to do?
This is the most important question before purchasing a drone. What do you actually want to do with it? Be realistic.
After that you need to ask what you’re willing to spend. That’s how I’m going to set up this list. Good, Better, and Best depending on your budget.
Do you want to goof around and make cool videos of sunsets? Do real estate stuff? Zip around and do power loops and fly down chimneys? This is important.
Camera Drones VS FPV
This is a great time to bring up the two known genres of drones today. There are camera drones which hover and zoom around slowly making smooth cinematic footage drifting over stuff. Then there are FPV drones that do flips and loops and rip around like crazy. They’re two entirely different things. They are both very cool but require different kinds of drones, and different skill sets.
Camera Drones
Camera drones are a very common “first timer” drone. You go to Best Buy and grab a DJI Mavic and quickly find out it basically flies itself. It hovers on it’s own and flies around and creates awesome shots. It doesn’t do loop de loops or dive down a waterfall, but it makes for cool shots. It’s also used as a tool for hundreds of industries.
- Good: Easy to get started, cinematic shots, great photos
- Bad: No loop de loops or whipping around playground equipment. Here are some great beginner drones:
Good
- DJI Mini 2 $499 Excellent, inexpensive, easy to use.
Better
- DJI Mini 3 Pro $909 Has vertical mode and excellent picture quality.
Best
- DJI Air 2S $1274 Great image sensor, better stability, great battery life.
FPV Drones
These are the drones you see “whipping” around quickly doing stunts. They can go up a building, or down a waterfall. They can do power loops, fly upside down, and generally do whatever you want them to. You can race them with other people, and do fun stuff.
- Good: Loop de loops. High speeds. Unique angles
- Bad: Very hard to get started, most of them you build yourself (that could be a good for some people). Not great for cinema shots or photography.
The best bet with FPV is to build your own. However, there are some ready to fly kits out there to get you started.
Good
- Emax Tinyhawk 2$254.99 - Cinewhoop style, easy to fly
- Emax Tinyhawk 2 Freestyle $259.99 - Freestyle, better performance
Better
- DJI FPV Kit $949 Performance drone, freestyle
- DJI Avata $1,168 Cinewhoop style, easy to fly
Best
- Rotor Riot Cinewhoop Starter Kit $1509 Cinewhoop style with great performance.
- Nazgul Evoque F5 $475.99 However you will need a radio and goggles with this.
Which one do I choose?
This depends entirely on you. Neither choice is “better” than the other. If you want to do stunts and cool tricks, don’t try it with a Mavic. Go with an FPV. If you want to take real estate photos and videos, don’t use an FPV.
Here’s a good way to determine the drone you should look for:
I want to:
- Take cool photos
- Do cinematic videos gliding over things
- Do work (Real Estate, Search and Rescue, Mapping)
You should get a camera drone.
I want to:
- Do swooping, cinematic shots (at angles other than horizon)
- Do indoor videos exploring rooms
- Follow rivers, glide around nature
You should get a Cinewhoop.
I want to:
- Race against other drones
- Do stunts, gaps, flips, etc.
- Go really fast through obstacles
You should get an FPV.
It all depends on your use case, and I hope this clears up some questions you might have.
Where can I find more information?
There are tons of places to go, for general camera drone stuff, I like:
For FPV information, I like to go here:
Summary
I hope this helps you answer the question: What are the best drones for beginners? I also hope it helps you choose what type of drone to look for in the first place.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
Happy Flying!