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Once upon a time, drones were used only by the military for reconnaissance. Now, anyone can buy a UAV. You can take the same photos or even better with top-of-the-line aerial photography drones. We have collected 16 of the best in this rating, so their prices will not be small. Let's start with the last one - 16th place. For those who do not have time to fully familiarize themselves with the rating, we have prepared the table below.
comparison table
| Name | Camera | Flight time | Claimed control range | Airspeed | Price | Review |
| Hubsan Zino 2 | 4K@60fps | up to 40 minutes | up to 8 km | up to 72 km/h | from 499$ | There is |
| FIMI X8 SE 2020 | 4K | up to 35 minutes | up to 8 km | up to 65 km/h | from 419$ | There is |
| Parrot Anafi | 4K | up to 25 minutes | up to 4 km | up to 50 km/h | from 650$ | There is |
| DJI Mini 2 | 4K | up to 31 minutes | up to 10 km | up to 57.6 km/h | from 449$ | There is |
| XDinamics Evolve | 4K | up to 21 minutes | up to 1 km | up to 96 km/h | from $2499 | There is |
| Yuneec Typhoon H Plus | 4K@60fps | up to 25 minutes | up to 1.6 km | up to 70 km/h | from $2192 | There is |
| DJI Mavic Pro (Platinum) | 4K | up to 27/30 minutes | up to 7km | up to 65 km/h | from 999$ | There is |
| Autel Robotics EVO | 4K@60fps | up to 30 minutes | up to 7km | up to 72 km/h | from 799$ | There is |
| Skydio 2 | 4K@60fps | up to 23 minutes | up to 3.5 km | up to 58 km/h | from $1349 | There is |
| DJI Mavic Air 2 | 4K@60fps | up to 34 minutes | up to 10 km | up to 68.4 km/h | from 799$ | There is |
| DJI AIR 2S | 5K@30fps | up to 31 minutes | up to 12 km | up to 68.4 km/h | from 999$ | There is |
| Yuneec Typhoon H3 | 4K@60fps | up to 25 minutes | up to 2 km | up to 70 km/h | from $3292 | There is |
| DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 | 4K@60fps | up to 30 minutes | up to 10 km | up to 72 km/h | from 1599 | There is |
| DJI Mavic 2 Pro | 4K | up to 31 minutes | up to 10 km | up to 72 km/h | from $1599 | There is |
| Autel EVO II Pro | 6K | up to 40 minutes | up to 9 km | up to 72 km/h | from $1796 | There is |
| DJI Inspire 2 | 4K/5.2K/6K | 25 minutes | up to 7 km | up to 93 km/h | from $2999 | There is |
Solid frames
The frame can be designed to allow the arms to be changed, but this also means additional weight - screws, bolts, an additional bottom plate. A lot of excess weight.
solid frame and collapsible frame
A one-piece frame (monorama), where the beams and the body are a single plate, will help to avoid excess weight. This frame is not only lighter, but also greatly simplifies and speeds up assembly. But if you break a beam, you'll have to replace the entire plate, so it's cheaper to replace one beam in a prefabricated frame rather than changing the whole plate and having to move all the electronics.
If you fly a drone and fall frequently, it makes more sense to use a prefabricated frame.
Modern frames are made durable, but for freestyle I would use frames with a thickness of at least 4 mm and this is for 5-6 inch sizes.
As for rigidity, I believe that prefabricated frames have higher stiffness. Also, rigidity depends on the thickness of the material.
Choose a copter with smart features.
Good drones are expensive. And not only because they take good quality photos and are equipped with a good flight control system, but also because they are equipped with “smart” functions. Drones can automatically track your location, fly along a predetermined trajectory, take selfies at the wave of your hand, and even more (check out the link A Few Words About Spark to learn more about the functions of drones). Different quadcopter cameras have their own unique features. Mavic Pro cameras can rotate 90 degrees, shooting in a vertical position. The Phantom 4 pro features a mechanical shutter that smoothes out distortion when shooting fast-moving subjects. Finally, the Inspire 2 professional camera features dual control.
(shooting from a vertical position)
Do you need 4K video?
The modern market provides the opportunity to choose cameras with different resolutions, from low-quality HD to 4K. If you expect to edit the image, add filters, and upload it all to Facebook or Instagram, 1080p will be enough for you. But if you're a vlogger, if you want to make movies, it's better to start with 4K. Video editing reduces resolution through the process of cropping and scaling. So if your source is 1080px, the final video may be noticeably less clear. 4K video gives you the ability to change the video to your liking without losing quality.
The camera allows you to see the number of frames per second displayed in the specifications. Frames per second displays the number of unique sequential images the camera can capture within a second. The range from 24 to 30fps shoots in normal, smooth mode. But for some special effects, like slow motion, you may need 60 fps.
How to prepare a drone for flight
Before your first flight, read the instructions for the drone. Some websites of quadcopter manufacturers publish short video instructions. Remove the protective stickers and assemble the drone as indicated in the instructions.
Video instructions for unpacking the DJI Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo quadcopter
Charge the drone and controller. If you connect a smartphone to the joystick, make sure it is also charged. Download the app to control your drone.
Yulia Savinova, author of the article: Before buying a drone, I asked a videographer friend about whether it was difficult to use. I was disturbed by his words “be prepared for the fact that each flight of your drone may be the last.” Therefore, before the first launch, I carefully read the instructions, precautions and all that. I also watched several video lessons from experienced pilots. This information gave me more confidence when flying the drone.
Educational program “How not to lose a quadcopter”
Quadcopters for FPV flights in an apartment (Tiny Whoop)
Recently, drones designed for FPV flights in apartments have become increasingly popular; this segment has even been given a special name: Tiny Whoop. Tiny Whoop is a microcopter with a radio-controlled video camera and a video transmitter, i.e. This is essentially an indoor FPV quadcopter. You can assemble such a quadcopter yourself or purchase a ready-made model.
Top 10 mini quadcopters for indoor FPV flights
One of the most popular camera drones in this segment is Eachine E010C. It has an M7 800TVL camera with a 150-degree field of view and a built-in video transmitter capable of transmitting a signal to FPV goggles or a display. The price for the Eachine E010C kit is about 2 thousand rubles .
Below are the prices for the “Eachine E010C” quadcopter (the list includes only reliable and trusted online stores with good reviews on Yandex.Market):
Click on the link of the option you have chosen to see the detailed characteristics and equipment of the quadcopter.
We want to organize an aerial photography business, please recommend equipment
There were several such requests, since the niche looks very attractive.
But one day there was a former aerial photographer who already wanted to sell the equipment, since this “wildly promising” business did not work out - 1 order for the whole year. So if you decide to get serious about aerial photography, think through in detail the strategy for entering the market with minimal costs. As for the minimum cost, I would recommend the DJI Phantom 3 Standard. In China you can buy it for $700 and it has everything you need to start a professional activity: a stable quadcopter, a high-quality 3-axis gimbal, a decent camera for shooting and online broadcasting to your phone or tablet. But I highly recommend spending another $100 and buying a Syma X8C to learn how to fly a quadcopter of this size.
*Victor will tell us about this hexocopter soon
How to land a drone
There are two ways to land the drone: using the controller or using the return to home function.
If you press the landing button, the drone will offer to return to the take-off location or start landing right there. You can also bring the quadcopter to the landing site manually. It is important that the area is level - uneven surfaces can damage the propellers.
When it is not possible to land the drone on a flat surface, you can land it in your hand
Yulia Savinova, author of the article: Landing a drone is even scarier for me than launching it. It is difficult to quickly find a flat and hard surface when the charge remains for a couple of minutes. I’m still afraid to put it in my hand, so I came up with a life hack: I take out a rubber mat from the car and put the drone on it.
