I've been considering getting a drone. Always like new tech toys. One with a camera would be good anybody with any experience got some advice? had somebody suggest one that's almost $500....uhhhh....these things can crash right? Maybe a starter drone for 50-80 dollars?
I was wanting to bring a drone with me for my last trip to Mexico. Picked up a small one that would fit in my fanny pack when hiking. Like you, I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on something that crashes easily, lol. So I found one on WISH. $30. It works fine, but in flying it before my trip I quickly realized I need some hours flying it before I would feel comfortable piloting around Mayan ruins. So I plan to fly it this summer and might even get a DJI knockoff from WISH. I really thought about getting the mini DJI from Costco but again, that's a lot of money for a toy.
yeah, a friend of mine recommended the DJI Mini 2. It's like 450 dollars from Amazon...more like 600 if you get the extra batteries and propellers it sounds like a real nice drone...will return to base if the battery is low, apparently will land itself, has a 12MP camera...wow. What amazed me is that it supposedly has a 30 minute run time on a battery and a 6 mile range for the wifi....WUT? but if I paid that much for it I'd be afraid to get it more that 11 inches off the ground so, if I get one, I'll look at the much cheaper models and get my pilot's license on a unit I won't panic if I crash. If I like it I'll graduate to a more expensive model....maybe by the way, me babbling about $500 being too much money for a toy is hilarious considering I have a 30K fifth wheel that I pull with a 50K pickup
DJI is the best brand from what I understand. I have had their Air 2s since fall. It's a lot of fun, but I live close enough to the airport that I can't use it at home, which really hurts my practice time. The air2s is basically the next level up from the mini2. Goes for $800 by itself but you really need the extra batteries, case, filters and various other extras which put it more like $1k. There are endless other add ons and extras once you get into things so the drone is really just and entry price point. They also have an insurance, which was a selling pont for me, crash or lost recovery for an extra $100, which gives you some replacements for a charge for 2 years. Really though it's surprisingly easy to fly and can cruise almost 3 miles away. I don't push things much because I am paranoid but I've never had any close calls, there are lots of sensors for obstacle avoidance, automatic home modes, follow objects, lands itself and all that. I think an argument for spending a few extra bucks on a drone is getting more automatic features and sensors so you are less likely to crash or lose it.
My experience is that the cheap drones are not worth much. Minimum I would get is a dji spark, which I believe is still around $250
I would probably agree this is likely I'd just think, in the case of drones, that a first cheap one for the purpose of getting practiced at control and landing might be a good idea I had to laugh though....A $450 DJI Mini 2 has a max wifi range of 6.2 miles. A 70 dollar drone I was looking at on Amazon had a max wifi range of 300 feet
All I can tell you is that a couple of cheap drones I got in the past were pretty much unflyable. Maybe there are some better options nowadays - but I.did not manage.to.control anything until someone got me.a.dji.spark as a.gift
I've noticed that a lot of stuff from Wish comes from the same plants in China that are making the name-brand stuff. I know some people who have crashed their DJI drone and bought a DJI clone from Wish and used it for replace parts. Look at the DJI drones then look at the Wish drones, you'll see some that are identical.
Honestly, I'd start with this in your house. It's actually really good and has smart controls. Then once you get good at controlling this one you will be fine with the bigger, more expensive ones. UDI U46 Mini Drone for Kids... Amazon # B0771DMHRY
