In this series of articles, were going to go over the different price points for a rage of different camera drones. I use drones for aerial photography and videography, so we'll be looking at the best drone with camera that can transmit an image back to your remote so you can fly further and frame your subjects properly. From the best beginner drone price point to the most expensive, top of the line, enormous drones - we’ll discover which drone is right for your needs.
This article will serve as the table of contents and an overview of the different price ranges we’ll cover. The reason I’m making multiple articles on this topic is that these are the price ranges that most people ask me about. And each of these price ranges have different answers about which drone is the best for the money.
Wait, what?
Every time I just list prices, the person doesn’t really get their question answered. Anyone can just google the prices of things, but which one is the best for you in your price range?
Here is an example of a drone inquiry:
Question: I have $700 and need a drone that can film in 4K, what is the best drone for that?
Answer: Do you need a drone now? Or can you save up more money and wait to buy the drone that fits your needs? If you save up $300 more dollars, you can get a Mavic Air that will film 4K at 100mbps and will satisfy what you need - but if you need a drone within your budget, you can go with the cheaper DJI Spark, BUT the Spark doesn’t film in 4K at all. The highest resolution is 1080p, the Mavic Air’s camera is far better than the Spark’s camera. Saving up the money and buying the Mavic Air is your best bet for what you need.
It’s really hard to answer that question by just sending someone a price sheet and having them look at it, and I totally understand where they are coming from. Buying a drone can be an overwhelming process filled with comparing specs and reading reviews. Breaking down each of these price points is the best way to accurately suggest a drone based on budget and your needs.
I’ll leave the price reference below, just so you can get a sense of the price points for each drone - but I’d suggest you check out the individual article posts based on your budget. When it comes to two different drones, there is always a compromise whether it’s price, image quality, portability, etc. so I’ll do my best to write each of these articles from the view point of the person buying the drone with a specific budget. I’ll offer the best drones within the price range, as well as what drones are the next ‘upgrade’ and what the benefits of the drone are, so you can decide if saving the extra money is worth it or not for you.
I’ll just say right now, $800 - $1000 price range is really tricky to navigate and it’s the price range most people ask me which drone is the best to buy. There are many options, and if you care about image quality it gets even trickier as the more expensive drones for a few hundred dollars more offer much better image quality and features.
So that being said, here are some of the most popular price brackets that I get asked about as well as an overall pricing break down.
Again, the pricing reference above is so you can get an idea of where your budget fits within the drone space.
A question I’m asked a lot also is, why do you only suggest DJI drones? DJI dominates the drone market right now and they are the only drones that I feel comfortable recommending, because they are the only drones I use. There are other drone manufacturers like Parot or GoPro (for a short time), but the drones they offer have always been overshadowed by what DJI offers. The obstacle avoidance alone is enough to set DJI ahead of the competition and no other drone manufacturers come close to the obstacle avoidance that DJI has in almost all of their current generation drones.
I'm a designer from Cleveland, Ohio and love to shoot photos & videos. I made my first website in 2004 to show friends photos & videos (before YouTube/Flickr were things) and have been shooting and designing ever since! I have a deep passion for making and helping others create.
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