Finding the perfect drone for you is not easy, but there is never been a great time to buy a flying camera. Whether you are a complete beginner or a professional photographer who is looking to add a new dimension to your stills or video, the newest drones combine best image quality, ease of use and impressive value for money. Right now, the great drone for most people is the DJI Mavic Air 2. This mid-range all-rounder combines beginner-friendly flying with a superb range of shooting modes and best photos quality. If you want something a small cheaper that does not need registering (depending on where you live), then the DJI Mavic Mini is the best choice. There’re several other options if you don't want to shell out on a DJI drone – that's why we created this best drone 2020 list below, to sort the best drones you can purchase, from professional aerial companions to kid-friendly models.
The outgoing DJI Mavic Air is yet a true pocket-rocket that excels in each department. It won perfect Drone at the T3 Awards 2019 but can the Chinese drone successor of behemoth compete for airspace? Against all expectations, the new Mavic Air two is closer in size to its big brethren –Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom, than it’s to its predecessor, and a small heavier. It is not as attractive either, which is not a problem once it is in the air. What can be a problem for some is that it’s only some centimeters shorter than the Mavic 2 and much big than the Mavic Mini and therefore not quite as portable. Believe us, size is a key consideration with drones and frequently a deciding factor when it comes to a choice between taking the drone or leaving it at the house.
Niggles aside, everything else around this drone shouts buy me. Its low selling cost (£769) included. The Camera is a cracker and sports a half-inch sensor capable of shooting 4K footage at 60fps. The Mavic Air 2’s yet taking capacity is even further impressive to 48mp resolution for unprecedented sharpness, detail, and clarity. It comes with a smorgasbord of more images and video enhancement tech, involving Scene Recognition, Spotlight 2.0 which locks the camera on a subject while the pilot does the flying and the obligatory Active Track for following moving subjects.
The fully redesigned hand controller is another major improvement. Still, it is larger than before but it is comfortable in the hand and it has a phone mounting system that’s way great than the current models. The Mavic Air 2 has a long battery life too (34 mints) and in Sport mode it rips across the sky at up to 42.5mph, which is fast. It also features 3-way obstacle avoidance, improved APAS (Advanced Pilot Assistance System) for smoother maneuverability about obstacles and a new soon to be included flight safety measure is known as Air Sense which informs the drone pilot of any aircraft in the vicinity.
Pros
- +Takes amazing 48MP stills
- +Shoots 4K at 60fps
- +3-way obstacle avoidance
- +New hand controller
- +Fast than a squirrel up a tree
Cons
- -Bigger than before
- -Heavier too
- -Not as attractive
DJI’s Mavic Mini is arguably the high-quality camera-carrying drone for the masses. It weighs a floaty 249gram completely loaded, which is 1-gram shy of needing to register it with the CAA. You’re a clever small sausage, DJI. Size-wise, the drone is so little it can be hidden under an iPhone 11 and simply tucked into a pair of chinos. Its low weight, small size, and flexible front propeller arms give it the best chance of surviving a crash. The Mavic Mini’s camera shoots 1080p video at up to 60 frames/second and crisp 2.7K at up to 30fps (believe us, 2.K is plenty sharp enough for the average computer monitor). Its 12mp yet, temporarily, are nicely detailed. Despite the size, the craft is surprisingly stable in flight and fast and nimble when flown in the Sport mode. It will easily fly for up to 30 minutes on a single charge and up to 4km away (far beyond the CAA’s line of sight regulation). However, one thing this drone does not have is obstacle avoidance. But we do not think this’s a deal-breaker if common sense prevails.
The Mavic Mini is available in 2 packages, the basic bundle, spare props, hand controller, flight battery, charger, 32GB Micro SD card and a bunch of different phone cables as well as the Fly More Combo, which comes with an excellent herringbone carry case, four batteries, a charger for charging four batteries at once and propeller guards for indoor flight. If you have always hankered after a high-quality camera drone but did not fancy the idea of splashing out a fortune, then this’s the model for you. It is remarkably stable and reliable in flight, a doddle to control and it shoots ravishingly best cinematic footage to boot.
It’s not quite our dream drone as the absence of 4K, and 2.6K 60fps video recording is felt, but the DJI Mavic Mini is yet in a league of its own, pairing a compact, light body with robust flying experience and good-quality video capture. Laws now state that drones weighing over 250g require to be registered with aviation authorities. The FAA in the Unites State and Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom as well as before the Mavic Mini launched, there were not any well-reviewed options in this featherweight sort. This means that, right now, DJI has secured itself a monopoly in the sub 250gram premium drone market because, unlike one of its main rivals, the Parrot Anafi, that weighs about 300g, the Mavic Mini does not need to be registered.
Pros
- +Palm sized
- +Amazing price
- +Top flyer
- +Shoots best 2.7K video and yet
Cons
- -No obstacle avoidance
EVO II takes 48-megapixel images and claims to shoot 8K video, which will make it not only the 1st drone to do so, but one of the first consumer-grade 8K cameras, flying or not. The company says it is native 10-bit 8K at 24-25 fps shot on a Sony IMX586 sensor, one designed for phones, and it was able to achieve 8K video because there are extra processing power and battery in drones compared to phones and more room to cool those parts down. The 35-millimeter equivalent lens has a notably wide f/1.8 fixed aperture, which can help with filming at night and in other low light environments, though the little 0.5-inch sensor will possibly add the best amount of noise. Yet, knowing that this lens adds a complete stop (and a third) of light to what you usually get from a drone can help you keep your ISO low.
But that’s not all. The 7,100mAh battery gives you an estimated 40 minutes of flight time (at least, in perfect conditions with no wind) compared to 31 minutes for the DJI Mavic 2 line. Lastly, the company says its 12 obstacle-avoidance sensors make it as good at dodging obstacles as the Skydio R1, a drone that wowed us with its fully autonomous flying. To make things even better, you can also adjust the virtual protective bubble around the drone, similar to Autel’s predecessor, EVO 1, to theoretically squeeze it into smaller spaces without turning off obstacle avoidance completely. We do not have particulars on how small that bubble can be or if it will limit your max speed. In general, Autel’s quoting the same speeds as the Mavic 2 Pro, including the similar 44.7 mph / 72 km/h top speed in Autel’s Ludicrous Mode.
Pros
- Efficient
- Best quality
Cons
- Pricey
Moving on to the EVO II Pro. This version of the EVO II is tailored further toward pilots looking to get the great looking footage. And yes, 8K is perfect than the 6K footage that Autel promises from the EVO II Pro. But this drone has a full one-inch Sony IMX383 sensor and adjustable aperture from f/2.8 up to f/11, just such as DJI’s Phantom four Pro and Mavic two Pro. It was a large deal when DJI added that ability to adjust the depth of field, and now, it can have competition. Unfortunately, this version does not take 48-megapixel stills. Instead it takes 20MP shots. That is yet more than plenty of pixels even for big prints.
EVO II Pro 6k drone featured Ultra-HD camera with a one-inch sensor: Takes images with a resolution of up to 5472 x 3648, and records 5.5K video at 60 fps and 4K video at 120 fps, with a small rate of up to 120 Mbps. The lens aperture is adjustable within the range of f/2.8-f/11. All 3 camera modules support a variety of shooting modes, including Single shot, Burst shooting, Time-lapse, High-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging, Auto exposure bracketing (AEB), and Night beat (high signal-to-noise ratio).
A high-definition live feed from the EVO two drone camera may be displayed on your remote control’s screen and connect with Autel Live Deck to displayed on any device including phone, computer, and tv, etc. Photos and videos can be stored in the onboard memory of aircraft or on a micro SD card. EVO II Pro Drone contains a high-precision three-axis gimbal that keeps the camera steady while the aircraft is flying, be Suring photostability and clarity. Also, you can use the remote control’s gimbal pitch dial to adjust the pitch axis to any angle from 0°-90° at any time. Autel EVO II Series Dones is one aircraft with 3 camera options. All cameras for Evo II may be purchased separately and are interchangeable.
Pros
- Work effectively
- Great Cameras
Cons
- Pricey
Swellpro Spry Plus Waterproof Drone
- Specs
- Battery – 3600mAh LiHV
- Charging time – about 90 mints
- Camera – 4K video, 12MP yet photos
- Flight time – about 15 to 17 minutes
- Max flight range – 800m (2625 ft) from remote control
- Max flight altitude – 200m (656 ft)
- Max flight speed – 18m/s
- Max ascend speed – 3m/s
- Positioning – GPS/GLONASS
- Hovering accuracy +/-0.5m
- Wind resistance 10m/s
- Working temperature -10C -40C
- Waterproof level – surface buoyant
- Size – 233.5 x 249 x 90 mm
- Weight – 538g (without the battery)
The SwellPro Spry+ is the 1st drone that’s waterproof. Not needing to worry about flights over water is the best feature. Flying the Spry+ is simple enough. This drone is close to $1000 and doesn’t have to provide an obstacle avoidance feature, which is mandatory for a drone in this cost range. If you're a drone that can land or take off from water, then absolutely check out the Spry+, but if that is not an important feature to you, then you should understand the deficiencies and do your research before dropping almost $1000 on this specific drone.
The Spry+ does not a usual look to it compared to other drones. This one has a bright orange body that has a soft slight rubbery skin. On the top is a big moisture-resistant battery compartment that’s secured with a twist button lock. The involved rectangular battery fits snuggly inside the battery compartment. So snuggly actually that the battery has a ribbon handle to help you pull it out when it wants to be charged. There’s a micro SD card slot in the bottom center of the battery compartment. A memory card is not included with the Spry+, so you are on your own to purchase one. Also, inside the battery compartment is a micro USB connector and 2 other connectors. The 2 big connectors are for the battery, but there is no mention of the USB connector in the involved user guide. The power button is built into the battery cover and on the back of the Swellpro Spry+ drone, you may see the GPS module, which is a round knob sticking out of the top back end of the drone.
When you flip the drone over, you can see the short antenna on the back end. You can see a little button with a Wi-Fi symbol below it. That is the wait for its Wi-Fi button. You press this button when you need to use the mobile application with the drone rather than the included controller. Then, there is the camera that’s protected under a plastic covering. If you look closely, you will see that the plastic cover has scratches on it. Further about that unfortunate problem later. The controller lets you control the Spry+ drone without your phone as it has its built-in color display. It has two thumb joysticks and buttons on the shoulders of the controller that are utilized to move the camera angle up or down and buttons to switch modes, initiate the follow-me feature, and start or stop video or pictures capture features.
Pros
- A dedicated remote control is included
- A storage case is included
- Simple to fly
- The ability for landing and take-off from water
Cons
Small battery life
