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[Dai Kaiju]

I thought I saw a drone enthusiast thread at one point but couldn’t find it (if it even existed to begin with). My budget is is $250 but I wouldn’t mind spending a little less if possible. My primary concern is being able to take awesome pictures. I don’t really care about video. I’ve never flown one before if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lupingosei]

Honestly, you can buy something for 250 dollars but it will not be a lot of fun.

The best beginner to intermediate right now is probably the Mavic Mini 2. It is also sub 250g so most regulations will not apply.

The new model uses the same transmission technology the big ones use, not wifi, so you can fly really stable it also has enough juice in the batteries to keep you in the air for 25+ minutes.

The old one is now getting discounted, but I would get the Mini 2. But you will spend around 500 dollars with an sd card for it.

I would not recommend something cheap, it will fly but later you will spend the money again because either you crashed it or you want something better.

 

[Dai Kaiju]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Lupingosei]

You are welcome if you need more information I fly them for 6 years now, own several, and also fly commercially and teach how to fly them.

 

[dcll]

At that price you can get a used Mavic Mini I would bet. It is a badass little drone, I have had one and have a Mavic Pro 2 now but would use one of those for sure. Just save or spend a little more and get the Mini 2, you won't regret it or you could also keep an eye for a used Mavic Pro for 4-500. The Mavic Pros and Minis are great for photography, the mini is really compact so even better for travel. I use mine for photos all the time in my travels. They are easy to fly and really high tech, They can land and take out by themselves, if you are rowing and take your hand off the control they will hover in place. The have gps and will return home if loss of signal.

Here are some recent pics I took with mine, it is cool being able to see places from a different perspective

The Mississippi River at Memphis and the Bass Pro



Field burn off



Twin River Park and Arkansas River in Little Rock, AR


Wapanacco Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas



Above valley near Centerpoint trailhead north of Ponca, AR in the Ozarks

Hardy, AR and the Spring River

Beaver Lake and Dam in Arkansas

 

[G-Bus]

You are welcome if you need more information I fly them for 6 years now, own several, and also fly commercially and teach how to fly them.

Been mildly interested in getting one with the camera and is it just a screen on the control pad or can you get goggles? Looks about as close to flying as you can get. Maybe those are specifically for racing?

Need another hobby and this stuff looks so damn cool.

 

[Lupingosei]

Been mildly interested in getting one with the camera and is it just a screen on the control pad or can you get goggles? Looks about as close to flying as you can get. Maybe those are specifically for racing?

Need another hobby and this stuff looks so damn cool.

FPV is not only for racing but also for freestyle. And yes it comes as close to flying yourself as you can get, especially since DJI entered the hobby and you get digital HD to the goggles. I sometimes fly digital long-range and it is amazing.

There is one problem, getting into FPV is pretty expensive.

You can get entry sets for about 180-200 dollars, but it is analog and you will not get very good goggles and a cheap remote.

And the difference between analog and digital is really huge:



If you really want to have fun you need the DJI goggles, a quad, a remote, lipos plus a charger. You easily spend 1500+ dollars for it and then you then have to learn how to fly, because unlike a regular drone, an fpv quad you have to fly yourself. Of course, this also allows you to fly way more freely and creatively than with a regular drone.



Also to really fly FPV you have to learn a lot, there is a pretty steep entry-level. It is worth it, but the whole FPV environment is like what computer gaming used to be at the beginning. It is a lot of fun and a fantastic community, it reminds me of the gaming community in the early '90s.

DJI will bring out their own fpv quad soon, it will be Ready to Fly and probably include everything. It may be fun, but then you are locked in that environment. DJI is pretty much like an apple, they make great stuff and it works. But PC gaming is, where the fun is and this means, it costs a lot and you have to learn and know a lot.

 

[G-Bus]

Thanks for the reply!

Took a quick browse through reddit and popular opinion seems to be controller and use a sim to get the hang of it. Also saw maybe a whoop is a good place to start as well?

Not too interested in the sim stuff honestly.

Thanks for giving me an idea on cost.

 

[Lupingosei]

A whoop is a great way to start as I said there a good tiny whoop or toothpick beginner sets.

But it is analog, so it will look like an old VCR, so don't be disappointed. What you usually see on youtube is footage from the GoPro.

I would recommend a sim, because it is not that easy to fly a race quad and it is a cheap way to get the muscle memory of how to use the sticks into your system.

 

[Lupingosei]

If you know how to edit videos your Mavic Mini 2 footage can look like this:



Also I want to add more examples of FPV videos:

Long Range


Freestyle


Cinewhoop

 

[Dural]

I thought I saw a drone enthusiast thread at one point but couldn’t find it (if it even existed to begin with). My budget is is $250 but I wouldn’t mind spending a little less if possible. My primary concern is being able to take awesome pictures. I don’t really care about video. I’ve never flown one before if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance!

While DJI is the top tier of these consumer camera drones, there are some pretty good cheaper options. Captain Drone on youtube reviews a lot of them and had a guide in December.