Which quadcopter with camera should a beginner choose?

Photo: camerajabber.com

If you love flying, but due to the pandemic it’s not possible to travel normally by plane, then this is a reason to try something new. Today, quadcopters are sold to suit every taste and budget, and you can fly them every day! In this drone rating, we will take a closer look at the most interesting models in three price segments - budget, mid-range and high-end.

Criteria for choosing the best quadcopter

Top 3 budget quadcopters

Top 3 mid-range quadcopters

Top 3 high-end quadcopters

Results: which quadcopter is the best?

Introduction

Today, a quadcopter without a camera is unlikely to interest anyone, so manufacturers of household UAVs are trying to keep up with the times and equip all their products with cameras. Various Internet trading platforms offer a huge number of quadcopters with a camera, and of course, a person who has decided to purchase a drone for the first time, looking at this abundance of drones, has a question: “Which quadcopter with a camera is better?”

To ease the pain of choice, we decided to select the ten best budget quads with a camera in the price range up to $300. Why up to $300? Because in this price range there are products that are best suited for getting the first trial experience. Having gained experience in piloting drones from the budget segment, you can safely move on to more expensive models. The selection was carried out according to such criteria as: popularity in the hobby, price, quality of the product, its functionality, quality of photo and video material. Let's start with the last one - 10th place. For those who do not have time to fully familiarize themselves with the rating, we have prepared the table below.

comparison table

If you think that our rating is missing some model, then tell us about it in the comments below and we will definitely consider it.

Criteria for choosing the best quadcopter

We tried to select models released in the last couple of years, so as not to talk about the Phantom 4 again (but without some veterans of the drone industry, there’s still nowhere in such a top!). The main selection criteria were the characteristics described in detail in the previous article on how to choose a quadcopter. Now we will briefly recall them.

Size

Size means portability. The smaller the drone, the more often you will use it - a proven rule! Super-compact models up to 250 grams are suitable for those who want to carry a drone with them always and everywhere. However, such devices rarely have a high quality camera. Of course, it is impossible to compare the sizes of toy and professional drones, therefore, when giving ratings, we will focus on the adequacy of the size for a specific class of devices. And foldable drones get extra points in this category.

Shooting quality

In 2021, even budget models can shoot in 4K format. Of course, for now this is the exception rather than the rule, but if progress continues at the same leaps and bounds, and toy quadcopters from AliExpress will be able to shoot in real 4K quality (then we will compile a new top).

At this point we will take into account the level of stabilization: a high-quality mechanical stabilization gimbal will benefit any quadcopter.

Flight characteristics

These primarily include speed and controllability. We will not ignore the flight performance in windy weather. Naturally, here again it will be quite difficult to compare some advanced racing quadcopter and a home drone toy - we will note such cases separately.

Flight performance isn't just important for racing drones, although we'll talk about that today too. Photo: phys.org

Flight time

This is a separate criterion, since flight time on a single battery charge is one of the most important characteristics for both consumer and professional drones.

Data transmission and control system (remote control)

Many users do not pay attention to the data transmission system when purchasing, but in vain. The flight distance of your quadcopter, stability of operation and quality of video on the screen will depend on it. Having an advanced system like OcuSync 2.0, which works at a distance of up to 10 km, will be a big plus. It is also good when the drone comes with a separate control panel.

Additional functions

In this criterion, we have combined all the automation and “brains” of modern drones that make life easier for the user.

With the help of automatic flight modes, both beginners and advanced users will get high-quality video. And thanks to the obstacle avoidance system, you can avoid the quadcopter colliding with large objects, although it should in no way be considered as a replacement for learning how to fly a drone.

So, let's move on to the quadcopters themselves: we talk about the best budget, mid-segment and high-end models, at the same time rating them on a five-point scale.

Top 3 high-end quadcopters

DJI FPV

Futurism is in every detail, and this applies not only to the appearance of the drone. Photo: ixbt.com

Size: 4 Flight characteristics: 5 Flight time: 3 Data transmission, remote control: 5 Camera: 5 Additional functions: 4 Average score: 4.3

And here is a new product for 2021 - an innovative FPV drone from DJI. FPV stands for first-person view: the drone's camera transmits images to VR glasses worn by the pilot (you can also use a monitor), so it appears as if you are in the drone's cockpit. Thus, the main goal of the new product is interesting flights, and not filming, although this quadcopter can also shoot cool video (4K at 60 fps).

In general, FPV drones and racing on such devices are a whole new eSports discipline and show that collects millions of views. So, DJI FPV is a simple and convenient start for everyone who wants to feel like a real racer of the future.

The kit comes with very cool glasses, a special simulator for learning the elements of FPV racing, and also a real stopcock!

On the other hand, this is not a professional racing drone: it is not as maneuverable and its repair will cost more than self-assembled FPV drones, so this model will not be so interesting for professional racers. The quadcopter can fly for about 20 minutes (in calm weather at a speed of 40 km/h), which is slightly lower than the average performance of drones aimed at video recording.

Although the quadcopter itself could be classified in the middle segment (it costs about the same as Mavic Air 2), complete with FPV goggles and a control panel, which will be an integral part of the experience, the cost of a DJI FPV easily exceeds 100 thousand rubles.

Powervision PowerEgg X Wizard

Splash down right in the city park? Yes Easy! Photo: tomsguide.com

Size: 5 Flight characteristics: 5 Flight time: 4 Data transmission, remote control: 4 Camera: 4 Additional functions: 5 Average score: 4.5

Another unusual drone on our list. The PowerEgg X was first introduced in early 2021 and eventually went on sale in two variants - Explorer and Wizard. We are most interested in the Wizard version, because it is in this configuration that the drone can safely fly in the rain and even land on water.

The quadcopter has a modular design, so it can also be used as a portable gimbal camera.

The drone has excellent flight characteristics and many automatic modes with artificial intelligence algorithms. However, the model also has its disadvantages. While the drone can shoot decent 4K video in good lighting, the 12-megapixel 1/2.8-inch sensor with fixed aperture and fixed focus can't compete with the second-generation DJI Mavic. At the same time, the protective case in the Wizard version somewhat reduces the quality of video recording. In addition, users have complaints about the quality of the application.

DJI Mavic 2 Pro

The Mavic Pro 2 camera is from the famous Hasselblad. Photo: bhphotovideo.com

Size: 4 Flight characteristics: 5 Flight time: 5 Data transmission, remote control: 5 Camera: 5 Additional functions: 5 Average score: 4.8

If you're looking for a professional videography drone that fits in your backpack, the Mavic 2 Pro has virtually no competition. For this top, we chose Pro rather than Zoom, as it is a slightly more sophisticated option in terms of camera, but in all other respects the two versions are identical.

We have already looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the second generation of Mavics, and their main disadvantage is the high price. Of course, a flight time of 31 minutes is still a limiting factor for many applications, but consumer-grade quadcopters cannot yet radically solve this problem. Otherwise, this is an almost ideal drone for photography: a 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor, OcuSync 2.0 connection, a bunch of automatic shooting modes, and an advanced obstacle avoidance system. The Pro 2 is larger than both the first-gen model and the Air 2, but some compromises were made in terms of compactness to achieve a better camera.

Comparing high-end quadcopters

Once again DJI is at its best! Mavic 2 Pro is a unique model with almost no drawbacks (except for the price): a super camera, a folding body and a bunch of cool automatic shooting modes.

We didn't include the DJI Inspire 2, which many still consider to be the best high-end drone on the market. We did this not because we don’t like it or think the model is unsuccessful. Firstly, this drone is already in all possible ratings. Secondly, this is far from a new model (after all, we tried to include more or less recent drones in the list). Thirdly, for a consumer drone it is really large and the camera for it needs to be purchased separately.

It's a similar story with the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 - it's not a new model and isn't very portable by today's standards. Although the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is still a very advanced quadcopter with an excellent camera and good flight characteristics.

Results: which quadcopter is the best?

If I went to sleep and woke up in a hundred years and was asked who makes the best consumer drones, my answer would be... Photo: cultofdrone.com

Don't take this as hype, but the fact remains that DJI's dominance in the consumer drone market is still undeniable. The highest scores in all categories were received by quadcopters of this particular brand: the smallest but very cool Mini 2, the versatile Mavic Air 2 and the flying professional video studio - Mavic Pro 2. However, you can easily choose DJI’s competitors, the only question is your tasks and interests : the Syma X20 nanodrone is an excellent toy for 2 thousand rubles, the Hubsan Zino 2 shoots in 4K resolution at 60 fps and at the same time costs 20 thousand less than the Air 2, and the Powervision PowerEgg X Wizard can fly in pouring rain and even land on water , something no DJI drone can do.

*All prices are current at the time of publication of the article