Ok let’s get something out of the way - you’re going to crash your drone, and it’s going to be devastating. I have owned 3 drones and have crashed them all multiple times. The good news is drones are more rugged than they may seem - sometimes a crash breaks them a little, sometimes they’re just fine

Ok now that you have your mind wrapped around the upcoming devastation let’s talk about drones and which drones I recommend.

Buy DJI Brand

I learned this the hard way… the first drone I purchased was a GoPro Karma. Short and simple, it sucked. The gopro made the landscape look warped from the fisheye lens, their was no obstacle avoidance and the controls were very sluggish. I used the drone for about 6 months and then upgraded to a DJI Mavic Air.

DJI Mavic Air - best for beginners

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I really like the Mavic Air for beginners. What you get for the $650 price point is great. The Mavic Air comes equipped with a 12MP 4k camera, obstacle avoidance, a multitude of filming modes like object tracking, asteroid mode or fixed wing mode and it’s small which allows you to do stupid stuff like this:

Where the Mavic Air falls short is with its range (especially in a city). The controller connects with the drone over a Wi-Fi signal which easy is obstructed with interference. When flying the drone in the middle of nowhere it is great - I used to fly it around 1.5 miles away with no problems. But flying in a town or city is terrible. Once the drone is 1000 or so yards away, it is very difficult to control and connection will regularly drop. The drone will then start flying back to it’s home location on its own and the anxiety of it flying itself into a tree quickly starts to set in. With that said… if you are a beginner I HIGHLY recommend not flying anywhere near a city for at least 6 months of experience. Flying a remote controlled helicopter around at 40mph gives us a big responsibility and it is really important you know what you’re doing before you fly it around a congested area.

Drone Flying Videography Tips

Flying a drone is one thing, but getting beautiful shots of the landscape is another. Here’s a list of things i’ve learned after flying a drone nearly every day for 2 years.

  • Make sure your drone is connected to GPS before taking off (or else it will set the home location while your flying a mile away and it will most likely be somewhere you don’t want it to land)

  • Get 2 batteries, at least

  • Get dynamic shots by moving the drone in creative ways i.e. spin the drone wile flying sideways to get a sweeping shot. Or use the hyperlapse mode to get shots of the clouds or busy city streets. Don’t just fly forward, backward, up or down. Keep experimenting with unique shots.

  • Get ND filters to help the camera perform its best in sunlight

  • Actively start landing the drone with 20% battery left. Things can happen and you would rather be safe than sorry

  • Think about what shots you want to get before you take off. Flight time is limited (20-30 minutes) and sometimes it may take a couple minutes just to fly the drone to whatever it is you want to film. Drone flight time is precious so maximize that battery life.

  • Try to always land and take off from your hand. It will be scary at first but it will prevent a lot of stupid stuff from happening (propeller hitting rocks on ground, dust being pushed up inside the gimbal, etc.)