Best Drones of 2017 The best for travelers If you've been looking for a discreet, but powerful travel-friendly camera drone, look no further than the DJI Mavic Pro. All-around best consumer drone It's pricy, but if you're looking for a complete package -- an excellent camera, ready to fly out of the box, obstacle avoidance and automated flight modes -- this is the drone to get. DJI Phantom 3 Standard Best on a budget It was a good deal when DJI first released the Standard, but then it dropped the price and now it's the best beginner RTF quadcopter you're going to find for the money. Parrot Bebop Drone 2 The best for the whole family Though its video and photo quality is merely OK, the Bebop 2's tough but lightweight body, easy piloting via a smartphone or tablet and props that stop instantly when blocked, make it a good choice for anyone in the family to fly. The little Yuneec Breeze 4K makes shooting and sharing aerial selfies a snap.

But those looking to really pilot a drone should keep looking. Best toy drone with a camera One of the least expensive toy drones with a 720p camera, and although it feels pretty cheap and the camera is basically toy-quality, it flies surprisingly well and can take quite a lot of crashing. Great for learning and practice, too.DJI Phantom 4 Drone Fly for 28 minutes, an increase in effective flight time of 25% from the Phantom 3 Professional Obstacle Avoidance that allows it to react to and avoid obstacles in its path Shoot sharp, clean video in up to 4K at 30fps and Full HD 1080p at 120fps You've decided it's time to plunk some cash down on a drone, but where do even you begin? There are so many different types to choose from, and each has its own set of set of strengths and weakness. They can also be really expensive. This guide will help you choose the perfect drone within you budget. For the sake of completeness, we've even included a few small quadcopters in addition to the bigger, more powerful pieces of hardware from the likes of DJI.

So, whether you want to take a couple of short flights in the backyard or record some serious aerial video — we've got you covered. Consumer drones don't really fall into easily identifiable categories, although there is some distinction between the budget market (see the Hubsan H107C+) and the premium models (such as the DJI Phantom 4). There are many drones to pick from between those two ends of the specturm, such as the Parrot Bebop, but we'd advise going for a basic model for a couple of hundred dollars less or a high-end model for about a thousand dollars more. Another line can be drawn between the micro-drones, such as the X-7 Microlite, and the rest. They're worth a look if you just want something small and cheap to fly around the park or the office, especially if you're flying a drone for the first time. Another choice you'll have to make is between models with cameras and ones without, though the former group is much bigger. Even cheaper drones now have a basic cameras on board.

Obviously if you want to use your drone for some eye-catching photography, you'll need a camera or at least a mount. Don't go in without a clear idea of what you want to be able to do with your airborne gadget: 4K video? black ops 2 drone cheatsThese use cases should play a big part in deciding which one is right for you.parrot ar drone black friday sale Thinking about the size of drone you want to be responsible for and the amount of money you want to spend is a good way to begin to sift through all the possibilities. phantom 2 vision drone priceYou can then move on to the other important specs.remote control drone with camera amazon

Reading through drone technical specifications isn't quite as daunting as it would be for a phone or laptop, but there are a few key considerations to make.parrot ar drone quadricopter camera There are plenty of extras you can get your hands on if you dig deeper into your pockets, so look for them when you're out shopping.where can i buy a drone in london Automatic obstacle avoidance can come in handy to prevent crashes while a return-to-home feature helps your drone from getting lost if it disappears from view, but both come with a price premium. Another feature that has started appearing on more expensive models is a 'follow me' mode, so your drone will scoot through the skies after you while you bike down a mountain or sail down a river. Of course if you don't need all these extras you can save yourself some cash.

It's also worth bearing in mind that flying a drone isn't quite as easy as some people make it look. The larger models in particular can be difficult to handle, especially for beginners, so choose one that fits your skill level or at the very least be prepared to put in a serious amount of practice time. The Blade Nano QX, for example, is recommended as a smaller, cheaper drone that can teach you the ropes for flying something more ambitious. User reviews (both from professionals and existing users) should give you a good idea of what a drone's like to fly and fill in any gaps on the listed spec sheet (like how loud it is when it's up and running). Finally, know the drone flying rules. If you're in Australia, you're going to have to keep your drone in sight while you're operating it. No doubt, some of you will have strong opinions about your drone setups. Help us out by adding extra buying tips for beginners in the comments below.The DJI Phantom 4 is a slick, feature-packed drone.

People say it's the drone that anybody can fly, the quadcopter that you just can't crash. Let me be painfully clear about two things: 1) Not everyone can fly the Phantom 4, and 2) It's pretty damn easy to crash. Each new model in DJI's Phantom series is easier to fly and better for aerial photography than the last, an Apple-inspired approach to incremental updates that the company can market like hell. The first drone I flew was the Phantom 2 Vision, and it was a fun and easy experience for someone who'd never flown a single thing in his life. But I crashed it and broke it and hurt myself in the process. The Phantom 4 introduces a slew of features that are supposed to make it easier to fly and harder to crash. Whereas past versions incorporated neat features — quick release propellors, simplified controls, impressive camera upgrades, new intelligent flying modes — the Phantom has always lacked the autonomous flight features that drone pilots want. These include obstacle avoidance and more advanced computer vision that will allow the drone to follow any object.

So it was exciting when DJI announced that the Phantom 4 would include front-facing cameras to prevent it from hitting walls and trees, and a feature called ActiveTrak that would keep the camera focused on a specific subject. The reality is not quite as appealing. The Phantom 4 is certainly the best DJI quadcopter I've ever flown. But it's not the drone for everyone. It's definitely not the drone for beginners. I said "wow" when I first pulled the Phantom 4 out of the box. For the first time, DJI has redesigned the Phantom chassis so that it's smaller and more streamlined. The design is supposed to yield better battery life, and make the rig a bit more portable. (The battery life is even slightly better than the advertised 28 minutes, but it sucks that you can't fold the landing gear and slide the drone into a backpack.) Meanwhile, upgraded motors allow for a new Sport Mode that would let the Phantom 4 fly as fast as 72km per hour. The Phantom 4 also includes an array of downward-facing cameras and sonar sensors that enable a Visual Positioning System, allowing the drone to know where it is without completely relying on GPS.

(The Phantom 3 also has this feature.) Along with an additional inertial measurement unit (IMU), the Phantom 4 feels impressively stable while flying. The lighter form factor does make it a little unwieldy in high winds, but you shouldn't be flying a little consumer drone in high winds anyways. The camera is just as phenomenal as the one on the previous Phantom drone. It shoots 4K video and takes 12MP still shots. A new gimbal design provides noticeably smoother videos. Then there are the Phantom 4's new autonomous features. The quadcopter features two optical cameras on the nose that sense and avoid objects in its path. This is obviously only handy if you're flying forward — more on this in a second. The computer imaging technology that enables these new features, dubbed TapFly and ActiveTrak, sound truly revolutionary. Almost all existing drones depend on a GPS chip in the controller to follow a subject, but the Phantom 4 lets you draw a box on the screen of your mobile device, and tracks that object wherever it goes.

Turn it on, leave the RC behind, do your thing, and catch it all on the sky cam. As a longtime crasher of drones, the obstacle avoidance immediately seemed like the most important addition to the Phantom. Visual tracking is cool, and the ability to tap an area on the screen is probably handy for some people. Nothing beats not crashing when you're flying a $US1,400 ($1,841) gadget. So you know what the first thing I did with my shiny new Phantom 4 was? I took off and it drifted sideways, right into a wall. As insinuated above, the forward-facing cameras only work when the drone is zooming nose-first at a larger obstacle (i.e. not power lines or small tree branches). If you find yourself flying sideways or backwards — or in speedy Sport Mode — you're fucked. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first thing I really did when I got my Phantom 4 was make many failed attempts at getting it off the ground. As I've learned from past experience, very few quadcopters are truly ready to fly out-of-the-box.

The Phantom 4 is no exception. Batteries need charging, and things need calibrating. At first, I had trouble with a beta version of the DJI GO app, which is necessary to fly the Phantom. Then, after I'd schlepped to the park, there was a firmware issue that I couldn't easily resolved over a cellular connection. All things told, it took me three tries before I got the Phantom 4 off the ground. Once I did get it a wide open space, I immediately realised that the Phantom 4 is a thrill to fly. It's nimble and powerful. The camera is incredible. Here's a shot of New York City that I took on my first flight: But as I learned over a couple weeks, the software isn't as user friendly as I wanted it to be. You have to hunt through menus to unlock features, and it's not easy to make the Phantom 4 do what you want it to, especially the ActiveTrak feature. I recently read an anecdote from another tech blogger who let his toddler fly the quadcopter. I do not recommend this! This is a truly powerful aircraft that stands to cause damage if it crashes — especially if it crashes into people.

The new Phantom is easier to fly than older generations, but it's not an autonomous drone. Since the object avoidance feature only works when you're flying forward, novice pilots will definitely have trouble making sure the red lights — which mark the nose of the aircraft — are facing the right direction. The ActiveTrak feature isn't as graceful as some reviews make it seem. When testing, I could get the camera to keep me in the frame. When I walked further away, the drone didn't move and lost me completely. I'm confident that the Phantom 4's fancy new features work in the right scenarios. I tried to make the drone hit me in head, and it wouldn't — although there were a few close calls! I flew it straight at a chain link fence, and it slammed to a stop. I flipped on Sport Mode, and watched it rip across a field at a mind-boggling speed. But the way the Phantom 4 is marketed suggests it flies itself. The new autonomous features certainly show progress, but they're hardly perfect.

I was standing in the middle of a baseball diamond on a blustery Brooklyn day when things went wrong. It had just rained, and the park was deserted. The time was right to test the limits of the Phantom 4, so I switched it into Sport Mode and curled my toes. "Let's see if it will avoid objects when it's going fast," I shouted to my cameraman, who immediately looked very nervous. I aimed the Phantom 4 towards the cage and cranked the throttle. I cannot express how fast this drone will move when you let it. The Phantom 4 reached full speed around the time it zoomed over my head, and I turned around just in time to see it explode. White bits of plastic flew in every direction, the consequence of sending an aircraft flying at full speed into a chain link fence. Like I mentioned earlier, the object avoidance feature doesn't work in Sport mode. It says so in the manual, which I'd read cover-to-cover. But the problem with drones — especially sophisticated models like the Phantom 4 — is that you can't juggle the configurations very easily on the fly.

If you're a relative novice trying to make the best use of your 25-minute battery life, you're likely to forget which features work when any given switch is in a certain position. I did, and destroyed a gadget that cost as much as my last car. Thank God, it was in an empty baseball field. Accidental as it was, my crash illustrated a fundamental problem with the Phantom 4. It's also not idiot-proof. And we all have idiot moments. The Phantom 4 is a fantastic quadcopter, perhaps the best I've ever flow. It is not the autonomous drone you want it to be. That's totally fine for experienced pilots. But it's not the best beginner drone for everyone. As an aerial photography drone, the new Phantom is one of the best. As a versatile flying gadget, it's a thrill to use. The fancy new features could be easier to use, but I doubt you'll have trouble figuring them out. So do you want t0 buy the best quadcopter for serious pilots? Buy the Phantom 4. Do you want a drone that flies itself?