This list of drone accessories under $100 is all of the drone accessories that will make doing your job way easier. Some of these accessories came with drone kits that we initially bought and I was really surprised to see how much I liked them. Some of them were real game changers.
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Polar Pro ND Filters
This is the exact set of ND filters we use on our Phantom 4 Pro. While I won’t claim to be an expert in photography, a good set of ND filters is like wearing sunglasses and will give you another level of control over the exposure in your photographs. Check out this article on Tuts Plus (a photography website) to see example pictures with and without ND filters. The difference is pretty distinct.
Amazon has a bunch of these Polar Pro ND filter kits, depending on the model of your drone. Here are links to a few.
Sun Shade for Phone or Tablet
This one was a real shock to me and I often thought the people that used these things just looked kind of funny. I honestly didn’t think it would make much difference even though I was often crouching behind my car to get in the shadows to see a brighter picture on my iPad. But getting one of these things makes a HUGE difference. No more moving into the shadows or crouching under a tree to make sure you got the shot. And when you’re done with it, it just lays flat in your bag and takes up virtually no space. The thing that I love about this one is just how inexpensive it is. You’re talking like $17 bucks.
I can’t find the exact one that I have, probably because it came as part of a package, but the one I link to below is highly rated, comes is various sizes to fit a bunch of different phones or tablets, and actually looks like it is easier to install than the one I have.
Drone Backpack
On more than one occasion, I’ve been convinced that a backpack to carry my Phantom 4 Pro is the best accidental purchase I’ve made when it comes to drones (it came as part of a package deal). Especially given the size, where its just small enough that you could carry it by one of the legs, but just large enough that it’s sort of annoying when you do.
My business partner and I have had a few jobs where we were forced to walk some railroad tracks or hike up the side of a mountain, and having a backpack to carry all of the drone stuff stops you from getting caught up on branches, etc. Not to mention that it just keeps your hands free and provides you the ability to keep all of your gear in one place.
If I was in the market for a new drone backpack, this is the one I’d get.
It has great flexible storage compartments that allow you to carry a drone (or maybe two is you have smaller ones, a controller, laptop, tablet, DSLR camera, tripod, etc. It even has a bunch of smaller pockets for things like your propellers, cords, batteries, mounts, etc.
Drone Controller Harness
This was another drone accessory that I didn’t think would make a huge difference. I know that most drones come with some kind of lanyard but this isn’t what I’m talking about.
In my experience, using a lanyard is fine in the event that the controller slips out of your hands or something, but I can’t tell you how many times I have bent over or stooped down to attach propellers or put an ND filter on and my controller goes swinging out from my body.
It’s a really frustrating problem that could be dealt with by getting an actual harness that holds the controller close to your body by connecting in the back. The harness that I recommend is this one:
It comes in black or white and the shoulder straps are padded. It even has a couple of pockets where you could put batteries, SD cards or propellers. It also has a couple of adjustable clips in the front that can come off if you just want to remove the controller for a minute. This is even better than the drone harness that I have, which came directly from DJI.
RELATED: Check out our list of the Best Drones for Beginners 2019
Prop Guards
I almost didn’t include this one because I don’t use them anymore. But the fact of the matter is, these things were life savers early on and stopped me from crashing my drone more than once. Now I just don’t do that much flying in close proximity to things the way I used to. I also don’t fly inside much. Maybe I’m just more comfortable with the flying that I actually do.
Either way, prop guards can provide you with a level of comfort that you just don’t have without them.
One downside is that the added weight may affect battery life. But I’d say its probably worth it, especially if you fly inside and it saves you from crashing a drone.
Here are a few links to prop guards that fit some of the most common drones:
These are all of my favorite drone accessories under $100. Who says we need to spend a tons of money on drone accessories?