Drone Essentials Buying Guide
Cheap Drones for Learning to Fly (under $130)
This Cheerwing Syma X5SW drone is first on my list because it’s basically an upgraded version of the Syma drone I first bought back in 2015. These Syma drones are great first purchases because they are really cheap (typically under $40-45), they come with prop guards so you can even practice in the house and this one even comes with a cell phone holder. I can’t vouch for the video playback, but Syma claims that it will relay video via an app on your cell phone. Another great thing about these Syma drones is that the controls are SUPER sensitive, which at first may sound like a drawback. But if you can learn to control the Syma using these sensitive controls, a larger drone with adjustable controls will be a piece of cake later on. This drone is also so light that it falls below the FAA’s requirements to register (.55 lbs).
Flight time: 5-7 minutes
Battery Charge Time: 90-120 minutes
Control distance: 50 meters
Next on my list is my first drone purchase, the Syma X5C. This drone is a lot like the Cheerwing listed above, but does not have the capability to transmit video to your phone while flying. No worries, the video that you get isn’t great quality and this drone is really just for practice. Like the other drones in this section, the flight time is pretty limited. You may want to grab an extra battery or two while you’re at it.
Flight time: about 7 minutes
Battery Charge Time: 100 minutes
Finally, let’s take a look at the Holy Stone HS170 Predator Mini. While I don’t have any personal experience with this drone, it still shows as highly rated (for small, toy drones) and provides roughly the same control distance as the Syma drones above with about half of the charging time. Personally, I think the charge time would be worth it, just so you could get more practice in. You can even get a couple of additional batteries and keep it under $50.
Flight time: 6-8 minutes
Battery Charge Time: 45-60 minutes
Control distance: 30-50 meters
If you are willing to spend a few bucks more than the drones listed above, the payoff may be worth it, depending on what you’re looking for. This DJI Tello drone is under $150 with a controller but really provides a lot of features that you would only get in more expensive drones. The biggest benefit (in my opinion) is just becoming familiar with a DJI drone. I’m a huge fan of DJI drones, and it is all that I use in my drone business. It comes with the Tello App, just for this drone, as well as a controller (or it can be controlled by your phone) and it is also compatible with VR headsets. If you’re looking in this price range anyway, this could be a great drone to learn on.
Flight time: 13 minutes
Control distance: 100 meters
Hobby and Prosumer Drones ($400-$1,000)
The DJI Spark is at the bottom of this list just because of the camera. While the camera on this drone is 12 megapixels and actually has a 4K sensor, the drone itself only shoots in 1080p. This is because DJI has chosen to use some software tricks to stabilize the video instead of the gimbal. that said, 1080p is still considered full HD and image/video quality is perfectly acceptable for a hobbyist pilot. The version of the Spark that I’d recommend if you choose to go this route would be the one with the controller. It’s very similar to the controller that comes with the Mavic Pro minus a few features. Overall, this is a very solid drone for the price, just know that the others on this list would be better choices for a bit more money.
Flight time: 16 minutes
Top Speed: 31 mph
Control distance: 1.2 miles