Price
Expand to view more details.This is the manufacturer's recommended retail price at the time of purchase (June 2017)
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 85 and 2299
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Type
Advanced drones: require practice to fly, and will typically have greater speed and range. Recreational drones: designed for quick set-up and simple flight, with less power than higher end models. Toy drones: enjoyment comes from flying the drone rather than capturing good quality photos/video. As such, camera is generally low-quality or not included. Tend to be aimed at beginners and casual users, with cheaper components, slower speeds and short battery life.
Flight performance score
Performance assesses: initial lift-off, hover (stability), landing (stability/easiness), ability to cope with wind, slow figures of eight and return to base (operator ordering return manually).
enter value/s in increments of i between 37 and 83
Tested flight time
enter value/s in increments of i between 7 and 25
Camera performance score
Assesses the static still and video capability of the camera without the effects of flight in standard and reduced lighting conditions (earlier than darkness as drones are not suitable for flying at night). Also assesses the ability of the camera to take stills while filming video. Footage/images captured in flight are assessed as well. Image quality is compared to a colour-correct monitor. Note that the 3DR Solo Drone Quadcopter does not ship with a camera (it's designed to support a GoPro which is sold separately). As such, camera performance was not assessed on this model.
enter value/s in increments of i between 19 and 86
Ease of use score
Considers set-up, connecting to the app and flight control. Drones with higher scores are easier to set up and fly.
enter value/s in increments of i between 54 and 82
Portability score
Assesses ease in transporting the drone to different locations (including size and weight), and whether or not assembly/disassembly is required before and after flight. Some of the drones come with good quality carrying cases but most do not. The transportability of the drones varies with some being able to be folded up with the propellers attached and others requiring disassembly, sometimes involving removing the camera, to aid portability. A potential user should ensure that whichever drone they select meets their portability needs
enter value/s in increments of i between 24 and 93
Claimed maximum horizontal speed km
Manufacturers maximum stated horizontal flight speed in kilometres. Note that you do not have to fly your drone at the maximum allowable speed.
enter value/s in increments of i between 18 and 88
Maximum image resolution mp
enter value/s in increments of i between 0 and 14
Maximum video resolution
Viewing device
Device used to view live feed from camera attached to drone. Note that it is illegal to wear a first-person VR style headset while piloting a drone in Australia. A direct line of sight must be maintained at all times.
Flight and safety tutorials
Included flight tutorials and safety guides are very important features for beginners.
Live view
Many drones can send a live video feed from the camera to your smartphone, controller or first-person VR style headset.
Selfie mode
Program the drone to face the pilot, hover and take a selfie at optimal height.
GPS
Emergency override control
Is there a one-touch/tap emergency override control that can be activated if you lose control of the drone? Typically instructs the drone to immediately return to base (launch point).
Availability
A Similar model is identical in most aspects except for a few. This means that a majority of its test results are identical so you can reasonably expect to get the same results from the model we tested, but for those aspects which aren't identical, we'll note these as "Not Tested" in the Compare tables.
A Tested model refers to a model that is still current and available in the Australian market. You should be able to order this model through your local retailer, or find it online.
These models can't be found in retailers or online or are no longer manufactured. You may still find these models on second hand websites, or in second hand dealers. Test methods may change over time, so criteria which can't be directly compared will contain an N/A.
An Identical model is exactly that. Performance characteristics will be identical and the only difference will be something trivial such as colour, which won't have an impact on performance.
These are models we haven't yet tested but that are available.
Included in this review
- Bad points
- Battery charge time
- Battery score
- Build quality score
- Camera performance score
- Ease of use score
- Flight control score
- Flight performance score
- Good points
- Other flight and video modes
- Overall score
- Portability score
- Recommended
- Safety score
- Tested flight time
- Brand
- Model
- Type
- Availability
- Buy now
- Android
- App account required
- Auto hover
- Auto land
- Auto return to base
- Automatic camera orientation
- Battery type
- Battery weight g
- Capacity
- Claimed flight time
- Claimed maximum horizontal speed km
- Claimed maximum vertical speed km
- Comes with camera
- Control range claim horizontal
- Custom routes
- Emergency override control
- Flight and safety tutorials
- Follow feature
- Geofencing
- GPS
- Hover when controls are released
- iOS
- Live view
- Loss of control signal
- Maximum frame rate
- Maximum image resolution mp
- Maximum video resolution
- Move relative to user
- Obstacle avoidance
- Orbit mode
- Price
- Zipline mode
- Primary controls physical or app
- Propeller guards
- Selfie mode
- Shoots RAW
- Spare battery
- Spare parts supplied
- Stream to internet
- Supplied replacement parts
- Swappable camera
- Viewing device