How to Choose Your First Drone

How to Choose Your First Drone

In the past, the word "drone" was limited to aircraft known as remotely piloted aerial systems, which was used in situations when a manned aerial vehicle faced significant security risks. These unmanned machines were available mostly to military personnel who used them to target specific locations and capture images through real-time aerial views of a remote place.

Now people buy drones to use for entertainment purpose and fly them to capture excellent aerial images for personal use. Some businesses have also employed drones for many different purposes including security surveillance, intelligence data collection, and filming. Drones come in a number of shapes and sizes with many different features, and come in all price ranges. Before you decide on a particular drone, it is a good idea to gain some insight into all the features and specifications of various types of drones and then make an informed decision.

Points to Consider Before Buying a Drone

Although it's a piece of cake to buy anything nowadays; thanks to the internet where people leave all sorts of comments and reviews regarding a particular product, there are still a few things you should keep in mind before you decide to buy a drone. In fact, these are a few questions that you need to answer in order to buy the right thing that will prove to be useful in the long run. Of course the first and most important question is how much money you're willing to spend. And the answer to this question depends on your purpose of buying a drone.

So, let's consider some key points before going drone shopping.

Types of Drones Available for Sale

The drones available to general public are further classified into three types:

· Ready-to-fly

· Bind-and-fly; and

· Almost-ready-to-fly

The first type, ready-to-fly is the most common type and are available in sizes from very small to large. These vary in price ranging from $50 to $3,000 depending on their size and specifications. The best ones in this category are designed like a quadcopter with support for landing. They also come with excellent features like;

1. 12 MP camera

2. Live HD video streaming

3. Flight simulator for mastering the art of flying

4. Advanced vision positioning

5. Efficient mobile app for greater control and more advanced options

When you decide to go for a drone for taking photos and recording or streaming videos, you need to answer questions like how important is the quality of the data. In short, when going for a ready-to-fly quadcopter, consider the size of the drone, the quality and performance of camcorder, the speed of the machine, and its overall design and price.

Ready-to-fly drones are designed for beginners and hobbyists and it is only required to plug in the batteries and attach the propellers. These machines are therefore quite easy to use and are meant for kids and adults alike. Bind-and-fly quadcopters are meant for more advanced drone users who already have lots of experience in flying these types of machines and who also know how to assemble the parts. As the name implies, you will need to bind the machine to the controller before it can take off.

Features to Look For

In addition to size and overall design, there are many features that you might be interested in. These are explained below:

· Wireless connectivity: The latest drones come equipped with wireless connectivity options including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connecting to devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This feature gives you much control over the data you collect as you can easily transfer it to your computer for manipulation.

· GPS: If a drone comes with GPS or Global Positioning System, it is able to return to its home place if lost. It also allows the user to track their machine and feed a route that the drone must follow. This is again a powerful feature that greatly improves the performance of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

· Camera: A built-in camera is one of the features that most drone users are looking for. Once you experience the power of an aerial camera, you won't want to go back to a plain old drone that offers nothing but flight.

· Video streaming: More advanced users also want live video streaming to see where their drone goes. You can stream video to a computer or smartphone depending on your requirements.

· Power: More powerful machines are able to give you extra battery life for longer flights and high propeller speed. These features come in handy when you have to fly drones on a regular basis and don't want to compromise on its speed or waste time constantly charging the battery.

So, you see there are many different types of drones available out there depending not only on their size and overall functionality but also on the features they come with. You may like a drone looking at its beautiful design but it may not fulfill all your requirements or might exceed your budget. It's important to do your homework before spending money on such a powerful machine.

Drones are definitely cool when it comes to unlimited fun and entertainment. They can give you hours of enjoyment and many useful outcomes as well if you decide to take photos, record videos or perform real-time data analysis with the help of these small yet powerful flying machines. However, do consider the above-mentioned points when you decide to buy yourself a drone so that you can spend your money wisely and also avoid problems later on.