If you are a beginner who is looking to capture aerial footage, you might have wondered if there are cheap and practical drones that can suit your needs. When the drone technology became mainstream, there were few drones made for beginners, but the drone filming technology has since become broad and you can get good drones that are ideal for beginners. Below is my list of top 5 entry-level drones for capturing aerial footage that I have found to be easy to use and affordable at the same time.
Tech reviewer D. Scott Carruthers says, “Buying a drone for beginners does not mean getting less on features and quality. The drones that are coming into the market now have various features including GPS.”
5 Entry-Level Drones For Capturing Aerial Footage
Here are 5 drones that are perfect for beginners while providing the ability to capture the aerial footage you desire.
This is a combination of advanced features and cheap prices that you cannot afford to miss. If you are looking for high end aerial filming, this is the perfect drone you should go for that will not cost you a lot. In fact, you need only $90 to get it and the biggest surprise is it comes with 509W capacity.
Although its capabilities deserve three times the price tag you will get it at, it’s a bargain when you consider how well it can help you practice aerial filming. It can land automatically and part of its features is a good camera that will do good aerial shots. It has virtually all the most sought after features you can think about in a drone.
The second cheap option you could get is the Parrot Mambo, a drone that is good for doing cool aerial tricks out of the box. This will cost you a bit higher than the first one at $120, but its performance is deserving of the price tag.
This is one of the premier names in drones. You can attach your camera to the drone as it is not built to naturally come with one, but as long as you have a light camera that can be attached to the drone, you can try some aerial photography. Its simplicity is perfectly ideal for a beginner, and this could be what you have been looking for.
If you have been looking for a simple drone that can allow you to effectively do aerial videos in HD quality, this is the most ideal choice you have for your project, which again is good for a beginner and priced not so high. It is an ultra tiny drone that packs big boy features that are designed to allow smooth aerial photography. It will cost you a paltry $95 and it is powerful enough to average a 100-foot range.
Most importantly, it features a VR headset and controller, which means you can enjoy the flight through VR. Its one-touch takeoff is something many beginners will appreciate for adding simplicity in its operation. It is even able to fly across pre-programmed paths, which is a feature only few drones offer at the price.
This is among the cheapest drones you can find in the market. The Hubstan X4 gives you extended flight time and still accommodates a camera for aerial video shooting. For only $30, you will get the drone and this will come as a surprise that it features a weight of over a pound and is 3.8 inches in size across. Its flight time can hover around 10 minutes without losing functionality and the controls of the drone are linear and proportional, though they are prone to overcompensation and sensitive.
You will also love that the drone can do flips and barrel rolls based on commands, something that allows you to channel inner Peppy Hare to the direction you would like.
Another perfect bet for beginners is the UDI U818A Discovery, and this comes as an all round drone for capturing aerial footage. It costs a mere $58 and the reason you would pick it over others is that it’s a jack of all trades and a perfect aerial filming solution for those who are still in the learning process. It comes with sensitive controls that help the drone to change direction immediately as you instruct it.
Over To You
So what do you think about this list of my top 5 entry-level drones for capturing aerial footage for beginners and also for experienced video photographers wishing to capture some cool drone footage? Would you be interested in buying one of these? Do leave your comments below on your thoughts of the same and if you feel any other drones are out there that may be featured on this list. Thanks for reading.
I am using Parrot Mambo from the past few months and it’s a great one when you have to capture arena footage.
By the way, other drones in the list are also great ones. Thanks for sharing this great info.
Thanks for your feedback, Debra. Yet, the Parrot Mambo is a great option for many people. Glad you enjoy using yours.
I’ll settle for a slightly higher priced drone for better image quality. I think the parrot mambo is worth checking out.
nadine recently posted…Mt. Sipit Ulang Day Hike with Payaran Falls
Hi Nadine
It is absolutely true that there are more expensive options which give better image quality. However, the focus of this article was the low end of the price range for the occasional user. Definitely give the Parrot Mambo a look and let me know what you think.
I am surprised that drones can come at such cheaper rates too. I was always thinking of adding a drone in my video recording checklist and after reading this post, This is a lot easier for me to select one.
PRABHAKAR KUMAR recently posted…Basic Survival Skills to Keep You Alive In The Wild
Glad you found the post helpful, Prabhakar. Yes, the new drones priced for the occasional user do a surprisingly good job for aerial photography.
Thanks for sharing the alternatives, the “top brand” DJI is just getting way too expensive for someone who just wants to test out aerial photography.
W.S. Toh recently posted…Photography Lighting Basics #4 : Studio Lighting Basics
The prices of these drones are jaw dropping low. I can’t believe that the camera drones can come at such price range. Although these all are best ones as you have listed them. I have also composed my little effort similar to this at my blog. Keep things up. I salute to this work!
Hi Alissa,
Thank you for this amazing post. Your content is really creative and nice. And the price of drones are very cheap. This information is worthy for me.
Thanks Alissa for this list. I think it is good for those who are beginning to play with drones. A good selection of really cheap drones, in case something goes wrong one will not be risking a lot of money. I like the Creazy JXD 509W for the low price and the features it has such as an HD camera.
Great post! These are really great prices for camera drones.