Drone buying advice: you can let these aircraft fly
3.11.2019
Translation: machine translated
With your own drone, you hold the dream of flying in your hands and ideally take beautiful photos and videos. I have a few recommendations to help you avoid frustration caused by poor images, complex controls or poor flight characteristics.
To do this, I have combined my own experiences with drones with the experiences and reports of other testers and hope to be able to recommend good drones to you. I categorise them into more affordable models for beginners, more expensive drones with even better image quality and additional comfort functions, and gaming devices. But before that, a few pointers on the legal situation in Germany are essential.
Legal basics
Before you can launch a drone, you need to know a few rules and possibly also regulate a few things:
- You will most likely need extra liability insurance for your drone. Most private liability insurance policies do not cover damage caused by drones.
- If your drone weighs more than 250 grams, labelling requirements apply. Your name and address must appear on a sticker .- If the drone weighs more than two kilograms, you need a proof of knowledge, also known as a drone driving licence.
- Only drones weighing less than five kilograms may be launched in bright conditions without authorisation from the authorities.
You must observe no-fly zones in which operation is prohibited. They make it almost impossible to fly a drone, especially in large cities .
Your drone may only fly higher than 100 metres and at night with official permission. Airports are always off limits - with a safety radius of 1.5 kilometres. A safety distance of at least 100 metres applies to hospitals, industrial plants, prisons, nature reserves, military facilities, crowds of people, federal and state authorities, federal trunk roads, federal waterways and railway facilities, as well as police and emergency services. This list does not claim to be exhaustive. In some cases, the drones are aware of the no-fly zones and do not take off from the relevant locations.
If your drone can take photos or videos, you may only fly over residential properties if the owners agree. If you take photos or videos, the same rules apply as for any other camera. Keyword: right to your own image. . Otherwise, you are obliged to avoid "manned aircraft" with your drone. Flights with video goggles are only permitted if a second person can see the drone and warn you of any dangers. Exception: The drone weighs less than 250 grams and flies no higher than 30 metres.
Beginner drones for photos and videos
If you understandably don't want to spend a lot of money on your first drone, you don't necessarily have to do without 4K resolution and various recording modes, but tools such as obstacle detection are only available if you spend more money
The DJI Mavic Air can be folded for transport and easily stowed away. It records videos in 4K resolution and has a flight time of 21 minutes. You can clamp your smartphone in its remote control for image transmission. Its camera gimbal has three axes to stabilise the footage. With its assistance systems, the drone can recognise obstacles in front of and behind it and avoid them. You can also expect various shooting modes and the option to control the Air with hand gestures.
Strong competition for the Mavic Air also comes from DJI. The new Mavic Mini is even more compact, is also foldable, has a three-axis gimbal for the camera and can also be controlled from a smartphone. However, the maximum resolution for videos is only 2.7k, but it stays in the air for up to 30 minutes and, above all, weighs just 249 grams and therefore does not require a badge with your name and address.
The two Mavic models cannot be used for FPV flights with video goggles. The Xiaomi FIMI A3, for example, is suitable for this. However, transporting it is more complex. It cannot be folded. For videos, you also have to make do with a full HD resolution of the camera attached to a gimbal and can expect a flight time of 25 minutes. You control the Fimi A3 using a remote control with its own display.
Better images, longer flight time, higher prices
In addition to 4K resolution and a gimbal to stabilise the camera, you can also expect automatic obstacle detection from a certain price. But there are differences here too. Not every drone recognises obstacles in all directions. Some models only look forwards.
The Mavic 2 Pro, with its Hasselblad camera, adjustable aperture, HDR videos and 10-bit Log-M colour profile, is a drone for anyone who wants or needs to spend time post-processing their shots. Its flight time is 31 minutes. It recognises obstacles on its own and basically in all directions, but some only in certain flight modes. You have numerous recording functions at your disposal for impressive aerial shots. The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is identical except for the camera. Its camera is not from Hasselblad and is slightly inferior in terms of quality, but offers a 2x zoom and also 4K resolution.
The DJI Phantom 4 Advanced+, on the other hand, cannot be folded up and has a remote control with screen. The manufacturer has equipped it with virtually the same shooting modes as the Mavic 2 Pro. However, the Phantom 4 Advanced+ only recognises obstacles that are in front of it. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro has the same camera as the Advanced+, but recognises obstacles on all sides.
Toy drones
If the aim is simply to control an aircraft remotely, the camera technology is irrelevant. The prices are significantly lower, but you can't expect any help with the controls. Here you need to be sensitive to the remote control. However, this can also cause a lot of frustration, especially at the beginning. As the toy drones are all comparatively small and light, they are subject to fewer rules, but even a little wind can make take-off impossible.
The Parrot Mambo is a little older, but is still one of the mini drones with the most stable flight characteristics and uncomplicated control via smartphone. The Fly version is the pure version of the Mambo. Parrot also offers additional sets with a clip-on camera and video goggles or with a mini cannon and a gripper arm.
The two drones from Propel will make the hearts of Star Wars fans beat faster. They are controlled using the remote control supplied and, unlike the Mambo, there is no automatic control system to help you. Instead, you can choose between the Rebels or the Empire - and pay the surcharge for merchandise items. A much cheaper alternative with its own remote control is the Control Sport VR Quadrocopter R from Revell.
Drones for professionals
Drones can not only take to the skies for fun, they can also make work easier. The Parrot Anafi Work comes with four rechargeable batteries for a long flight time of 100 minutes - with short breaks. It can be folded for transport and its flight area can be restricted by software or a route can be specified. The 4K recordings can be converted into 3D models of buildings using the Pix4Dmodel software.
The Parrot Thermal Pro contains a thermal imaging camera. This is intended to enable architects to find leaks in buildings, for example, or rescue workers to locate missing persons. Flight time: 25 minutes. The full HD resolution of the camera should be sufficient for the intended use.
Updated on 04 November 2019
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.