3 Tips For Buying A Drone

Here are 3 things you should consider before buying a drone for yourself or as a present for someone. Drones are becoming more popular nowadays, with Parrot and DJI being the main players in the market. The AR Drone 2.0 and Phantom 2 Vision are currently two of the most accessible drones for non-commercial use and they can be bought for under $1000, as seen in our drone finder.

The eBee drone, manufactured by SenseFly, a spin off company from Parrot is promising great commercial applications for mapping and surveying of large areas, with many more commercial drones due to populate the market in the coming years. So what do you need to know before you buy a drone? Here are the three Ks:

Bepop drone picture
The Bebop drone is highly anticipated and expected to be launched by the end of the year

1) Know Your Budget:

Drone prices, even for amateur use can vary between $40 (the Estes 4606 drone) and $1000+ (the AirDog, currently on track to be launched towards the end of the year).

Like any other market, you need to be aware of all the products available and here at Drones Den we have created our own page to easily find a drone for you. You can see a list of all drones available and filter through them depending on your budget.

 

The Bebop drone shown above is expected to be launched by Christmas so you may choose to wait until then. The price tag although not yet known, is expected to be between $500 – $700.

2) Know Your Purpose:

This is important for several reasons and can narrow down the drones you can buy. Firstly, do you need a drone with a camera? Do you need the camera to be hd? (Try the DJI Phantom 2 Vision) and do you want it to be ready to fly out of the box (have you considered the Parrot AR Drone 2.0)? Do you want it to be controlled from your mobile phone or tablet (currently the only one available is the AR Drone 2.0), or do you want to have a separate controller? Do you want it to document your travels, in which case you would need something compact and sturdy?

3) Keep it Legal:

You should also know both the federal and state law regarding where and how you should fly your drone. Check out this map with areas where you should not fly your drone in the US. Specifically, this includes areas next to airports, military bases or national parks, according to FAA regulations. You must also keep a certain distance from people and buildings.

You may have seen videos on Youtube of people breaking the law by flying over nudist beaches or by flying close to helicopters and filming their weddings, but the authorities are getting more strict at cracking down on this behaviour as it is obviously endangering people. The latter example may not seem like a big deal, but this still comes under commercial drone use, which is currently prohibited without special prior approval from the FAA.

After you have considered all these, then head over to our drone finder to search and find the perfect drone for you. If you have a brief idea already, then visit our drones for sale page where you can also read a handful of reviews and pick the right drone for you. Either way, make sure you have considered these three tips that you should know before buying a drone!