Cheap drone recommendation for a newbie?

[Hoomi]

Okay, I'm not holding out a lot of hope on this, but figured I'd post here and see if anyone had a recommendation I could pass along to a friend of a friend. I was told by my friend that her friend was interested in getting a starter drone, so I dropped him an email, with a couple of basic ideas.

He's interested in something that he can use to look for firewood, and has never flown a drone before. I pointed him towards some of the DJI drones, as they have excellent cameras, and will pretty much fly themselves, making them very good for new pilots.

He countered that he's looking for something in the $50 USD range, as he's not sure if he'll like flying drones, and wants something cheap in case he crashes (which, in my experience, is far more likely with a cheap drone, than with one that has decent electronics and firmware).

From what I've seen, $50 pretty much just buys a toy, and not something that would be useful for any kind of search or even amateur aerial photography.

However, I'm not afraid to admit that I do not have the most comprehensive knowledge of the drone world, so figured I'd ask here, and see what kind of response I can forward to him.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ryan O.]

Okay, I'm not holding out a lot of hope on this, but figured I'd post here and see if anyone had a recommendation I could pass along to a friend of a friend. I was told by my friend that her friend was interested in getting a starter drone, so I dropped him an email, with a couple of basic ideas.

He's interested in something that he can use to look for firewood, and has never flown a drone before. I pointed him towards some of the DJI drones, as they have excellent cameras, and will pretty much fly themselves, making them very good for new pilots.

He countered that he's looking for something in the $50 USD range, as he's not sure if he'll like flying drones, and wants something cheap in case he crashes (which, in my experience, is far more likely with a cheap drone, than with one that has decent electronics and firmware).

From what I've seen, $50 pretty much just buys a toy, and not something that would be useful for any kind of search or even amateur aerial photography.

However, I'm not afraid to admit that I do not have the most comprehensive knowledge of the drone world, so figured I'd ask here, and see what kind of response I can forward to him.

Thanks in advance.

Back before I started flying planes I flew a little orange quadcopter that didn’t have a camera and cost $60 back then (I say back then but it was no less than ten years ago). I found the exact same one for a lot cheaper, just over $20, and although it has no camera, it’s a blast and I guess technically when I got into rc, either that or those new bright cars from the general store, or maybe an airhogs helicopter which didn’t fly so much as meander an inch off the ground. There are also the mid sized SYMA quadcopters, some of which have altitude hold (sort of) and a camera which can record to micro sd or send a video feed to your phone through wifi, although the quality is definitely 480p or lower. Those were all fun and I ended up burning through three of them, one lost to a tree, one lost flying straight into a dumpster, and one lost to one of those stands for volleyball nets at the local park. Beyond that I don’t have any more experience since I switched to fixed wing aircraft, although I always wanted to get another one and bolt on some 2205’s, for fun.
Small orange quadcopter ($20)
Cheap SYMA quadcopter ($50)
There are smaller and cheaper SYMA quadcopters, but I’ve never used them before.

 

[FlamingRCAirplanes]

Back before I started flying planes I flew a little orange quadcopter that didn’t have a camera and cost $60 back then (I say back then but it was no less than ten years ago). I found the exact same one for a lot cheaper, just over $20, and although it has no camera, it’s a blast and I guess technically when I got into rc, either that or those new bright cars from the general store, or maybe an airhogs helicopter which didn’t fly so much as meander an inch off the ground. There are also the mid sized SYMA quadcopters, some of which have altitude hold (sort of) and a camera which can record to micro sd or send a video feed to your phone through wifi, although the quality is definitely 480p or lower. Those were all fun and I ended up burning through three of them, one lost to a tree, one lost flying straight into a dumpster, and one lost to one of those stands for volleyball nets at the local park. Beyond that I don’t have any more experience since I switched to fixed wing aircraft, although I always wanted to get another one and bolt on some 2205’s, for fun.
Small orange quadcopter ($20)
Cheap SYMA quadcopter ($50)
There are smaller and cheaper SYMA quadcopters, but I’ve never used them before.

I have heard good things about SYMA.

 

[Hoomi]

I forwarded him the link to the Amazon listing for the $50 camera drone, with a few caveats about the drone (particularly the limited range, which, if he wants a drone for looking for things, is definitely going to be a concern).

I haven't heard back from him yet.

 

[PsyBorg]

Okay, I'm not holding out a lot of hope on this, but figured I'd post here and see if anyone had a recommendation I could pass along to a friend of a friend. I was told by my friend that her friend was interested in getting a starter drone, so I dropped him an email, with a couple of basic ideas.

He's interested in something that he can use to look for firewood, and has never flown a drone before. I pointed him towards some of the DJI drones, as they have excellent cameras, and will pretty much fly themselves, making them very good for new pilots.

He countered that he's looking for something in the $50 USD range, as he's not sure if he'll like flying drones, and wants something cheap in case he crashes (which, in my experience, is far more likely with a cheap drone, than with one that has decent electronics and firmware).

From what I've seen, $50 pretty much just buys a toy, and not something that would be useful for any kind of search or even amateur aerial photography.

However, I'm not afraid to admit that I do not have the most comprehensive knowledge of the drone world, so figured I'd ask here, and see what kind of response I can forward to him.

Thanks in advance.

Sadly $50 may not even limit him to the good side of toy grade quads. Anything that low COMPLETE with radio and any fpv is going to be a 1s wifi based toy that if he is lucky would carry video out to 25 foot diameter before degrading and a max 50 foot range more then likely.

For anything that will reliably fly any further then he can see with his eyes he is looking at $250 ish if he has his own radio gear and something to view FPV with. There is no more Ill get a cheap drone to see if I like it thing anymore. You either do 1s toy grade, a flight sim or you jump up to an FPV 3 inch build for the very basics close to doing what he wants to do.

 

[Mr_Stripes]

Buy a cheap whoop for 20$ or less. If he likes it he can get some good gear. If not then he has a toy to give a friend.

 

[PsyBorg]

Buy a cheap whoop for 20$ or less. If he likes it he can get some good gear. If not then he has a toy to give a friend.

The OP wanted a cheap drone that could have FPV AND do long range. Whoops ain't the machine for doing that. I do agree that is a goo way to see if you hold interest or have skill enough to fly one but not so much for the intentions requested.

 

[Mr_Stripes]

The OP wanted a cheap drone that could have FPV AND do long range. Whoops ain't the machine for doing that. I do agree that is a goo way to see if you hold interest or have skill enough to fly one but not so much for the intentions requested.

To me this is the best option because of how cheap it is. It is just to get his feet wet. He cant get anything with the features he wantsfor that price.

 

[Hoomi]

Well, so far, no response from him on the Amazon link I forwarded.

IMNSHO, things like drones fall under the adage of, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

 

[Hoomi]

Out of curiosity, I keep seeing the EXO drones advertised on social media. They're touted as a more budget friendly alternative to the DJI drones (though not, I believe, in so many words). Anyone have any experience with them? They have a $129 model that, while still not nearly as powerful as the Spark or Mavic Mini, has better specs than the $50 drone on Amazon.

I still haven't heard back from him, but if the EXO drones are worthwhile, I might drop him one more email and pass along that link.

 

[PsyBorg]

Out of curiosity, I keep seeing the EXO drones advertised on social media. They're touted as a more budget friendly alternative to the DJI drones (though not, I believe, in so many words). Anyone have any experience with them? They have a $129 model that, while still not nearly as powerful as the Spark or Mavic Mini, has better specs than the $50 drone on Amazon.

I still haven't heard back from him, but if the EXO drones are worthwhile, I might drop him one more email and pass along that link.

4 am and I am still up so I watched a few videos. 2 from clueless pilots and one from the vendor. Their stuff seems pretty stable and video seems ok too. Not sure what model you looked at but the ones I checked were the EXO X7 I think? They look super fragile but all them style quads look like that to me without and carbon on the arms. For under 200 bones they seem OK. I say 200 as if a new pilot buys one they will need memory cards, extra batteries, potentially a REAL charger.

It is electronically leashed as I saw in one video they took it to 360ft and about 60 feet away and it said it reached the electric fence of 1320m. they got about 11 minutes all hover with a ton of yawing in place which really sucks power fast. So normal filming and flying should be in the 13 to 15 min range I would guess.

Is it a dji killer.. not even close but its way above the toy quality that could be had on a 50 bone drone.

 

[Mr_Stripes]

They look super fragile but all them style quads look like that to me without and carbon on the arms.

Maybe thats cuz we are used to being able to walk away from a heavy crash

 

[Davidyrne]

There available a loads of options like Holy Stone HS190, Cheerwing Syma, Hubsan X4 H107L etc. All these are under $50 budget. As a newbie this drones are good but for advance works DJI drones are perfect.

 

[Liam B]

Hmmm lol

 

[Mr_Stripes]

I think the mavic mini 2 would be good for you. It is smaller than the mavic so it will save some weight in your bag. I am by no means an expert on dji stuff tho.

 

[Liam B]

Any DJI product that falls within the weight you're looking for. You really can't compete with DJI these days.

 

[vikan]

Check this page to find cheapest drons https://dronesweb.es/