Best Drones For Filmmaking

Best Drones For Filmmaking

Here A piece of tech that’s revolutionizing all the sectors is the drone. You are able to do a range of activities using this technology. There are a lot of areas that are yet unexplored. As these are extremely portable and you will be able to maneuver them very easily to the places you can’t generally go. Depending on the specs, you will be able to carry a range of loads around as well. There are various movies that have a lot of shots taken from high-quality drones. If you are looking for some of the best drones for filmmaking, we are compiling a list for you from where you can decide the one to buy for yourself.

There are a lot of companies that are in the game. For example, DJI is one of the best players in the market. These drones are seen to be helpful in providing you with the best quality footage. As technology is getting more and more advanced, the features are also increasing in manifolds.

In this review, we are including many drones that are under $1,000. You will be able to get the best video and picture quality with very good stabilization and colour details.

10 best drones for filmmaking handpicked by experts: Pros & cons included!!

It’s time we dive into the reviews of some of the best drones that you can buy. This review will give you a detailed insight into all of them. You will be able to get much clarity and decide on the one after going through all of them and then, comparing them.

We recommend you first decide what your requirements are and then focus on those aspects while going through the review. It will help you in choosing one of the best drones for filmmaking that is also best for you. Brace yourselves to get bombarded with the DJI ones that are best in terms of everything.

Here is a comparison table of the top 10 best drones for filmmaking that you can purchase:

NameImageRatingPrice
Holy Stone 2K Drone4.8/5
DJI Mavic Air4.5/5
Xiaomi Mi Drone4.7/5
DJI Mavic Mini4.3/5
Autel Robotics EVO4.5/5
DJI Mavic Pro4.7/5
DJI Mavic 2 Zoom4.9/5
DJI Phantom 4 v24.3/5
Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon4.6/5
Contixo F18 Plus 2K Drone4.4/5

1. Holy Stone 2k Drone

Best Drones For Filmmaking

This drone is preferred by a lot of people where it is actually one of the best drones for filmmaking or aerial photography. The 4 motors that are present on the drone will help it in better stability.

The drone will also be able to carry heavier loads in comparison to other quadcopters in this range. When it comes to the specifications, you won’t find anything extraordinary but the quality is just top-notch where you will be able to actually put it in comparison with the other high-end ones.

 The range offered by Holy Stone on this drone is only 1.6 km and the company claims it will fly for 18 minutes.

In our review, we found it to be around 15 minutes. Coming to its camera features, the drone offers 2K resolution with a field of view of 120-degree.

You will also get to tweak the camera settings manually from the controller when it’s in flight. There will also be a need for connecting a smartphone as you will not get any touchscreen panel on the controller.

The drone is also equipped with the orbit mode, preset flight path, obstacle avoidance, etc. 

Pros
  1. The drone offers a 4-motor setup which is its USP. You will find this quadcopter to be very stable. It will be able to give you some smoothest shots that you can capture.
  2. The camera quality on the drone is also top-notch and it will give you a very crisp and clear output.
  3. The drone also offers you a range of features that will help you in flying it in semi-auto mode. It will fly with minimum inputs which will eventually help you in getting better shots.
  4. The performance of the drone is also head-to-head with all the high-end drones. The build quality and the materials used in this drone are also premium quality.
  5. The specifications offered by the company in this price segment are also exceptional.
Cons
  1. The obstacle avoidance feature of this drone will only work on the lower speeds.
  2. The flight time of the drone is comparatively lower and Holy Stone should try to optimize the software even more to increase the flying time.

2. DJI Mavic Air

Best Drones For Filmmaking

This is one of the drones that are very recently added to the list of drones provided by DJI. In terms of features, the drone is a very significant upgrade from its predecessor.

The drone will offer you an upgraded camera sensor that is capable of shooting in higher resolution.

This is the drone that you can also get for a beginner as it flies in a very gentle manner.

You will get to adjust the speeds. It’s also a very good option for professional videographers as they will be able to fly it at 88.4 km/h max speed on the top setting.

The drone will offer you a flying time of 21 minutes. You will also get an above-average range of 4 km.

Talking about the features, the camera is obviously the USP of the camera. As it’s actually a very compact drone, you will be able to take it everywhere with you.

When it comes to taking static pictures, the sensor will use 12 MP + HDR and for the spherical panorama videos, it will use a bigger 32 MP. The camera will provide you the highest resolution up to 4K 30 FPS.

You will be able to get the slow-motion recording at 1080p 120 FPS. On the features front, you will find a range of options like ActiveTrack, one-touch landing, and take-off, VIO tech, obstacle avoidance, etc.

Pros
  1. The controls that are provided to you on this drone are very easy and simple. Even those who haven’t flown a drone ever will be able to understand very easily.
  2. The propellers can be folded into the camera’s body and this will allow you to carry it even more conveniently.
  3. The 4K camera will allow you to record very crisp and clear shots.
  4. The drone will give you a range of autonomous features that are there to help you in easy flying. The drone will fly with minimum input from the pilot.
  5. The top-speed on this camera will also make it one of the best drones for filmmaking, as well as for drone racing
Cons
  1. If the ground has less contrast, it may tamper the sensors and it will only happen when you will fly it indoors.
  2. DJI should bump up the internal storage to 16 GB but it’s only 8 GB now

3. Xiaomi Mi Drone

 

Best Drones For Filmmaking

Everyone must have already heard of the brand. This Chinese giant manufactures a range of products and these products come at very aggressive pricing. Anyone will be able to easily afford them and the same is the case with this drone.

It’s a matter of great appreciation that this drone is Xiaomi’s first try in the drone market. They have successfully made a drone that checks all the boxes.

This Mi drone comes with very easy flying control where even a beginner will be able to fly it very easily.

On the performance front, you will be able to compare it with DJI Phantom 3 and other professional-level drones. With a flight time of a whopping 27 minutes, this Mi drone offers you a control range of 3 km.

This drone is available in the market in 2 variants, one with 1080p resolution and another with 4K.

You can buy the best drones for filmmaking at the best prices.

Pros
  1. The drone also offers one-touch take-off and landing. It will be very much helpful in enhancing the learning experience for beginners.
  2. You will also be able to get the drone back to the home/take-off position. The drone will also give you an alert. It will come to the home automatically.
  3. The drone will also give you the ability to set it to orbit mode where it will keep the object in the center and will shoot by orbiting around it.
  4. The drone will also detect the no-fly zones and will not go there. If you try to manually take it there, it will send you an instant alert.
Cons
  1. The no-fly zones are very hard-coded and you will not be able to tweak the settings very easily.
  2. The camera quality is 4K but the output can be a bit better

4. DJI Mavic Mini

Best Drones For Filmmaking

This drone is launched in the year 2020 itself where the company focused on providing its customers with another portable drone that will fit the requirements of vloggers, travelers, or even drone enthusiasts.

The drone is for beginners and those who know how to fly but are yet in the process of learning and mastering the skill.

The drone is also one of the very basic and economic options that you can buy with the best drones for filmmaking. As the controls and the interface of the drone are pretty simple and easy to use.

It will actually help beginners to enhance their learning experience.

The drone will go up to the range of 4 km where you will be able to fly it for 30 minutes on a single charge. It’s a very significant feature when you consider the compact size of the drone.

The drone also uses a 3-axis gimbal that will help you in getting much-stabilized video output.

It will also offer you the best first-person view with the HD live transmission.

You will be able to attach the smartphone to the controller and then completely control the drone. It can go all the way up to 31 miles/hour in the sports mode and you will also be able to enable the obstacle detection to not crash the drone.

It will also come with an auto-return feature where you will be able to get it to the starting point in just one touch.

Pros
  1. The USP of the drone is its compact design and you will be able to carry it very easily in any bag.
  2. The fast speed on the drone of this size and specs is also a great option to have. You will also get it to drone racing.
  3. The features that are made available on these drones are seen to be very autonomous and you will be able to fly it with very minimum input.
  4. The price of the drone is very affordable and this is also the reason that it is fit for beginners to some extent.
Cons
  1. The obstacle avoidance of the drone is not very good and DJI should fix it using the software updates.

5. Autel Robotics EVO

Best Drones For Filmmaking

Though the drone outperforms all the high-end drones in almost all aspects, the only area where it significantly lacks is the camera output. If you are into drone racing or just want a drone that can provide you with amazing controls, as well as responsiveness.

The top speed that you will get on this drone will be 45 mph. You will get all the cables and connectors right in the package.

You will also get 2 batteries that will allow you to double up the flying time without any investment. Then, You will be able to fly it for 30 minutes on a single battery and the control range provided by this drone will be around 7 km.

On the specifications side, the camera installed on the drone comes with 4K resolution where you will get to record at 60 fps.

There will also be a 3-axis gimbal with a FOV of 98-degrees. This will give it an ultra-low distortion and it will make this drone one of the best drones for filmmaking.

Pros
  1. There will be 3 sensors present on the drone and these sensors will make sure that obstacle avoidance works as fine as it can.
  2. There will also be a hand-gesture present on the drone and it will be used especially for the selfie mode.
  3. The smart following feature will help you in taking steady and stable shots of an object. The drone will keep it in the frame and the gimbal will eliminate all the stutter.
  4. The interface provided to you by the Autel companion app will let you fly it very easily. This makes it a good pick for beginners as well
Cons
  1. Though the camera specs are great, the camera quality is just pathetic. One of the problems is will hue calibration as it will give a blue tint to everything.
  2. As there are way too many accessories included in the package, you will find it very hard in terms of portability.

6. DJI Mavic Pro

Best Drones For Filmmaking

Yes, the earlier version of Mavic is included in the list even when the updated version has been released. Well, in our extensive research, we found out that there aren’t many things that are different from this one.

The Mavic Pro 2 is launched at around $1400 whereas the Mavic Pro is available at just $900. You will get the full package with 2 batteries included in the box.

There are various users who prefer this to the Mavic Air as it has much better capabilities. You will get more value for your money by investing in this one of the best drones for filmmaking.

This drone from DJI will offer you a flight time of 27 minutes on a single charge.

The control range that you will get on this drone will be around 7 km. The camera on this drone will also offer you a very crisp and clear output, thanks to the 4K camera and optimized software.

The drone will give you static pictures at 12 MP with HDR.

Pros
  1. The drone is capable of detecting the obstacles at a distance of 15 meters away. You will also get the tap-and-fly feature that will help you in better learning.
  2. The automatic return on this drone will help you in getting the drone back to the starting point.
  3. The foldable design of the drone will help in better portability and you will be able to carry it easily in the provided hard case.
  4. The package content will include an extra battery and it will allow you to double up the flight time without any problem.
Cons
  1. There is an updated version available but the pricing is so high that not everyone will be able to afford that very easily.
  2. It’s not suitable for beginners, in case you are wondering

7. DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

Best Drones For Filmmaking

There will be a lot of drones in the $1000-$1500 price segment by the DJI. There is no need to worry about the quality and the performance as well.

The design of the drone is the foldable one where you will get some very unique features.

When talking about the features, the drone is the one that you can compare to the ones that are more professional and high-end.

The interface is quite simple and easy where everyone will be able to understand it very easily. This will also make the drone quite fit for beginners.

The performance that this drone offer is top-notch where you will get to maneuver it very easily and stability.

The controller provided to you by the DJI will give you much better responsiveness. There are various settings that you will need to configure to customize it according to you.

Pros
  1. The flight time offered by Mavic 2 Zoom will be around 31 minutes. However, it will deteriorate depending on the load and wind conditions.
  2. You will get a whopping 18 km of control range and there will be no drone anywhere near it that offers the same kind of range.
  3. The top speed that you will get on this drone will be 44 mph and it will also be a very good option for those who are into drone racing.
  4. The drone is actually one of the best drones for filmmaking where some vloggers and videographers are seen to be using it extensively.
  5. The camera can shoot up to 4K 30 fps and if you want to shoot slo-mo, you will need to set it to 720p 120fps.
Cons
  1. If you are flying it indoors, the zero contrast floor may interfere with the sensors and the drone will struggle in landing.

8. DJI Phantom 4 v2

Best Drones For Filmmaking

This is the drone that has the capabilities of fulfilling everyone’s needs, desires, and requirements. This drone is also said to be the most successful product from DJI. It is also used by almost all commercial enterprises.

The reason behind this acclaim is its top-notch performance that will include features that will help it in flying autonomous, that means with minimum pilot input, the camera quality, easy interface, etc.

If you are the one that wants top performance, this will be the only one that will satisfy your requirements. On a single charge, the drone will fly for 29-31 minutes.

You shouldn’t get stuck to that as the flight time will totally depend on the wind and the load it’s carrying. The drone will give you the control range of 7 km and it will give you the FOV of 94-degrees.

Pros
  1. You will get DJI Go, in this feature, you will be able to share the pictures, videos, and also be able to connect with your friends.
  2. The drone will also give you the sports mode where you will be able to fly it at its top speed.
  3. The features will include follow me where you will be able to instruct the drone to follow you to without any input.
  4. It will also automatically return home in case of low battery and you will also get a one-touch landing and take-off.
Cons
  1. As this drone remains very high in demand, you may find it selling for a bit over $1000 price mark.

9. Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon

 

Best Drones For Filmmaking

If you are the one who is looking for an affordable drone that has the capabilities of 4K recording and considering the camera quality and the overall performance, the drone is very aggressively priced in the best drones for filmmaking.

The live video feature of this drone will be very much helpful for those who are looking for a drone with a good first-person view. You will also be able to fly it very easily in breezy conditions.

The slow-motion recording will be at 1080p and 120 fps. Here are some pros & cons.

Pros
  1. The camera lens will give you a wide field-of-view of 115-degrees and you will be able to get minimum distortion.
  2. The camera will be able to record up to the resolution of 4K where the video and image output will be crystal clear.
  3. The remote controller provided to you by Yuneec will come with a touchscreen. You will not need to connect to any smartphone.
  4. If you are into aerial photography and videography, this drone will be the one that you will be able to find a perfect fit according to your requirements.
Cons
  1. The control range of the drone is pretty low and it’s unacceptable for the drone of this price range.

10. Contixo F18 Plus 2k Drone

Best Drones For Filmmaking

This is not any new addition to the market, but you will be glad to know the outstanding features of this drone. This is not just one of the best drones for filmmaking in terms of performance but you will also not find any comparison in terms of pricing.

While our review, we got the opportunity to test it out, and here are some pros and cons for you that will help you in finalizing the purchase.

Pros
  1. With the flight time of 30 minutes, the control range that it offers is 2.5 to 3 km.
  2. The drone also gives you a camera resolution of up to 1080p that will be more than enough in giving you clear output.
  3. The in-built screen will help you in maneuvering the drone very easily without having the smartphone connected.
  4. There will be tracking mode, headless mode, auto-return, etc., these features will help you with better learning.
Cons
  1. It will be very hard to find the settings that will help you disable the geofencing settings.

Things to know before buying: A short guide!

When it comes to finally get the drone that you are looking for, you will get encountered by a range of options. The drones that you will get to see in the market will all be very feature-rich and you will find yourself in a dilemma to decide on getting one. These are some of the points that you should know. Don’t settle on any drone that is offering lesser specifications than this.

Flight time

The flight time offered by drones these days doesn’t only depend on the size or capacity of the battery. It also depends a lot on the software optimization and the drone’s firmware. The average time that you will get on the drones of this range will be around 20-30 minutes on a single charge. However, while buying, you should focus on the aspect that you need most as there are some brands that shift their focus on different aspects such as features, build quality, range, etc.

Range

Another important aspect that you need to look for is the range. This is also put to the highest priority by some pilots as they will be able to get to cover a lot more just by sitting at a single point. It’s obvious that the user will want all the qualities to be top-notch. The range offered by the drones in this price range is significantly increased. You will now be able to fly it up to 3-7 km of range. DJI has achieved some awesome milestones in this segment.

Performance

On the performance front, you will also get top-notch stability and controls. These drones are the ones that you will be able to fly on minimum input from the pilot. In this article, we have only included the ones that are capable of performing exceptionally well. The features, for example, headless mode, altitude-hold, etc. are very common. All of the drones in this price segment should have these.

Camera quality

In this price segment, almost all the drones will give you the video quality up to the resolution of Full HD+ and some even go up to 4K. If you aren’t satisfied with the quality of the camera that is installed on these drones, you will have the option to get another action camera or any lightweight camera that you want, installed on it. This feature will instantly make the drone you are getting one of the best drones for filmmaking.

Final Verdict You Should Take a Glance!

When you have never flown a drone in your life, it’s obvious that you will get confused. You may also not find it very easy after going through this whole review.

We understand your problem and there is nothing to worry about as we are here to recommend two of the best ones that you can buy. These drones will be able to satisfy you on all fronts.

If you are a beginner, you should not invest that much and it’s time that you move to the entry-level drones to master the flying skills first.

The first one you can buy on our recommendation is DJI Phantom 4 V2 and it is one of the best drones for filmmaking with good quality features available. It would not be wrong to say that this is the best drone available in the market.

The camera on this drone will be able to record up to 4K resolution and as it’s coming from DJI. You are not needed to even worry a bit.

The second one that you can get is Autel Robotics EVO. When we are talking about the drones that come with top-notch performance, this is the only one that can come close to DJI. The top speed offered by the drone is a whopping 45 mph. You will get a good 95-degree field of view.

In a hope that now your confusion should be completely cleared up, it’s time to conclude this comprehensive review of the best drones for filmmaking that you can buy.

Some FAQs for a better idea!

  • Are these drones suitable for beginners?

It is completely dependent on the situation where if you are tight on budget. It can’t risk investing this premium, then no. But, if money is no bar, then a beginner can get them as they will give an even better learning experience.

  • Can kids fly it?

No, when it comes to kids flying the drone, it should come equipped with all the security features. Most important of all are the propeller guards.

  • Will there be any need to register them with the FAA?

If the drone that you are getting is above 250 grams, the US government makes it compulsory for you to get it registered. It doesn’t matter if you are using it for entertainment or commercial purposes.

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