BUYING YOUR FIRST DRONE
WHAT TO BUY AND WHERE TO GET IT.
You could go on Amazon right now and take your pick from more than 700 different drones. However, you might encounter a problem when it comes to choosing which one to buy, as you will be swamped with jargon and reviews.
Quadcopters cross lines between electronics, hobbyist products and, in some cases, even toys. So, bricks-andmortar stores that sell any of these could also sell drones. The retail store JB Hi-Fi, for example, offers a number of UAVs, but not every store will necessarily have every product.
Once you have an idea of the type of drone you want, and the amount of money you can afford to spend on it, use online sites to narrow down your search. Read the reviews on these sites, but remember to read them with a pinch of salt; cheap UAVs might get poorer reviews for not being top of the range, while state-of-the-art drones might also receive criticism for being expensive. It’s not entirely the case that you get what you pay for, but you need to know that not all buyers will be as prepared and researched as you are. Many people buy the first drone they can afford, and don’t appreciate that there are differences in terms of what each type is useful for.
You also need to look at what type of camera comes with the drone, if any. The cheapest drone not only won’t come with a camera, but you also won’t be able to fit one to it. Mid and even low-price drones will include basic cameras, but many people will want the same picture quality that you see on YouTube’s collection of drone videos. If this is the case, it means getting a more expensive camera.
What is often overlooked is getting a drone with a gimbal. This is a mount like a miniature version of the ones used in aerial photography. It offers the camera a wide range of movement, and also enables it to move smoothly. All rotorcraft vibrate, and helicopters have tail rotors specifically to stop the entire machine being flung around in the opposite direction to the main rotors. Gimbals even that out.
UAVs are cheap in the sense that they are affordable, but not cheap in the sense that you can’t casually keep buying them until you find one that you like. Take your time thinking about what you will actually use one for, and at the very least try to talk to someone who already owns and flies drones.
THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF WHAT EACH IS USEFUL FOR.