Drones 101

Welcome to Drones 101. We know you're eager to actually fly a drone, but before you can lay your hands on a remote control, it's probably best to learn the basics so you can pick the drone that best suits your goals as a new pilot. In this article we'll talk about the different types of drones that are available, then go into essential terminology and some of the more significant drone features. We'll lay it all out in an easy to understand way, so you'll quickly be armed with the information you'll need to head over to B&H and start shopping! With that, let's get started.

What Types of Drones Are Available?

On their surface, all drones may seem like very similar devices, but they vary wildly in their design and capabilities. Understanding those differences and learning what types of drones are available is an essential first step before purchasing one. Here we'll list some general drone categories, the types of drones you'll find in each one, and a couple of models to consider.

Beginner

This initial level of drone includes toy drones and training drones. Usually palm-sized and able to be flown safely indoors, drones like the Snaptain SP350 are made purely to have fun. Other drones in this category can be described as selfie drones or casual drones, where they begin to blur the lines between casual and prosumer. On one hand they can retain propeller guards, a palm-sized form factor, and offer a lot of automated functionality to make flying easier and safer. On the other hand, they are usually equipped with high-quality cameras that can take some pro-style shots. Two good examples of this are the HOVERAir X1 or DJI Neo.

See more: Beginner Drones

FPV

This category can almost evenly be split into two subcategories: Filming and Racing. For FPV Filming, you have the DJI Avata, with its ability capture stable 4K100 video and shoot in D-Cinelike mode for advanced color grading. For FPV Racing, you have drones from EMAX, like the EZ Pilot and Hawk Apex. These are primarily built to maximize speed and for true competitive racing and tend to be more hands-on. It's not uncommon to build your own racing drone or tinker with it to upgrade almost every component to optimize performance. Both incorporate FPV technology, which streams what the drone sees to a pair of goggles that you wear. The experience is incredibly immersive and useful for either capturing action-packed sequences or to see the course as you race through obstacles.

See more: FPV Drones

Prosumer

When moving into this category of drone, the camera quality drastically increases and you'll find advanced features, such as obstacle avoidance, subject tracking, and automated flight modes to name a few. A few highlights in this category are the DJI Mini 3, with 4K30 video and a rotating gimbal for capturing vertical, social media-friendly content. The Autel Robotics EVO Lite+, 6K30 video capture and an intelligent moonlight algorithm for much improved nighttime filming with low noise. Finally, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine, with its more-professional-than-consumer tri-camera system, offering 166mm 7x zoom telephoto, 70mm 3x zoom medium telephoto, and a 5.1K wide-angle 4/3 sensor lens from Hasselblad.

See more: Prosumer Drones

Professional Cinema / Enterprise

The professional cinema and enterprise categories may be beyond the scope of a "Drones 101" article, but it's definitely worth mentioning so you're aware they are out there. Who knows, maybe you'll work with one of these drones one day. A few things set these drones apart from the rest. They can typically withstand a lot more environmental challenges and are very specific to different professions and industries. The Sony Airpeak S1 is a powerful drone for professional filmmaking, allowing videographers the ability to add their own cameras to its gimbal. The Autel Robotics EVO Max 4N has a quad camera with thermal and range finding abilities, which is great for search and rescue and industrial inspection. The DJI Inspire 3, with its X9-8K Air full-frame gimbal camera, can be used to capture 8K25 CInemaDNG or 8K75 Apple ProRes RAW video, while giving pilots centimeter-level RTK-based positioning. Even fields like agriculture and surveying have an aerial option, such as the DJI Mavic 3M, with a multispectral camera and RTK centimeter-level precision measuring.

See more: Professional Cinema Drones / Enterprise Drones

Learn the Lingo

If you don't know your pitch from your yaw, this is where we fix that. With every product category comes specific terminology that's important to learn before jumping in and making a purchase. Below is a list of drone-related vocabulary and features that should give you a good foundation as you start your piloting journey.

• Controller: Also known as a "flight controller," this is basically your remote control. Some drones have dedicated controllers, while others require you to insert your mobile phone to function. Most operate like a video game controller with twin thumb sticks, and its common to have a screen built-in (or via your phone) to view a direct feed from the drone's camera.

  

• FPV: The acronym for "First Person View." Instead of watching your drone in the air and looking at your controller display, the video stream goes directly to a pair of goggles that you wear. It's like a VR headset, where you'll experience much greater immersion as you fly. It's ideal for ramping up the excitement of drone racing, or making it easier to focus on high-speed maneuvers in tight spaces to capture dramatic aerial footage.

  

• Geofencing: This is a virtual boundary or "fence" that limits where the drone can fly. The area is usually defined by GPS coordinates and you can usually set actions to be triggered if the drone crosses those boundaries.

  

• Gimbal: This is at the front of the drone and what the camera fits inside of, whether as a fixed pair as you'd find in prosumer drones, or as separate components that's more common with professional aircraft. Gimbals offer stabilization for shake-free footage and most commonly provide "3-axis" movement, which means they move in three directions: Pitch, Roll, and Yaw. (more on that below)

  

• Headless Mode: A handy feature to have in beginner drones to make piloting more intuitive. Normally, a drone will fly based on its own orientation in the air. So, if you push forward, it will fly forward based on where its nose is pointing - which could be in any direction. Headless mode moves the drone based on your orientation, or more specifically, the controller. So, if you push forward, the drone will go away from you, regardless of the direction it's facing.

  

• Obstacle Avoidance: When drone piloting becomes fast and expensive, this is an ideal feature to have. A host of sensors work in conjunction with algorithms built into the drone to detect objects around it as it flies and automatically avoid hitting them. The best version is "omnidirectional," which means it can detect objects in any direction.

  

• Payload: This describes what the drone can carry. On high-end cinema drones, this will refer to the camera inside the gimbal. On other professional drones, it will refer to objects the drone will lift and carry to a location, which can range from medical supplies to fishing bait.

  

• Pitch, Roll & Yaw: These are movements the gimbal and drone can typically perform. From a central point of either gimbal or drone body, pitch (or tilt) is an up/down movement, roll is a clockwise/counterclockwise spin, and yaw (or pan) is a side-to-side twisting motion. If that's still not clear, try this: Hold your hands out flat and bend your wrists to point your fingers to the sky, then the floor. That's Pitch. Flip them over so your palms are facing up, and that demonstrates roll. Now, twist both hands inward so your fingertips touch. That's the motion for yaw.

  

• Return to Home: As the name implies, this feature automatically brings your drone home to you. At its most basic level, the drone will fly in a straight line back to the point of takeoff. More advanced drones will detect obstacles and select a safe path home. This mode can usually be manually triggered, taking the burden of flying home off the pilot, or it can be automatically triggered in the event of an emergency. Events that would trigger an automatic RTH would be a battery that's too low, a lost wireless connection to the controller, or something else that would tell the drone it will not be able to perform its mission or continue to fly.

  

• Telemetry: When looking at the display built into your controller, or your phone, the telemetry is simply the data you see overlaid on top of the streaming view from the drone. It includes essential details, such as the drone's altitude, position, and battery life.

  

• Waypoint: Like pins in a map, waypoints are specific locations you can plot to create a flight path for your drone to fly. On more advanced drones, all you have to do is select the waypoints and the drone will automatically create the best flight path from start to finish. Sometimes, you can even select what the drone will do once it reaches each waypoint. These waypoints and flight paths can typically be saved, letting you repeat a camera movement over and over.

  

We hope you've enjoyed and learned something during this entry-level journey into the world of drones. For additional information, feel free to check out our Essential Drone Glossary.

If there's something you still aren't clear on or have a burning question we didn't answer, please feel free to comment below. For those of you ready to start shopping for a drone of your own, head over to B&H, where you will find everything you'll need to take to the skies. Happy Flying!