If you're a beginner who is looking to get into drones, or are shopping for someone who is, this rundown will provide you with what we feel are the best options to start you on your journey—but what exactly is a "beginner" drone anyway?
A good entry-level drone should be intuitive to use out of the box and provide you with a positive experience, rather than a frustrated one. To that end, this list of drones is what we consider to be the best combination of features, affordability, ease of use, and safety. Now, lets dive in and see if we can't find the best drone for you.
Best Drone for Just Having Fun: Snaptain SP350
If you just want a toy to zip around the house or backyard, you can't go wrong with Snaptain's SP350. Focused purely on fun and the pure joy of remote control flight, the SP350 doesn't have a camera, sensors, or anything you would normally associate with a typical drone. Instead, it has three batteries that each provide up to 7 minutes of flying, and the cool feature of being able to take off right from your palm.
Guards around each propeller keep people and furniture safe as you fly, and piloting couldn't be easier, with a gamepad-style remote that supports headless mode. This mode makes piloting simple, where the drone always flies in the direction of the controls. So, even if it's facing left, pushing forward will only make it fly away from you. Pull back to come towards you, and so on. This kind of drone is not just fun, but helps beginners become familiar with the mechanics of piloting.
Best FPV Drone: EMAX Tinyhawk II
If you find that you really enjoy the thrill and speed of flying a drone, then you can take that experience to the next level with a dedicated FPV drone, like the EMAX Tinyhawk II FPV racing drone. FPV stands for "First Person View" and that's exactly how you'll fly the Tinyhawk II.
Strap a set of goggles and you will see what the drone sees as you fly, as if you were actually inside the "cockpit". For this type of drone, the Tinyhawk II is an excellent option for people starting out because it's an RTF configuration, or "Ready to Fly". Every component is included, such as a fully-equipped drone, goggles, and controller. It also has the beginner-friendly feature of fully integrated propeller guards, so you can feel comfortable bumping into objects as you get the hang of it.
Best Hand-Launch Camera Drone: DJI Neo
The most common use of a drone is to take photos and videos, and a great way to get started is with the DJI Neo. Made with the beginner in mind, much of the Neo is automated and takeoff couldn't be easier. Select one of the QuickShots filming modes, like Boomerang or Helix, and the Neo will rise from the palm of your hand to automatically perform that complex maneuver around you, or it can follow a subject and film it using smart AI tracking.
Manual flight is just as easy with drone control coming from your smartphone and voice with the mobile app installed, but handheld controllers can be added with additional purchase, such as the DJI RC-N3 or RC Motion 3. Either way you control it, the Neo can stay airborne for up to 18 minutes and during that time, the camera's ½" sensor can capture 4K30 resolution videos or 12MP stills. Thanks to multiple stabilization features, your footage will remain smooth and clear.
Best Full-Featured Camera Drone: Fimi Mini 3
For the complete experience of traditional drone piloting with a premium lens, the Fimi Mini 3 is an excellent option. This compact, lightweight, folding drone is about the size of a smartphone and the cost of an average gaming console. It's also easy to control, using a bundled remote and your existing smartphone.
Flight time is a generous 32 minutes, where you'll be able to use its Sony ½" sensor to capture 48MP stills, 4K60 videos, 8K still timelapse clips, and detailed AI-based low-light videos. To help take the stress out of capturing this footage, use smart tracking and the ability to plot out detailed routes ahead of time.
While the Mini 3 might not have built-in propeller guards, budding pilots still have access to some safety features, such as up to 24 mph wind resistance and automated return-to-home functionality.
Wrap Up & Where to Go from Here
These were just a few of the best options in different categories that should suit the needs of someone new to the world of drones, which is vast. As you get comfortable, stepping up in price and capability may lead you do the HOVERAir X1 or DJI Avata 2 for FPV lovers, or if you're more into aerial photography, you can make the leap to something like the DJI Air 3S.
Wherever your drone journey takes you, you can be certain of one thing: B&H will be there to supply you with drones and essential gear you'll need, every step of the way.
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