What do we need to know about drones?

What do we need to know about drones?

What to consider before buying your first drone.

Since drones have been on the market, they have been gaining particular popularity. Of course, this is no coincidence. They are easy to control and stable in unmanned flight, and these qualities combined with their high-quality cameras make drones excellent tools for capturing amazing scenes. Today they are used in Hollywood strips, by photographers, by vloggers and even children. And while the popularity of drones is growing, their prices are getting even lower.

However, before buying a drone, you should first get to know some details about them. We will point out a few important things.

Keep in mind certain drone features

Drones are different and have different features. But the more customization options they have, the more expensive they are. It's a good idea to get a model that suits your needs and interests. But things are relative, sometimes a feature we think we won't need at all turns out to actually be one of the coolest things about the drone.

Key features

Drones are not easy to control, so it is good to look out for features that would help you pilot if you are a beginner. Moreover, there are specific settings that are essential if you want to fully enjoy your purchase.

• Range

This is mainly a question of what the purpose of the device will be. Cheaper drones usually have a range of about 30 meters, while more expensive models have a greater range that can reach kilometers without disconnecting from the controller. If your goal is to capture landscapes and scenes from places that are inaccessible to humans, then a drone with a longer range is what you need. However, if the purpose of the drone is just for fun, then the small range will be quite enough for that.

Important: Keep in mind that a drone does not always reach the range that is intended for a given model. Drones register their signals via radio waves through the transmitter, and radio waves can interfere with each other. Unless you live far from a city, it's almost certain that the drone's radio waves will intersect with others. For example, if there is a cell tower near you, this will drastically reduce the range over distance. Buildings, mountains and trees could also interfere with the signal. For this reason, it is advisable to take a drone that has a bigger range, keeping in mind that it could almost never or very rarely actually reach its maximum.

• Flying time

A drone's battery lasts an average of 20- 30 minutes, but we're talking about a mid to high priced drone here. A drone that is cheaper also lasts less, about 5 minutes. This kind is called a mini drone. Budget is always key in making the right choice, but we recommend choosing one that could fly for a long time and charge as fast as possible. Nevertheless, it is good to order extra batteries. That way, even if they wear out, you would always have spares on hand.

• The camera

For most users, a key element of a drone is its camera. For this reason, a drone comes with the ability to build in a camera or has one already built-in. If you've chosen a drone with a built-in camera, then look closely at its options such as: shutter speed, frame rate, aperture, and image stabilization. These are elements that are important for the quality of photos and videos.

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• Live transmission

Live transmission is probably one of the most important things. It allows you to watch what your drone sees as if you were on the ground with it in real-time. This makes managing it easier. When taking a drone with a built-in camera, it's a good idea to choose one that can transmit either to a screen built into the device itself or to your phone/tablet.

• Spare parts

Anyone who has a car is well aware that spare parts are something key. Machines get old over time, something always breaks or wears out on them and needs to be replaced, which is why spare parts are important. It is a good idea when buying a drone, to buy spare parts for it directly. By getting to know the weak points of the chosen model beforehand, one can anticipate which parts might be useful in the future. Or another thing that can be done is to get a more popular drone. As a general rule, the more popular a drone is, the higher the likelihood of finding parts for it. If you're worried about replacing your drone's parts yourself, you can always turn to a drone repair shop.

Everyone's favourite - the high-tech features

In addition to the main points, there are a few that touch on more specific extras. The more extras a drone has, the more expensive it is and the easier it is to operate. In some cases, you could even say that they are also a better option for beginners.

• GPS navigation

There's not much point in owning a drone if it doesn't know where it's going. The built-in GPS will help it find its way back. Some models have the feature to be re-programmed, thus navigating themselves on pre-set routes. This could be useful if, for example, you want to traverse the same route several times.

• GPS Home function

Tall buildings, mountains, trees, nearby radio waves, all these factors could interact and interfere with the connection between the drone and the controller. Luckily, people have figured it out, drones with this feature remember where they started from, and if they lose signal, they return to the place they left from the first time. However, it's not very good to trust this feature entirely because it doesn't always work correctly. In most cases, it is very successful, but not always.

Additional costs

Of course, an unavoidable factor is the additional cost. We have already discussed the need for batteries and spare parts. Other things that could be helpful are camera filters or even a camera. And if you're shooting videos, you'll need a strong computer and proper video processing software. When you add up all the costs, you'll see how the price of the drone has comparatively gone up with its original one, but this is all perfectly normal.

Quite a lot should be considered before buying such a machine. Choosing a drone is not that easy because these devices are picky, require exploration, judgment, consideration and caution.

Everything listed so far is just some of the important things about drones. You can check out more information and details about drones on our website. At COPTER.BG you will also find DJI's drones and drone accessories. Contact us if you need professional advice.