2020 Drone Gift Guide for the Holidays

A new drone can be a great gift idea for the pilot in your life this holiday season! As drones gain popularity across the board, more and more companies are releasing high quality, affordable drones. And while some drones can be quite pricey, you don’t have to break the bank on one for a gift. Many drones can cost thousands of dollars, but just because you’re not a professional doesn’t mean you can’t fly! Typically, the more features, the more expensive a drone is. For example, the drones with 4K cameras and collision sensing – and other bells and whistles – can be costly. But as these technologies become more popular, buying a drone is becoming more affordable. There is a drone for every price point! Check out our drone accessories gift guide if the drones themselves are a little out of your budget.

Best Drones by Price Point

 

Best Drone Under $100

Ryze Tello ($89) 

This little drone has the feel of a professional-style drone, but at a fraction of the price. This fun little lightweight drone is a blast for all ages. Perfect for beginner pilots, the intuitive UI allows you to simply download the Tello app and begin flying. Even with the limited flight time of 13 minutes and distance of 100m, the Tello is still a great value at only $89. Partnered with DJI, this drone features leading industry technology to ensure the highest quality. It is even compatible with VR goggles!

 

Best Drone Under $300

Holy Stone HS720 ($267)

With good quality, affordable prices, Holy Stone is up and coming on the drone scene. The HS720 model is one of their most advanced, and is still under $300! Even at this lower price point, this foldable drone is not lacking in features and performance. It has a 4k camera, 5GHz of FPV transmission, smart flight modes including return to home, 26 minutes of flight time, and 900m flight range. A great option for beginners or hobbyists that want to break in their wings!

 

 

Best Drone Under $800

DJI Mavic Air 2 ($799)

DJI’s latest Mavic Air is a powerful, compact drone. With 48MP photo, 4K/60fps video, 10km of range, 1080p video transmission, and photo modes such as HDR, panoramas, and 8K hyperlapses, this drone really packs a lot of features into a small package!! It can even track a moving object and follow it with intelligent flight modes. With a range of 10km and a flight time of 34 minutes, this drone pushes the limits  of what is currently offered. Although the price is getting a bit high at $799, the Mavic Air 2 is worth every penny and would make the perfect gift for someone passionate about creating stunning aerial imagery. 

 

Best Drone Under $1,000

Skydio 2 ($999)

While the Skydio 2 doesn’t have quite the range or flight time of the Mavic Air 2, it makes up for this with a massive 45 megapixels of sensing from SIX cameras. While this creates unprecedented resolution and clarity in both photos and videos, the additional sensing also allows the drone to fly autonomously with 360 degree obstacle avoidance. 256 GPU cores capable of 1.3 trillion operations a second, this drone has one of the most powerful computers available. On top of all that, it is also 50% quieter than other drones, which is a huge plus. And it’s still a great value at under $1,000!

 

Best Drones by Experience Level

When shopping for a drone as a gift, it’s a good idea to keep in mind the experience level of the recipient. Beginners, hobbyists, and experienced pilots all have very different needs in a drone. Beginners might want something easy to learn to fly, and not care as much about the camera quality. Hobbyists might want something portable and lightweight to take with them on adventures. And experienced users might need additional functionality such as collision sensing, smart flight modes, and longer battery life and range. But no matter what their experience level, there is a perfect drone gift for them! 

 

Best Drone for the Novice User

DJI Mavic Mini 2 ($449)

If shopping for a drone for someone that is not very experienced with flying, the DJI Mavic Mini is a great place to start. It weighs less than half a pound, so it does not even need to be registered with the FAA. So a brand new user can open one up and just take off! It is easy to learn, and includes all of the features that a pilot would need. Its small size makes it extremely portable, yet doesn’t negatively affect the performance of the drone. This little drone is a perfect starting point for someone looking to get started with a high quality, user-friendly drone.

 

Best Drone for the Hobbyist

Parrot Anafi ($699)

While Parrot has been competing with DJI for a while, Parrot’s photography capabilities have been a major differentiating factor lately. The Anafi has 180 degrees of vertical range, making it able to take photos at angles that no other drone currently offers. It also can zoom up to 2.8x without losing image quality, while DJI only offers 2x. It has several intelligent flight modes, including movement tracking and various orbiting settings. However, this drone doesn’t have any obstacle avoidance, so it is better for a slightly more experienced pilot to fly it. 

 

Best Drone for the Experienced User

DJI Mavic 2 Pro ($1539)

For experienced pilots, the DJI Mavic 2 Pro is the way to go. This is the top of the line for non-professional quality drones – although many professionals do use Mavics! This drone has all the features you will need and more. It comes complete with a Hasselblad camera, 2x optical zoom camera, 10km 1080p video transmission, omnidirectional obstacle sensing, and over 31 minutes of flight time. It takes photos at 20 megapixels and shoots 4K video, which is good resolution even for professional photographers. 

 

Drone Training Gift Cards

Purchase a gift card the drone pilot in your life can use toward advancing his or her career.  Gift cards are currently offered in the amounts of $200, $250, $300, and $500, but feel free to contact us if you have something else in mind.

 

Get Certified to Fly Commercially

The Dronegenuity Part 107 Test Prep Course does a deep dive into all of the topics that are covered on the FAA’s Part 107 Exam. This exam is required for drone users who intend on using their drone commercially. In other words, if you intend on making money with your drone, this course sets you up to take the FAA’s exam and get your certification. We’ll cover topics such as FAA regulations, weather, radio communications, sectional charts (of course), the national airspace system, and more. Enroll now to take your first step towards FAA certification.

 

Learn More 

We’d love to hear from you if you want to learn more about the benefits of aerial drone photography for the real estate industry. If you’re interested in obtaining your Part 107 Commercial Drone License or other drone training courses, please contact us at Dronegenuity today! We offer professional aerial photography services, performed by FAA licensed drone operators for customers of all sizes. All of the work that we do is completely customized and we make the process simple and convenient.