4 Drones to buy in 2016

Whether you’re thinking about purchasing a drone or simply just interested to find out more about them and what’s available on the market, look no further!

Flying a drone has become a hobby for many over the last few years. With a massive variety of drones available, making the ultimate decision can without doubt be a time-consuming and challenging choice. Therefore we’ve decided to research what’s out there and compile a list together summarising the best drones for price and performance.

What are drones used for?

• Fun and leisure (skiing and water sports)
• Military
• News reporters
• Capturing wildlife footage

Reporters no longer need to spend an extensive amount hiring a helicopter film crew when you can now use a drone to capture footage of a flood or forest fire. They enable us to access places previously impossible to capture on film. With drones becoming admired and widespread, they’re also helping people in some industries such as surveyors who are beginning to use them to inspect difficult places. Using a drone is a much safer and quicker alternative.

Parrot AR Drone 2.0 Elite Edition £229

Battery Life: up to 12 minutes of flying time
Speed: 9.5 mph
Camera: HD camera 720p
Dimensions: 10 x 51.7 x 51.7cm

The Parrot AR is an entry level drone easy to control with a touch of your screen. It features a frontal and vertical camera allowing you to capture high quality photos and videos from the air using the built-in HD camera. It saves the footage directly to your smartphone. The AR.Freeflight app used to pilot the drone features a user-friendly interface so it’s effortless to control the drone from your smart device, and allows you to record videos, pictures and data.

Parrot Bebop £299.99

Battery Life: 22 minutes

Speed: 31 mph
Camera: HD camera 1080p 14 megapixels
Dimensions: 33.5 x 9.7 x 36.6 cm

The Parrot Bebop Drone is a popular choice offering all the features of a professional one. Containing a powerful 14 megapixel fisheye camera, it takes video and pictures in a 180 degree field. The drone’s lightweight ABS supported structure makes it resilient and safe. In case of emergency or accidental contact its propellers automatically stop. Furthermore, it has an emergency mode allowing you to immediately land, whilst a GPS Return Home feature brings the drone back to its take off point.

DJI Phantom 4 £1229

Battery Life: 28 minutes

Speed: 45 mph
Camera: 4K 30fps and 1080p 120fps video 12 megapixel
Dimensions: 19.6 x 28.95 x 28.95 cm

The DJI Phantom 4 is easy to operate and lets you capture outstanding images. It
instinctively avoids obstacles where necessary with its intelligent sensors, and its innovative visual tracking abilities allows you to take the perfect shot each time.

The Phantom 4 follows your precise instructions and knows its whereabouts as well as yours. Its long flight times and sports mode makes it fun and capable of reaching high speeds.

DJI Inspire 1 £2381

Battery Life: 15 minutes

Speed: 50 mph
Camera: Shoot up to 4K video and capture 12 megapixel photos
Dimensions: 29 x 54 x 59 cm

If you’re intending to use your drone for business use or have a big budget then it’s worth investing in the DJI Inspire 1. It’s one of the most sophisticated drones you can get your hands on and the quality is extraordinary.

All of the latest technology is bundled into this powerful lightweight drone. Get an unlimited 360 degree view of the world below and shoot up to 4K video. It has a smart power management system. When in flight it displays your remaining battery power and calculates the distance of your aircraft and estimated time to return home (back to you). When GPS is available it automatically refreshes the Home Point (location you are standing) meaning that it always knows your location. In case of an emergency, or upon your instruction it knows exactly where to go and land safely. Precision flight and stable hovering with its GPS auto-pilot system offers position holding, altitude lock and steady hovering which allows you to focus your attention on shooting.

Summary:

Controlling a drone is enjoyable and allows you to explore and discover some impressive places. When operating a drone remember to take extra care and check you have consent to film in the area you’re intending to fly. In recent news there have been accounts of some drones interfering with air craft which could be fatal so always be mindful of your actions.