Best drone for beginner

[kvett]

I am interested in purchasing a new up to date drone and have been looking at the DJI Air 3. I want something that will be forgiving with a beginner and it looks like the Air 3 has good crash avoidance properties? I want a drone with a good camera as I enjoy photography. I know some of you might suggest that this drone is an overkill for a beginner but I don't want to buy a cheap drone and be sorry in a few months.

I am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks for your suggestions

Bob

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Take pause , know that the more you rely on the sensors , the more likely you are to crash as we have seen hundreds of times.

I would grab an Air 2S used which will allow you a fantastic drone to start off with , learn with and also provide you with some astounding pictures and video to keep you amazed.

We have posted quite a few Dazzling Pictures with the the Air 2S .


LIke it or not there is a learning curve , and it pretty unforgiving, something to consider.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water , Capture the Storm.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I'd actually suggest a second hand Mavic Mini or Mini 2 etc. but lean towards the Mini 2. Why, they should be quite cheap and not such a loss if you wreck it.
In addition the Air 3 is new and there may yet be a few bugs to be fixed, though, so far, I haven't seen many, if any, "woe is me" threads about it.

 

[MAVE (Little bird)]

I'd actually suggest a second hand Mavic Mini or Mini 2 etc. but lean towards the Mini 2. Why, they should be quite cheap and not such a loss if you wreck it.
In addition the Air 3 is new and there may yet be a few bugs to be fixed, though, so far, I haven't seen many, if any, "woe is me" threads about it.

A SPARK is a great starter drone.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Take pause , know that the more you rely on the sensors , the more likely you are to crash as we have seen hundreds of times.

I would grab an Air 2S used which will allow you a fantastic drone to start off with , learn with and also provide you with some astounding pictures and video to keep you amazed.

We have posted quite a few Dazzling Pictures with the the Air 2S .


LIke it or not there is a learning curve , and it pretty unforgiving, something to consider.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water , Capture the Storm.

Totally agree, with the new Air 3 out, many are sell off Air 2 / Air 2s and they are a great aircraft and great value at the moment 2nd hand.

Look for one here on the forum from a long term member, with a good number of posts, and good content . . . a much safer place to buy 2nd hand.

@Karlewski has a good value deal on the classifieds right now.

Most pilots that fly within VLOS, and safely away from the ground / trees, survey their flight area before take off for other obstacles like electric wires etc, generally never need OA.
The Air 2s still has forward, backward, and upward OA sensors, so great coverage, just be aware of surroundings before doing any strafing / rolling moves.

You can get the latest and greatest once you know the ropes flying, learn to use the great cameras all these have etc.

Enjoy whatever you end up with.

 

[SWTSU]

I agree with the Air 2S also as it was my first drone. It will blow you away. I still get amazing pictures from it.

Besides the already mentioned features, it is excellent in wind.

One of my favorite pics from it, and I had no clue what I was doing when I took it. The drone just takes amazing pictures.

 

[old man mavic]

@kvett my recommendation , if you want a good all round drone,that has a decent camera, and some life span left in it, would be the Mini 3 pro, yes its small but dont be fooled by its size ,this can be an advantage in many scenarios ,of course this is just my opinion ,as are the comments from other members

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

A SPARK is a great starter drone.

It's getting a bit old isn't it? Mind you it probably benefits from a non Mickey Mouse control app lol.

 

[twickers14]

A SPARK is a great starter drone.

Good luck in finding one but it is one tough customer. Mine still flying like the day I bought it-as a beginners drone.

 

[Joethedrone]

I am interested in purchasing a new up to date drone and have been looking at the DJI Air 3. I want something that will be forgiving with a beginner and it looks like the Air 3 has good crash avoidance properties? I want a drone with a good camera as I enjoy photography. I know some of you might suggest that this drone is an overkill for a beginner but I don't want to buy a cheap drone and be sorry in a few months.

I am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks for your suggestions

Bob

Personally I would go for a Air 2s, great camera, good in higher winds. Along with the Mavic 2 Pro, in my opinion they are both still the best prosumer Dones ever produced at their respective price points. And with the release of Air 3 and Mavic 3 drones there are some great bundle deals out there, especially in the used market.

 

[funflyer]

I had your exact same thoughts about 2 years ago. I purchased a mini 2, love it and still fly it. Great pictures & videos and easy to fly. Small enough to easily transport and only requires a recreational certificate. Never a problem and I have yet to desire something different.

 

[shb]

I would get a mavic 3 pro. It's the best drone now, and the 3 cameras are very useful.

 

[howardK]

You might want to start with a Mavic Pro or Pro Platinmum used. They only have forward collision avoidance and hence you will have to hone your skills. For an older drone they take very good quality pictures and videos. That is all i have right now. if and when the $$ permits i will probably get an Air3 or wait to see if there is an Air3S

 

[Nanny Ogg]

Which ever drone you get, you won't be a beginner for long. Don't windup with a drone you will outgrow in a few months. People still get amazing results from a Mini 2 however the newer, larger drones do have some nice features. It is not the camera that makes great images, but the photographer.

 

[Laborous]

Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!
I started with a Phantom quite a few years ago and couldn’t get into it, afraid I was going to crash it so it sat in the box until the first Mini came out. I built up my confidence by flying the Mini and spent quite a bit of time on a local football field. The Mini is small and easy to travel with and launch and catch by hand. I dug out the Phantom and use it on windy days. I also purchased a Air 2 which I love, it’s enough drone for me and quieter than the Mini and the Phantom. My point is, if you’re not sure you’ll like it, I wouldn’t spend a lot of money right off unless $ is not a concern.

 

[MS Coast]

Asking for opinions here, will give you more input than you may want. Here's one fellow's two cents worth. Ignore as desired.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new pilot is depending on the drone's obstacle avoidance system to keep you out of trouble. If you get a drone with good OA, don't fly it into situations where OA is needed until you're put in some hours and learned to avoid those obstacles on your own. (Stay away from trees and power lines and don't try the automated and follow modes at first.)

I started with an inexpensive Snaptain drone that has no GPS and had to be constantly controlled with manual inputs. If you do nothing, it will wander away. It's a good way to learn how to actually fly a drone, but more difficult to fly and the camera is awful. I moved pretty quickly to a Mini. It's a piece of cake to fly. Do nothing and it just hovers there.

I'd suggest one of the Mini models, depending on your budget and how likely you think you are to pursue the hobby. If you get into it, you'll be upgrading to a more capable and more expensive model. Either way, the resale value of DJI drones is very good.

This may sound silly, but, in addition to a "real" drone, consider getting one of the inexpensive small "toy" drones that you can fly indoors. There's a bit of a learning process to get comfortable with the stick controls. It's less painful to learn and develop the needed muscle memory with something that cost $20 and can be bounced off the walls and lamps without any damage to anything. This $15 model is no longer available, but I'm sure there's something similar.

Amazon.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Good luck in finding one but it is one tough customer. Mine still flying like the day I bought it-as a beginners drone.

The Spark forum might have some pop up form time to time, I think a few have finally taken the leap with M3P and now Air3 coming out, too many drones and poor old Spark is moved on.

Spark for Sale (Canada)

DJI Spark with carrying case, 4x batteries, and other accessories (Tx)

$300 CDN and $250 US, both are a pretty good deal for a new pilot.

The little beggars are pretty much bombproof, with Go4 so many great features (older goggles), just at this stage batteries are a must to check, or be sure where / who you buy from has integrity to advise health etc.

 

[shawgod]

I would highly suggest the AIR2S. It has just enough sensors. Front, Back, Up and Down. This also handles high winds perfect. I own one myself and love it. I think the pictures that I get off of it are great. I love the video as well. The only downside is the battery life kinda sucks, so make sure to get at least three batteries. You can find these on the secondary market. Make sure whoever you ever you buy it from unbinds it from their account though or you will have a paperweight. I see that on the forum a lot. This drone will bring you years and years I am sure of fun and great great flying.

 

[Alejandro Villegas]

I am interested in purchasing a new up to date drone and have been looking at the DJI Air 3. I want something that will be forgiving with a beginner and it looks like the Air 3 has good crash avoidance properties? I want a drone with a good camera as I enjoy photography. I know some of you might suggest that this drone is an overkill for a beginner but I don't want to buy a cheap drone and be sorry in a few months.

I am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks for your suggestions

Bob

If you have the money go for an Air 3 fly more combo. Is such a good drone with great new features that if you decide to quit flying or just not flying much? The resell value will b high. You can do photos and videos at a great resolution, collision avoidance is great, camera, wind resistance, speed and distance.
If you are on a budget go for an Air 2S either new at $1100 or a Preown at $700. A mini 3 pro is also a good little drive. At the end of the day with these drones especially the first two, you can do high-end recreational and commercial work if you want to get the FAA-107.
Always, is it a need or a want? What's your budget(Cash or Payboo B&H or Adorama or credit card) If is for recreational or commercial? Do you want to start a business a side gig.
Also don't disregard the Mavic 3Pro and the entire Enterprise line of mapping and thermal drones that you can use the same batteries on all.
Good luck my fellow Droner.
Alex

 

[kvett]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Doesn't the fact that the A3 has side sensors make it a safer drone to fly? I am thinking that better OA would aid in flying for a beginner? I want to get a drone that is new in it's lifecycle as I have heard that DJI discontinues batteries and repair parts not too long after discontinuing a product?

Thanks again for your input.