Should I start with a cheap drone before getting a DJI drone?

[PlatinumPilot]

For what's it worth, I learned how to fly a drone using the Inspire 1. Took a fair amount of preparation, reading and such. But it was a great experience!

 

[gtolover]

i got the perfect drone for learning,a phantom 3 with atti on demand

 

[PlatinumPilot]

In the spirit of being totally transparent, my ATTI skills have never been anywhere near where they need to be. They made GPS mode for those of us who are faint of heart.

 

[BLZE02]

Mavic Pro was my first drone. Read manual and looked at a lot of video tips before I purchased. My first flight was nerve racking after hearing so many crash stories but it was really easy. Still learning other modes and techniques but I feel it was a good decision in which I can grow and learn from.

 

[locoman]

Go Pro or Don't Go, you won't regret it.

 

[dvarapala]

Hi All,

I'm on the fence on what to get for my 1st drone. Right now I'm in between the Mavic Pro or the Mavic Air but thinking maybe I should just get a toy starter drone until more real world test on the Air are done.

Thoughts?

Don't waste time or money on the cheap stuff - go straight for the DJI. They're so easy to fly they make great "learning" drones and, when you're ready for more capability, it's already built right in.

 

[Colorado_scott]

Opinions all over the place! (as expected). I'm in a similar boat as you. Got a $250 Holy Stone HS100 GPS drone from my kids for Christmas. HUGE ISSUE - it took 300+ minutes to charge the battery. HS gives out free batteries for a post on Amazon - which my kids read, and decided on that one based on reviews. While the drone was fine, the charge time was the killer. I sent it back to Amazon. I then bought the Yuneec Breeze, a smaller drone - a nice size, at Walmart for $200 and batteries were $30 as I recall - so I got two extra batteries - 3 in all. The issue there, the flight time in Colorado was only 6-8 minutes (not pushing it). Too short. Returned it in 2 days. These two drones taught me 2 things, I want faster charge times (1 hour OK), and longer flight times - at least 20 minutes. This took me to the Spark - but only 15 minutes flight time max with more like 10 minutes in CO. The DJI Rep (store in CO) said I need to look at the Mavic - 27 minute flight time - cool, but $1000!! ouch. If you are not using these drones in a professional capacity, its a fair amount of money for a hobby that has limited flight areas and restrictions getting worse by the day. The other part of the equation for me, I fly RC planes and Helicopters daily (almost) and have been taking video / pictures for 20+ years. It all fits - a drone is neat. But I sit here struggling - spend $1000 on the Air fly more package, and know there is a good chance I will tire quickly of taking video of the local soccer field or the open space by my house. Do yourself a favor, get a $200 drone (the Breeze is a nice one) and you can sell it for $100 after a few months of flying it. If you are still enthused about flying, your have lost $100, and you know it's somethin you want to get deeper into. If you find you find the sport too restrictive (and look at YouTube videos on this) or there are not many places to fly near you - walk away with the $100 loss. It's a cheap lesson. For me, I fly a Trex 500 fully aerobatic helicopter and it's cool, and costs 1/2 the Air FMP - I have no issue flying a drone (based on my limited experience) yet I'm still working thru the purchase - as $1K is a lot of money to spend. I wish you good luck on your decision. TAKE YOUR TIME, no rush to get one. Think through YOUR decision.

You'll note, the AIR is more a Professional Drone - not one for most flyers - however many will scrape together the money as the marketing tells us "this is the drone to have", but I bet a $400 Spark with FMP would suite BOTH of us fine!

 

[bowens44]

Hi All,

I'm on the fence on what to get for my 1st drone. Right now I'm in between the Mavic Pro or the Mavic Air but thinking maybe I should just get a toy starter drone until more real world test on the Air are done.

Thoughts?

IMO it's a waste of time and money. Get the drone you want and learn to fly it. The Mavick is incredibly easy to fly. The things you would 'learn' by attempting to fly a cheap drone are not relevant to the more intelligent drones.

 

[sebastian.bilbao]

If mavic fails, the behavior is the same as a cheap drone. If the imu fails, or the barometer, or any other important system, you will need the experience, to Know how to fly with any help, only looking the drone.
The problem of dji, is the excessive assistance. That make pilots too confident of their skills.
My first drone was a syma helicopter, then a hubsan, a syma x8. My first dji drone a phantom 3. Every skill I learned, have been useful to avoid crashes. A drone is not a Toy, so you should acquire all the experience you can.

 

[Plawa]

If the Mavic's IMU fails it will just fall out of the sky at there is very little you can do to avoid it.. You're never controlling the motors directly, there's always a layer between you and what the drone does and if that layer fails, you're screwed, simple as that..

If you look at the "Help I crashed" threads here you'll see that most of them were either misunderstanding of the drone's capabilities (flyaways etc) or features (RTH crashes). If anything's going to prevent these it will be either reading the manual or not being a.. fool, not flying a manual quad.

 

[Colorado_scott]

I’ll add one more comment here. If you are leaning to the comments that say, “just go for it” at least get a used drone off Craig’s list and save yourself hundreds of dollars. There are always many available from the many before you that said, “just go for it”. These people found out for a variety of reasons that a drone was not for them and are now selling theirs. Don’t be one of these people. THINK, what’s the best option for YOU. Don’t be blinded here. Many have found after purchasing a $1000 drone it’s not for them. Buy a used one. Most are ‘as new’ as these buyers didn’t think it through. Good luck.

 

[locoman]

I have been flying a Mavic Pro since June, it was my first drone and the first time I was able to a RC aircraft in the air for more than 5 minutes before a crash, and I have been in this hobby for over 40 years. I have NOT had an problems with the Mavic Pro, except for my own stupid mistakes,. It has been a fun, stable bird to fly.

Last week I bought this $40+, "mavic cub", only because it looked like the Mavic Pro. Since it has been either to cold, to wind or both to fly my Pro outside it has give me a option to fly inside and have some fun. It flies pretty good for such a cheap little drone, battery give me 8 minutes of fun and more than enough stress at one time for me. But can't wait un till the weather gets nicer and I can take the Mavic out for a spin. BTW, I don't advise flying the Pro inside.

 

[BIGDAVE]

Hi All,

I'm on the fence on what to get for my 1st drone. Right now I'm in between the Mavic Pro or the Mavic Air but thinking maybe I should just get a toy starter drone until more real world test on the Air are done.

Thoughts?

Here are some of the cheaper drones I'm thinking about:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXBDWZC/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IUK1SDU3526IO&colid=3AA12MI8PLRWZ&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071S18J8K/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I253E5R7PLMQP7&colid=3AA12MI8PLRWZ&psc=1

Amazon.com: Customer reviews: SYMA X5C-1 RC Quadcopter With Extra 4 Rotating Blade, 2 Li-Po Battery, 4G Micro SD Card, 4-in-1 Battery Charger

just get the mavic pro, you WILL thank us in the morning. lol its almost alive!!!! it even talks to you. hope this helps

 

[SkyShark2]

The cheaper the drone the harder to fly. Mavic Pro is awesome, first drone, had it for over a year with NO CRASHES!!

 

[trippwire]

A GPS enabled drone is by far easier to operate than one that is not. Go for the Pro or the Air. Why waste the $ on a piece of crap?

Whay he said.[emoji109]

 

[Air Beetle]

I have a pile of drones, DJI and homemade. My P4 is the most enjoyable and relaxing drone to fly and it gets more air time than the rest of my stuff combined. I started with the recommended cheap hobby store drone but I gave it away a couple of months later.

I wouldn't hesitate to get the Mavic air for a first drone because it comes with guards and will fly indoors without GPS. The capability to fly without GPS is enough reason to pick it over the Mavic Pro for a first quad. Be sure to get the insurance so you don't have to worry about crashing during the first year.