All drones from the list of top 10 shooting quadcopters are equipped with professional cameras, GPS system and intelligent flight modes. At first glance, they seem difficult to fly, but in fact this complexity makes them very safe to fly and easy to fly.
They are designed for those who want to fly far and at the same time shoot high-quality video and photos, since they all have very productive and expensive cameras.
Let’s start the list with quadcopters that fly the farthest.
DJI Mavic Air 2 — 10 km
- Camera 4k/60 FPS;
- Sensor 1/2″ CMOS;
- 12 and 48 megapixel photography in RAW and JPEG formats;
- Shooting Hyperlapse 8K video;
- Cinematic shooting modes;
- Live video broadcast from a distance of up to 10 km;
- Advanced obstacle avoidance system ASPAS 3.0;
- Maximum speed 64 km/h;
- 34 minutes of flight;
- Price: from 70,000 rubles or $915.
Everyone knows DJI, these are complex and well-designed quadcopters. And expensive of course. Mavic Air 2 is a beautifully crafted drone that looks like a work of art, its small and light weight and foldable design make it a very compact drone.
The quadcopter has an excellent camera that can record video in 4K format at 60 frames per second, while the video recording speed is 100 Mbps. Together with a high-quality 3-axis stabilizer, you will get an amazing picture.
The flight range is as much as 10 kilometers, and this is together with the broadcast of video in real time, but, however, in 1080P resolution. Of course, one should not expect such results in the city among concrete houses, the result will be much less in range, physics works here.
With the help of such a quadrocopter, you can shoot topographic maps, objects, natural beauties. The drone is ideal for business and professional use.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
View on Banggood
Professional approach to aerial photography
Flight range: 2,000 meters. Cost: 110,000 rubles.
This group of copters is the most heavy artillery in the «war». As you probably already guessed, we will talk about multipoters from DJI, and we will focus all our attention on the third generation Phantom called Professional.
Flight range: 2000 meters. Video recording on a 4k camera: 4096×2160 pixels. Cost: 100,000 — 110,000 rubles (spring 2016).
What can be said? It’s almost ideal! If you were looking for a tool for shooting a serious movie, then Professional will come in handy. The quality of the video produced by the camera mounted on a three-axis gimbal is simply impeccable. You can edit recordings and compress the quality to regular HD.
Lightbridge technology makes it possible to observe the flight of the copter live from the first person, and the quality of the video supplied is 1080! This record can be immediately saved to the tablet and, without waiting for the return of the drone, give it for instant processing.
By the way, you can process and do simple editing on the tablet itself using the Go application, which is the main driving force of the copter. Judge for yourself — you can:
- Track complete statistics of recent flights: where you took them, how many, at what altitude and how far.
- You will be able to lift the copter into the air, order it to return to the base on its own.
- He sits down without your participation.
- Set flight points on the map.
- The drone will follow you and shoot wherever you go or go.
- Flight time is 25 minutes, but if you shoot 4 videos, it will decrease to 17-18 minutes.
This is not a complete list of features that Phantom can please and surprise you with.
In a word, if you don’t want to torment yourself with thoughts like: “What happened if I bought another drone?”, But instead, you can safely fly and enjoy the videos shot by the Phantom, then you definitely need to buy it.
As you can see, good results and comfort cost money, so before you lay it out, think carefully about what you want: to fly far and shoot a super movie, or it will be enough to shoot in the yard with a climb of 100-200 meters.
Autel Evo 2 – 9 km
- Camera 8K / 25 FPS or 6K / 60 FPS;
- Sensor 1″ CMOS;
- 20-megapixel photos with HDR support;
- 4x lossless zoom;
- Advanced 3-axis mechanical suspension;
- Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance system;
- Video transmission distance 9 km;
- 40 minutes flight;
- Price: from 123,900 rubles or $1621.
A very cool and stylish quadcopter because it has an 8K camera, albeit with only 25 frames per second. But there is a 4K mode with 60 frames per second and a huge 1-inch camera sensor. The drone is primarily intended for professional needs, as it has many functions. Particularly interesting is the choice of the version of the quadcopter: with an 8K camera, with a 6K camera and infrared + 8K.
Autel Evo 2 can detect obstacles from a distance of up to 30 meters and fly around them using artificial intelligence.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
View on Banggood
The quadcopter flies up to 40 minutes and this is the best result on this list. By the way, the remote control has an OLED screen, so it is not necessary to use the phone.
TOP 6. 3DR Solo — up to 1,000 meters
This quadcopter without a camera with a range of one kilometer is very nimble and has many flight modes. But we will consider its main characteristics.
- Design.
The square is made of hydrocarbon plastic. It has a modular design. In other words, if the beams fail, it is easy to find a replacement for them. It looks like a huge battery. Well, or an ingot of black gold. - Quadcopter radius
— up to a kilometer. Quietly keeps in the sky up to 25 minutes. At the same time, speed qualities are at the level — it can accelerate to 90 kilometers per hour. But you need to be careful, as the copter is not equipped with an obstacle avoidance system, like the competitors, which we will talk about below. - Camera
not included in the package. But there is a unique gimbal, sharpened for GoPro of the third and fourth generation. It complements Hero and expands its capabilities. However, those pilots who do not like GoPro (there are some) will have to make a choice in favor of another drone. But if you have a GoPro, then the possibilities for smooth video shooting are great. It is enough to set the autopilot, setting an approximate flight route. - Peculiarities
. The “trick” of the quadrocopter is open source. That is, each pilot, by virtue of his mental abilities, has the right to “finish” the software — to add the instrument control program. In addition, it runs on two OS Linux processors (one in the controller, the other in the drone). The control panel is painfully reminiscent of a video game joystick, so it is intuitive.
pros
- Speed.
- Open source.
Minuses
- You can not hang a non-GoPro.
Reviews
Of course, the radius of the quadcopter and GPS could be better. But in this drone, the ease of control and autonomy, thanks to the amazing modes, bribed. In general, very strong and reliable. Take at least indestructible fiberglass nylon propellers.
Petr Darovskikh, musician
DJI Mavic 2 (Pro & Zoom) — 8 km
- Camera 4K / 30 FPS;
- 1/2.3-inch sensor captures 12 and 48 megapixel ultra-high resolution images (Zoom);
- 4x lossless zoom and 2x optical zoom;
- Mavic Pro 2 with Hasselblad camera (1-inch sensor);
- Image resolution 20 MP;
- Adjustable diaphragm;
- Obstacle avoidance system;
- 1080p video transmission from a distance of 8 km;
- 31 minutes of flight;
- Price: from 100,000 rubles or $1308.
The versions are almost the same, except for the cameras. Both drones are just as compact and not too heavy. Mavic Pro comes with a Hasselblad camera from a Swiss manufacturer. This is a huge 1-inch sensor, adjustable aperture and a high dynamic color range. Allows you to take 20-megapixel photos.
The Mavic 2 Zoom features a 1/2.3-inch sensor camera with optical zoom. Allows you to take 12-megapixel photos. With a telephoto lens, you can capture the subject in the photo much closer than it actually is. And the camera can also take panoramic pictures, stitching together one single photo from 9 photos.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
The quadcopter flies for 8 kilometers, including real-time video transmission.
Hubsan Zino 2 – 8 km
- Camera 4K / 60 FPS;
- 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor from Sony;
- 12 megapixel photos;
- Video processor Ambarella;
- 3-axis stabilizer (suspension);
- Intelligent flight modes;
- Video transmission distance 8 km;
- 33 minutes of flight;
- Price: from 42 240r or $552.
Hubsan used to release budget models, but some time ago they decided to go mid-range and introduced the Hubsan Zino 2 drone. It basically has the same features as the DJI Mavic, but without the huge price tag. A 4K camera that can shoot at 60 frames per second and record it all at a bit rate of 100 Mbps. As a result, you get a professional, high-quality picture.
Real-time video is transmitted not in such good quality — in 720P, but also from a distance of 8 kilometers. Sony sensor.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
View on Banggood
#3 — GoPro Karma
Price: 88000 rubles
The top three take us to the «major league» of quadrocopters, the cost of which exceeds 50 thousand rubles. The price tag of GoPro Karma varies between 60-90 thousand, which depends on the presence of a camera in the kit. The drone can be purchased both without it and complete with a GoPro 6, which is exactly the modification of Karma that we included in the rating. In terms of flight qualities, there is nothing outstanding in the GoPro quadcopter, it stays in the air for up to 20 minutes on a single battery charge and reaches speeds of up to 15 m / s, but the flight range here reaches 3 km, and in terms of video quality this is one of the best models on the planet. market. Another good thing about GoPro Karma is that as you use it, you can change cameras to current models, thereby preventing obsolescence of equipment, which cannot be done with quadrocopters with built-in cameras.
GoPro Karma
DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2 — 8 km
- Camera 4K / 60 FPS;
- 1″ CMOS sensor;
- 20 megapixel photos with HDR support;
- Streaming video at 1080P / 30 frames per second;
- Mechanical shutter;
- Intelligent flight modes;
- Automatic return home function;
- Transmission range 8 km;
- 30 minutes flight;
- Price: from 153,000 rubles or $2001.
DJI Phantom 4 is the best in the Phantom quadcopter line and a truly classic drone. It is the heaviest in the mid-range segment, weighing just under 1.5 kg, so it performs well in windy conditions.
The 3-axis gimbal camera shoots in 4K at 60 frames per second and takes 20-megapixel photos. Video is transmitted using OcuSync 2.0 technology in 1080P resolution.
Look at Yandex.Market
The quadcopter is equipped with a 5-position obstacle detection system, which makes it very safe to fly.
DJI Mavic Pro — 7 km
- Camera 4K / 24 FPS and 30 FPS at 3840×2160;
- 12 megapixel photos;
- Real-time video in 1080P;
- 3-axis gimbal;
- GPS / GLONASS;
- Automatic return home;
- 30 minutes flight;
- Price: from 81 990r or $1072.
The drone is certainly old and no longer produced, but it still remains very popular and productive. Yes, it only has 24 frames per second in 4K, but there are lower resolutions, for example, 3840×2160 records already at 30 frames per second, and 1920×1080 can record 96 frames. Bitrate 60 Mbps.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
It was this series that set the style and design of foldable quadcopters for the entire drone industry. The flight range is up to 7 kilometers.
Serious options at serious prices
Flight range: 500 meters. Cost: 50,000 rubles.
Xiro Xplorer. This ATV is separated by a whole abyss from the previous two home options. Take at least the price of the Explorer — it is 50,000 rubles. It is worth mentioning that the copter comes in three versions.
The basic one cost 40,000 rubles, but without a camera, so we did not consider it. Medium — that’s what we’ll talk about. And, finally, advanced, for 60,000 rubles. We also decided to skip it, because it is too expensive, and for our purposes (flight range, camera and price) only those characteristics that the average model has for 50k are enough.
The flying distance from the remote control is 500 meters, which can already be considered a good application for the purchase of a copter. As you understand, it is recommended to take such a drone when traveling. You can also shoot events, and on a commercial basis. The drone is equipped with a 1080 HD camera.
Autel Evo — 7 km
- Camera 4K / 60 FPS;
- Write speed 100 Mbps;
- 12-megapixel photos with HDR support;
- Ambarella H2 image processor;
- 3-axis gimbal;
- Intelligent flight modes;
- Transmission range 7 km;
- 30 minutes flight;
- Price: 67 380r or $881.
This quadcopter was a serious competitor for the DJI Mavic Pro, but for some reason (partly because of bad marketing), not many people know about the drone. But this does not mean that it is bad, because it is equipped with a 4K camera 60 FPS and a bit rate of 100 Mbps and all this on a 3-axis gimbal. This is a serious camera. Photos are taken at a resolution of 12 megapixels.
A distinctive feature of the drone from DJI and other brands is the presence of an OLED screen on the remote control, you will not need to use your phone.
View on Aliexpress
The range of flight and video reception is 7 kilometers.
Long range drone frames
The optimal frame for a drone flying long distances is 230-250 size, all equipment for long-range flight is conveniently placed on two floors. These frames are often referred to as «buses» by their long center section.
Drone Racing enthusiasts are slowly moving to more compact frames, but for long-range flying, choosing a “bus” is the best solution!
If you do not have a ready-made set of remote control and receiver, then the best solution would be to purchase a complete drone kit and then refine it — install GPS and a larger battery.
Drone Frame Kits
Eachine Wizard X220 FPV Buy: Bang Good Eachine Wizard X220S FPV Buy: Bang Good
But, a much better solution would be to completely self-assemble a quadrocopter for long-distance flights on an empty frame.
Long range drone frames
Martian II 220 220mm Buy: Bang Good Anniversary Special Edition Martian Buy: Bang Good Realac X4R X5R X6R Buy: Bang Good Dragon HX5 X5 220mm Buy: Bang Good
Electronics for long-range flight is given in the article above, successful assembly and long-distance flights!
Also see the article: Increasing the range of drone control.
Konstantin, Review of quadcopters
Xiaomi FiMi X8 SE — 5 km
- Camera 4K / 30 FPS, 12MP and Sony IMX378 1/2.3” sensor;
- UHD 3840x video recording [email protected] 30fps
- 3-axis mechanical camera suspension;
- Satellite positioning systems: GPS + GLONASS;
- Flight range: up to 5 km;
- Flight time up to 33 minutes;
- Price: from 34 899 rubles or $456.
Drone from Xiaomi. As usual with this brand — cheap does not mean bad. Compared to older DJI models, the price is certainly low, but not enough to consider the drone as a budget drone. His camera is excellent, on a sensor from Sony, shoots in 4K and 30 frames per second. By lowering the resolution, you can set a higher frame rate in the settings and the video will be very smooth. The camera is stabilized on a 3-axis gimbal. The maximum photo resolution is 12 megapixels
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
View on Banggood
The drone flies up to 33 minutes and at a distance of up to 5 kilometers.
Quadcopters with a range of 1500 meters
The best results for Bebop Drone 2, DJI Spark and Drone Xiaomi mi 4k. Under ideal conditions, they are able to maintain controllability at a distance of up to 2 kilometers from the remote control. However, in real operation, you should rather count on 1.5 kilometers.
- Autel Robotics X-Star
- Parrot Bebop Drone 2
- Walkera Aibao
- Xiaomi Mi 4k Drone
- DJI Spark
DJI Mavic Mini — 4 km
- Camera 2.7K / 30 FPS;
- 1/2.3 inch sensor;
- 12 megapixel photos;
- GPS / GLONASS;
- 3-axis gimbal;
- Video transmission distance 4 km;
- Compatible with VR headsets;
- 30 minutes flight;
- Price: from 33 489r or $438.
The cheapest and lightest drone from DJI. It has a lot of features and a great camera, but there is no obstacle avoidance system, as everything rested on the weight threshold of 249 grams, thanks to which the drone does not need to be registered.
The camera shoots at a maximum of 2.7K at 30 FPS with a video recording bit rate of 40 Mbps and works on a 3-axis gimbal.
Suitable for those who do not need the numerous functions of older models, that is, for simple fans of capturing beautiful views without professional activity.
Look at Yandex.Market
View on Aliexpress
View on Banggood
Parrot Anafi — 4 km
- Camera 4K / 30 FPS;
- 1/2.4″ CMOS sensor;
- 21 megapixel photos;
- 3-axis hybrid stabilizer;
- HDR support;
- 25 minutes flight;
- 720p real-time video at a distance of 4 km;
- Price: from 74 518r or $975.
Folding drone with great potential, which has remained unrecognized. I got into the selection out of respect, since its characteristics are quite good. It flies up to 4 kilometers and transmits video in 720P, and records in 4K at 30 frames per second. The suspension is unique, hybrid, allows you to tilt the camera by 180 °.
View on Aliexpress
Quadcopters with a range of 1000 meters
We have compiled small selections of copters depending on the communication range. All devices are equipped with cameras, suspensions and sufficiently capacious batteries. Most drones support FPV mode, making full HD broadcast to the remote control or smartphone.
The type of motors used is brushless. For drones capable of flying 500 meters or more, it makes no sense to use brushed motors due to their low overall reliability. We did not give detailed technical specifications for each copter, paying attention only to the communication range.
- Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K
- 3DR Solo
- Ehang Ghostdrone 2.0