Owning a drone has become mainstream on a global scale! If you’re an avid photographer or hobbyist then the next logical step for you may be to literally expand your horizons and look into getting a camera drone. The best mini drone with camera will come with a plethora of features and benefits that will allow operators to fly both indoors and outdoors and manually configure camera settings. Not only can you perform photography and video projects faster and more efficiently. You can gather information at a quicker rate and have a blast! If you’ve ever been interested in owning a mini drone with a camera, now is the perfect time to dive into this hobby!
If you are a beginner to the hobby of drone flying and drone cinematography, then mini drones are the perfect starting point. In this article we’ll try to give you some guidance on what is the best mini drone with camera currently available, as well as give you some general primer information on camera drones. If you’re a more experience drone pilot looking to start taking high quality photos and videos, maybe skip ahead to our top 3 list.
FAA’s rules for flying drones in the US
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has laid out some pretty clear guidelines on the use of small unmanned aircraft (UAS). We’ve summarized some of the major points below for anyone that’s too lazy to check out the FAA website. But, if you’re serious about flying drones outdoors, we strongly recommend you head over to the FAA website and dig into the rules and regulations yourself.
- Visit: FAA Guidelines for a small drone that is less than 55lbs that you intend to fly for work or business
- Visit: FAA Guidelines for recreational fliers
Anyone choosing to fly a drone outdoors in the USA will have to adhere at minimum to the following rules:
- You must register your drone with the FAA
- If you are flying for work or business, you must be at least 16 years of age, and must be an FAA certified drone pilot
- If you are flying recreationally, you must be at least 13 years old
- Fly at or below 400 ft
- Fly within visual line-of-sight. If you are using First-Person-View (FPV) keep a partner with you that can keep the drone in line of sight
- Never fly the drone near other aircraft
- Never fly over groups of people, public events or stadiums full of people
Don’t forget! If you’re are flying a drone outdoors in the USA that weighs between 0.55lbs and 55lbs, you must register it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and may need to get your remote pilot certificate for small unmanned aircraft (UAS).
So what is the difference between a mini drone and a full size drone?
The most common terms used to describe drone size are often the most confusing! The drone community has adopted various different methods to categorize drones. The most common method being using their size to group them. Informally these size groups are typically referred to as nano drones, micro drones, mini drones and full size drones.
The actual sizes and interpretations are usually open to debate and different blogs, manufacturers, pilots and leagues use some of these terms fairly interchangeably. Ultimately whether a drone is classified as a mini drone or a micro drone or a full size drone is always related to the either its frame size (wheel base – the diagonal distance across the drone) or the maximum size of the propellers that the drone can handle.
What is a nano drone?
This is the absolute smallest drone that you are able to purchase. A nano drone is often referred to as a toy drone and typically is extremely light weight (0.5 lbs or so) and has props under 1″ and/or a frame wheelbase that is under 100 mm. In many ways theses nano drones are going to be the best when you are first learning to fly or are on an extremely tight budget.
What is a micro drone?
The next type of drones in terms of size is the micro drone. Larger in size than the nano drones, this class of drone will usually have propellers around 1″ in diameter and a frame wheelbase that ranges between 100mm to about a 150mm. Not only are they bigger, but this is where you begin to see bonus features such as stunt modes and unique high definition cameras.
What is a mini drone?
The mini drone is the next drone category in terms of size. For most drone hobbyist this size of drone is going to be a perfect match. Mini drones are currently the most popular class of drone in the market. A mini drone will typically range somewhere between 150mm to about 300mm wheelbase and will usually have propellers ranging in size from 2″ to about 4″ in diameter.
We have focused our “best mini drone with camera list” below exclusively on mini drones.
What is a full sized drone?
Finally, we have the full size drone, aka large or pro drone. Full size drones are typically any drones larger than around 300mm wheelbase with propellers larger than 5″. These types of drones are focused on providing high end capabilities in some form or the other and may not always apply to a recreational flyer. Full size drones are often designed and equipped for purposes that include real estate photography, racing competitions and professional surveying.
What should you look for in the best mini drone with a camera?
Now that you understand what the different sizes of drones are and how to classify them, let’s take a look at what you should look for in the best mini drone with a camera. Ideally you will want any mini drone with a camera to be portable, lightweight and easy to fly. But the BEST mini drone with a camera should outperform in the following criteria.
Control Range
The farther you are able to fly your drone away from yourself, means more opportunities to take great photos and videos. Great control range comes in handy in locations where you have slightly tougher terrain or if you’re especially interested in grabbing great landscape shots from a height or over water.
The majority of camera drones on the market are wifi capable and are controlled through your phone. If you’re relying solely on your phone your control range will be quite limited, which isn’t great. The average control range for most mini drones in this size controlled solely with a phone will typically be around 250-300ft, though its common for this to be extremely variable and dependent on the phone you are using, landscape and conditions around you.
The best mini drones with a camera will always have the option of extending control range and flight performance with an actual controller. Typical controllers will tether with your phone and allow you to extend your drone’s control range to around 3000ft. If you’re goal is to take more than just selfies with your camera drone than a controller option is a must!
Performance
Since the drone is serving as a platform for a camera it is highly recommended to get a drone that has accurate controls, steady hover and good flying in windy conditions. Though it’s relatively easy now days to reduce movement in your video footage through post production, starting with a great drone that flys smoothly in all conditions will go a long way to giving you that great shot you’re looking for.
Most camera drones will offer some sort of digital image stabilization feature. The best drones will provide mechanical image stabilization through 2 or 3-axis gimbals. In high wind conditions or in fast flight this mechanical stabilization will make a huge difference in video and photo quality!
Features
It might seem like having a ton of features on a drone would be gimmicky. But for a photographer that wants interesting and unique photos and videos some of these features can really tip a good drone into the great drone category. At higher price points it should be pretty standard to find a drone that comes with an abundance of features such as GPS, Auto-Return, Waypoint Flight, Follow me, Low-Battery Alerts and Auto landing and take off.
A great mini camera drone should have at minimum GPS capabilities and many flight modes such as Follow-me and Orbit for great and unique videos.
Camera Quality
This is probably the most important specification for a mini camera drone, but sometimes can also be the most controversial. If you are serious about your photography then its highly recommended you do not skimp on this and ensure you are looking at drones with atleast HD cameras. It is becoming more common for camera drones to also have 4K video capture, but unless you’re planning on using this video footage commercially you should think hard about whether you want or need to pay a premium for this feature.
The majority of mini drones have the ability to carry some sort of session camera or action camera (think GoPro) on them which will be able to record in 4K and HD quality footage. But strapping a camera on to your drone will often result in a loss of some flight performance and flight time. Typically your video footage will also be very jittery and unstable as it will not be stabilized. The best camera drones will not rely on using an external camera for your HD footage.
Top 3 List of Best Mini Drones With a Camera
When compiling this top 3 list we looked at over a dozen mini camera drones currently available on the market. We had to draw a line in the sand when selecting what we considered a “mini drone” (between 150mm and 300mm wheel base), and unfortunately some great drones didn’t make the size. We made our bed, and now we’re going to lay in it!
Table could not be displayed.For posterity, we’ve included an honorable mentions list at the end of this article. Ok, let’s get started!
DJI Spark
If you’ve already spent more than a few minutes researching camera drones online then you’ve definitely heard of the DJI spark. The Spark was released in 2017 and has been widely reviewed and praised as an awesome entry to the mini camera drone market. Since its release the Spark has steadily decreased its price, making it harder to ignore when making “best of” lists like this one.
The DJI spark is absolutely crammed fully of features that are typically found in drones at a higher price point, or bigger wheelbase. You can expect a highly portable drone with obstacle avoidance, extremely stable flight and zero camera configuration required to get great photos and video.
The DJI Spark is equipped with a 2-axis gimbal for mechanical image stabilization, and is already a ridiculously stable flyer for its price and form factor. This coupled with its 1080p HD video quality and 12MP photo capability means it will offer tons of value to anyone with limited flying experience that is looking to get quickly into the air and start taking great photos and video!
Without the controller package you will see a control range of approximately 100m. But once you decide to go with the controller you will have a control range that extends to about 2km. We absolutely recommend that you considering purchasing the Spark with the controller package.
The DJI Spark does not allow you to manually set or control your photo and video settings. Some people may consider this a pro as it allows amateur photographers to quickly get into the air and capture great footage with little prep and fuss. But if you are a more experienced photographer you may struggle with the basic functionality of the camera. If you are judging the DJI spark for what it can do vs what features it provides, you will have little to complain about. In high light conditions the Spark’s footage is spectacular and comparable to some of its competitors like the Mavic Air which allow manual setting of the camera.
See what other reviews say:
DJI Spark Pros:
- Ready to fly camera drone with no manual camera configuration required
- Great value (price to quality), especially if you look into the DJI bundle packages such as the “Fly more” and “Controller” bundles
- Obstacle avoidance included. Front Sensors only
- Easy to fly and very stable
- Compact form factor
- Very high build quality
DJI Spark Cons:
- With a battery life of 12-16 minutes, the Spark has the shortest battery life of the 3 drones selected for our top 3 list
- No manual camera setup is possible
DJI Mavic Air
The DJI Mavic air is in many ways the successor and improvement of the Spark. With an improved camera and a foldable design, the Mavic Air has taken what people love about the Spark and added to it. As with all DJI products, the Mavic Air is very high build quality and offers awesome performance with a host of sensors designed to give you great flight performance.
The DJI Mavic Air is crammed full of sensors and cameras with the sole purpose of enhancing the drone’s flight capabilities and ensuring you can focus on capturing the best videos and photos and less on keeping the drone in the air. Like the DJI Spark the Mavic Air is provided with obstacle detection, but unlike the Spark the Mavic Air has obstacle detection sensors on the front and the back for added protection.
With the controller the Mavic Air’s range is extended to approximately 3500m. The majority of pilots experience a flight time of 18 to 21 minutes per battery. We would strongly recommend purchasing this drone with the controller, and maybe even recommend you look into DJI’s “Fly more” bundle to get the most out of your purchase.
This drone comes with a 3-axis gimbal for mechanical stabilization, which is not very common for this form factor of a mini camera drone. All mini camera drones will provide some sort of image stabilization, with the best typically providing 2-axis gimbals. The Mavic Air’s 3-axis gimbal feature coupled with the 4K 30fps footage and the ability to dig in and manually control your camera settings pushes this drone from the amateur arena into the professional zone. You will definitely be able to capture professional level footage with this drone! A scan of the millions of youtube video reviews of the DJI Mavic will quickly show you how easy it is to transport this drone and how effective this drone is at capturing high quality aerial footage.
See what other reviews say:
DJI Mavic Air Pros:
- 4k 30fps Video Capability
- 3-axis gimbal for mechanical stabilization
- Great flight time with approximately 18 to 21 minutes
- Obstacle detection. Front and Back sensors.
- Extremely portable. Foldable form factor and the controller has a very low profile
- Awesome build quality
DJI Mavic Air Cons:
- You may need to consider the slightly more expensive “Fly more” bundle to get the most of out this drone
Parrot Anafi
The Parrot Anafi is priced somewhere between the DJI Spark and the Mavic Air. It is Parrots answer to the monopoly that DJI seems to have on the mini camera drone market right now. The Drone was introduced to the market in mid 2018 and comes with many of the features and flight modes that you would expect from a drone directly competing with the Spark and Mavic Air. But it also bring some fresh new features to the table that make it stand out and shine.
The Anafi has a 2-axis gimbal for mechanical image stabilization, but provide 3-axis image stabilization. This is a great feature, but in side by side comparisons to drones with a 3-axis mechanical gimbal like the Mavic Air you will notice the jerky motion of horizontal panning shots.
Where the Anafi really shines is its awesome camera, manual camera setting and the digital loss-less zoom that it brings to the table. Zoom functionality is extremely rare on drones. The Parrot Anafi provides more options in terms of framing your shot since it has the digital zoom, but also since its gimbal allows you to look straight up. This zoom can also be coupled with the Drone’s fly away feature to get some interesting vertigo effect shots.
The Parrot Anafi comes with 4K 30fps video capture and 21MP camera. This is an excellent camera! It is comparable to the Mavic Air in video capture, but it is higher quality for photo capture. Unfortunately the Anafi does not allow 120fps in 1080p video so you won’t be able to capture any Slow-mo shots with this drone.
While the Anafi is quite similar in camera performance to the Mavic Air, it does not come with any obstacle avoidance like the DJI Spark and the Mavic Air. This is quite a Con for anyone that is not an experience flyer, making it harder for newbies to capture the great shots they’re hoping to get. Anyone that has flown a drone will know that drones crash. Not to say that the DJI Spark and Mavic Air don’t crash, but it never hurts to have another set of eyes watching out for that tree while you’re focusing on the shot you need.
Parrot has chosen to keep some of its flight modes and features as in-app purchases with the Anafi. We are not great fans of this idea and think it really tends to hurt the overall arguments for purchasing this drone. Why charge for a functionality that is quite standard in your competitors?
See what other reviews say:
Parrot Anafi Pros:
- 4K 30fps Video Capability
- The 2-axis mechanical gimbal let’s you take vertical (looking straight up) shots for interesting photos and videos
- 2-axis gimbal for mechanical image stabilization
- Loss-less digital zoom. Gives you more flexibility in framing your shot and access to cool features like the “vertigo effect” shot
- The Anafi is very quiet when flying
Parrot Anafi Cons:
- No obstacle avoidance sensors
- Parrot requires in app purchases for some of their flight mode features (Follow me and flight plan)
Conclusion
If you are a professional photographer just getting into aerial photography or a keen hobbyist wanting to expand your repertoire of travel photos. A mini drone with camera is what you are looking for. In this article we’ve put together a top 3 list of the best mini drones with cameras currently available on the market. Though there are many great drones out there, we’ve limited our list to exclusively what we consider mini drones with cameras. Some honorable mentions that didn’t make it onto our list due to their size are listed below.
Some honorable mentions that didn’t make it onto our list due to their size are listed below.
If you’re still on the fence or looking for something on a tighter budget. check out our article on the Best Camera Drone under $300, or the Best FPV Racing Drone to buy under $300.
Come back sometime and check out some more of our product reviews and best-in-class lists.