It’s out there somewhere, waiting for just the right moment. You already know what you’re looking for in terms of the images you want to capture. The right combination of angle, lighting and distance that will make magic come to life is always just over the next tree line.
Unfortunately, you’re out of batteries, and the sun’s going down. An extra five minutes of flight time would have ensured you didn’t need to come back out tomorrow to get your shot.
To scout effectively and also bag a nice roll of alternate shots in the same session, you need the drone with the longest flight time on a charge. Put your old drone on the market, start building your cash reserves and get started on your research.
Fortunately, we’ve already done the homework for you. After whittling away the contenders to a handful of great choices, the rest is up to your needs, budget and preferences.
Table could not be displayed.Longest Flying Drones
We chose these criteria to narrow the field:
Longest Flight Time
We’re comparing the longest-flying drones reasonably available to serious flyers and business users. Most casual pilots are fine with 15-minute flight times, especially faced with the higher prices of outdoor-capable drones that can fly for 25-plus minutes.
Real estate professionals, serious photographers and agricultural inspectors need a drone with the longest flight time. Longer flight time means less work for the pilot. Equipment loads to the site can be lighter because you can carry fewer batteries. Additional trips might be unnecessary because you can do more in a single session, saving time, fuel and work.
A drone that lets you take your time while aloft gives you a creative edge, offering more angles, more room and more time to focus on the shot. Less attention needed on batteries means a calmer, more critical eye for photography.
These drones are for serious filming, and they’re equipped with advanced flight systems. They’re great for entry-level business and inspection duty but not so expensive that serious amateurs can’t buy one.
For hardcore long-term professional camera work, you need more than this. If you just want to play around and have some fun, there are cheaper alternatives.
Short Charge Time
Along with longer battery life, shorter charge times are also important to business pilots and serious amateurs alike. Less time per battery means charging one battery while the drone is flying and using two of them, yielding four or five flights on three batteries in the same session. A drone with long flight time and short charging time is more efficient to fly.
Time is always money to a professional. Every minute saved is less stress and less work for the same pay. Shorter charging times amount to a higher pay rate. Short charging time is also one more way to carry fewer batteries for lighter equipment loads.
Less wasted motion, less fiddling with equipment and less time waiting for a charge add up to more time in productive activities. A fast charging system saves time during preparation as well. You obviously want to bring as many fully charged batteries into the field as you can manage.
Even with a single charger, faster charging times let you charge the maximum loadout of batteries in less time. There’s that higher pay rate again. Short charge times can also mean multiple jobs in the same day, allowing an increase in your business volume.
Price
When you’re talking about drones like these, it can be hard to choose based strictly on features or quality. They’re somewhat pricey but worth the money. These drones aren’t as expensive as industrial, police or military drones are, but they are more expensive than hobbyist drones.
This type of equipment is often called “prosumer,” meaning high-quality consumer-level equipment that’s also capable of earning at least entry-level business money. However, a couple of these drones could make sound workhorses to get your business to the next level.
The right price can mean the ability to afford a second unit for backup. If one drone is being serviced, it’s nice to have a second drone ready to go. One expensive drone may not be as productive as two cheaper drones.
Even so, the bottom line demands you pay attention to the price of entry. We’ve tried to present drones that are worth the money but that won’t disappoint if you happen to go with the least-expensive choice.
It’s also worth noting that paying strict attention to absolute prices can be deceptive compared to examining ranges. A bigger overall price tag sometimes means the drone with the longest flight time has more extras included.
Stability, Wind Resistance and Flight Safety
If you’re doing any kind of serious outdoor photography, drone stability is a must. Between quality camera gimbals, flight stabilization technology and the ability to resist buffeting by wind, your drone needs to be rock-steady to provide quality pictures.
That goes double for long shots and important video sequences like news items. An expensive drone that doesn’t provide a stable work platform just isn’t worth the extra money simply to acquire long flight capability.
We’re looking for a steady, smooth camera gimbal paired with the latest in stabilization technology. Drones of this caliber should have obstacle-avoidance technology, flight features like auto-hover to prevent being blown out of the sky and safety measures in case the unthinkable happens and the drone falls to the ground.
Additional aerial safety features we like to see are return-to-home and GPS waystation capability to fly missions without a controller in case something happens back at the control site. You never know when there might be a failure due to a leaking battery or a controller being dropped or stepped on. If such a mishap does occur, it’s nice when your expensive aircraft comes back to base on its own.
Flight Speed
If a drone has a long flight time but doesn’t have a high enough top speed, it’s going to use all that extra time in the air just getting where it needs to be. A high top speed is essential to making the best use of the drone’s time in the air. This is one more place where the “time is money” consideration comes into play.
The faster your machine gets on target, the faster you’re compiling footage. High-speed capabilities also mean opportunities for shots that weren’t there before. For extreme sports video, high airspeed can be a must simply to reach the cinematic standards expected in this type of work.
Whether pro or hobbyist, the best shots for skiing, mountain biking, motocross or auto racing can only be bagged when your drone can keep up with the action. For newshounds, the ability to cover fast-breaking action like protests and car chases can make the difference between a paycheck and going home empty-handed.
High flight speed combined with long flight time makes some time-lapse footage shots available that were impossible without serious time in the air and the ability to catch up to targets like wakeboards, parasails and motorcycles.
Three Top Long-Flying Drones
1. DJI Inspire 2
The Inspire 2 is a workhorse professional drone, but it’s not quite the drone with the longest flight time. For hardworking prosumer buyers, it’s a healthy bite from the budget as DJI’s Inspire 2 runs $3,000 and under.
Of course, a couple of thousand bucks better deliver a really nice drone. In this regard, the DJI Inspire 2 does not disappoint. It comes with intelligent flight modes, and it has compatibility with 5.2K gimbal cameras. It’s fast, with a maximum speed of 67 mph, and it can get up to 50 mph in about four seconds.
DJI Inspire 2 Specifications
DJI Inspire 2 Pros List
• This drone has a 4.3-mile transmitting range, letting you fly it far from home base.
• The Inspire 2 can reach 50 mph in four seconds, so it’s fast.
• It has editing pipelines for HD streaming and two editing room modes for easier editing of footage.
• The main and first-person cameras transmit simultaneously, speeding up transmission.
• The Spotlight Pro gimbal offers an optional 5.2-megapixel camera for high-quality images and video.
DJI Inspire 2 Cons List
• This price takes some serious planning and commitment as it’s too high for most buyers.
• Inexperienced pilots could potentially cause a lot of damage with a drone this size going 50 mph.
• This is only a platform; quality accessories will add even more to the cost.
• It needs room to store because it’s pretty big at 21 inches.
What do other reviews say?
There are plenty of online reviews covering this drone. Here’s a second opinion on the DJI Inspire 2.
2. Blade Chroma 4K
The Blade Chroma 4K comes ready to fly with a 4K camera. The Android controller features a 5.5-inch screen, so you can keep your phone in your pocket. The screen displays real-time altitude, speed and battery life in addition to 4K video and 12K still photography. With a 30-minute flight time, the Chroma can stay up just as long as anything else.
Weighing in at over 12 pounds and sporting a stabilized camera gimbal, the Chroma 4K will produce steady video even on breezy days. As the mid-priced value drone with the longest flight time in this review, it delivers high quality for reasonable money.
Blade Chroma 4K Specifications
Blade Chroma 4K Pros List
• The no-distortion lens on the drone’s camera means you can take clear shots without a “fish-eye” effect.
• The buttons and switches on the controller are clearly marked, allowing even novice users the ability to pilot the drone.
• The drone requires no assembly, so you can use it right out of the box.
• The Blade Chroma 4K uses both GLONASS and GPS navigation satellites for great reception and accuracy.
Blade Chroma 4K Cons List
• There’s no GPS waypoint loop and no Point-of-Interest feature, limiting some of the usefulness of the drone.
• Wi-Fi transmission sometimes means a latent signal delay.
• The 600-meter transmission distance limits your flight range to three-eighths of a mile, meaning you can’t fly the drone too far.
• The standard drone doesn’t support a GoPro camera, meaning you have to make an additional purchase if you want a GoPro.
What do other reviews say?
Here’s another reviewer’s take on the Blade Chroma 4K.
3. Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon RTF
The “RTF” designation on this drone means “ready to fly” out of the box. It includes a stabilized gimbal with a 4K camera that can also shoot 1080P in slow motion. The controller has a large screen, saving you the trouble of mounting your mobile device as a display.
The 18-mph top speed, two-hour battery charge and 25-minute flight time are reasonable but do illustrate that you get what you pay for when comparing those specs to the other two drones in this article. Tipping the scales at nearly 5 pounds, the Q500 Typhoon is a very substantial drone for the sub-$500 range.
Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon RTF Specifications
Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon RTF Pros List
• The drone is ready to fly, so there’s no long setup time.
• SteadyGrip hand-held device lets you take smooth shots while on the ground, minimizing distortion.
• The Android controller provides real-time flight data on the video screen, letting you see what the drone is doing at all times.
• The Q500 returns to home and has a range-limiting feature for safety’s sake.
Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon RTF Cons List
• The charger takes two hours, limiting time spent actually flying the drone.
• The 640-meter transmission range is a little short at just less than half a mile, so you can’t fly the drone great distances.
• The Q500 is limited to 400 feet above the terrain, so you can’t capture vast swaths of ground footage.
• It feels a little sluggish compared to lighter or more expensive drones, reducing the user experience.
What do other reviews say?
Generally, the reviews of this drone are quite positive. Take a second look at the Yuneec Q500.
Conclusion
The DJI Inspire 2, while pricey, is one of a few drones with its capabilities. The Inspire is a well-established staple of professional cinematography. If you hire out for commercials, real estate flyovers or extreme sports, you can’t go wrong with an Inspire 2. Get one right now on Amazon. Then, come back sometime and check out some more of our product reviews and best-in-class lists.
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