Best camera drones 2022: Capture stunning aerial photography and video
The standard model provides 8GB of internal storage, while the more expensive and slightly heavier Cine model includes an internal 1TB SDD with support for Apple ProRes 422 HG video recording. Both models also feature a microSD card slot to expand onboard storage. The dual Hasselblad camera is the jewel in the Mavic 3’s crown, with the main Four Thirds camera offering excellent image quality alongside an adjustable f/2.8 to f/11 aperture capable of capturing in JPEG and Raw. The second camera uses a 1/2-Inch CMOS sensor with an equivalent focal length of 162mm, a fixed f/4.4 aperture and a 28x hybrid zoom with limited functionality. The new Mini 3 Pro is even smaller still, but this drone’s camera is even better. The ability to shoot 5.4K video at 30fps gives you some extra creative flexibility, and supports a useful digital zoom option (even if we’d only recommend using that at 2x zoom).
Traditionalists will prefer the latter, but some may find the motion pad more intuitive. France-based Parrot offers the Anafi, another good folding drone; it’s a solid option for consumers wary of buying tech from Chinese firms. The company runs out of California and its drones are made for adventurers who want automatic tracking. They help you get aerials without a camera operator but aren’t as well-suited for cinematography as DJI’s drones. The Type 1 sensor may lag behind Quad Bayer chips in pixel count, but captures a wider dynamic range, so photogs have more leeway for edits to exposure.
A drone with all the bells and whistles
You can fly the Mavic 3 up to 18.65 miles away, though federal rules say that you or a spotter must always have the drone within your line of sight. While flying in winds measured at about 10 mph, the Air 2S was unfailingly stable. It didn’t drift, and it consistently recorded steady video, even when it rose above the tree line. Like many drones, the Air 2S uses a combination of Galileo, GPS, and GLONASS satellites, as well as its vision cameras, to monitor movement and altitude changes. The Air 2S’s camera, which has a 1-inch sensor, captures 20-megapixel images, plus 5.4K video at up to 30 frames per second.
DJI announced a cheaper version of our upgrade pick called the Mavic 3 Classic. This new drone has almost all of the features of the Mavic 3, including its main 4/3 camera sensor, 46 minute stated flight time, and full suite of object detecting sensors, but drops the second telephoto camera. Considering the Classic is about $500 cheaper, it may be a great option for someone who wants the features of the 3 but doesn’t need the telephoto option.
The Best Drones for 2023
The latter is time-lapse video, but do note that’s a battery-intensive mode that mostly you’re going to launch, fly, record, and then immediately land. While two of the under-$100 models I’ve tested were fun to fly, the photos and video they produced were hot garbage. I think most people would be better off buying one of the tiny toy drones above while saving up for DJI’s Mini 2. That said, if you don’t care about creating content, just want to have fun flying, and don’t mind taking a risk, these “toy” drones might be worth a look. If you want to stay aloft as long as possible, the Evo Lite+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a your best bet.
Access the app’s settings to turn off the collection of app-performance and user-experience data. Drones, as a whole, feel a bit icky when it comes to security and privacy. They make aerial surveillance available to anyone for just a few hundred dollars—and they also pose the same personal-privacy questions as any connected device.
Intermediate drones are sometimes referred to as “prosumer” drones as they are able to be used professionally and personally. Browse hundreds of camera drones to take your photographic creativity to new heights. Options include beginner drones with 720p video, hobbyist drones with stable 4K video capture and pro cinema drones that combine speed, cinema-style recording and elite gimbal stabilization. B&H offers solutions for racers as well, with precision flyers capable of flying over 80 mph. From DJI to Parrot, Hubsan to Yuneec, we stock more drones for sale than almost any other retailer.
Upgrade to the DJI Mavic 3 Cine bundle, and you’ll get 1TB of internal storage, a very fancy DJI RC Pro controller and the ability to shoot video in Apple ProRes 422 HQ format. The Skydio 2+ is a modest update to the Skydio 2 we reviewed last year. It has all the same basic features, but adds antennas for stronger communication and a higher-capacity battery. The price has been cut too, from $1,349 to $1,099 for the basic kit, but you need to budget more if you want to get a package with a remote control and extra flight batteries. drones with long battery life dominate our top picks and there’s a good reason for that.