have you considered buy a drone About two years ago, most people would have labeled you crazy. But nowadays, at least for the last year, that’s what all the fuss is about. They have been gaining popularity and more and more commercial applications have been developed for them. The two main competitors are parrot that they have now released version 2.0 of their AR Drone for hobbyists, and DJI Phantom priced at over $1,000 it is for the more serious players in the drone arena.
The AR Drone is priced at around $300 or more, depending on whether you opt for additional features such as GPS-based autopilot, an extra battery, or extra memory in the form of a USB stick. This makes it more affordable and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes one of the best Christmas presents this year!
So which drone should I buy?
Let’s say you’re a beginner; you watched some drone videos and are excited to be able to fly it around your city and take pictures from perspectives and angles you couldn’t access before.
high definition video
One of the most important features today is the ability to shoot high definition video; If you want to show off your drone video art to your friends, then this is essential. The good news is that HD video cameras have gotten cheaper and cheaper these days and both the Parrot AR Drone and DJI Phantom have them.
GPS navigation
As mentioned above, GPS is optional for the AR Drone and can be had by purchasing a ‘flight recorder’ for around $140 off Amazon. However, the DJI Phantom does come with GPS capability and a built-in “return home” function.
remote control capability
Aside from the price difference between these two drones, the way they are controlled is the next biggest difference. Parrot, with the help of French researchers, has created a fairly intuitive app for iOS and Android called Parrot Freeflight. The AR Parrot 2.0 drone basically acts as a WiFi hotspot that connects to your smartphone or tablet and this allows you to stream HD video directly to your device.
You can also control the drone by tilting your phone forward, backward, left, or right, just like you would in a racing or flying game on iPhone. The Freeflight app also allows you to directly share the videos to Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo directly from the app.
Other differences between the two drones that make up the flight range; 25 minutes on one battery charge for Parrot and up to 40 minutes for DJI Phantom. The DJI Phantom is also slightly heavier and some reports say it provides better stability in windy conditions, but both drones are reasonably stable for that. Replacement parts are readily available to purchase on Amazon for both models.