Find The Best Travel Drone For Photos

Incredible. For all those wondering “what’s the difference in the original Mavic mini and the Mini 2?” The mini 2 basically just improved everywhere the original lacked. The things that are notable are Ocusync 2, 4K video, big increase in wind resistance, and quick shots. As well as longer flight time and stronger propellor motors.
This is an INCREDIBLE VALUE!!!
Compared to the Mavic Air 2, they both have the same range, same quickshot modes, and both shoot 4K. If you don’t need obstacle avoidance and 48mp photos then go Mavic mini 2 all the way.
You’re paying an extra $600 on the air for 48mp photos and obstacle avoidance, but with that said the camera on the mini 2 has great sharpness and contrast. You will NOT go wrong with this!
For $600, this drone is a steal. Buy it, you will not regret it!

As an avid photographer who is new to aerial photography, I am delighted with the DJI Mini 2. It is easy to fly--I even took it out over water on my first flight, although briefly and controlled in Cine mode. Despite the small, compact size, it is surprisingly stable and takes sharp images, even in some wind.

The controls are responsive and set up is intuitive and plug-and-play while still providing numerous options for customization.

As a first drone, this is a winner. I am happy with this purchase and highly recommend this product.

This is the first drone i ever got and I couldn't be happier with it.

1st the price, quality drone at a very competitive price. I suggest to get the flymore version that comes with 3 batteries and few other accessories, its well worth the extra $100 to get the flymore version for all the extra accessories.

2nd quality and weight, I couldn't believe how light this drone is at such a small size and yet very stable hoovering in the mid air. Good camera and video quality.

I am extremely happy with this drone, couldn't ask for more for such a quality drone at a very good price. Highly recommended.

Holy Stone has put out an excellent beginner quadcopter in the HS110D.
We have another Holy Stone quadcopters and this one seems easier to operate.
I took it out for the first time today and the experience was great so I was excited to share my views right away. (see video)
The controller is easy to operate without taking your eyes off the quad. The display is very informative and clear so with a quick glance you know which of the 4 speed modes you are in, whether or not you are taking video.
Your smartphone easy fits in the controller. I own an LG G4 and I had no problems.
Four AA batteries are required and not included, but they are easy to insert with no need for a screwdriver.
The battery: The HS110D only comes with one battery and is good for 10-15 minutes.
As a newbie, you need a a wide-open space with grass or some other soft surface. It doesn't handle wind very well, so be careful. This is expected as it is a smaller drone.
Make sure you snap the guards ALL the way in. It also includes two extra guards as well as a replacement for each propellor and replacement landing gear. The addition of landing gear to this design makes safe landings much easier than other quadcopters that have no landing gear.
The card is easily removable, and Holy Stone included an adapter to plug it into your computer for transferring your videos to your computer.
Customer service: My boyfriend had to contact Holy Stone for help with his first quad, but I can say their customer service is exceptional. They will go above and beyond to help you with any problems to make sure you are happy with your purchase.
The only negatives to the HS110D: A second battery would be nice to have and watch out for wind!

The HS110D is an amazing camera drone. The app is completely different than the one I have for my other drone (HS160). It is so much better. The app for the HS110D is very clean an refined. Not to mention that there is a fairly accurate battery indicator inside of the app. When you are flying during the daytime and can’t see the lights on the drone, you will know when you have low battery. There is also a flip mode which is pretty cool for doing tricks, but seeing as this is mainly a camera drone I don’t see myself using that feature too much. The flip mode also serves a useful purpose as well as just for entertainment. Because the drone will not do flips when it is low battery, if you want to know when the drone is low battery you can just attempt a flip and the drone will not do it. The actual drone itself is pretty big, especially in comparison to some of the other Holy Stone drones that I own. It has three speed settings which is very useful because once you start flying the drone farther and farther away from you, it is difficult to determine the speed of the wind where the drone is. With multiple speed modes you can easily just kick up the speed to three and fight through the wind. The drone is strong enough that it will not be swept by the wind if you have it going fast enough. The camera on this drone (720p) is also really cool. I like the fact that it has the option to use the app and save the videos and photos directly to your phone, or save them to the included 4GB TF/microSD card. This is really useful since the drone app functions via wifi so since the wifi range is shorter than the transmitter range, you can fly it farther than the wifi and still capture excellent videos. The drone is also very stable. I really like the way it hovers in place. This is really useful because sometimes trying to take a shot of your family or something in front of a overlook is difficult. I’ve found that I can just fly the drone up a few feet and it will stay in place. Then, I just put the remote down as it takes the picture. The large indicator lights on the bottom are very useful, since they tell you multiple things. They tell you if the drone is connected to the transmitter, if the drone is on low battery, if the drone is in headless mode, and if the drone is flying without problems. The remote is amazing, simply one of the best drone remotes I have ever used. The small LED screen at the bottom with indicator lights is so useful as it tells you the status of your drone. For example, it tells you what speed you are on, whether or not you are in headless mode, if you are in flip mode, if the drone is connected. The controls and remote itself are very ergonomically designed which is essential for flying a drone. You don’t want to be worrying about the pain in your hand when you should be paying attention to the drone! Put simply, the remote is amazing. It is a very responsive drone and overall really great. I would totally recommend to a friend, especially at the price point.

I own about 6 drones now. Some are just toys for playing with indoors, but I do have another more expensive drone that is GPS enabled and that I have a lot of fun with outside. However, that drone only has a flight time of about 10 minutes, I believe due to the weight, it's very heavy for a drone. If you’re just getting into drones, I think this is a great budget beginner drone. You won’t have the range of a DJI Mini, which this drone is very similar to, but you can have the same experience up to a limited range for more than 1/3 of the price.
First, when you open the package, you’ll notice a great carrying case that fits everything, including the drone, controller, two batteries, chargers and spare props. All my other drones are in the original boxes they came in or lying around loose. This case is just another great feature of this drone.
The batteries on this drone last about 20 minutes each. They’re lightweight and have a much better-charging cable than previous drones. Unlike most that use the troublesome micro USB port, these use a usb cable that attaches to the battery solidly and easily. I personally hate micro USBs, as they seem to fit poorly and wear out over time. The Controller still uses the micro USB, but this isn’t charged near as often as the batteries.
One thing to note on the batteries. There is a red cap that covers the battery connection on the drone. You should keep this. This piece allows you to store a battery in the drone without the electrical connection being made. Electronic equipment should never be stored with batteries connected, as it can damage both the battery and the equipment.

This HS175D isn't near as heavy as my HS270. This drone is very compact and only weighs about 216 grams. I’ve also noticed this drone obtains GPS signal faster than my other drones and with 20+ minutes of flight time, I’m completely happy with that. The app that you use on the phone will walk you thru setup and preparation for flight making it quick and easy.
The drone’s camera has a single axis gimble, allowing you to rotate it 90 degrees, from straight ahead to straight down. So, while you lose some ability to move in 3 directions like you would with a drone like the DJI Mini 2, you gain rigidity that protects the camera in the event of a crash. The app doesn’t have a lot of camera control for things like exposure, but it does work well for pictures and video.
Other than the camera, the other difference between a high-end drone like the DJI Mini 2 is the connection between the camera and drone. Not to get too technical because both use Wi-Fi signals, but the DJI Mini 2 uses Occusync, which gives you a range of up to 11k yards (6+ miles), whereas this drone uses Wi-Fi on a 5Ghz channel, which has a longer range than say a 2.4Ghz signal, but it is limited and doesn’t like interference from solid objects. If you were operating in maximum conditions (no interference at all from other Wi-Fi signals and no physical interference, you might expect a range of about 650 yards at best. I think a more practical limit would be about 350 yards.
When operating outdoors, you should keep a clear line of sight with your drone, or you may lose connection, and you won't be able to navigate with the camera. The range of the controller is better and not subject to the same limitations, so you'll still be able to control the drone, you just won't have the camera.

I purchased this book after stumbling across Marco’s twitter feed (@marcorasi1960). While I grew up in Baton Rouge and have been to New Orleans numerous times, I have never seen the details of the buildings or the landscape captured from this viewpoint. It also captures places that I never even knew existed such as old forts.
Equally impressive in this book are the historical and informative descriptions of the photos. These are not one or two sentence descriptions that accompany many photography books. These descriptions make you feel like you are on a tour with an extremely knowledgeable tour guide giving you behind the scenes insights into the photographs. Just to note, the “tour guide”providing the narrative is a professor and has authored many books on New Orleans.
Since receiving this book a few days ago, I have purchased additional books as gifts.

Oversized, beautifully photographed and written.

I am a big fan of Marco's Twitter feed (@marcorasi1960). It has many of his great photos. That's why I bought this..and I'm blown away. Extremely high quality. I also love the captions for the photographs, which are very descriptive and well-written. As a native new orleanian I discovered parts of the city I have never seen before. Marco has an incredible talent for drone photography , but not all of these are drone photographs. All of them are extremely well composed.

First let me state that I own and operate many types of drones. For outright photography I tend to lean towards DJI's line of drones. They are extremely stable and reliable. I've been flying them since early 2018. Now the Mini SE is a hybrid of the original DJI Mini and the Mini 2. It has the same motors as the Mini 2(+), but it's connectivity is done with "enhanced" WiFi(-). It is very stable in a 25mph wind because of the motors , but you will be limited in distance by the WiFi signal. And that distance can vary. If you fly in a heavily urban area, I would not expect much distance over 1000 feet before your video signal starts to get choppy. But in the wide open ocean, Ive sent it out about 1600 feet with zero signal loss.
The camera: compared to similar DJI drones you will be limited to 2.7k resolution. But it is some of the sharpest video I've seen. The photos are in 12MP format, plenty of room for editing. What this drone lacks (and I'm not saying it in a bad way) is the automated shooting features of other similar drones. But these other similar drones will cost you a lot more than the list $299 you pay for the drone.
All in all, this is almost the perfect drone for beginners. Except for one thing: there are no sensors on board to alert you to an imminent crash. They had to cut the cost somewhere.
And yes, I would definitely recommend this drone for both beginners and experienced UAV flyers.

Over 100 miles in the air always on sport mode totaling 16h worth in the air. Lipo battery about 24 mins on sport "full speed @ 29mph" The mavic mini black batteries also work and you only loose a minute or 2. Have a total of 5 batteries and can stay airborne almost 2hrs if you had too. I do have it faa registered with 2 strobes top and rear and never fly without them. 20 dollars each and great for night flights. These drones are the cadillacs of the drone world. Longest range was about 1.5 miles in semi residential areas. Range differs the more home wifi router are in the area. Remember to fly higher the farther you go done range, it will improve your line of site. Also remember to stay above 100 ft tree like to jump out. Just be smart, and set your return to home higher then your highest object and your golden. If you loose video or signal, just let go of sticks and wait. The video feed will come back then you may cancel the RTH and gain control again. This is by far DJI best drone for beginners because it has top rated electronics, gps and battery life. Dont worry about the 2.7k video, it looks amazing. It Flys like a 799 Mavic and thats not exaggerated!