What’s up guys, welcome to another Tech Gear Talk video. Today I want to talk about beginner drones. I LOVE drones. I remember when I first saw people shooting video on drones I was immediately hooked.
But, back then drones were 10-15K plus you had to put your very expensive camera on them, there were issues with focus, etc. Anyways, I knew I wanted to fly them.
So today I’m going to start a new series for those of you who want to start flying drones but aren’t sure where to begin. I’ll try to share my experiences with you so that you can avoid some of the mistakes that I’ve made. In the next video, we’ll go over some pointers about piloting a drone and some great beginner drone flying exercises so if you’re interested, hit that subscribe button.
Because I know that not everyone is going to watch this whole video, I’m going to start with my best advice. If you haven’t flown a drone before, don’t buy an expensive drone! No seriously, don’t. You want to know why? Because you’ll crash it. You will, I promise.
I know all of the major companies out there are talking about how easy it is to fly their drones and that they practically fly themselves. The critical part of that statement is the “practically” part.
More expensive and advanced drones are easier to fly because they have GPS connection and are more stable. But, I want you to learn how to fly these cheap drones first, so that if something goes wrong with a larger, more expensive drone you’ll be able to maintain control and return it back to safety.
I tell everyone who is interested in flying drones that their first drone doesn’t need to cost more than $25. And actually in the long run, that $25 will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
You know what’s great about cheap drones? They’re small, they are light and they are… well, cheap. A small drone is great because you can fly it indoors. That means that you can practice pretty much anytime you want. Flying indoors is great for beginners because you don’t have to deal with wind. A light drone is great for a number of reasons. First, it’s unlikely to break anything in your house. I mean these are feather light. Next, because it doesn’t have a lot of mass, it’s pretty strong and is much less likely to get damaged when you crash it into a wall. And remember what I said, you will crash it.
Finally, a cheap drone is great because it’s cheap. The drone itself is cheap, replacement parts are cheap, additional batteries are cheap and even if you have to replace the whole unit, it’s not the end of the world.
When you start out flying you’re going to be nervous. Having an expensive drone just makes you that much more nervous, whereas a smaller, less expensive drone lets you be more relaxed.
Most of these drones have headless mode, which I will cover in another video. Headless mode is easy to use but it’s not something I recommend using if your goal is to become a better pilot. I will say that headless mode can help if you lose orientation and just want to get the drone back under control
Alright, so let’s look at the best beginner drones under $25. I’ll put links in the description to all of these drones and please use them if you want to support the channel.
Although this does make it easier to fly, I want you to not use that feature when you’re practicing. Again, my goal is to get your comfortable to have full control over your drone. If you don’t plan on moving onto larger drones, and just want to have fun, altitude control is a great feature. This drone also has a headless mode and in pictures, it looks like this drone has a camera but it does not.
The transmitter is a little different than others I’ve used. Syma opted for these sliding buttons instead of sticks. It didn’t take very long to get used to them but I want you to know that this is fairly unique and so I wish they used a more traditional approach.
The X20 has a 3.7V 180mAh battery which gives you about 5 minutes of flight time. The battery is integrated into the drone so there isn’t an option to get additional batteries.
It charges uses a mini usb cable and it has some cool LED lights that help you identify which way the drone is facing. The X20 has integrated prop guards that are plenty solid for a drone of this size. The X20 also comes with 4 replacement blades that you can use if you happen to damage yours.
The X20 can also do a 360 roll by pressing one button on the controller which is kinda cool. It has prop protectors
Overall this drone is easy to fly, is very stable and has some great features. I would definitely recommend checking this drone out.
The H8 uses a 3.7V 150mAh battery that gives you about 5 and a half minutes of flight time and charges in about 25 minutes. The nice thing about this drone is that the battery can be removed. This means you can buy additional batteries and continue to fly as you charge the ones you are not using.
The prop quality is pretty nice for a drone at this price point and you may want to buy additional blades as you only get 2 spares.
There are 2 flight speeds, low and high, but realistically you’re only going to use low as a beginner. The H8 can do flips in all 4 directions which is fun to do once you’ve mastered flying it under control. The H8 also has headless mode which we previously discussed.
The controller is decent size and uses traditional sticks. It uses 3 AAA batteries which last forever.
Overall it’s a nice little drone and the ability to continuously fly with with additional batteries is great.
It’s a little larger than the other drones in this price point and is very solidly built. The props are larger as well and the prop guards are super solid. They actually protect the props from the sides and from above which is great for when you hit your ceilings.
This model lets you remove the prop guards (don’t) and even comes with 4 extra ones in case you break yours.
It comes with not one, but two, 300 mAh batteries, each of which gives you between 6-8 minutes of flight time and take about an hour to charge. Again, you can purchase additional batteries for continuous flying.
The remote is another thing that sets this drone apart. It is MUCH larger than the other controllers in this video and is super responsive and easy to hold.
This also gets you more comfortable for moving up to larger drones.
I very highly recommend checking out this drone if you’re a beginner.
It uses an internal 100 mAh battery which gives you between 4-6 minutes of flight time. Again, you can’t purchase additional batteries but it only takes about 30 minutes to charge it again.
The remote is similar to the H8 but smaller and only requires 2 AAA batteries. This may be an issue for people with larger hands.
This little drone can even do flips in 4 directions.
A few things I wanted to mention. This drone does not come with prop guards. That means that you can more easily break the props when crashing. You can actually purchase prop guards for it so I’ll add a link in the description to those as well.
If you’re a beginner I would recommend that you get a set and help protect your CX-10
The CX-10 is so much fun to fly, and although it is small, it’s pretty stable and will help you get better. Due to it’s size, it’s harder to see which way it’s pointed if it’s farther away from you, but you can perform all the needed moves to improve your flying.
I have to admit that it is harder to fly than the rest of the drones I’m reviewing. It’s fun to play around with but the learning curve may be a little steep for some people.
Some people have reported an issue with the charger but I did not have that experience.
The E010 uses a removable 3.7V 150 mAh battery so you are able to purchase additional batteries and just keep on flying. Each battery gives you about 5 minutes of flight time and takes between 30-50 minutes to charge.
Again we find 2 speeds, Low which limits the power and is easier to learn on and then High which is more fun once you learn how to fly it. The E010 also features headless mode and 360 degree flips. A very impressive feature at this price point is One-key return. With the press of one button, the drone detects where the remove control is and flies back to it’s location.
This is one of my favorite drones for the price and should definitely be considered by anyone looking for a solid starter drone.
Please give this video a thumbs up and hit that subscribe button. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @techgeartalk. See you soon.
