Have you ever considered getting started with drones? There is an abundance of good and cheap options to get your first drone.Unfortunately, this very same fact is also complicating things in terms of choosing the best for each of us.If this has been your experience, sweat it not, because I’m about to reveal to you the ultimate drone buying guide you’ll ever need. And the coolest part is it is an infographic.

Basic things to know before buying a drone

Before stepping into the actual process, I want to tell you a few things of what to expect here. Thus, you won’t spend your time with something you may not be interested.After countless hours buying drones, I have learned 3 truths about them that I’d like to share with you. The infographic below will expand on the details of these truths, but for now, just consider the following.

1. A drone is only as good as the flight experience it provides to the end user, based on the end user’s feedback.
2. Flight experience can be measured using 4 factors: Flight and charge time, flight range, and the camera (when desired by the user) specs.
3. To ensure customer satisfaction, you also need to consider budget (which may not necessarily be the price tag of the drone) and customer reviews and ratings.

These truths may or may not be shared by the vendors, but like I said, these are the conclusions from my own experience.So, it really doesn’t matter if a drone is presented like the best next thing, because if these truths are not fulfilled, then probably you’ll end up disappointed.

The last infographic you’ll ever need to choose a drone

Here is a helpful infographic outlining the steps and process I follow when choosing a drone. Some of these steps may seem a bit conservative, and in fact they are.Why?Because these were developed with the very beginner pilot in mind. Especially for your 1^st experience with drones, you want to minimize risks as much as possible, and for that reason my advice is to be very conservative at first.When you grow in experience flying and choosing drones, you might as well be able to relax these and choose based on your instinct.Infographic Source: https://www.rchobbiesonair.com/9-simple-steps-to-buy-the-best-drone-with-camera-infographic/Here I want to expand just a little bit on some of the most important point on this infographic. The truth is that all are important, but this post was designed to be as simple as possible.

The budget for your drone

When I start to consider getting a drone, the 1^st thing I like to do is to think in terms of budget. Like I previously said, this accounts for more than just the drone price.For instance, extra batteries, spare parts, registration fee (if applicable), and any other accessories you want to get are going into your budget.By the way, $100 dollars is a great number to start with, but most probable is you’ll end up buying a drone under 200 USD, as this is such a popular range among beginners.

The camera of your drone

One of the things people love the most about a drone, and also the reason why they have become so popular lately, is the camera.Depending on what you want to do with your drone, the camera will be needed or not. Also, not all cameras work for all purposes, so it would be interesting to know your purpose to get started with drones, so you define as well what type of camera will fulfill your needs.Having mentioned this, there are a few basic things I want to mention about your camera.

• Resolution: This is pretty much obvious, the higher the camera resolution, the better your images will be.
• FOV angle: The amount of a picture a camera can capture. This is usually defined in terms of angle, and the higher the better, as you can edit later the image size.
• FPV Capability: Drones can live-stream images in real time to the pilot. This is achieved with an FPV or WiFi camera, so be sure to check this if you are considering live-streaming footage to your smart phone.
• Camera stabilization method: To get amazing footage, you account for more than just resolution of the camera, since this camera must be stabilized. You must know wind and motors’ vibration will be transmitted to the camera, and thus, the camera will need a way to stabilize image. For this case, a gimbal is perfect.

Flight and Charge time

These are some of the most important factors that will determine your flight experience, as most drones for beginners only fly from 6 – 9 minutes and will require anything from 60 to 150 more to recharge the battery again.For this reason, getting extra LiPo batteries is a must.Besides, these are extremely cheap and are easy to find, and what is best, you can find packages with multiple batteries and balance chargers (mandatory to charge more than one LiPo batteries at the same time).

Registration of your drone

Some countries regulate the use of drones and have established anything from recommendations to rules, and laws for the use of these amazing gadgets.Failing to comply with these regulations will get you in trouble with authorities, so it is extremely important to do some research and find the requirements (and fulfill them) in order to fly your drone.These laws tend to change with time, so it wouldn’t make much sense to publish the current details on them, however, I do encourage you to do your due diligence and find if your government regulates drones use.

Reviews and ratings

Finally, but not less important, you want to read comments from current owners of the drone you are choosing to get. This will help you to make a more educated decision and at the same time you’ll know what to expect from this drone.In the end, it all boils down to help you get the best drone for you.Also, this will ensure you don’t get buyer’s remorse if you discover this drone is not as good as you thought it was.

Final thoughts on this drone buying guide

There are a bunch of factors you could consider when buying your drone, and as you keep growing your collection, you’ll create your own criteria.For now, please allow me to help you on this.Also, should you think the infographic is missing something important, please let me know in the comments section, as I’ll be thrilled to know your thoughts or questions.And…If you enjoyed this post and found it useful, please share it on your social networks so other people know how to go about choosing (and buying) a drone.I thank you for you time and attention, and I hope this has served you in some way.

Credit:rchobbiesonair.com

About the author

This post was written by Jose Lozano, an RC aviation gadgets lover. He likes to share his knowledge with others via insightful posts and thoughtful reviews at his site RC Hobbies on Air. You can reach Jose with your questions at most social networks or directly through his site.