Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

Good information and thanks. Of course I ignore the nay sayers and give them the attention they are worth. The Husband looks like a very nice one for a reasonable price. Certainly not a "cheap toy"!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

As has often been said, "You get what you pay for."

Bison Bud

If your looking for something to learn to fly you can do fairly well in that price range and even get some shakey videos. However, if you want a solid video platform and camera for pro level results, your going to have to increase your budget considerably! Probably best to learn to fly on a lesser model before plunking down that kind of cash. Good luck and good flying!

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I would think the Drone Section http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-124-1.html
would be the best place to get advice.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Based on two people I know who have them (DJI), the more you pay, the better the drone. Both of theirs cost over $1,000, and they love them. No complaints. Getting a less expensive drone will get you compromises. Unless you plan to make a living selling stills and video, a less expensive drone could be okay.

Cheap -
https://uavcoach.com/cheap-drones-for-beginners/
https://www.dronethusiast.com/cheap-drones-guide/
http://www.dronesglobe.com/affordable/
https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/07/best-cheap-drones.html

The Best - just for reference - but some reasonable prices
https://www.lifewire.com/best-drones-4055554
https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/337251/the-best-drones
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-drones/

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Something of interest.

If you've ever watched a DJI drone commercial, You've no doubt heard the four note jingle at the end, (sometimes at the beginning too). Guess what?

That little gingle is just about identical to the Oscar Mayer Weeny Whistle gingle from years back. About the only difference is the DJI sound is electronically made.

I just saw the Wienermobile yesterday and thought about the music.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GENorkusPhotography-142634195803011/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1544568712276212

Will that mean Oscar Mayer will come out with a flying hot dog???

I can see a market for selling hotdogs and having them delivered to you. Like at a baseball game or something like that. (I wonder if drones will lift a can of beer?)

Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

LOL I love it. Flying hot dog huh? That would be cool

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

Look at the spark or mavic by DJI I have a mavic and I still remember how impressed I was by how stable it is. One thing get an extra battery or 2. I have 3 for mine and that gets me almost 45 minutes up to an an hour if I fly conservatively.

Also these two drones are easy to pack and carry, I was out last weekend looking for color and there was a guy flying an inspire. His only complaint about it was how hard it is to pack up and carry.

Good lucky happy flying

Pkfish Loc: Wilson Wy

I have a Yuneec Breeze. I bought it a year ago and have flown it about 1 minute. Check it out . I paid 500. and would sell for 250. plus shipping. I did not crash it,just not my thing with my dogs always around. Let me know if you are interested.

Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

I checked that model out earlier and didn't care for it. Sorry

don26812 Loc: South Bay of Los Angeles, CA

I have a DJI Mavic Pro (about $1000) and had a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ before that. I really liked the Phantom and love the Mavic. RAW still images and 4K video are awesome. The Mavic is easy to fly and does have a Return to Home feature, as well several other modes that allow great videos and still images to be taken.

Since you inquired here, I assume you are interested in the video and photo quality the drone can produce.

DJI recently introduced the Spark (~$400?) as others have mentioned. It is smaller than even the Mavic, and its video is not quite as good as the Mavic, but is still very good.

Rather than take the advice given here, go to YouTube (if you have not already). You will find scores of Mavic, Spark, and other DJI drone videos and reviews. You will also see those of other brands you are considering.

Enjoy whatever you get, and fly responsibly.

FWIW

RAW Doc

Here is what you should do, Charles. Forget everything else except this advice. Deviate at your own peril. First, know that it is an evolving exciting and frustrating technology with many advances, constant updates and law changes. The restrictions, precautions, local and state attitudes and even views of neighbors with guns are such that you may just want to forget about it. I am so frustrated that I have seriously considered selling my Phantom 4 pro plus. You will also need to support your drone. So ultimately you will spend more and your price range is unrealistic. You will need a video processing capable computer, extra batteries, maybe an iPad, travel case or bag, a licence and to take a pilot test if you want to go commercial. Lots of U3 micro SD cards.

If you are STILL interested, do this. 1) get a $60 Syma toy drone and learn to fly. I think it would be the X11C or something. Little white drone. Not the mini drone. Learn it like the back of your hand. Like driving a stick shift. Do it in your house and keep it off your roof and out of trees. 2) Watch Tony and Chelsea's " Which camera or drone should I buy". Get that one! I believe it is a DJI Phantom 3. It is in your price range. 3) Don't get a non-DJI drone. 4) Shoot raw and learn the manual settings on the screen. 5) You'll wish you had the $1000 Mavic pro or $1500 P4p that fixes a lot of the bugs you won't like. I hope you heed this advice and enjoy this new exciting technology.

Rod

dub3 Loc: Sunrise Beach, Texas

Charles, my advise is to look for a good used DJI Phantom Vision 2+. You should be able to find one in the $200-300 price range. They are only 3-4 years old and many have very low hours. They are GPS guided have excellent camera with 3 way humble, about 18 minutes flight time, return home, course lock, home lock and mmany more features. I have used one for taking pictures of real estate. If you get in a panic mode you just let go of the sticks and the drone will just stop and hover in the same spot till you recover your thoughts. Dry easy to fly. Original price was about $1100. I have one I would sell for $250 plus shipping including a customized case

Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

I chose this one. It looks to be a great drone with every feature you could ask for and the price direct from Hubsan was less then Amazon. How about that. Just ordered it with a couple of extra batterys and a good transmitter battery and a carrying case for it all. Ordered some from Hubsan and some of it from Amazon.

Thank most of you for your suggestions.

Charles

georgec4

Yes it has the RTH (return to home), the FPV (first person view), and gyro stabilazation (for shooting videos without all the "bumping" - although the camera is not gimbaled) - as someone else said this is a real drone not a toy - seriously check out the 1949pgh videos on You Tube and see what a "non-professional" can do with shooting videos with this camera.