A drone can be a photographer’s best friend indeed. Be it taking a photo or shooting a video, these devices can come in handy. You open several photography prospects with them. Having such a device helps you shoot stunning and flawless videos. You may not be able to reach a remote mountain region to take pictures. Also, you can’t enter the restricted areas in a reserve forest. However, with a drone, you can catch a glimpse of such areas very easily. Most importantly, it reduces your hassles to some extent. You can stand at a point, and take snaps of the local areas. Needless to say, they have leveled up the art of photography. Here we will discuss mainly the pocket variants. So, read on before you buy a pocket drone.
What is a pocket drone?
A pocket drone is friendlier than a typical drone. It’s great to have such a device at your service. It is smaller than the typical ones, but both these devices perform identically. Unfortunately, many photographers don’t find them decent. Yet more daring snaps demand the pocket ones for better quality.
Especially, a vlogger needs to rely on such devices a lot. It’s a known fact that geographical challenges are part of vlogging. Can you deny that fact? Having such a gadget can help vloggers and photographers overcome them. Imagine yourself carrying a large drone to a mountain top! Of course, it doesn’t seem viable. Moreover, big ones are too hard to carry everywhere. You tend to get worn out as you do so. So, these special devices seem to be the best ones for all shooting purposes.
These smaller, lightweight devices are much easier to fly than the older, bulkier models. They also offer a controller or a dedicated app. Sometimes, they come with both. This makes the task of these gadgets way easier – pretty much like a video game. When you are done clicking a photo or recording a video, just press/tap a button. And, that is all. Your device will come back to you safely. So, there’s no risk of losing them either.
Best Features of Pocket Drone:
Now coming to their features, here are some of the nicest features they offer:
- Many of such device models have headless mode. That is its mechanism aligns the front part of the drone with the direction your controller is facing. Some even have the feature of Electronic Image Stabilization (perfect for taking stable shots) and so on. Now, you might be gifting it to a rookie pilot. Or, you have never flown one of these yourself. If that is the case, you must look for these features.
- If you are hoping to take crisp and steady photos, try to look for gimbals. They are supports that allow you to rotate your camera at an axis. So, you can take the shot as you wish to, no matter how much your camera moves or shakes.
- The flight range may vary from gadget to gadget. But mostly, they can fly pretty long distances. This height and distance could sometimes reach 500 meters and 4 miles, respectively. However, never assume that such a device could fly for hours with a single charge. No, that’s impossible. Drones are not smartphones, ok? They are not capable of lasting all day long. If your gadget flies for a solid half an hour with a full charge, know that it’s great.
- Some of these flying gadgets come equipped with the ability to pair with VR goggles. If you have one of those, you can get a pilot’s view and feel like you are up there yourself.
Tech Specs, Pros, and Cons of Popular Pocket Drone Models:
Eachine E58
First, we have the Eachine E58. Here are its tech specs:
- Dimensions: With arms folded – 27 × 19.5 × 5 (in cm)
- With arms not folded – 12.5 × 7.5 × 5 (in cm)
- 2.4 GHz remote control
- Glass lens FPV camera able to twist up to 90 degrees earthward (2 MP for images/720p for videos)
- Wi-Fi control (via app)
- Gravity sensor
- Headless mode
- One-key return
- 360-degree roll
- 3 different speed options
- 6-axis gyroscope
- LED light (with nightlight feature)
- 3.7V 500 mAh Lithium battery (rechargeable)
- Goes from 0% battery to 100% in about an hour of recharge
- 7 to 9 minutes flight time
- 80-100 meter range
- Micro SD card slot
- Trajectory flight via app
Pros
- Great portability – Tiny, compact, and lightweight.
- Nice stability – perfect for taking still photos and filming videos. It won’t shake if you can set it up properly.
- Easy to fly – once you get the hang of the gadget, it’s very easy to control it
- Fairly sturdy – despite its frail look and feel, it can survive many crashes.
Cons
- Faulty camera/video button on the controller – you can control these functions only via mobile app.
- Hard-to-understand user manual – the broken English translation makes things very puzzling.
FQ777-124 Pocket Drone
The tech specs of this device are as follow:
- Dimensions: 7 × 7 × 3 (in cm)
- 11.5 grams weight
- 3.7V 100 mAh Li-Po battery
- One-key return
- Charging time: approx. 30-40 minutes
- 6 to 8 minutes flight time
- 20-40 meter range
- 6-axis gyroscope
- No camera
- No FPV
- Two different flight speeds (low/high)
- Ideal for flying in both outdoors and indoors
- Removable frame protector and landing gear
- LED lights
Pros
- Suitable for all ages and experienced people – everyone can fly it.
- Good handling
- Low price
- Very robust- can easily survive a lot of crashes
- The ability to recharge it without any external source of power – perhaps its coolest feature
- Easy to store
- Easy to put it inside your pocket
- Great indoor flying ability because of its much smaller size
Cons
- Low-quality storage container
- Difficult to control – even during light breezes
- Emits high-frequency noise – might feel annoying to some
SYMA X20
Here are its tech specs:
- Dimensions: 5 × 10.5 × 25 (in cm)
- 100 meter range
- 5 minutes max flight time
- Headless, stunt, and altitude hold modes
- One-key takeoff and landing
- 180 mAh battery
- 4 rotors
- 480p video camera
- LED lights
- USB connectivity
Pros
- Sturdy propeller guard
- Effortless takeoff and landing
- LED lights
- 360-degree eversion
Cons
- Low resolution camera
- Short flight time
ZEROTECH DOBBY
ZEROTECH DOBBY has the following technical specifications:
- Dimensions: 13.5 × 6.6 × 3.5 (in cm)
- 13 MP HD camera with 4K and 1080 resolution
- Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
- Facial recognition
- Target tracking
- 10 second Auto Follow short video shooting
- Real-time transmission (via mobile app)
- Dual satellite positioning
- 3-axis gyroscope
- Flight time up to 9 minutes
- Flight range up to 100 meters
- Rechargeable Li-Po battery
- 198 gm weight
Pros
- Instant sharing and storing your photos/videos to social media or similar platforms – via mobile app
- Powerful processor
Cons
- No option to buy battery from third-party sellers – only obtainable from ZEROTECH itself
DJI Air 2S
Let’s see its tech specs:
- Foldability
- Dimension: Folded – 18 × 9.7 × 7.7 (in cm)
Unfolded – 18.3 × 25.3 × 7.7 (in cm)
- Six pairs of low noise propellers
- ND filter set
- GPS
- 3500 mAh battery
- 31 minutes max flight time
- Max flight distance 18500 meters
- 20 MP camera with up to 5.4K resolution
- Inbuilt storage (8GB) with Micro SD slot (expandable up to 256 GB)
Pros
- Great image quality
- Easily moveable and lightweight
- Safe to fly
- Decent battery capacity
Cons
- Non-adjustable aperture
- The big rotors often come in shot
Conclusion
As you can see, buying a pocket drone can really elevate your photography skills and make you more efficient. So, do not wait any longer. Purchase one of these devices from your nearest store today or order online. Good luck!
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Is buying a mini quadcopter worth it?
Yes, it is. If you are a photographer or videographer, buying such a gadget can help you a lot. It can come in handy while trying to take photos or record videos of hard-to-reach places.
- Would investing in a pocket drone cost a lot?
The cost of a drone varies from model to model. Many affordable models today provide great features. Please do some research before buying one, and see what fits your budget.
- Are mini quadrotors durable?
Yes, most of them are. The majority of these devices are very robust and can survive multiple crashes without significant damage.