What should I consider before buying a drone?

Before buying a drone?

First of all we must think about the use that is really going to be given and the times a week that we are going to use it, since there are different models: drones for leisure, for professional use for professional use of video recording, with camera for YouTube etc. For each of these possible uses we will give different recommendations.

Therefore, before investing your money you should ask yourself the following questions:

Do we want a drone to get started?

Do we already know how to handle it and want to make the leap to a more professional one?

From there, you have to consider the following aspects:

The price of drones.
When deciding to buy a drone, we will find a range of prices ranging from 20 euros in the cheapest and simplest, to 2000 euros or more that cost for professional users.

Do they do the same? Obviously not. The only thing in common is that they fly, but the handling and the results will vary if it is a drone for hobby or if it is a professional drone.

The number of rotors.
Depending on the number of rotors, we can control it more or less easily. In the cheap range of entry, the most normal is to find models of four rotors, while the most advanced and professional have 6 or 8 rotors.

The greater the number of rotors, the greater ease of handling in flight.

Indoor or outdoor use?
It is an important aspect, since those for indoor use are smaller and will not be carried by strong wind if we use it outside. It does not mean that you can not simply take it into account.

Cheap drones are ideal to start handling these devices before using a more expensive drone. It will give you more experience, security and confidence to handle it outdoors, putting your most expensive device less in danger.
As our technical needs increase, so will the price. If we need it to fly higher, with greater battery autonomy, or if we want it with a camera ...

I have good news about you: there are features for all budgets.

Stability and ease of use.
Drones with automatic flight stabilization allow us better control. This will facilitate the use and automate the flight processes.

Some models even have GPS to return to the place where it took off, and even have sensors for better takeoff and landing. Others, have operation through hand gestures.

Drones with these characteristics, of course, are more expensive because they have more features. The good thing is that we also have these benefits in different price ranges. We can find economic drones with some of the previous features, not as good as the more expensive drones, but with previous hardware versions of those navigation systems.

Distance and flight autonomy.
This is the big difference between cheap and more expensive drones. But let's not expect autonomy of one hour. The average of the best is about 20 minutes, and in this range we also have different prices with higher or lower benefits.

It also influences if the drone is controlled by radio control or by mobile Wi-Fi. In the latter case it will be more limited in distance.

To increase the autonomy, some drones have extra batteries that can be carried and changed at the moment, so as not to have to wait again to charge.

How do you handle a drone?
With a smartphone
More intuitive in its handling. We can use the accelerometer and gyroscope of the smarthphone or tablet to help manage it. In some models we can even draw the route on the screen of the device that the drone must follow on the flight.

Depending on the Wi-Fi connection, there may be more interference and it may take some time to respond to the movements due to the possible low intensity of the Wi-Fi signal. Keep in mind that you use ad-hoc Wi-Fi, that is, from device to device without going through a router.