Inexpensive drones?

[Dixer]

Anything under $300 worth buying that can withstand 15-20 mph winds?

 

[2dub]

My son is asking me for the EXO Drone for his birthday. I don't know much about the specs but since I googled it I don't stop seeing ads for them.

 

[RoarinRow]

It's not under $300 but the new DJI Mavic Mini 2 can withstand 17-26 mph winds - Buy DJI Mini 2 - DJI Store

I have the Mavic Mini 1, which I am happy with. It's $399.

 

[MegaBug]

+1 on the Mavic Mini. Much more capable than it's cost would lead you to believe, and it's 249 gram weight keeps it under the limit for many of the regs. It's a blast to fly and is tiny to stow. The 25 minute flight endurance is great but go for the kit with the 3 batteries.

 

[John Bishop]

I've read that the mini's gps system won't let it fly in areas that one is not supposed to fly a drone anyway. I could see this being frustrating if one is on the edge of a national park. Can any of you that have one give some feedback on this?

I almost bought one at Costco back in November, but the package came with only a silly stand as a charger. The stand/ charger had horrible reviews as very slow. To buy a regular charger and a few other items that didn't come in the kit made the deal not worth it to me.

 

[RoarinRow]

I've read that the mini's gps system won't let it fly in areas that one is not supposed to fly a drone anyway. I could see this being frustrating if one is on the edge of a national park. Can any of you that have one give some feedback on this?

I almost bought one at Costco back in November, but the package came with only a silly stand as a charger. The stand/ charger had horrible reviews as very slow. To buy a regular charger and a few other items that didn't come in the kit made the deal not worth it to me.

I have not heard of that one unless there was a software update that included that feature.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I have been doing research on drones alot this past month since they are going to be in use for my business. The under 300 class drone has very poor image quality. I would step it up a bit and get a dji. I am going to be using Autel drones for my business. They are a couple of grand each and are larger than the dji mavic mini.

 

[Mustang03]

I've read that the mini's gps system won't let it fly in areas that one is not supposed to fly a drone anyway. I could see this being frustrating if one is on the edge of a national park. Can any of you that have one give some feedback on this?

I almost bought one at Costco back in November, but the package came with only a silly stand as a charger. The stand/ charger had horrible reviews as very slow. To buy a regular charger and a few other items that didn't come in the kit made the deal not worth it to me.

If you want information on that question and any others, here's a good resource: DJI Mavic Drone Forum (mavicpilots.com) I fly a DJI Mavic Air 2 and while the software will alert me to possible issues with no-fly areas, it permits an override and takeoff. I have not yet attempted to fly "next to" a national park, so can't speak to that. I have flown right on the boundary of a wilderness area -- which is another absolute no-fly zone -- and had no issues during takeoff. As to the original question, I've heard the imaging system on the mini is pretty good for it's cost. The Mavic Air 2 is downright great.

 

[UgotWheelz]

I have a DJI as well I have not used it bought it used from a pro wildlife photographer that was having financial difficulties during Covid. I would need to dig it out but I am sure it is a Mini and he said that the image quality was great. I know Matt at Jayoe Nation use a DJI Mavic Air and his video is amazing.

 

[CG87]

Ok. It finally warmed up a bit for a 3 day offroad camp in the back country. Just got the dji mini 2 fly more kit. This thing is pretty cool. Big seller for me is under the 250 g, so no registration. Yes, certain areas you can't launch. I'm near Indian Springs NV, plenty of no fly zones. Military areas and prisons. Area -51 and alien crash sites are off limits as well. I use a garmin glo 2 for offroad Nav, but I learned the drone takes advantage of it too. 10km range operates out of line of sight, 2.4 and 5 ghz dual band signal...penetration and range. 27 sats linked. 4k footage and about a 20 min flight time. I sometimes go into areas in the desert and there are un marked trails I use Gaia pro, and Locus comes in handy. But, I can launch the drone and pathfind worthy trails in minutes. The bigger more expensive mavic 2 is real nice with the auto tracking, but I think I can train my dog to either drive or fly the drone at some point. The mini 2 holds up to some good winds I was getting 30mph gusts and on sport mode it might of pushed it 10 inches or so. Bad ass little drone. There are coverages offered incase of crashes, best buy has one and dji has some.