this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
14 points (100.0% liked)
DRONES
336 readers
4 users here now
This is a community for drone and UAV related conversation. 107, DJI, Autel, photos, videos, and most of post types are welcomed.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
If you're looking for "camera" drones (not DIY acrobatic or racing drones), DJI is unfortunately the only real option these days. The Neo is around $300 without the controller. Don't expect stellar performance in wind, though.
Autel, Parrot, and Skydio have all moved out of consumer segments into professional, industrial, and governmental.
I know my way around electronics, programming and have a shitload of tools so diy is an option......
Ok, cool. That's more my speed.
If you want to build a camera platform, a build with Ardupilot software or maybe iNav are your best options. They have very specific hardware requirements, though. Ardupilot has pretty exhaustive documentation, though.
If you want to get into racing or acrobatics, you can get either build an FPV quad from parts, or buy a "bind-n-fly" (BNF) -- Joshua Bardwell on Youtube is probably the place to start learning. You can get a tiny quad, called a tiny whoop, to fly around inside the house. If you want to do non-FPV, you basically just build an FPV quad but ignore the video system.
Be warned, DIY drones is a huge hobby.