Here is a small opportunity to see some drones, and get to know me, Jonathan. I’ve been piecing together the best drone lists here on Drone Rush for a while now, and if you’ve seen a few of them, you have an idea what my passion for flight is all about, but if you are new, welcome, here are the drones that I want in my personal fleet.
There are very few drones that I do not want to have at my disposal at any given time, if I have to tell the truth, I just like them all. There are a few quadcopters and other multi-rotor that stand out for me, though, and I get to share them with you frequently already, but let’s be absolutely clear, these are my favorite.
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Jonathan FeistWhy trust Drone Rush?
I’ve been a fan of flight since a young age; while I’ve had few opportunities at the helm of manned aircraft, the hours on my fleet of drones continue to grow. I enjoy putting cameras into the sky, silky smooth aerial imagery makes me happy. My goal is to help all pilots enjoy flight legally and safely.
My favorite drones
What I love most about any given drone is how well it flies. I’m not big on the RC airplane hobby, but that’s the spirit that drives me, a legitimate passion for flight. Closely behind that passion is putting a camera into the sky. Aerial photography is a fantastic art, and there are many fun videos to be had. To this end, you’ll notice that most of my favorite drones are ones that offer a stabilized camera experience, with higher-end cameras and a livestreaming video to remote, or headset.
DJI Air 2S: What I wish the Mavic Pro was
The DJI Air 2S is my kind of drone! Rocking a 20MP camera with 1-inch sensor and the ability to capture up to 5.4K video, this folding quadcopter is everything I wanted from a consumer drone. Again, the camera does not keep up with professional drones, but at half the size and price, it’s hard to beat the Air 2S.
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DJI FPV: Powerful camera drone
The DJI FPV is monstrously fun to fly. It combines the thrill of high-speed drone racing with the stability of a GPS-enabled camera drone. The result is a drone that isn’t the best in either market, but is just the right combination for most pilots. I also really enjoy using the Motion Controller to fly the aircraft, it takes a bit to wrap your mind around the controls, but is reasonably intuitive and a lot of fun.
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DJI Inspire 2: Highly capable professional camera drone
The DJI Inspire 2 is the kind of drone that intimidates many pilots. I love it. It’s not a huge drone, but you would not want to strap this to your backpack for a casual hike, the last time I flew, it took three of us to carry the drone, remotes and all the accessories and gear we needed for a successful aerial video shoot.
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DJI Mini 2: Most affordable 4K drone
The DJI Mini 2 is a must-have for many pilots. Simply put, this is the best camera drone you can buy for under $500, and one of the only in that price range to offer a 3-axis stabilized 4K camera. Best of all, the drone is light enough to avoid registration with the FAA, and small enough to easily toss in my backpack when I hit the trail.
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Yuneec Typhoon H3: Hexacopter pro camera drone
The Yuneec Typhoon H3 is the culmination of years for hexacopter experience from Yuneec, which is to say that it’s a powerful, reliable, and stable aircraft. This iteration if Typhoon happens to pack a high-end camera built in partnership with Leica.
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My short list of favorite drones tells such a small part of my story. My history with quadcopters began with the DJI Mavic Pro back in 2016, it was all RC helicopters and airplanes before that, with a history of paper airplanes in my youth. Drones like the UVify OOri, Hubsan H111, Hubsan H502S Desire, DJI Mavic Mini, and DJI Mavic 2 Zoom are frequent flyers in my world. The Mavic 2 Pro also remains one of the best consumer drones on the market, and a personal favorite, but it and many others are great to have, but I wouldn’t buy them today, not with newer drones available or coming soon.
Drones that are not in my personal inventory, but I’d love to add, are the DJI Matrice 300 series, 200 series, Yuneec Typhoon H Plus, and the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. I still have a very fond place in my memory for the DJI Mavic Pro, but it’s been a long time since it’s powered up. I should change that.
What is your favorite drone?
Frequently Asked Questions
I do like racing drones, but they do not hold a large place in my life. Partly, it is a hassle to set up a racing track in my life right now. My house is not conducive to a worthy indoor course, my yard is too small to be of use, and the closest organized league is a long drive. I do prefer putting a camera into the sky, though, so all of those excuses are just that, excuses.
A great question. First and foremost, I never use my main daily-driver phone to fly my drones. I fly safely and legally, but if, for some reason, law enforcement exercises their right to impound my drone, that includes impounding the controller and anything attached to it. So I always use a secondary phone or tablet to fly my drones. I am an avid and passionate Android user, so I reach for my LG V40, Sony Xperia Z2 Compact, Google Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 4 XL, or Huawei MediaPad X2 first. If none of those are working well, I grab an iPhone 7. Of course, I always test Android and iOS when I do a review, but I’m an Android-first kind of guy.
In the industry of small technology news and reviews, it is important to keep old tech around for future content needs. More than once I would have sold off the DJI Spark, it is not my favorite drone, but it became invaluable for a comparison with the DJI Mavic Mini and a few other mini drones over the years. In the same way, as long as there is a Mavic 2 series drone on hand, the original Mavic Pro is redundant. That said, the Mavic Pro holds sentimental value for me, so it’ll stick around.
For you at home, I recommend owning as few drones as you actually need. Particularly if you are in the habit of buying the newest machines, consider selling off an older unit as soon as you don’t need it, get the most money from it you can. When I say “need,” I totally mean “want.” If a drone makes you happy, keep it, but any drone that’s just collecting dust is an opportunity to introduce a new pilot to our hobby.
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