Drone's 2020

[irwe]

I am looking for a mid price (<$1500.00 USD) Drone for shooting Kiteboarding.
Features:
Self Tracking
Range 1 km
Ease of Landing (narrow beach, Wakeboard boat)
Camera ( does not have to be Cinematic quality but OK for YouTube)
Currently on my List
DJI Mini Mavic
SkyDio 2
Autel EVO

Share your thoughts and experience

[gmb13]

The Skydio is the only one with proper self tracking as its tracking the remote unit. However it is only available in the US.

The others only offer visual tracking and that is pretty unreliable and illegal to use in some countries.

The Mavic Mini has no obstacle avoidance sensors, so pretty sketchy to use when self tracking.

The Evo is a great drone, but again the tracking is only visual.

--
Gunnar

[Pera]

I have no experience with drones, but just read a review of the new DJI Mavic Air 2.No link because it is a Norwegian website. Very interesting, so I would recommend you check this one.

[jorg]

you should add Staaker to the list. I believe a forum member uses it and from the info, I gathered it is the best drone available for tracking and action sports. The downside is the company is sold and their focus has shifted to the corporate side of the business. Not much love for the consumer market.
https://staaker.com

[POACHER]

I've been watching and reading on drones for a few years now. It's always been on my list to get one, but the non-waterproof is a deal breaker. Not just for kiting but for any sports I do. (mtb, snowboard, fishing, etc.) All scenarios I've ruined phones just by having them along doing these sports. Deep 6'ing a $2k drone would make my head explode. So I know about the Swell Pro, but dig deep and the company is really flaky and not customer supportive. Plus the drone is quite crude compared to many other offerings.

Mavic Air 2 just released and is interesting. Under a grand and bigger sensor, longer flight time, new remote, new Oculus connection, and more object sensors. A friend of mine has the OG Air and it's been good. So we'll see. Maybe I just need to get one to get my feet wet.
(Har!)

That Staaker drone..........that's going to be a tough sell. No camera, no obstacle avoidance and no ability to fly manually other than using the tracker controls? For a $1,000???
hard pass.

[Toby]

Just read about the new DJI Mavic Air 2.

Check it out...sounds good !

[gmb13]

you should add Staaker to the list. I believe a forum member uses it and from the info, I gathered it is the best drone available for tracking and action sports. The downside is the company is sold and their focus has shifted to the corporate side of the business. Not much love for the consumer market.
https://staaker.com

Yes. If you can find one second hand, it is a great drone. I am super happy with mine. However you cannot buy them new anymore since the company way bought up.

THis video was shot with the Staaker



--
Gunnar

[Leon van Bergen]

The answer to that question is simple with your budget, buy a DJI. Market leader for years and has by far the best features.
Selling value is very good for DJI and with the orhers very bad.

[BarraGrande]

Used a Mavic Pro (1st gen) in Brazil last year. Worked great. Amazing shots.
BUT: you need someone on the beach to fly the drone while you are on the water.
forget about automated tracking. Technology is not there yet. Especially in high winds! you need to activate sports mode to get up to max speed, which is needed to fly upwind in 20+ kts. Sport Mode disables all smart tracking, obstacle avoidance features.

The good news, it’s easy to teach someone to fly the drone.

[Kitemenn]

How well do these drones manage the winds we kite in? e.g. the DJI Mini or Air 2 like suggested above. They say max around 30km/hour that feels like the speed I start kiting in. Can they really not handle more?

Anybody who's got some experience with them?