First of all - Happy New Year!

2019 was a great year, and with the new year bringing ever growing demand for aerial photography, I thought i’d put together a short post running down the best DJI drones for 2020.

Aerial Imagery is such an exciting area of photography, and commercially, it’s growing - fast. In 2019 i used drones for stock-images, stock video, instagram, and even a to shoot a wedding!

Some of you may be a little wary of these little flying cameras; having to control a drone and still think about your shot and settings can seem a bit daunting at first! However, with practice you can soon start getting the shots you want!

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When it comes to which drone to buy, DJI are the market leader, and the obvious choice for most. The Chinese manufacturer have really cornered the market with the best drones available for beginners, right the way through to professional film and cinematographers.

Controlled by a smartphone or tablet app, the drones have a selection of automatic flight modes, taking away the need for you to concentrate on flying, and focus on getting the shots you want!

Fitted with the newest camera technology, better range capabilities (but, please fly in accordance with local laws!) and collision avoidance sensors, drones are becoming more and more appealing to those interested in giving them a try.

I won’t go into too much detail right now about the app, flying controls or picture modes; but focus on which DJI drone maybe suited best to you! So - here it goes…..

Absolute beginner or on a budget?

DJI MAVIC MINI £459 - USA $459 - DE €499

Released towards the end of 2019, the Mavic Mini the newest and now the most compact drone in the DJI range. Don’t let it’s size put you off though - this little bird really packs a punch!

Video shooting at 2.7k (this is better than HD, but comes in just shy of 4K standards), still images are being captured by a 12mp sensor, which means you’re getting iPhone quality pictures.

With a flight-time per battery of almost 30 minutes, this portable drone really is far more capable than its nearest predecessor, the DJI Spark.

Another massive advantage with the Mavic Mini, apart from it’s extreme portability, is it’s weight. The Chinese have been really clever here, making sure that the Mavic Minis take-off weight is exactly 249g. Current (and most likely future) legislation in Europe demands registration and/or (depending on the country) compulsory liability insurance for all drones weighing more than 250g. Nice work DJI!

For the seasoned flyer

DJI Mavic 2 Pro £1,177 - USA $1,469 - DE €1,349

Released in the summer of 2018, the Mavic 2 marked a massive leap forward in the imaging capabilities of the smaller DJI drones.

Still very portable due to it’s foldable design, the Mavic 2 has a take-off weight of just 907g.

On board, you’ll find a 20MP 1 inch sensor from Hasselblad, providing absolutely stunning images packed full of detail!

As is now standard on DJI drones, the camera is attached to a 3-axis gimbal, providing silky smooth video in true 4K resolution!

The camera settings on the Mavic 2 can also be controlled manually, meaning low shutter speed shots in poor light are perfectly possible (see the sample shot from me below). And with 31 minutes of flight time per battery, you’ll have all the time you need to get your shot right!

It’s important to note that the Mavic 2 comes in two flavours. In addition to the 20MP Hasselblad equipped Mavic 2 Pro, DJI also released the Mavic 2 Zoom. Coming in at a very similar price of £1,099, the Zoom does not have the same fancy Swedish sensor of it’s stable mate. However, the 12MP sensor is accompanied by a 2x optical zoom lens, capable of focal lengths between 24 to 48mm. A first for DJI, and a really interesting proposition; especially for those amongst us that shoot more video as opposed to stills.

Going Pro

DJI Phantom 4 Pro £1,999 - USA $1,729 - DE €1,526

Us photographers all like to whip out a big lens. Well, this is the drone equivalent.

The Phantom. It’s become a bit of a design classic, and although the Phantom 4 has been around for a while now, it’s still one of the best bits of kit around. And for the serious photographer, the price is still reasonable.

Equipped with a 20MP 1 inch Sony CMOS sensor, the Phantom provides exceptional still image quality, with video in 4K resolution up to 60fps!

Many of the automated flying modes found on other DJI models aren’t available on the Phantom, so this bird is really most capable in the hands of experienced flyers.

The controller is very different to those supplied with other models. There’s almost as many buttons and dials on it as there are on a DSLR!

Full manual control over ISO, aperture and shutter speed really allows you to get creative with your shooting! To be more specific, the ISO range runs up to 12800, f2.8 maximum aperture and a shutter speed from 8 seconds through to 1/8000 of a second!

Of course, one thing to consider here is obviously portability. Measuring 35cm across (without propellers), and weighing 1.4kg, the Phantom isn’t exactly small.

If you’re buying a drone specifically for real-estate photography - then this is your bird. If you’re a travel photographer, then this thing isn’t going in your carry-on!

All in all, the Phantom is incredible, and remains my drone of choice for 2020!

Other Models

DJI Inspire 2 and DJI Matrice 600

This friends, is where things really start getting hardcore! With prices of £5000 upwards, the Inspire and Matrice are intended for professional use by film crews etc. A choice of 2 cameras are available from DJI for these models, which have interchangeable lenses, making these drones effectively flying DSLRs.

And that’s not all - DJI make bigger and more expensive drone and camera systems for a range of applications - not just limited to cinema, but industrial surveying, agriculture and much more.

DJI Spark

The Spark was DJIs entry level drone which has now been replaced by the Mavic Mini. Featuring a 12MP camera attached to a 2 axis gimbal, the Spark is capable of shooting video in HD. It’s a great drone for beginners, and requires no additional controller - simply fly it directly from your smartphone.

Although finding the Spark new these days isn’t easy, there are plenty of used examples around online costing just a couple of hundred sheets!

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I’m sure i’ll be covering drone related topics much more this year, and most of my work is now heading in that direction. Over the coming months i’ll be sure to post about what accessories (and there are many) are available for the drones mentioned above, and the ones i’ll be trying and testing myself!