Buying a drone is a big investment, and you want to make sure that all your needs are ticked off with whatever you choose. There’s a variety of considerations you want to have when making this decision, and because there are so many different features and specifications, it can be hard to narrow down what’s most important!
This guide will help you choose a drone for photography or videography on a budget by listing the priorities you should be thinking of. We’ll omit training or beginner drones without a decent camera so that you can get right to work.
Image quality
If you’re posting your work primarily on social media, you can safely choose a lower-cost drone like the DJI Spark. Its 1080p video and 12MP camera are more than sufficient for travel footage and selfies.
If you’re more particular about image quality though, you might find it worth it to get a Mavic Air, with its 4K video and improved image quality.
Portability
In 2018, almost all the best budget drones are either tiny or fold up into a tiny size. The only concern for you then becomes – how portable do you want them to be? The DJI Spark and Mavic Air are tiny by themselves and you could stuff them into a pocket if you were so inclined. The Mavic Pro is bigger, but still backpack-friendly with the appropriate case.
An exception would be if you plan on buying older Phantom 3 or 4 series drones on the cheap. These are pretty big and require a thick case to carry around.
Ease of use
Buying an older, cheaper drone is a tempting proposition on a budget, but you may find it lacking the more advanced intelligent modes and obstacle avoidance of newer drones. Read up on these features and consider whether you’d use them in your work.
Indoors or outdoors
Most budget or midrange camera drones feature GPS stabilization outdoors, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get a stable shot out in the open, no matter what you buy.
However, not all drones have the vision positioning sensors necessary for indoor flight. The DJI Spark and Mavic series have this technology, so you can capture footage in a church or a mall if this is a need for you. The older Phantom 3 Standard lacks it, so it’s highly inadvisable to fly it indoors.
You should also consider the size and noise of your drone. A smaller drone would be more “acceptable” to fly indoors than a larger one.
Mason Seifert 
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