Buying a drone has never been easier and with a broad and ever increasing selection available, there’s more than just what drone to buy before you can go out and get one. To help keep you in the loop and know what you’re up against – we’ve created a top 5 things you should know before buying a drone.
1. Where to buy
Where to buy your drone is almost as important as to which one you’re going to be getting your hands on. When it comes to the most general form of advice, your best bet is actually going to be Amazon – no groundbreaking information there then. However, if you’re going to be picking up a model from the line of DJI drones, your best should always be direct from their online shop. With the super quick turnaround from DJI and advancements in drone technology, we’re currently seeing updated tech every few weeks. Buying a drone directly from DJI ensures that you have the very best model for the money at the time of purchase – and why wouldn’t you. DJI – buy direct. Everything else – hit up Amazon or your local hobby store.
2. Learn the rules and respect them
Drones unfortunately don’t have free reign over anything and everything we want to shoot and there’s a list of guidelines that we’d recommend following to make sure that you’re always in the right. We recommend that you visit the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s website to review the rules and regulations of flying a drone in Singapore. Remember, for all commercial purposes where a drone is required, a permit is a must-have, and only valid CAAS Operator Permit holders like AerialPhotography.sg are allowed to apply for permits for commercial drone work.
3. Not all drones are ready to fly
When you’re looking to purchase a drone, you’re likely to see three acronyms pop up on the regular. These are RTF, BNF and ARF.
RTF – Ready to fly
A ready to fly setup is – as expected – mostly assembled with maybe a couple of simple tasks to complete before a flight is permitted. This can range from tightening propellers to charging the battery – nothing out of the ordinary and is relatively pain-free.
BNF – Bind and fly
A bind and fly drone will usually come completely set-up, but without a controller. Controllers can be difficult to bind to the drones so it’s a good idea to check that your controllers that you’re looking at buying will pair up with the drone.
ARF – Almost ready to fly
Almost ready to fly drones are usually found as quadcopter kits. These kits are unlikely to come with a transmitter or receiver and may require some assembly. Some ARF kits will leave out motors, flight controllers or ESCs so it’s important that you know what you’re buying so that you don’t end up with a box full of missing bits.
4. Easy to fly, easy to crash
Although your drones out of the box may be easy to fly, it does not mean that they’re not easy to crash. With more confidence often comes more chance for error and our advice is to play it safe in wide open areas before working on shots in busier areas. If you’re wanting to learn, make sure to watch videos and read tutorials before taking off to make sure you’ve got a good idea of what you’re doing. Good luck and happy piloting!
First off the mark is something that every drone lover should own – a carry case to safely cart around their beloved airbourne friend. Our chosen favorite is the Lowepro DroneGuard Carry Case and comes available in two sizes: CS 300 and CS 400 so you’ll have the option to fit most hobby and some professional drones. With the larger of the two cases fitting the DJI Phantom 1, 2, 4 of 4 as well as the 3DR Solo among others available on the market – the case is a safe bet if you’re unsure of sizing. With extra storage space for the RC/transmitter, blades, props, action video camera, batteries, cables, chargers, mounts and more – the only thing you’ll be asking is ‘where can I get more?’
Next up on our list is less of an accessory and more of a full drone setup for less than £20. The HELIFAR Mini Drone is a great budget toy for any drone lover. Although it may lack in a camera, the drone makes for a great stocking filler with a quadcopter design and easy to use controller meaning that you’ll be having countless hours of fun crashing into every inch of the living room. It may be cheap, but with features such as altitude hold and headless mode, the 6-axis gyro drone can ensure a laugh track for the whole day – deffo worth a punt for the drone lover you know! 
You’ll struggle to get any gift for under a fiver these days, but if you just happen to like bright fluorescent vests (or know someone that might) you’ll be in with a cheap gift and lots of laughs. Available in both orange and yellow, this high-vis vest is the perfect present for any drone photography/cinematography lover and with a surprising amount of practicality – it’s a useful gift too. Now everyone can know who’s in charge of the mini-helicopter in the sky and with sizes from S to 4XL – there’s sure to be one to fit everybody. 
Sticking to theme of cheap and cheerful – you can’t do much better than a comedy mug. Everyone loves a comedy mug and if it’s just that little bit more personal – you can be sure that whoever receives it will brighten your day with a big old smile. Our mug of choice comes in the form of the simple white coffee/tea mug with the ‘I Drone On and On’ text on the front. Perfect for those of us that just don’t know when to stop talking about the subject that we love. For a cost of less than $10 for a dishwasher and microwave safe mug – we’ll struggle to find much else better for the money.