Looking for the best beginners quadcopter? Whether you plan on buying a drone for professional use or a hobby, there’s never been a better time than now.
Many new RC flyers don’t want to spend a lot of money on their first drone. Instead, they’d rather buy something cheap to practice on.
Then, once they become more comfortable behind the controls, they can upgrade to a more expensive model. In this post, I want to show you the best beginner quadcopters you can buy.
The truth that makes now the best time to get a drone is that even a cheap or affordable quadcopter for beginner can already have strong built-in components. For example, many drones now are equipped with 4k cameras.
Another astonishing thing about the drones in the market now is that they are designed to be user-friendly. Even without prior experience, one can still pilot a drone without an extreme amount of difficulty.
However, before making a purchase, it is crucial that you first know the factors that you need to consider.
There are several and knowing them all can significantly help you in pinpointing the drone ideal for your use. We’ll also guide you through a list of the best quadcopter for beginners later in this article.
Factors to Consider Before Making the Purchase
Purpose
Different drones are designed for a particular purpose. If you’re looking for the best quadcopter for beginners, you begin with this.
There are racing drones, drones for freestyling and drones for taking incredible aerial cinematography and photography. That’s just even scratching the surface.
Racing drones, for example, can be categorized based on the features they can support. Some users or pilots are into first-person view or FPV flying. Drones are limited to the extent of telemetry they can help — some more than others.
You also have to consider if you are planning to get serious with drone flying and stay with it for a long time or not. This is because more than the drone, this will also affect the type of radio you will want to use.
Radios are important because unlike the drone, they will be with you for a very long time. Easily over five years. Radios have their distinct design. The type of grip, number of channels, switches knobs and more are significant to consider as you grow as a pilot.
If you plan on getting serious, you would want a radio that has at least decent model memory and number of channels. A radio can control more than just one drone, some over 60 and the number of channels will allow you to become a more versatile pilot.
It is also important to note that racing drones are more affordable than those for taking professional quality aerial shots. This is because drones for cinematography have a lot more complex features such as sensors and different modes ideal for videography and photography.
If you want to have fun and you don’t have a plan of getting into flying drones seriously, RTF drones can be the best for you. RTF stands for ready to fly. The package you purchase already has everything you will ever need.
It can easily be the best quadcopter for beginners because out of the box; you can already fly it without having to do anything more.
In general, there are four types of drones:
-RTF (ready to fly)
-BNF (bind to fly)
-ARF (almost ready to fly)
-PNP (plug-n-fly)
BNF or bind to fly means that you get a complete quadcopter or drone. However, you still need a controller to bind it to. Meanwhile, ARF means that you get a drone that isn’t in one piece. It requires a bit of assembly and may or may not come with a controller.
Lastly, the plug-n-play already comes with everything except the receiver battery and transmitter. There are pros and cons with each. With building your drone, you can save up more money but making the drones takes a lot of time and learning.
However, you’ll be able to know everything from the very foundation of the drone. This is advantageous if you need to make repairs, replacements or modifications. With drones you can fly out of the box, they can cost you more money but won’t cost you more time to build.
Camera drones can still be very fast, agile and versatile but for their price, it’s not wise to have them for racing. They are just not designed for that. Racing drones and camera drones have very different specifications. Racing drones are smaller and lighter.
Meanwhile, camera drones are more prominent, more substantial but can take high-quality videos. Of course, there’s more to it than just those. There are different unique features of both such as latency and auto-follow.
The bottom line is, when choosing a beginners quadcopter, know what you’ll need the drone for. Get a racing drone for racing and a camera drone for cinematography and photography. Don’t take one to do the job of the other.
Budget
The price range of drones varies greatly. There are those that are only around $10, and there are those that are even over $20,000.
Ultimately, regardless of purpose, a budget can be your most significant determinant in getting a drone.
In the world of drone flying, you always get what you paid for. Those that are expensive are so for many reasons. However, cheap drones don’t always mean that they are dangerous products.
If you don’t have any experience yet with flying drones, it can be ideal for you to start with an affordable beginners quadcopter to practice on. Although there are plenty of very expensive drones that can still be an excellent quadcopter for beginners.
Drones will crash especially so if you are a beginner. You can then always upgrade to the drone you want when you get the hang of piloting them.
However, especially for drones manufactured for taking aerial shots, you can directly go for those that are costly if your budget allows it. Drones for cinematography have become so easy to use and even have different autopilot modes.
They have smart sensors for obstacles and other distinct features to make them very user-friendly. Camera drones can be a great beginners quadcopter but don’t go for them if you are in it for racing.
The Best Quadcopter for Beginners
Now that you know a few basics about quadcopters, it’s time for the list of the best quadcopters for beginners we’ve prepared for you.
Unlike other lists you may find elsewhere on the internet, we’ve prepared two lists because we profoundly believe that there should be a different set for each type of drones namely; racing and stunt drones and camera drones.
We combined the racing and stunt drones in one list. This is because many racing drones can also be used for freestyle. Though stunt drones are not ideal for racing, we will specify if they are indeed purely for acrobatics.
It just wouldn’t be right to mix the two in only one list as both have very different specifications and purpose. Hopefully, you’ll find the ideal beginners quadcopter for you in one of our lists.
The Best Racing and Stunt Drones
Last update on 2023-03-14
Most of the drones here are under $400 with some even lower than $200. We’ve made it this way as it’s the price range ideal to those who are just planning to start in doing the hobby.
Although affordable, the drones perform excellently. Cheap but spectacular just how a quadcopter for beginner should be.
Some are more expensive but are worth every penny. If you would like more of a challenge, you can go to the more powerful drones.
If you wish to have an easy start, go for drones that are not too overwhelming. Some drones here make a good beginners quadcopter because they have options to change between modes to decrease or increase speed or power.
Bfight 210
The Bfight 210 can be an excellent beginners quadcopter not only for its speed but at its price point; it’s got many features that a lot doesn’t have.
To start, it’s very compact, lightweight and it has independent arms which makes them easier to replace.
Its frame is made of 3K carbon fiber and its got F2205 2300KV motors. It has the Gemfan 5152 for propellers, HS1177 for the camera, changeable VTX and OMNIBUS F3 Pro its flight controller.
Another feature that separates this from the rest of the quadcopters at its price range is the OSD or on-screen display.
OSD give you much information such as battery level, how long have you been flying and other more details.
A lot of other quadcopters at its price range doesn’t have OSD, and it’s an important feature to have when racing so you’ll know just how much further your quadcopter can go. The Bfight 210 also supports FPV.
Aside from racing, it’s also a great beginners quadcopter for freestyling. Perhaps the only downfall of this drone is the vulnerability of its camera. Its camera is sticking out just a bit.
EMAX Hawk 5
The EMAX Hawk 5 is more costly than the Bfight 210. However, everything that the drone has is well worth the price. It’s a BNF drone which means the drone is good to go right after you bind it to a controller.
The frame of the Hawk 5 is made of aerospace grade carbon fiber frame with optimized low drag. Each of its arms is independent and has reinforced top plate braces.
Its equipped with a small latency camera and has an outstanding sensor. It’s lightweight weighing only 270 grams.
The Hawk 5 is very popular as all its components are high-quality and it can compete with quadcopters that are even double its price. When you fly the Hawk 5, there’s little to no oscillation
It has very powerful motors, the EMAX LS2206 2300kv motors. Paired with Avan Flow 5 inch propellers, it can fly incredibly fast and can even maintain a 100m per hour speed. It’s got good control, accuracy, and efficiency.
Another characteristic that can be noticed with the Hawk 5 is that it flies quieter than many other quadcopters. For the camera, it employs a Foxeer Arrow Micro v2 600TVL CCD camera. It has a stackable Omnibus F4 flight controller and the FrSky XM + receiver.
Because it flies so smoothly and it has excellent control, it’s also a great beginners quadcopter for doing aerial acrobatics or freestyling. Beginners have to be extra careful though as it’s got powerful acceleration.
HGLRC Batman220
Not the caped crusader but might be better. The Batman220 is a PNP drone that already has excellent components out of the box.
It’s relatively lightweight weighing 306 grams. It’s got well-thought-out features including electronics systems which are very integrated.
It has a 220mm carbon fiber frame, uses the Airbus F40SD flight control board and has the HGLRC GTX585 VTX FPV transmitter. It has one of the best cameras in the market, the HGLRC XjB-ELF camera.
A good thing to note about this quadcopter is that it’s very well-made. All the soldering are done neatly though do note as well that the motors are reversed. Instead of self-locking nuts, the HGLRC Batman220 makes use of threaded nuts which goes well with the design of its frame.
It has very powerful motors making use of the HGLRC HF2306 2450V 4-5S motors. The design of this quadcopter is impeccable. At the arm ends, it has a 3-screw lock system which is better than the 2-screw lock system negating a weak break point.
It’s also a very versatile drone able to fly in 4s, 5s and even 6s as well. With Batman, there’s no oscillation, and it turns hard and quick. It’s got great speed, excellent control, and outstanding precision.
Although quite pricey, it’s a great beginners quadcopter to grow into. Having the capability of running in 4s, 5s, and 6s, it separates itself from the others. It’s suitable for beginners because even though it’s a very powerful drone, it is well behaved.
With proper control, a beginner can significantly benefit from this drone. On 5s, it begins to reach over 100 miles per hour. The Batman has become a very popular drone because of all its goodness.
Fuuribee Fuuton 200
The Fuuton is a 200mm quadcopter. Right out of the box, the Fuuton 200 maneuvers well. It’s quiet, it’s powerful and is equipped with functional components. It has a 2.5mm lens camera which is great for FPV.
Unlike smaller lenses, the 2.5mm lets the pilot have a more comprehensive view of being able to see ghost branches that the drone may crash into. Another great thing about its camera is that it can tilt up to almost 90 degrees upward.
Its frame is made of 3K carbon fiber having a true X configuration. The carbon fiber frame is 4mm thick contributing some weight through the drone still weighs only approximately 268 grams.
The ends of each arm have designs that protrude to help absorb impact enabling each motor to have less damage during a crash.
At its bottom, it has an anti-slip pad for the battery, and it also has a buzzer to make it easier to locate the drone if in case you lose it.
It has much room but only has one main board that is BetaFlight ready. It is equipped with 2205 2500KV motors and 5040-3 propellers. The propellers provided are unbranded. However, they still work excellently.
Overall, the Fuuribee Fuuton has excellent control, speed and won’t be overwhelming for a beginner. A good beginners quadcopter to start with.
Air Hogs Helix X4
The Air Hogs Helix X4 is a stunt quadcopter. It is best used indoors as its foam body can be easily influenced by the wind. It weighs only 65 grams. However, it’s great for beginners because this drone is durable.
It is very affordable but is missing many features that other drones mentioned previously have. For one, it doesn’t have a camera. It also doesn’t have altitude hold, removable battery, and headless mode.
However, it does have modes for switching between low and high rates. Another trait that makes this unique from the ones mentioned earlier is that the Helix X4 has ducted fans instead of open propellers.
The ducted fans are better with providing airflow and wind resistance. However, this benefit is canceled out because the Helix X4 is just too light. If you use the Helix X4 outdoors, it won’t be able to stand even the lightest breeze.
A good advantage of the foam body though is that it can stand bumps and crashes. Of course, the foam can still break, so it’s always best to still be careful. The drone has a USB charging cable and takes only around an hour to charge.
The quick charging time is excellent as it can allow you to do more enabling you to learn faster. The drone does produce a fair amount of noise.
It is stable, very easy to control and has the right amount of power and speed for indoor use. If you want a beginners quadcopter that isn’t overwhelming, this is an ideal drone for you.
Best Quadcopter with Camera for Beginners
Last update on 2023-03-14
As mentioned earlier, drones for taking aerial cinematography and photography are more expensive than racing drones or stunt drones. There’s just so much technology compressed in a quadcopter.
Some drones on this list are very cheap. However, some are also very expensive. Again, just because drones are costly doesn’t mean they can’t be a good beginners quadcopter. Here’s the list of the best quadcopter with camera for beginners.
1. Syma X5C
The Syma X5C is one of the best quadcopter with camera for beginners and is very popular for its ease of use. It’s also well-known for its camera that can film in HD at 720p. For a drone at its price point, it makes an excellent deal.
Especially when wanting to get better at taking aerial cinematography or photography, this is a perfect drone to have. Aside from the drone, its battery is also quite cheap and can be used by other drones as well. The camera of the Syma X5C is right below it.
The drone is great for both indoors and outdoors. You can change between modes of high and low speed. One distinct feature of this drone is that it has removable propeller or blade protectors and landing gears.
They help greatly with crashes and bumps. The drown can be flown for up to 7 minutes and charging times is around 100 minutes through USB charging.
The drone is very easy to control and can be also be used to learn stunt flying and racing. Perhaps this might be the beginners quadcopter that you are looking for since it can be very flexible.
The Syma X5C has good flashing lights which is great when using the drone at night. Its weight is also decent enough to handle the wind. If you don’t mind having a beginners quadcopter that can’t record at 1080 or 4k resolution, this is ideal.
2. DJI Spark
The DJI Spark is a beautiful product if you’re after quality cinematography and photography while still having the privilege of incredible portability. The DJI Spark is a very small beginners quadcopter, probably smaller than the phone you are using.
It is only 143x143x55 in size. Although very small, it has a flight time of 16 minutes. It can go as fast as 50kmh and can be flown using a controller or your smartphone. With the box are propeller guards who are great for beginners as it helps protect the drone.
It’s small but can handle itself well outdoors. The drone can record HD videos in 1080p at 30fps. It’s straightforward to control, has gesture controls and it also has sensors to avoid it from crashing into obstacles.
It can be used indoors and outdoors. It has excellent range, sports mode option and a return to home feature. For casual use, it has everything you’ll need.
A downside of the Spark is its 2-axis gimbal. Its limitation is relatively noticeable. It also lacks advanced video settings. However, do keep in mind that the DJI Spark is not meant for professionals but beginners and hobbyists.
It’s not too expensive or too cheap and is great if you want a beginners quadcopter that can record in HD. It’s portability, ease of use and HD camera at its price makes it one of the best quadcopter with camera for beginners.
3. Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k
For its price point, you can get nothing better than the Xiaomi Drone 4k. As the name implies, it can record HD videos in 4k at 60fps. If you want a beginners quadcopter that has the 4k capability, nothing is cheaper than this one.
For the features, it can take off and land on its own. You can set up a destination for it, plan routes and it also has an automatic return. It’s got a premium white and gold look to it as well as its controller.
The drone can be controlled through your phone or the controller. It has good range, has a 3-axis gimbal, the camera produces quality videos and photos and the camera even has a fan for it to stay cool.
The battery is easy to remove, place or replace. The drone has a battery compartment that you can slide the battery into. There are also LED lights that let you know of battery levels. You will need a wifi connection though to install the firmware for the drone.
The drone can hold its altitude, very responsive and is very easy to use. It’s great for beginners and is also great if you want a drone that can record in 4k HD but at a tight budget.
An unusual feature about the Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k is that its gimbal is removable. This means that if you happen to crash the drone and the camera got destroyed, you can remove the gimbal and replace it with a new one.
That is something that a lot of other drones don’t have. Even drones twice or thrice the price of the Xiaomi drone or even more doesn’t have that feature and when their camera gets destroyed, the whole thing needs to be repaired or replaced.
The drone is also very easy to deploy and keep. It has quick-release propellers, and the landing gear can be easily folded.
This is a very reliable drone and is gaining popularity because of its capability of recording 4k videos at a price way lower than those that also can. Without a doubt, the Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k is one of the best quadcopter with camera for beginners.
With the Mavic Pro 2, you can adjust the aperture between f/2.8 and f/11. It also has the Active Track 2.0 which has explicit recognition, trajectory prediction, fast tracking, and obstacle avoidance.
It’s expensive, but if you want the best shots and have the budget for it, the Mavic Pro 2 makes an awesome beginners quadcopter. It has a powerful flight platform, great camera system, is intelligent and excellent for both beginners and professionals.
4. DJI Phantom 4 Pro
You can’t have the best camera drone list without including the DJI Phantom. There is the DJI Phantom, Phantom 2, Phantom 3 and DJI Phantom 4. Now, there’s also the DJI Phantom 4 Pro.
We’ve decided to have the 4 Pro on the list because as of this writing, it’s the best one among all of them. It could be the best quadcopter with a camera for beginners that can potentially be the one you are looking for.
If you would want to get your hands on a Phantom, sure, you can purchase one of the older versions. However, the Phantom 4 Pro is much more superior and inevitably, you will want to upgrade an inferior drone to a superior one.
So, why not just get the best one? The budget may be an issue, but there’s not an ocean-wide gap between the Phantom 4 and the Phantom 4 Pro. Let’s stick with the comparison of the two.
Because between just them, there is already a humongous gap between their specifications. If you want to know more about the previous Phantoms, they are easy to search on the internet. Though we have already told you, they are inferior to the DJI Phantom 4 Pro.
Even if you’re just a beginner, there’s nothing wrong with getting the best version immediately. You’ll also have no regrets with the Phantom 4 Pro.
The Phantom 4 Pro has a tap to fly option. It also has active tracking that lets the drone follow a selected object or person. It also has the sports mode which allows it to fly up to 45 miles per hour. This is very useful when tracking vehicles.
You can control the drone with your smartphone, tablet or a controller. It also has a return to home function so, with just one command, the drone will get back to you automatically. It now has four sensors for its vision positioning system compared to its previous that had had only 2.
What makes the Phantom 4 Pro great for beginners is that it’s straightforward to fly even having options to let the drone take off or land on its own. It can withstand and easily maintain stability against wind speeds of up 30mph.
Its 3-axis gimbal works perfectly in creating solid and steady cinematography. Even when doing a timelapse, it works very well. The drone is not waterproof though so be sure not to expose it to rain.
Moving on to its camera, the Phantom 4 Pro can record Cinema 4k videos at 60fps in 100mbps. The 100mbps creates a vast difference between the Phantom 4 and the Phantom 4 Pro. With the remote controller, it now has a range of 4.3 m to 7 km.
Perhaps the only downside of the Phantom Pro is its portability and that it needs to be set up before flying. Although it now has quick release propellers, you’ll still need to keep it in a case.
It’s also not a small drone, but all its goodness makes up for it. It’s a powerful tool but easy enough to use to be a good beginners quadcopter. One of the best quadcopter with camera for beginners.
5. UDI U818A
Another great quadcopter for beginners is the UDI U818A. Of all the models on this list, the U818A is one of the toughest.
Each of its four propellers are completely enclosed by a tough plastic shield. This means the propellers will be less likely to break during a crash.
Like the X5C, the U818A comes with a camera and has an average flight time of about 7 minutes. Newbie drone flyers will love the “single-button flip” feature on this drone.
Simply press the button on your transmitter and the drone will automatically perform a 360-degree flip!
6. Air Hogs Helix X4
The reason I recommend this drone for beginners is because it’s super-durable. As a beginner, you’ll probably be doing a lot of crashing, so you’ll need something that won’t break. The Helix X4 is very difficult to break. That’s because all the propellers and internal parts are surrounded by foam.
You can literally crash the X4 into rocks, pavement, or tress and it will keep on flying. It’s not invincible (no drone is), but it’s one of the most durable models a beginner can buy. The best part? It won’t break the bank. Check it out and you won’t be disappointed.
7. Cheerson CX-10
Don’t let its small size fool you- the Cheerson CX-10 is very fun to fly. In fact, it’s one of the first RC quadcopters I ever owned. The CX-10 is an example of a mini-quadcopter, meaning it’s quite small (about the size of the palm of your hand).
It has a flight time of about 4 minutes, is capable of 360-degree flips, and can be charged in about 30 minutes. The reason it’s one of the best beginner quadcopters is because it’s so cheap.
If you break it, you won’t be out very much money. If you’re a new fly who’s intimidated to fly larger models, then start with the CX-10.
8. Syma X5SW
The Syma X5SW is made by the same company that brought you the X5C. The major difference is that the X5SW is capable of FPV flight. For anyone who doesn’t know, “FPV” stands for “First Person Viewing”.
This is basically when you’re able to see what your drone’s camera sees in real time. For the X5SW, the display is your smartphone.
Simply download the Syma app, connect it to your drone, and you’re ready to fly! Most FPV quadcopters can easily cost over one thousand dollars, but the X5SW will only cost you a fraction of that.
9. Hubsan X4 H107L
Looking for a beginner quadcopter that’s easy to fly, cheap, and durable? If so, look no further than the Hubsan X4 H107L.
Without the battery, it weighs around 28 grams. For this reason, it’s not suitable for flying in windy conditions. Its lightweight design has some advantages, too.
The main one is that you can fly the drone very aggressively (i.e. change directions very quickly, etc.). Depending on how aggressively you fly this beginner drone, the H107L has a flight time of about 7 minutes.
Also included in the box is a transmitter, extra propellers, a USB charging cable (charge from your laptop!), and an owner’s manual.
10. Hubsan X4 H107D
A close cousin to the H107L is the Hubsan X4 H107D. In my opinion, the H107D is better because it comes with a camera that’s capable of FPV flying.
The FPV display is a 4.3-inch viewing monitor that’s built into the transmitter itself. While this quadcopter isn’t the most durable out there, it can take some hits.
For example, I’ve crashed mine into pavement multiple times and it still flies like champ. Weighing in at about 35 grams, be careful about flying it in windy conditions. It also has two pairs of LED lights than make it easier to fly at night.
11. Proto X
The Proto X is one of the smallest quadcopters in the world. Due to its small size, it’s able to zip through the air effortlessly.
As a beginner, you’re going to love it. Not only does the Proto X fly quickly, but it also has a cool design. It’s safe enough to fly indoors, which is a huge bonus.
The Proto X has a flight time of about 4-7 minutes, charges up to maximum capacity in 30 minutes, and, most importantly, won’t break the bank. If you want to hone your skills on something cheap, then this is one of the best models to do it with.
12. Cheerson CX-10C
The CX-10 has essentially all the same features as the standard CX-10. The major difference is that the CX-10C comes with a camera! That’s right- this tiny drone actually has a camera on the end of it that’s capable of recording.
Needless to say, I had to include it in this list of best beginner quadcopter models. The only downside to the added camera is that the flight time is a bit lower than the standard CX-10.
Specifically, the CX-10C has an average flight time (when recording) of about 3 minutes, whereas the standard CX-10 has a flight time of about 4-5 minutes. Not a huge difference, but it is something to think about.
13. Syma X8C
Finally, we have the Syma X8C. Of all the beginner drones on this list, the X8C is the largest. Due to its large size, it’s capable of withstanding the wind quite well.
Even if you’re flying in windy conditions, the drone should be able to maintain its position in the air. This high-flyer comes with a camera and has an impressive flight time of about 12 minutes.
For the price tag, that’s great. The only potential downside is that it has a charging time of about 2 hours. However, that’s not a big deal considering that you can simply buy extra batteries.
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Conclusion
I hope you found this guide useful. Remember- just because you’re a beginner, that doesn’t mean you can’t fly expensive models like the DJI Mavic Pro or Phantom 4.
Are you looking for best quadcopter with camera for beginners? What is your purpose? Will you be in it for racing? Will you be in it for doing aerial stunts? Will it be for cinematography and photography? Alternatively, will you be in it just for fun?
The ideal quadcopter for beginner could be different depending on what you will use the drone for.
Drones have specifications that are best suited for a specific task. Racing drones are lighter, durable, faster and much cheaper than camera drones. However, they lack many features that camera drones have.
Stunt drones are great for beginners as they are durable but are very limited in other departments. Though sturdy, they are slower than racing drones and can lack a lot features such as a camera.
Many racing drones however because of their impeccable performance can be used as stunt drones. Meanwhile, camera drones are typically more massive but are jam-packed with state-of-the-art software and hardware.
They are also more expensive but are very reliable and deliver excellent video footage and photo image. While racing drones can be a challenge to control for beginners, camera drones are designed to be very easy to use.
This is why even a very expensive drone can still be the best quadcopter with camera for beginners that have the budget for them.
With this article, we hope we were able to help you out regardless if you’re looking for the best quadcopter with camera for beginners or those that are for racing or stunts. Were you able to find what you’re looking for in one of our lists?
If not, we hope we were able to at least help you in knowing how to determine the best quadcopter for beginners.
There’s a lot of other drones in the market and if you haven’t found what you want here, do more research, and you’ll eventually see the beginners quadcopter that you seek.
If you’ve got the funds and feel comfortable, great. But if you’re a bit more conservative, and want to “test the waters”, then the drones above are the perfect ones to get started with. Good luck and fly safe!
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