Best drone 2022: 12 best flying cameras

Best drone 2022 for breathtaking aerial photography and videography

Are you looking for the Best drone 2022? Our comprehensive guide will assist you in locating it. We’ve compiled the ranked list below based on hundreds of hours of real-world testing to help you find the best flying camera for you. So, whether you’re looking for your first drone or an upgrade for an experience aerial filmmaker, you’ll find the best option for your needs, experience, and budget.

What is the best drone available right now? The DJI Mini 3 Pro is our pick for the majority of people. Despite some new competition from the Autel Evo Nano Plus, this small folding flier has an impressive camera and obstacle avoidance abilities for such a small drone. If you can afford the option that includes the new DJI RC controller, it’s a fantastic backpack-friendly package.

If you want an even better camera, the larger DJI Air 2S has an impressive 1-inch sensor and a useful 31-minute battery life. In our testing, the similarly-sized Autel Evo Lite+ provided an even better camera than the Air 2S, albeit at a higher price.

Best drone 2022: Our list will help you find whatever you’re looking for in a camera drone. We’ve covered the best drones for every type of pilot, from low-cost options to powerful, pro-friendly quadcopters. Feeling overwhelmed by the options? For top tips on what to consider when selecting the best drone for you in 2022, scroll to the bottom of our guide.

Best drone 2022, the best drone will be:

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is the most powerful and, in our opinion, the best compact drone available. If you can justify the extra cost, the Mini 3 Pro is a significant upgrade over the Mini 2 (see below). For the money, you get a far superior camera, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a slew of features found on larger drones.

Looking for the most powerful compact drone on the market? It’s the DJI Mavic 3. This aerial beast is outfitted with a dual-camera system that combines a large, 20MP Four Thirds sensor with a handy 162mm telephoto lens. The Mavic 3 packs all of this into a backpack-friendly package that’s lighter than the Mavic 2 Pro model it’s based on.

Other enhancements over its predecessor include a 46-minute battery life (in reality, about half an hour of actual flight time) and the ability to shoot 5K/50p or 4K/120p slow-motion video. Upgrade to the DJI Mavic 3 Cine bundle for 1TB of internal storage, a high-end DJI RC Pro controller, and the ability to shoot video in Apple ProRes 422 HQ format.

A couple of significant firmware updates are the polish and feature set we expect from the Mavic 3 at launch, making it the best camera drone on the market in terms of overall image quality.

The fantastic Air 2S combines the best features of our previous favorite DJI drones, the Mavic Air 2 and the Mavic 2 Pro. You get the former’s compact, folding design as well as the latter’s 20MP 1-Inch sensor. The combination is brilliant, and we loved it in our review, so the Air 2S is our top pick for hobbyists and professionals looking for a small drone that they can take anywhere.

The new Mini 3 Pro (shown below) is even smaller, but its camera is even better. The ability to shoot 5.4K video at 30fps gives you more creative freedom and supports a useful digital zoom option (though we recommend only using it at 2x zoom). Add in the ability to shoot 1080p at 120fps and some impressive high ISO performance, and you have a fantastic all-around flying machine that soars above its mid-range competitors. Those on a tighter budget, on the other hand, should consider the Mavic Air 2.

One of our few complaints about the DJI Mavic Mini in our review was that it couldn’t shoot 4K video – this excellent successor fixes that while also giving us a few extra treats. The Mini 2 retains its ultra-compact design, making it the joint-smallest drone in DJI’s lineup, but it now includes a new controller that extends its range (thanks to Ocusync 2.0 connectivity) and provides a more polished flying experience.

It, like the Mavic Mini, comes with a plethora of beginner-friendly QuickShot modes that allow the drone to perform pre-programmed moves. However, the Mini 2 provides more for professional photographers, thanks to the addition of raw photo shooting, and 4K video means a higher bit rate of 100mbps. While it remains a good drone, it’s worth noting that rumors about a possible DJI Mini 3 continue to circulate.

The Evo Lite+ is the flagship flying machine in Autel’s latest line-up of DJI rivals, and it competes directly with the Air 2S. It has a remarkably similar spec sheet, capable of shooting 5.4K footage at 30fps with a 1-inch sensor. However, with its 40-minute flight time and adjustable aperture (ranging from f/2.8 to f/11), it outperforms both the Air 2S and the Mavic Pro 2. The Lite+ model lacks the fourth-axis stabilization of its Evo Lite sibling, but the larger pixels on its sensor allow it to capture more light in low-light conditions.

The Mavic Air 2, previously our number one drone, push out of the spotlight by the arrival of the DJI Air 2S (see number one) and Autel Evo Lite+ (above). But don’t dismiss it as a possibility; after all, we called it the “sweet spot” all-arounder of drones in our review. It’s less expensive than the Air 2S and may suit you better if you don’t require the new model’s larger 1-Inch sensor.

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is still our favorite sub-250g drone, but the colorful Evo Nano+ isn’t far behind. In our tests, we discovered that its sensor outperforms the DJI Mini 2, particularly in low-light situations, and that it can handle windy conditions admirably for such a small drone.

The Ryze Tello is a fun drone for first-time flyers because it is simple, lightweight, and inexpensive. And, despite its low price, the Tello packs a punch: the battery provides a respectable 13 minutes of flight time, and downward-facing light sensors enable the Tello to hover in place and perform a variety of automated tricks.

The image quality from the nose-mount 5MP camera was less impressive in our review, with limited dynamic range and visible compression artifacts when streaming 720p HD video. Because video is transmitted directly to your smartphone, any drop in connection strength affects the frame rate.

DJI’s Phantom series was the series that really took its drones to new heights – and while the Phantom 4 Pro V.20 isn’t the newest model on this list, it’s still a good option for professionals looking for something sturdy and reliable in windy conditions. The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, released in 2018, was a significant upgrade over the Phantom 4, bringing vastly improving obstacle avoidance and intelligent flight modes such as ActiveTrack. Its 20MP 1-inch sensor can also capture stunning raw stills as well as 4K/60p video at 100Mbps in the D-log color profile.

Don’t be fooled by the name: the PowerEgg X is a flyer, not a fryer. And, in a market dominant by water-repellent drones, PowerVision’s aerial orb stands out for its ability to fly in the rain and land on lakes. The plastic waterproof housing degrades image quality, but the ability to operate in – and float on – the wet stuff opens up a world of creative possibilities.

The DJI FPV is a one-of-a-kind drone that is an excellent introduction to first-person view flying. It’s like a cross between a fast racing drone and DJI’s Mavic series, and it’s a lot of fun to fly thanks to its impressive video headset, which simulates soaring like an eagle. However, it has a few more limitations than DJI’s other drones.

12. Best drone 2022: FIMI X8 Mini

While we believe the DJI Mini 2 is the superior mini drone overall, the impressive FIMI X8 Mini is a more affordable alternative worth considering if you can’t afford the Mini 2. During testing, we discover that it shoots high-quality 4K video with a lot of detail, even if the dynamic range is understandably limites given the 1/2.6-inch sensor. And, while the companion app is a little rough around the edges, it is stable and provides a variety of automated flight modes.

How to Select the Best Drone for Your Needs

So, how do you pick the best drone to buy? The obvious place to begin is with the budget. This guide focuses on drones with cameras for aerial photography and video, which are typically more expensive than hobbyist stunt drones.

If you require 4K video quality, we recommend spending at least $400 / £400. However, if you want to improve your flying skills rather than take high-quality footage and photos, you can spend much less – the Ryze Tello, for example, costs only $99 / £99.

Should you purchase DJI drones?

In Best drone 2022, Despite the US government’s decision to place Chinese drone maker DJI on its ‘Entity List’ in December 2020 – a trade blacklist that Huawei was placed on in 2019 – we’re still happy to recommend its flying cameras.

This is due to a number of factors. To begin, the US government has yet to explain why DJI was added to its ‘Entity List,’ and DJI has strongly contested the decision, claiming that it “has done nothing to justify being placed on the list.”