Using a Drone for Business on a Budget: HD Drone Options in the $100 to $300 Price Range

A Drone otherwise known as a Quadcopter is a perfect way to get stunning aerial photos for your business. If you are a pool builder or a Realtor videos and photos from a drone will enhance your project or listing. Contractors can use a drone to plot a site and home inspectors can check those hard to see areas on the roof for damage. There are just so many uses for a drone and in this video I will show you some ways to do this on a budget.

For me a budget drone would be one priced from $100 to $250 or $300 at the most. If you are going to invest in a high priced drone you might as well go all the way to $1,000 and get a DJ Mavic or Phantom which are top of the line drones. But technically if you don't use them often it might be a bad investment and if you crash or damage the drone it would be a pretty big hit. Bottom line, investing a $1,000 or more into a product used for occasional filming doesn't make much sense and that is why many businesses don't use drones.

The lowest priced drones that can hold a 4K sports type camera – think GoPro, are the Contixo F17 and the MJX Bug 3. I own both of these drones and they are almost identical. Both can hold a 4K camera on the bottom and the F17 has a version called the F17+ that includes the camera. You can buy the drone without the camera and then purchase a sports 4K camera online for as little as $50. These drones are great because they start at just $109.00 and the F17+ with the camera is around $240.00. With this drone you can take stunning videos of a project and it is an extremely affordable way to film your project.

Some things to note about the F17 and Bug 3 are that neither has a feature called Altitude Hold. Altitude Hold is a feature that allows the drone to maintain a steady altitude. A drone with altitude hold will stay at the  last altitude reached by the throttle and basically hover at this altitude. So to keep the drone steady in a hover type position, you need to really practice your throttle control. You will constantly need to maintain a steady throttle to create a steady video frame. This takes practice but can be mastered making these drones perfect for any footage needed. These drones do not have FPV (First Person View) so you cannot see the footage as you are filming. They also do not have GPS but if you want to invest as little as $170, one of these two drones would be perfect for you.

The next step up is a drone in the $250 to $300 category.  There are two drones that I suggest in this price range. Look at either the Contixo F18 (shown in this video) or the MJX Bug 2 drone. Both have build in 1080p HD cameras for videos and photos and come with some essential features found on the $600 to $1,000 drones. 

These features include Altitude Hold, GPS assisted hovering, FPV through the camera on the front of the drone viewable through your smart phone or device, and a range of over ½ mile. They also feature GPS positioning so the drone can auto return to the launch position.  These are all of the essential features I mention in the video and if you are comfortable with investing more than $200 you may want to get one of these drones which are manufactured by companies with a solid reputation.

So you don't need to spend $1,000 to get good quality drone footage for your photo shoot. Note also that most people will be viewing the footage on their smart phones so any quality issues will be negligible. To learn more about the two drones in the video you can visit my website or watch the videos of the Contixo F17 and F18 from these video links:

Contixo F18 RC Quadcopter (Drone) 1080P HD Live FPV Video,  Advanced GPS Assisted Hovering: https://youtu.be/X4dn3GkgKEk

Contixo F17 Plus RC Drone w/ 4K Camera: Perfect for Aerial Footage for Pool Builders & R.E. Agents: https://youtu.be/XxvZazHSutM

$100-$200 Drones 4K Camera Mount:
Contixo F17 with 4K camera: http://amzn.to/2yOMju4
Bug 3 Drone: http://amzn.to/2yPJLvR

$200-$300 HD Drones:
Contixo F18: http://amzn.to/2ip9N2A
Bug 2 Drone: http://amzn.to/2AUpfvq
Hubsan H501S X4: http://amzn.to/2hH44bk



Drones I also recommend:  https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/drones-quadcopters

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook