Taking selfies has become a widespread trend since the last decade and to such an extent that the word ‘selfie’ has become a part of mainstream English vocabulary. Our millennial and Gen-Z are continually taking selfies no matter whatever be the occasion or place. Birthdays, trips, hiking, group hangouts at malls or any place, all are incomplete without a good selfie. They say that one whole day generates way more images than an entire number of photographs taken in the 20th century. This may sound outlandish and hyperbolic, but possibly can be true.
The tech industry has also cashed in on this selfie trend and promptly jumped in to make it more exciting and way better. If the selfie stick was not enough, now they have introduced drones that are exclusively made for taking selfies. While taking selfies may not be the only thing that you can accomplish with them, but their certain features are more selfie oriented.
The last five years have seen drones becoming increasingly cheaper and being available for the common user out there. Drones are now becoming increasingly commercial oriented rather than being exclusively used for industrial and defense purposes.
Investing in a good selfie drone makes sense, especially when you are tech-savvy and want to capture those moments from a bird’s eye view. But before you log into your Amazon account and start looking for a selfie drone, we would like you to consider a list of best selfie drones, so that your search experience is smooth and easy.
However, mind that the list is not made according to rankings of their camera quality, battery, range, etc. As random as they come, we have attached bits of information that help you decide whether you should buy the said drone or not.
Drones with a View, Drones That Click:
After a lot of talks, finally here is the list of those top drones from top drone makers, that will give you that perfect selfie from twenty feet above the ground, and here we go:
1) DJI Mavic Pro
This drone is the alpha that leads the pack. So far this is one of the most expensive and powerful of all the drones in the list. What separates this drone from the rest are its ‘industrial characteristics’ that have been made mainstream by DJI. What we mean is that this drone is not your ordinary everyday one that you just fly out of your window and take shots of your neighborhood. This drone is more of an industrially applicable drone with its powerful battery and very long range.
People who are looking for a small drone should not go for this one. Because for a drone to be small they have to make a lot of sacrifices regarding features such as camera quality and most importantly, the range. DJI Mavic Pro is a big drone that stands out from the crowd and inflicts itself, gaining attention from passersby.
However, given the features it comes packed with, the drone is actually very compact and size-economical, especially if compared to industrial level drones that are more than twice its size.
This drone is an epitome of innovation and hats off to DJI for putting in so much effort into it.
The drone can be operated in two modes, a Wi-Fi mode where you can control the drone with your smartphone or a tablet. This, however, takes away the finer controls that the remote provides you with. So even better, you can now connect your smartphone to the remote (looks like a gaming remote so yay!) and have the best of both, a view on a screen alongside more exceptional remote oriented controls.
Also, it comes equipped with sensors that face downwards, that help the drone balance itself well even in windy conditions and also when being indoors. Also, the drone is equipped with gesture control technology which allows you to wave arms and control its motion. The drone has a range of 7 kilometers of the radius and flies with a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
The real meat, however, is the 12-megapixel cameras allowing you to shoot 4K videos! The camera comes with an underlying software which applies auto-focus on the subject. This drone is a complete package but more specifically made for selfies and general photography.
Price seems to be the only low here. Although it is understandable that with so much packed into one drone, a price of $999 should be legit, it is quite high for its intended market.
To buy if: You are a rich brat and taking aerial selfies (and doing another bunch of drone stuff) is your thing.
2) ELF II : Small Portable VR Drone WITH HD Video Streaming
This drone what we can call a hexacopter, as opposed to a quadcopter, because of its six propellers. The very first thing that will catch your attention in this drone is its sleek and posh design, akin to a high-end electronic gadget. This is where the most significant chunk of the features lie that give it high quality.
The uniqueness of this drone, however, lies in the fact that it is a DIY oriented drone. But don’t worry, it is not like you have to build everything from scratch except for the body.
What is more unique is that it supports FPV and VR which gives you an ultimate drone control experience. We guess this is one of the qualities that makes this drone way different and unique from the rest of the crowd.
VR oriented control allows the user a first-person control on the bird and turns it into a unique experience.
And this one is too low if you are all about aerial selfies. The drone comes with a 1 Megapixel camera which allows you to take 720 p videos. Sounds like an anachronism regarding tech, but is true. This is the biggest downer for the drone and anyone who doesn’t want to settle out for the lower end, should not even consider this drone on their list.
To buy if: you are a beginner and do not mind having to take your pictures in very low resolution.
3) Zerotech Dobby (Pocket Selfie Drone FPV With 4K HD Camera)
At first glance, this does not at all look like a drone, but rather something like a router or some handheld gadget. This is because the drone is so compact and foldable, you will be left awestruck and in surprise seeing the level of innovation, the makers have poured into it. No need to emphasize, this drone is a high-end product, and you should add it to your list if you have a lot of moolah to blow and do not mind in investing in good quality toys.
As unbelievable as it sounds, the drone weights only half a pound and when folded, shrinks to the size for a medium sized smartphone. If that does not surprise you enough, take this: you can keep it in your pocket and carry it around effortlessly. This may not be a micro-drone, but it certainly punches above its weight given its size and the kind of tech it comes with.
Comes with a 13 Megapixel camera which allows you to take images and videos in HD 1080p and a 4K resolution. For brains, it has got a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor from Snapdragon, complemented with a 2 GB RAM primary memory. This separates it from the ‘top-tier’ drones out there in the market.
It is equipped with GPS, so you can also use your smartphone to control the drone through its app. Also, its downward facing sensors allow it to maintain balance in windy conditions.
The camera, unfortunately, is not equipped with a gimbal. Therefore you can control it only through the four predetermined positions. To add to the inconvenience, you have to set the cameras before you let it in the air because the camera cannot be controlled while the bird is in flight. Lack of gimbal means a lack of physical stabilization of the image, which now has to be done electronically like you have to do in smartphones.
Also, it does not have the obstacle detection and avoidance mechanism built into it. So there are chances that if you are too conscious about your pouting style, your drone is heading towards an imminent collision on a tree or building.
To Buy if: you want high-quality aerial images and videos and also if you are more into slick drone designs, while you don’t give two hoots about safety and stabilization of your expensive drone (and hopefully you multitask, controlling the drone and making a duckface).
4) Xiro Explorer Mini
What’s noteworthy about this drone is its manufacturer, who first came up with the XIRO Xplorer V, known for its decent features and an equally decent price value. The XIRO Explorer Mini takes the torch from big brother and continues to fight the good fight. Designed in a typical quadcopter design, it looks quite stable and is sturdily built. Regarding uniqueness of its design.
The XIRO Xplorer Mini is not as futuristic as the one above or jaw-dropping kick-ass as DJI Mavic but is still decent enough to be considered on your list, if you have a modest budget.
For those who are very much into drone design and aesthetics, this one does not offer a lot, but at the same time, will not let down either.
The drone is equipped with a13-megapixel camera which lets you images that are good enough to be considered as memories. This FHD camera comes with a 190-degree lens.
Also, the drone controls work with both iOS as well as Android devices, so that you can give one point up for flexibility.
However, the most remarkable characteristic of this drone is its visual positioning system that works on GPS as well as GLONASS technologies. This lets the drone have a sharp edge when it comes to balancing and flying both in outdoor as well as indoor spaces. What’s even better, is that it has an inbuilt ‘return to home’ feature that helps the drone to trace its way back to the ‘home position’ when there is a loss of connection.
It does not come equipped 4K camera technology like the few other drones in this list, the camera, however, is not very bad through with a 13-megapixel resolution. Also, it cannot be folded, so you might have to face inconvenience when there is a lack of space in your bag.
To buy if: you are not very keen on super high definition K series cameras that give you ultra-realistic selfies and shots to boast about. If you are just fine with a middling level of the camera on your drone that does a decent enough job, you are fine to go.
5) Hover Camera Passport (Auto Follow | Portable | Gesture Control)
What’s with this ‘passport’ in its name? It’s obvious that some of you might be wondering why and to answer this curious question, we can only say that they should have rather called it a ‘book.’This is because the drone is not only a foldable one but folds like a book. So far we have seen drones where only the rods supporting the rotors fold inside the fuselage. This one takes folding to the next level and folds almost entire of its body.
Also, the rotors of the drone are encased in the mesh-like casing to offer them added security. This whole setup resembles a book or a passport.
This definitely gives the drone a unique and quirky design, but it rather looks odd and not very aesthetic or sleek.
The drone comes equipped with a 13-megapixel camera, capable of shooting 4K videos. However, this decent camera tech gets eclipsed by its low range which can go only as far as 60 feet. You can safely say that this drone is specifically made for closer selfies rather than any other type of aerial photography. It is equipped with a Snapdragon processor, well-known for their superior drone control.
It has obstacle avoidance systems built in that work on SONARS that help them prevent collision and crashing onto surfaces. The down-facing cameras take photos 100 frames a second which help them understand their positions even when there is no GPS available.
The cameras are equipped with gimbals. However, they are the low-end single axis gimbals. The cameras also have flash, given that the drone is a close range one.
The real meat of tech, however, is in its auto-features such as the ‘follow me’ feature and the 360-degree spin feature. While you are operating the drone on your smartphone, the ‘follow me’ feature shows the concerned person with a yellow square around him, which after double tapping it, turns green, indicating that the person has been locked. The drone is also capable of hovering around you while you are moving.
The low control range is a big turn off for those who are keen on photography that can take them far and wide. However, given all other features that help the drone stabilize and maintain balance, the trade-off is good.
6) DJI Spark Drone (Portable Mini Drone)
This is another one from DJI. And we are sure you must have had heard of it when it was released. The thing with DJI is that it is not just any drone maker, but a well-known one and is
The DJI Spark is priced very high. This bird by no means is an extension or demotion of the other DJI drone. However, it is a feature packed flying machine of its own.
The drone comes with a staggering 2-kilometer range, second only to its big brother, the DJI Mavic drone. It boasts of 15 minutes of flight time. It comes equipped with an FHD camera. The drone certainly packs a punch for its significantly smaller size.
With all that being said, the only possible low that the DJI Spark can have is the price.
To buy if: you don’t mind shelling a lot of money to get that selfie in HD and show-off this hi-tech-high-end drone to your buddies.
7) Yuneec Breeze (Ultra 4K Video | Safe for Indoor & Outdoor)
Given that this is a much lesser known brand, it should be applauded for the level of efforts it has put, given that it is a new entrant in the drone market. This drone is foldable and scores quite high on design. Based on the quadcopter design base, its main body bulges upwards, giving it a more aesthetically pleasing look.
The drone comes with a 4K camera (here you go, for all those who can’t afford a DJI but want high def. camera specs). With a size that is notably so small, the drone is well capable of shooting aerial images and videos.
The drone has 12 minutes of flight time and has a top range of 1 kilometer. So if you are going to rank the drones as per their range, this drone comes third after both the DJI. With its top speed of 35 kilometers an hour, let’s say it isn’t particularly built for drone races.
It has five built-in smart flight modes, which also include a selfie mode which allows you to take breathtaking selfies in high definition.
The drone weighs less than a pound and is comparable to the Zerotech Dobbie Selfie Drone.
However, one of the most noteworthy positives of this drone is its foldability and compact nature. So if you are a travel enthusiast and love taking aerial shots while hiking, trekking and on various locations such as beaches, mountains, jungles and exotic locations, this drone suits your needs.
Even if you are a photographer who wants to upgrade his photography, this drone is perfect for you. It fits into travel bags, and you no longer have to worry about having to face logistical issues while on the go.
The drone does not come with stabilization and balance mechanisms, which makes them vulnerable to collisions. Hence, it is always better to keep an eye on the control while taking that selfie.
To buy if: you are a long range enthusiast, but you don’t want to shell as much money as for the DJI series.
These were our best selfie drones of 2017 varying sizes, prices, and range and camera capabilities. The one thing that you should always be aware of when buying those drones is understanding your selfie needs and how far you are ready to go when setting the budget. This will help you decide the right budget.
Sometimes, you may feel conflicted about a drone that offers incredible specs but is way beyond your range. In such times, all you have to do is to understand how much you really expect out of a drone and how it suits your specific needs.
If you ask us, all that we have got to say is that a drone should include at least the stabilization and balance features that prevent it from collisions. Any drone that does not come equipped with these features, always stand the risk of getting battered due to reasons like a strong gust of wind.
When it comes to the camera, you may want to consider your options if you are looking for a 4K but if you find spending enough money on it quite difficult. Apart from the 4K option, you can still look for drones with a decent level camera, that ranges anywhere between 10 megapixels to 15 megapixels.
In the end, it is not just the selfies that these drones can be used for, but looking at the larger picture, you can conveniently use them for photography too.
We hope this list helps you to solve that big selfie problem and you get the drone that suits you right. Remember, if you are buying that drone, it better be worth the money.