Drone recommendation

[8shot]

I have a rural hobby farm with firearm range about 400 yards behind my home. Would like to purchase a drone with built in monitor, flight time approx 20 minutes, non licensed weight, basic camera, auto return, obstacle avoidance, half mile range? to monitor the property occasionally without firing up my ATV's or Jeep.

There are so many choices out there would be great to locate one for under $400. There is also controversy related to Chinese drones and their software. I don't have a smart phone so a built in monitor would be required and only looking for a basic flight, monitor and return capabilities.

Anyone using a drone in this category or recommendations?

Thanks

 

[Onomea]

Just a thought but setting up surveillance cameras might be a cheaper and more reliable approach. E.g., Amazon Bing cameras.

(Doesn't sound as fun though!)

 

[Puller]

I have a 3DR Solo drone that was probably top of the line 5 years ago and it's still very high featured, but I'll tell you the regulations have just about taken the fun out of recreational drone flying unless you do it often. Plus, with all the updates and operating software changes it's not something you piddle around with once or twice a year.

 

[wood714]

I have a DJI Mini 3 Pro I bought a couple years ago, It's an amazing little drone. It's under 250 grams so no registration required. The camera is better than I could have ever imagined. I bought the set up that has a built in screen in the controller. A lot of them you have to use a cell phone or tablet with the controller.

It has obstacle avoidance from hitting anything in front, behind, on top, or below it. If you fly it sideways...it will crash into something. I learned that fast! The new Mini 4 Pro has side sensors.

If you lose sight of it, just press the return home button and it will land within 3 feet from where it took off. I've used this feature many times. If the battery gets low in the drone or controller, or if the signal gets too weak it will auto return home.

Basically it covers all the options you listed you'd want in a drone.

A ocean video I did a while back.

 

[wood714]

 

[Tom S.]

DJI makes a great variety of drones of very good drones with excellent features but nearly all are currently unavailable due to trade/tariff situation. They are available on the used market, but when you a DJI drone new, you have to register it. Registering it "binds" it to that person. If the seller doesn't "unbind" the drone before selling it to you, eventually you will be asked to enter the original user's email and password or the drone won't work.

 

[wood714]

DJI makes a great variety of drones of very good drones with excellent features but nearly all are currently unavailable due to trade/tariff situation. They are available on the used market, but when you a DJI drone new, you have to register it. Registering it "binds" it to that person. If the seller doesn't "unbind" the drone before selling it to you, eventually you will be asked to enter the original user's email and password or the drone won't work.

I just checked and Amazon has multitudes of the Mini 4 Pro. I think I paid around $1,200 for my Mini 3 Pro with the Fly More package...extra batteries, multi charger, extra props and stuff.

Amazon.com

 

[Tom S.]

I just checked and Amazon has multitudes of the Mini 4 Pro. I think I paid around $1,200 for my Mini 3 Pro with the Fly More package...extra batteries, multi charger, extra props and stuff.

Amazon.com

Many of them are from "Amazon Sellers" who may or may not be in the US. When you buy a DJI drone, the warranty is from the country it is sold from. So if the seller is US based and you live in the US, all is well. If the seller lives in another country, say Korea and you live in the US, you would have to return it to Korea for any warranty work. There is even one person in the US who broke his new Mavic 4 Pro. DJI agreed to replace it for $165, but had to send him one from Canada, as they haven't imported any here yet. Customs stopped the order and are currently holding it. On top of all that, DJI has suspended all "DJI Care" packages so buyers can't add that extra insurance if they wanted to.

Even DJI's own US based store is out of most, if not all drones.

Don't get me wrong, I have 3 DJI drones and highly recommend them, but until this tariff situation gets straightened out, I would be very leery of recommending them to anyone in the US.