There is no doubt that drones are becoming popular for personal use. Whether it is for extreme sports, cinematography, or as a weekend pastime hobby, we’ve all seen impressive drone footage on YouTube and other online destinations.

If you are looking your very own drone, what should you look out for? What are some of the more popular drones that you can purchase?

Here is a look at the more popular drone varieties and their different features.

Parrot AR

This drone can be controlled from a smartphone or a tablet running either iOS or Android. There are a variety of versions of this drone with the latest coming out in May 2014, the AR Drone 3.0. The 3.0 version comes with a 14MP camera with a fisheye lens. It can be controlled for up to 2 kilometers.

A Skycontroller is used to hold the controlling tablet. It is even possible to output a view stream to an Oculus Rift. The AR Drone allows you to record the live stream, including taking photos, all of which are automatically saved to the smartphone or tablet in use.

DJI Phantom

The Phantom has an attractive design and is one of the best known consumer drones. It can fly on its own with the owner simply dragging pins on the controller screen indicating GPS waypoints for the copter along its path. Once the waypoints are set, it can autonomously carry out its mission with little to no intervention.

Hitting the “Return to Home” button sends the copter back to its take-off point. The drone can fly as far as 5km and up to an altitude of 656 feet with a maximum distance of 1,640 feet from the controller.

The Phantom comes in various versions, with the latest as of August 2014 being the Phantom 2 Vision+. This Phantom version shoots and records full HD video onto the onboard 4GB micro SD and takes photos at 14MP. It also includes a camera tilt control to help you take amazing shots using unique angles.

Hubsan X4

This is a small drone that is just 4.5 inches diagonally. It comes with a control unit that includes a 4.3-inch color LCS screen allowing you to fly the drone by first-person view. It includes a 0.3MP camera at 720×240 resolution. Streamed video is recorded on a micro-SD found on the controller.

You can also view vital telemetry data on-screen to know what’s happening in the air. It comes with 4 LED night lights as well.

Walkera QR

This is a very stable drone offering manual flying mode. Due to its advanced gyro controller, it can be controlled at high speeds. The drone does not come with a camera mount since it has not been optimized for aerial filming. However, these can be purchased and installed separately.

The Walkera is packed with GPS and altitude sensors to help you hover when necessary. It includes two LED lights to show you the status of the drone.

Storm Drone 4

This professional drone measures 19.25 inches across and is designed for outdoor use. It is one of the easiest drones to fly even in the unmanned mode. It allows you to take things to the next level by mounting your own camera. It is very stable and accurate, enabling you to perform accurate aerial maneuvers.

There are a variety of Storm Drones that include version 4, version 6, and the semi-metal edition.

Whether its for aerial filming or simply for fun, the above drones are not only affordable, but deliver in terms of capability and performance.

David Gitonga is an avid reader and writer and has worked with various companies to design, develop, and maintain their websites. A tech enthusiast, David explores ways that businesses can leverage the Internet and move their businesses to the next level. He also works with various tech journals and popular websites that report on industry news, especially in the cloud computing field. David holds a degree in Information Technology.

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