Best Drone for Photography in 2024

DJI are a well-known brand in photography circles: producing everything from gimbals to action cameras – and of course: drones. The DJI Mini 4 Pro is their latest and greatest offering, and top our list as the best drone for photography thanks to its great design and quality features.

Boasting a 48MP-equivalent camera in a body that weighs less than 300g, the Mini 4 Pro is highly compact and lightweight. With digital zoom and a 60-degree tilting angle, you have stellar versatility in your aerial shots. The Mini 4 Pro has a range of 12.4 miles and a top speed of 25mph in standard conditions – meaning you can track fast-moving subjects across great distances. The drone also features an obstacle detection system, that allows the drone to sense possible collisions and avoid them, meaning you can place more trust in letting this drone roam free.

However, the major limiting factor of the Mini 4 Pro is its battery life: under the best conditions, it still only lasts around half an hour before needing a time-consuming recharge. It’s not enough to dissuade us from calling it the best drone for photography on the market – just remember to pack some spare batteries!

If you’d like DJI quality without paying DJI prices, then their Ryze Tello drone for photography is a great affordable option – boasting great features in an unassuming design. If you are looking for a beginner aerial photography solution, you could certainly do worse.

Weighing just 80g, you’ll practically forget you’re holding this compact and lightweight drone. Don’t mistake lightness for poor build quality, however, as the Ryze Tello can take some punishment thanks to a sturdy build designed to be child-friendly. For such a low price point, the Ryze Tello even manages to factor in smartphone compatibility, allowing you to both view the live camera feed and control the drone with ease.

That said, the budget-friendly nature of this drone does unfortunately affect the camera quality. At a 5MP equivalent sensor (or 720p for video), images aren’t as crisp or impressive as other higher-end models, which may sour the experience. Similarly, with a range of 100m, photographers looking for sweeping landscape shots may be disappointed. Still, as a budget drone for photography, the Ryze Tello still offers phenomenal value for money!

At the other end of the spectrum, the Autel EVO Lite+ is a high-end drone for photography that can truly accelerate your photography capabilities, and possibly even rival your camera. Powerful yet lightweight, this drone is an ideal choice for professional aerial photography and videography.

What sets the EVO Lite+ apart from the other best drones for photography is the sensor: implementing a 1″ Sony CMOS sensor for its 20MP camera means that images are bright and detailed – an equivalent to the DJI Mavic 3 Pro. The attached lens also has an adjustable aperture up to f/2.8, and a digital zoom for 16x magnification. Videographers won’t be disappointed either, with 6K oversampled footage at 30FPS and a mechanical gimbal to stabilize your shots. Factor all of this in with a 40-minute flight time and a 7.4-mile range, and the EVO Lite+ is a tremendous addition to your photo or video business.

That quality doesn’t come cheap, however: with a four-figure price tag, the EVO Lite+ is not one for hobbyists that don’t have cash to burn. We think that the price is worthwhile, considering it buys you a top-notch drone for photography that remains unrivaled for professionals!

With a design ripped straight from a sci-fi novel and intelligent auto-following systems, the HOVERAir X1 is a modern compact drone for photography and video that packs some seriously impressive features. Pocket-sized and powerful, this tiny drone is paving the future for smart camera technology.

The X1 features a scarily intelligent tracking and flight path algorithm, intuitively following a subject with speeds up to 15mph. A built-in gimbal keeps video footage steady even in windy conditions, and photos are rendered with great clarity thanks to a 12MP sensor. The X1 takes all the cumbersome setup out of drone operation: a single control lets you switch between the dedicated automatic modes, or you can manually control it to achieve your ideal shot.

If this sounds too good to be true, know that there are some catches: the X1 is limited to the range of your WiFi network, which heavily limits its otherwise stellar follow-focus capabilities – you can’t take this drone through any epic landscapes unless you already live in them. Equally, the lack of collision detection is a design flaw: though its tiny build means incidents are unlikely, they aren’t impossible. For a futuristic and fantastic localized drone for photography and videography, the X1 is still a fantastic investment.

If you need truly cinematic photos and videos for your aerial photography, consider the DJI Inspire 3, a top-of-the-range interchangeable-lens drone. Rather than videography, this drone is for cinematography, thanks to its incredible premium features.

The Inspire 3 utilizes DJI’s most lightweight and intelligent camera, the X9 Air, for 8K oversampled HDR footage with incredible dynamic range. This hangs from the bottom of the drone for full freedom of movement, along with a stabilizing gimbal for steady shots. Built-in ND filters and night vision make this a highly versatile unit, and you can purchase optional mount adapters for common high-quality brands such as Sony or Leica. The Inspire 3 can also reach bafflingly high speeds of up to 58mph, allowing you to create incredible images across at high speeds.

That said, the price of the Inspire 3 blows even the Autel EVO Lite+ out of the water, in the tens of thousands of dollars. This is the beyond-professional pick for top-class photographers looking for a drone that can keep up with their high demands.