This is a comparison of GoPro Karma, DJI Phantom 3, DJI Mavic Air and DJI Spark. I have written it in order to figure out which drone I should buy for my upcoming adventure, and I need your help to chose! I am going on a road trip with my roommate this summer, and I have decided to for the first time ever use a bit of my rewards from steemit to invest in a drone to document the trip (I'll let you know more about our plans in a post sometimes soon). But I cannot decide which drone I should buy and there are so many on the market which makes it really hard to find the perfect one. If you know anything at all about drones I would LOVE to know your opinion on which drone to buy.

At first me and my roommate just thought about getting a really cheap drone that we could attach my gopro to, or a cheap one that already had a camera, just to get some basic videos and pictures from above. We did not want to spend so much on the drone since we are already on quite a tight budget for the trip so we just looked through the cheaper ones and there were some that seemed okay.

But then I decided to just have a look at some of the more expensive 4K ones and the difference in video quality and stability was huge. I have been saving everything I have earned on steemit so far, it is not a lot because I have had trouble with finding the time and motivation to steem with everything else that is going on in my life right now, but it is enough for a good drone and some to spare. And I figured that buying a drone with my steemit earnings would actually be a good investment since I would be posting a lot of the footage on steemit. So I decided that if I was going to get a drone I should get a good one, but still not too expensive.

I want to start by saying that I have never owned a drone and I know almost nothing about drones, so to all you drone enthusiasts I apologize if this post is confusing and maybe even painful to read. I have not added all the pros and cons or facts but the ones that I feel are the most important in my decision for buying a drone. If there is anything else I should know or think of please let me know! I have tried to understand my best options, but there is so much that I do not know and that is why I need your help! Bare with me. ^_^

These are the drones that I am thinking of right now in no specific order:

1. GoPro Karma

At first I really liked the GoPro Karma, and I was actually close to deciding to buy one. Below you can find the reasons to why I like it and also why I dislike it.

FACTS:

Price: 499$ (includes 299$ stabilizer)
Battery life: 20 minutes
Film resolution: 4K
Follow me feature: Yes
Collision avoidance: No
Maximum Speed: 35 mph (56 km/h)
Maximum Distance: Up to 9,840ft (3,000m)
Weight 35.5oz (1006g)
Requires smartphone: No

MAIN PROS:

1. I already have a GoPro, so it would be a shame not to use it.
2. It comes with a Karma Grip Stabilizer, which can be detached from the drone and attached to any body mount or just hand held. This is huge! I love filming with my GoPro, but the image always turns out shaky and I would have so much use for the stabilizer just on its own. I actually might want to buy it even if I do not end up buying this drone. Just the grip stabilizer on its own costs 299$, and the whole drone is currently on sale for 499$ so it would just be 200$ more for the drone.
3. The controller has a built in screen. This is also a big one, I lost my phone about two weeks ago and I still have not bought a new one and I might not even want to buy a new smartphone, so a drone that requires a smartphone to operate it would mean that I would also have to buy a phone.
4. The case is a backpack that you can also attach your GoPro and stabilizer to which is handy.
5. It has a really long range.

MAIN CONS:

1. I learned that GoPro have decided to not make any more drones, which means that it might be hard to get it fixed or find spare parts in the future.
2. It does not have collision avoidance, and I do not know how to fly a drone so the risk that I will fly into something is, I would say, actually more of a certainty than a risk. I will definitely fly into something. I would be fooling myself if I said that I will not.
3. It is large and loud.
4. It does not hover in place very well.

After looking at other drones I have realized that there are way better drones out there than the Karma, but I really like the stabilization grip and buying that one AND another drone AND then maybe also a smartphone might be too expensive. So I guess that the stabilization grip would be the main reason for why I would buy the Karma.

2. DJI Phantom 3 (Standard)

The DJIs seem to be the most popular drones on the market, and I definitely understand why. The film quality is amazing, they have quite long flying times and seem to be built very cleverly and most of them are quite small and lightweight. I am interested in the DJI Phantom 3 (Standard) because I think it is one of the most affordable DJIs that I could get. The standard version does not film in 4K but in 2,7K and I think that would be good enough for my needs, but I am also thinking about the DJI Phantom 3 4K for about 100$ more.

FACTS:

Price: 499$ as new (Standard) or 599$ (4K)
Battery life: Approximately 25 minutes
Film resolution: 2,7K (Standard)
Follow me feature: No
Collision avoidance: No
Max Speed: 35 miles/hour (56 km/h)
Maximum distance: 1000m (3280 feet)
Weight (including battery): 1216 g
Navigation system: Built-in GPS
Requires smartphone: Yes

MAIN PROS:

1. It has a return to home feature.
2. It is stable when it hovers in place.
3. It is one of the most affordable DJIs.

MAIN CONS:

1. Requires a smartphone.
2. Quite large and not so easy to carry with me e.g. when hiking.
3. No follow me feature.
4. No collision avoidance.

With this drone I would not only have to buy the drone but also a smartphone, and I am not sure whether any smartphone will work or if it has to be a good/more expensive smartphone.

3. DJI Mavic Air

I think this is the drone that I would really like to have. It is compact which makes it easy to bring on a road trip and during hikes. It has a lot of cool features like the follow me feature, collision avoidance, different preset shots and the image quality is really good! The price however is a lot more than I would like to spend AND I would have to buy a smartphone.

FACTS:

Price: 800$ (Autch)
Battery life: 21 minutes
Film Resolution: 4K
Follow me feature: Yes
Collision avoidance: Yes
Maximum Speed: 40 mph (64 km/h)
Maximum Distance: 2,4 miles (3,8 km)
Weight 430 g
Requires smartphone: Yes (Autch again)

MAIN PROS:

1. Really small and lightweight, it folds into a even smaller package which makes it really easy to take on travels.**
2. Has collision avoidance so it will be harder for me to crash and destroy it, and it also has sensor on the bottom (something that the Spark and Mavic Pro do not have) which allows it to not only detect and avoid obstacles but move over them better than the Spark and Mavic Pro.
3. Has the follow me feature, return to home and many preset shots and selfie features. You can even control it with your hands which is a bit unnecessary but fun.
4. Great film quality.
5. Hovers steadily in place.

MAIN CONS:

1. Price! It is definitely more expensive than I am comfortable with, but maybe it would be worth it?
2. Requires a phone to control it, which again means I have to buy a phone and then the price would rice to over a grand... Or I guess I could also use somebody else's phone every time I want to fly it.

This is the drone that I want, but the price is a bit too salty, not that I think it is not worth it but it is just a lot more than I wanted to spend originally. Actually all of these are. But a part of me is thinking that if I invest in a drone I should invest in a really good one that I am going to like and want to use a lot.

4. DJI Spark

I like the DJI Spark mostly because of how small and convenient it is and also because it is a bit more affordable than the others. The film quality however is not as good as on any of the drones I have mentioned above. A part of me knows that it is still definitely good enough, but at the same time I feel like if I buy a drone for filming I want to buy one that has great film quality. But I have chosen to include it in my comparison anyways, because it is still an option.

FACTS:

Price: 399$
Battery life: 16 minutes
Film resolution: 1080p
Follow me feature: Yes
Collision avoidance: Yes
Max Speed: 31 miles/hour (50km/h)
Maximum distance: 1,2 miles (2 km)
Weight: 300g
Requires smartphone: Yes

MAIN PROS:

1. Tiny, easy and convenient to carry with me when hiking.
2. More affordable than the others.
3. Has a follow me feature, and several other fun features, like hand controlling.
4. Has collision avoidance.

MAIN CONS:

1. The film quality is not as good, 1080p instead of 4K. I looked at some comparison videos and there is quite a big difference between e.g. the Spark and the Mavic Air.
2. Flight time is only 16 minutes.
3. And once again I would have to buy a smartphone.

I would definitely prefer a 4K camera, but I also like the DJI SPARK and many of it features and I think 1080p could be enough for me. But if I settle for 1080p I feel like there might be plenty of other brands that have decent 1080p drones out there for cheaper than the Spark.

These are the main drones that I have been looking at so far. I definitely like the DJI Mavic Air the most, but I am not sure I want to spend 800$ on the drone and then still buy an smartphone. Financially the GoPro Karma might be the best one because I would not have to buy a smartphone and I would get the stabilization grip at the same time, which if I were to buy it separately would cost 300$.

I have also been looking at other brands like e.g. the Xiaomi Mi Drone, but I did not really like how it often automatically adjusts the light to the sky which makes all the other colors look quite dark and unnatural. I also had a look at the Yuneec Breeze and the Parrot Bebop, but I am not sure how I feel about those.

I would love some thoughts and comments on which drone of the ones above I should buy, or if you know of a really good drone that is not included in this list please let me know! The drones that I have included here are all quite high quality drones and more expensive than the ones that I originally was looking at, so if you have any thoughts on cheaper but still good and stable drones I would love to hear more! Since I already have a GoPro I am also interested in any drones that I could connect the GoPro to.

THANK YOU ALL FOR CHECKING IN,
I LOOK VERY MUCH FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR OPINIONS!

Best,
mialinnea