I wanted to write a review of selfie drone for travel and fashion influencers who are trying to up their video game on social media. This is not meant to be a super high techie review for advanced drone operators, but it is meant for first time drone users who want amazing photos to add to their social media portfolio.
Drones are amazing as they act as your personal photographer on the go, no need to set up complicated photography gear, camera and lenses to get the job done. Many of the drones below also have autonomous settings so you can be totally hands free when shooting yourself!
Below are my top 10 favorite selfie drones to up your selfie and social media game!
Selfie Drone - Pricing Table
Selfie Drone | Name | Flight Time | Flight Range | Camera | Max Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 min | 4.3 miles | 4K | 40mph | |
| 20 min | 3200 ft | 4K | 35mph | |
| 15 min | 1/2 mile | 4K | N/A | |
| 12 min. | 3280 ft. | 4K | 5mph | |
| 4 min. | 328 ft. | 4K | 5mph |
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST SELFIE DRONE
Flight Time
You'll want to know how much flight capacity your drone has so you know how much shooting time you have once its in the air. This can range a lot between drones so make sure to check it out.
Cost
Cost is almost always a factor in the shopping process. The drones on this list vary quite wildly price so make sure to check out the prices and compare it to the features offered by each drone.
Camera
Most of the drones on this list feature 4K video, make a note of the drones that do not and pair that with your budget and the ultimate photo/video quality that you need.
Range
Can you drone shoot those dramatic sweeping shots? Since the drones on this list are "selfie" drones, most have a pretty short range but there are a few drones on the list with more!
Speed
The maximum speed of your drone matters if you are going to be using it to follow you while driving a car for example. Most selfie drones have a lower maximum speed capacity.
Controller
Is the drone controlled by a controller or by your smartphone? Controllers are generally a bit easier to use although most selfie drones are controlled by the phone!
THE BEST SELFIE DRONE
Flight Time: 27 minutes
$$$
Max Speed: 40 mph
4K
Range: 4.3 miles
Controller operated
The DJI Mavic Pro is a beast that folds up nicely into the size of a water bottle, making it incredibly portable. It's small enough to fit into a small, shoulder camera bag. It features an OcuSync transmission which allow it to shoot from up to 4.3 miles away at 40 miles per hour for up to 27 minutes!
This baby shoots true 4K and its stabilized for smooth effortless footage. This is a reliable drone that combines sensor redundancy and Obstable Avoidance to keep itself safe. You'll always be able to locate the DJI Mavic Pro as its paired with GPS and GLONASS. It also features Absolute Precision Flight Autonomy technology which means that the Mavic can hover steadily in a wide range of sceanrios and land almost precisely back to where it took off.
This drone is the only one of its size to carry a 3-axis mechanical camera stabilization system. It comes with a 16GB Memory card, controller, battery and AC charger. This is a quality machine with a great camera that features manual zoom, tap screen to focus, and tripod mode to allow for precise positioning. The controller is also small and portable
Just a warning that if you order this drone from this Amazon seller it currently is on backorder and will take months to ship. Youtube Star and Guru Casey Neistat calls the Mavic, the best drone ever.
Flight Time: 20 minutes
$$$
Max Speed: 35 mph
4K
Range: 3200 ft.
Controller operated
The GoPro Karma definitely has tons of hype associated with it. It comes with its own lightweight case that you can bring with you anywhere. Its super easy to fly, just unfold and attach the propellers. You can easily capture shake free video while flying or while stationary. The Karma grip is also included to give you the ultimate in steady and professional hand-held shots.
The Karma case also has a built-in shoulder mount for ultra steady footage that is body-mounted. Love the video game like controller which features a touchscreen display which is super easy to use. GoPro has thought of everything as the case also works as a backpack for easy portability. For drone newbies, there is an easy one-button takeoff and landing feature and there is also a flight simulator for you to practice before your flight.
For taking selfies, it doesn't have a "follow me" setting but it has a preset mode that orbits at a single point or a preset path from point A to point B. I love the "dronie" mode which is GoPro's selfie mode where the Karma starts at a set point and slowly pans up to reveal the horizon for a great shot.
The max range of the Karma is 3200 feet and about 20 minutes of battery life. The battery takes one hour to charge. This is a thoughtfully designed drone, perfect for selfie videos while traveling! You'll need to purchase the Go Pro separately.
Flight Time: 15 minutes
$$
Max Speed: N/A
4K
Range: 1/2 mile
Smartphone operated
The 3DR Solo Drone Quadcopter is easy to use for a first time droner, you can take off, land or pause the drone midair with a single click of a button. The camera features a HDMI port so you can connect it to a travel monitor.
The Solo is a fairly affordable drone option if you are starting out and not ready to invest $1000 or more into one of the top of the line drones. It's powered by two 1 GHz computers and has a wireless video streaming feature directly from your GoPro to your phone or Ipad - the only drone with this feature currently available. Note that the solo controller doesn't have a display so you'll have to connect it to your smartphone to have "eyes"
It's intelligence features a one of kind feature that 3DR calls Smart Shots. You can set up the exact shot you want, push play and the Solo will match that shot with professional precision. it features several modes that are perfect for selfies including: Orbit, Follow Me, Cable Cam, and Selfie mode.
The flight time is 15-17 minutes It has a range of a half a mile. Note that although this is a great first time drone, many customers have complained about the lack of customer support provided by the company. The trade-off for the bargain price is that you'll need to be pretty self sufficient, also you'll need to purchase to Go Pro separately.
Flight Time: 12 minutes
$$
Max Speed: 5 mph
4K
Range: 3280 ft.
Smartphone operated
The Yuneec Breeze is a great beginner selfie drone. It has a range of about 300 feet and a fly time of about 12-13 minutes. This is thoughtfully designed little drone that comes with a box. The propellers are already installed so you dont have to worry about popping those in and it comes with 2 battery packs.
To start you will need to connect your Breeze to a WIFI local network that you'll need to set up on your phone. This is a buggy process and takes repeated tries to make it work. It takes a bit of work to get used to the controls and you will crash this drone at first so test it out in wide open spaces when you start out.
In case you injure your Breeze, all its parts are available for purchase individually. It also comes with a little suitcase. You need a little more skill to pilot this drone, since its doesn't have a stablizing gimbal, the smoothness of your video depends on your own flying skills.
This little drone is quite buggy but it shoots beautiful movies when you get it working right. This is not a drone that flies miles away and it isn't meant to compete with the likes of the DJ Mavic Pro. It also features autopilot modes like Orbit, Hourney and several follow me modes. It's like having your own personal floating camera man whenever you go!
Flight Time: 12 minutes
$$
Max Speed: 17 mph
4K
Range: 65 ft.
Smartphone operated
The Hover Passport drone has been specifically built as a selfie drone. It's one of the most portable drones out on the market and has a one of a kind foldable design. It shoots 4K video and stills at 13 megapixels but really the standout feature is its image recognition software and Snapdragon processor which allows it to track faces and maintain its position without the use of GPS.
It features the standard auto modes such as Orbit, Follow, and 360 but I love its Beast Mode which allows it to follow really fast objects. It's the only drone that folds up like a book and it weighs just 0.53 lbs with the battery so you won't have to register it in the US with the FAA.
Also unique are that it's propellers are caged, keeping them safe through crashes, allowing you to easily launch from the palm of your hand and making you able to just pluck it out of the air instead of waiting for it to land. All these features make it ideal for the beginner drone user and selfie taker.
The max range is 65 feet and max speed it 17 miles a hour with a flight time of about 9 minutes. This is not meant to be a super long range drone, its supposed to act as a camera man that follows you closely wherever you go. This is not meant to be a manually flown drone, its focus is on its autonomous flying features.
Super impressive is its Face Track and Body Track, just tap on your face and it'll make every effort to keep you in frame. It also comes with two batteries for increased fly time. The camera is less high-end then some of the other drone cameras on this list but the Hover makes up for it with its autonomous features.
Zerotech - Dobby
Flight Time: 4 minutes
$$
Max Speed: 5 mph
4K
Range: 328 ft.
Smartphone operated
The Zerotech Dobby is a pocket sized drone, perfect for selfies while you are traveling on the go. It features a high definition camera and you can control it from your phone. The camera offers innovative features such as facial recognition, 10s auto folow and target tracking.
Folded, the Dobby only weighs 0.4 lbs! I love that it can take off from the palm of your hand in a variety of ways: using voice command, one touch, or throw and fly. This drone has a total flight time of about 9 minutes but when shooting a video, the usable flight time is probably more around 3 minutes.
It reportedly has a range of 328 feet but the range is more limited, it seems to lose connection fairly easily, when it does it hovers to reconnect or returns home. This is a quality drone but it has a very limited fly time. You'll need to know exactly what shot you need before setting it into flight. Luckily, if you are just using it to shoot selfies, you'll require less fly time, although you'll probably need to get the shot in one or two tries.
Beware that purchasing an extra back up battery is surprisingly expensive! As it seems to be with many drone companies, customer service with Zerotech is quite a bit lacking if you reach out to them directly but reports are that if you leave an Amazon review they are super responsive to solving issues!
Honestly I love the idea of the Dobby but I think its overpriced for the extremely limited fly time capacity that it has. It's loaded with great features, if Zerotech could just double the fly time capability, this drone would absolutely be worth the money.
Flight Time: 8 minutes
$
Max Speed: 5 mph
480p
Range: 328 ft.
Smartphone operated
The JJRC Elfie is a great deep bargain drone if you really don't want to invest too much money in trying out your first drone. It doesn't have "follow me" or GPS features but it is relatively easy to fly. The flying time is about 7-10 minutes. The spare batteries are inexpensive which is a big plus.
The JJRC H37 features foldable arms, a G-sensor mode that follows the motion of your smartphone, one touch take off, 3d rollover and more. It features an HD camera at 25fps and its range is about 100 meters. This drone is pretty much a replica of the Zerotech Dobby, except without the fancy features and at a fraction of the price tab.
It'll fit in your pocket and it'll record video directly to your phone. This does not shoot HD video even though it may claim to. The video is 480p and the camera shoots 0.4MP. It has a range of 50 feet and is also known as the Eachine E50. Although this is a fun, practice selfie drone, it does not take photos up to par to quality of those that you can shoot with your smart phone.
Flight Time: 15 minutes
$$
Max Speed: 18 mph
1080p
Range: 165 ft.
Smartphone operated
The Xiro Xplorer Mini Discovery is a compact version of the original Discovery drone. It's a solid, quality drone. It has a 15 minute flight time along with folow and orbit autonomous modes. You can only control it via its smartphone app and its quite a stable drone best used at close distances and lower altitudes.
For the price of the drone, the video quality is lacking. It's pretty shaky as it has no gimbal support and shoots at 1080p. The photo quality is good. It's top speed is 18mph, range is 165 feet and its a solid but slow flying drone.
This is a great drone for shooting those amazing, sweeping aerial selfies, but because of its limited fly time, you won't be able to try out much else in one sitting. This drone features GPS and GLONASS systems so that its stable in the air, also featuring hovering, low power protection, lost connection protectoin, and auto return to home. As compared to the Dobby, ths XIRO Xplorer Mini has a much longer flight time but has a lesser camera as compared to the Dobby's 4K camera.
Flight Time: 10 minutes
$$
Max Speed: 18 mph
1080p
Range: 1/2 mile
Smartphone operated
The Parrot Bebop is targeted for consumers rather than droners but it does shoot a quality 1080 video and is safe to fly indoors. It can do aerial rolls and flips for some extra cool shots. There is a fancy Skycontroller available for purchase if you don't like using your cell phone but it is very pricy.
This affordably priced drone doesn't feel as high of quality as some of the more premium drones on this list. Despite all this, it's still a sturdy little beast. The flexibility of its plastic features makes it better able to survive your inevitable crashes and falls.
It gets 10 to 11 minutes of fly time and comes with an extra battery pack. Extra batteries are available to purchase at a cheaper rate than many other drone batteries. This drone is easy to fly, the controls are intuitive and easy to follow, you'll need no previous flying experience to use this baby.
I love that the app for the Parrot allows you to manage the responsiveness settings. It features a 14-megapixel, 1080p camera. The camera's range is limited, it can only look where the drone is facing and it cannot look straight down. A super bonus is that the Parrot is simply designed so it can be easily repaired after its taken a beating!
Flight Time: 6 minutes
$$
Max Speed: N/A
4K
Range: N/A
Smartphone operated
I love the Wingsland S6's edgy, colorful designs. Also it conveniently weighs just under the FAA's weight which would require it to be registered. It also has a slow motion filming feature which is pretty cool. The Wingsland S6 allows for precision flying giving you a stable and responsive machine during flight.
You can change the camera settings why in flight, it features Follow Me, Point of Interest and Low-Voltage Protection. Flight time is around 6 minutes, less than the 8-10 flight time advertised. It comes with a high quality camera very similar in quality to the Go-Pro. It features 4K video
Without a physical gimbal for stabilization, it instead uses an internal 3 axis digital stabilization. Also, it's landing feet feature rubber landing pads to dampen the impact of landing it on its feet.
The Wingsland S6 features the standard selfie drone features such as Fixed Point, One Touch Return, One Touch Takeoff and Landing, Auto-Return, Follow, and many more. It also comes with a little clamshell for storage if you want to stick it in your purse or back pocket. You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck with this drone and it comes with 3 batteries!
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