I have been using an old Mavic Pro from like 2019. It's technically owned by my work, but I'm the only one who uses it, mostly for my poor attempts at landscape cinematography and documenting trips to Iceland. Sometimes I just fly for fun. Well, that drone has had a crash and never came back quite right after repair, and now there's some issue with the gimbal (probably just a wiring replacement needed) that I'm not wanting to do myself since, technically, it's not mine and I'm not spending my own money on parts, nor my time.

So I'm looking to get my own personal drone and the Google said that finding a US-made drone is basically a no-go unless you want something industrial. I didn't see too many quality options on Amazon aside from DJI. Ruko is another brand that comes up.

I'm assuming avoiding Chi-com all the things is impossible. Which ones are the least worst and won't run afoul of FAA registration?

I'm looking for around $500-600 with a pack including 3 batteries. Ideally the drone is smaller/lighter than the old Mavic I have (shouldn't be hard, given better tech now). I want a good camera for landscape video and preferably one that can stand up to high winds, since much of my flying time will be in Iceland or Norway in the winter. Follow mode is a must.

Suggestions from the hive mind?

Following. Wife and I have talked about buying one in this price range.

Buy one in Norway.

In the US, there's a 25% tariff on Chinese drones under 55lbs. Under other rules, DJI has been blocked from importing new drones since last year.

There are several DJI forums that offer classified sections.... Mavicpilots.com is one, and there are numerous drones/accessories, etc available now, often in the price range you're seeking.

If you want a DJI you better hurry up. There’s a lot of regulations that will be in play in a very short time and any China made drones are illegal to import. You can buy existing DJI stock and that will be it for now.

Thanks for the heads up. I thought there was something I remember about regulations on the Chinese drones coming up soon.

Every time I ATTEMPT to fly my Mini, my distain for DJI grows.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Every time I ATTEMPT to fly my Mini, my distain for DJI grows.

Why is that? I’ve been flying several different DJI drones over the past 10+ years and I’ve never had a problem.

Some of my grievances?
Things like "can't fly more than (low number) feet off the ground because you're not logged in." But I can't log in because I'm in the middle of nowhere.

Last weekend was "can't fly more than (low number) feet off the ground because you don't have satellite lock". Which I can't get because I'm in a small clearing in the middle of the woods (trying to take pictures of said clearing from the air. Eventually managed to make that work.

They've nannied it to death.

I was "lucky" enough to buy an original Mini, about a week before they released the newer version. DJI sold the "fly more" kit, with the case to keep the drone in. But if you use the case, it ruins your props. "Fly less kit." They stopped supporting it, you can't buy props for it. (in theory you can, in reality you can't, only available once in a blue moon at scalpers prices) So they sold me a thing that ruined my drone, but won't sell me the parts to fix my drone. Nice.

I swear every time I try to use it the batteries are dead. So I can't fly. So I charge them. Next time I go to use it, they're dead. I swear 80%+ of my charge cycles have been without actually using it. If I look at my log, 90% of my flights are under two minutes because there was some reason I couldn't do what I intended to. Six years of ALMOST getting to use my drone more often than not.

Last Friday, after I managed to get it to go more than 20 feet off the ground, I went up, took the pictures I needed and brought it back down. Maybe 5 minutes of flight? Got the "aircraft battery low, returning to home point in ten seconds" (WTF? Already!?) And then it immediately flew into a tree. It was two feet off the ground. The home point was 2o yards straight ahead of it, nothing in the way. But it turned right and flew into a tree trunk. lmao

I don't know if it's broke and at this point I don't know that I care.