A table summary of the basic specs of popular drones, click through and select the specification on each listing for more info.
From this info we can see the Mini 2 is the best value drone with it's 3 axis 4k camera at only £549. The H520E being the best value inspection drone with 180x zoom.
The Splashdrone 4 at £2598 being a must have if you plan to fly close to water or in medium to heavy rain as not even the M300 at £10,500+ offers close to the same IP protection.
The Mavic 3 comes in strong in video quality and battery life with the 2nd highest resolution at 5.1k but 50 FPS vs the Mavic Air 2S' 30 FPS. Mavic 3 also has an enormous battery life of 46 mins.
The Mavic Air 2S is a great alternative to the Mavic 3 being £710 cheaper with many of the same strengths.
For thermal the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is the must have with double the thermal resolution of other similar drones, add to that payload choice of a spotlight, beacon or speaker included and the M2 Enterprise Advanced is perfect for search and rescue. Add to that the RTK module for £465 and you have a good inspection drone with precision hovering and flight.
| Drone | DJI Phantom 4 RTK | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | £549 | £1,169 | £1,589 | £1,879 | £2,249.99 | £2,598 (£1,849 w/o Camera) | £3,399 w/ E90X £5,499 w/ E30ZX (£2,199 w/o Camera) | £4,995 | £4,999 | £7,800 - inc 3 cameras | £14,600 w/ H20 Triple Visual Cam £20,700 w/ H20T Quad Visual+Thermal cam (£10,500 w/o Camera) |
| Flight time (mins) | 31 | 31 | 25 | 46 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 55 |
| Max Video Recording Quality | 4k 30 FPS | 5.4k 30 FPS | 4k 60 FPS | 5.1k 50 FPS | 4k 60 FPS | 4k 30 FPS | E90X: 4k 60 FPS E30ZX: 1080p 60 FPS | 4k 30 FPS | 4k 30 FPS | 4k 24 FPS | 4K 30 FPS |
| Max FPS (frames per second) | 60 FPS at 2.7k | 120 FPS at 1080p | 120 FPS at 1080p | 200 FPS at 1080p | 120 FPS at 1080p | 240 FPS at 720p | E90X: 1080p 120 FPS E30ZX: 1080p 60 FPS | 30 FPS at 4k | 30 FPS at 4k | 120 FPS at 1080p | 30 FPS at 4k |
| Max Still Image Resolution | 4000 x 3000 12 MP | 5472 × 3648 20 MP | 5472 × 3648 20 MP | 5280 × 3956 20 MP | 5472 x 3648 20 MP | 12MP | E90X: 5472 x 3648 20 MP E30ZX: 1920 x 1080 2.13 MP | 8000 × 6000 | 5472 × 3648 20MP | 21MP | 5184 × 3888 20 MP |
| Camera Sensor | 1/2.3” CMOS | 1" CMOS | 1" CMOS | 4/3" CMOS | 1” CMOS | 1/2.3" SONY CMOS | E90X: 1" SONY E30ZX: 1/2.8" CMOS | 1/2” CMOS | 1" CMOS | 1/2.4" | 1/1.7" CMOS 1/2.3" CMOS |
| Max Speed | 57.6 km/h | 68.4 km/h | 72 km/h | 68.4 km/h | 72 km/h | 79.2 km/h | 50.4 km/h | 72 km/h | 58 km/h | 53 km/h | 82.8 km/h |
| Max transmission distance in UK/EU | 6 km | 8 km | 1.6 km | 8 km | 1.6 km | ~3 km | 3.5 km | 6 km | 5 km | 4 km | 8 km |
| Mechanical Zoom | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4 x | N/A | N/A | E90X: None E30ZX: 30x | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8 x |
| Digital Zoom | 4K: 2x 2.7K: 3x 1080p: 4x | 4K: 4x 2.7K: 6x 1080p: 8x | At least 8x lossy | 7 x (28 x combined) | "lossless digital zoom" at least up to 4x | N/A | E90X: None E30ZX: 6x (180x combined) | 32 x | N/A | 32x | 23 x (200 x combined) |
| Thermal Resolution | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 640 × 512 16x Zoom | N/A | 320 x 286 | 640×512 8x Zoom |
| Thermal FPS | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 30 Hz | N/A | 20 Hz | 30 Hz |
| IP Rating | None | None | None | None | None | IP67 | None | None | None | IP53 | IP44 |
| Payload(s) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2 kg payload dropper. Lifebuoy. Boat floats. Underwater camera. extension bar. | N/A | RTK Module, Spotlight, Speaker, Beacon. | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| RTK | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | RTK Module - £465 | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Weight | 249 g | 595 g | 1995 g | 895 g | 1985 g | 2490 g with Camera | 2310 g with Camera | 909 g | 1391 g | 696 g | 6300 g |
| Media formats | JPG, DNG(RAW), MP4(H264) | JPG, DNG(RAW) MP4, MOV (H264, H265) | JPG, JPG+DNG MP4 (H264, H265) | MP4/MOV (H264, H265) Cine: Mov ProRes 422 HQ | MP4 (H264, H265) JPG, DNG, JPG+DNG | JPG, DNG(RAW) MP4, MOV | MP4, JPEG, DNG+JPEG | MP4, JPG Thermal: MP4, R-JPEG | MOV, JPG | MP4(H264) JPG, DNG | MP4, JPG, R-JPEG (16 bit) |
| Image Stabilisation | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 3 Axis Mechanical | 2 Axis Mechanical, 3 Axis digital | 3 Axis Mechanical |
| Release date | Nov 2020 | April 2021 | July 2018 | Nov 2021 | Nov 2019 | July 2021 | ~Nov 2020 | March 2021 | Oct 2018 | June 2021 | May 2020 |
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