While drones were once saved for skilled cinematographers, the gadgets have slowly but surely become more mainstream.

The flying gadgets capture stunning footage from unique angles, and can transform the way you record your activities.

But with hundreds of different brands and models now available to buy, it can be difficult to know which is the best for you.

To help, we've put together a list of the 10 best drones to buy in 2020, including big name brands like DJI, Parrot and Xiro.

 

1. DJI Mavic Air

DJI Mavic Air

The DJI Mavic Air is an ultra portable drone that can be folded down to the size of a smartphone, making it perfect for using on the move.

As well as taking horizontal, vertical and 180 degree footage, the drone also stitches together 25 photos to create stunning 32MP sphere panoramas.

Videos can be shot at either 4K 30 fps, or in slow-mo mode at 120 fps, helping to capture dynamic scenes in stunning quality.

As well as a Micro SD slot, the drone has 8 GB of internal storage, letting you save photos and videos directly to the device - which is perfect, should you forget your memory card.

If you don’t fancy flying the drone yourself, you can also put it in ActiveTrack mode, in which it will sense up to 16 subjects, and the drone will track them on its own.

Price: £769, Apple - buy here now

2. Parrot Bebop 2

Parrot Bebop 2

Like the DJI Mavic Air, the Parrot Bebop 2 is a compact and lightweight option.

The drone weighs just 500g, and can autonomously fly and film for 25 minutes.

It has a wide-angle 14 megapixel lens and films in full HD, resulting in stunning images even in low-light.

Despite being small, the Parrot Bebop is built for speed, and can reach top speeds of 37.28 miles/hour horizontally, and 13.05 miles/hour vertically.

Users can control the drone through an app, which is accessible on smartphones or tablets. This set comes with a Skycontroller 2 and Cockpit FPV.

Price: £599.99, Ebay - buy here now

3. Syma X5SC

Syma X5SC

One of the best drones available for people on a strict budget is the Syma X5SC, which retails at £40.

The drone is equipped with 6-axis flight control systems and 3D lock, enhancing the operation force with longer flight time.

One of the most fun features is 360 rolling, which allows the drone to loop the loop while still filming.

Colourful flashing lights on the base of the drone also make it easy to spot in the sky.

The only downside to the budget drone is the flying time of just six to eight minutes, which could prove problematic for long shoots.

Price: £40, Amazon - buy here now

 

4. X30 Storm Camera Drone

X30 Storm Camera Drone

The X30 Storm is a great beginners drone with an attractive asking price, at only 30cm wide it's a useful size to get used to and adjust to a bigger model if you need to.

The drone has some pretty cool features, like a flying range of 50 metres, flip functions and even flashing LED lighting so you can see it better at night time.

A 4GB SD card, rechargeable battery and charging cable are included in the set.

Price: £60, Argos - buy here now

5. DJI Mavic Mini Drone with Controller

DJI Mavic Mini Drone with Controller

The Mavic Mini Drone is a great intermediate drone and a smooth transition into filming and editing your own content easily.

It weighs just under 250g, this drone is almost as light as the average smartphone, making it a joy to carry around or pop in your bag. What's more, the lightweight design is in the lowest and safest weight class of drones, making it exempt from some regulations in the UK and many other countries - a bonus for capturing a lot of cool content.

There's GPS flight paths, precision hovering and up to 30 minutes of flight time, you'll be able to get the perfect shots and edit them quickly through the app and various shooting modes.

Price: £369, Currys - buy here now

6. Holy Stone HS110G GPS FPV Drone

Holy Stone HS110G GPS FPV Drone

The Holy Stone has some amazing features with a pretty desirable price tag too at under £110.

It's battery life isn't the longest we've seen at 13 minutes, but is still a fair amount of time to capture what you need to.

The Holy Stone has a high performance camera that shoots in Full HD 1080p it also has a 110 degree wide angle lens to make sure you capture all of the scenery and not just parts of it.

Smart GPS on this gadget allow it to return back to the point of which it has taken off, whenever it loses power or control.

Price: £109.99, Amazon - buy here now

7. Parrot Anafi

Parrot Anafi

The Anafi is a tiny portable "flying camera" that comes in a case alongside an Xbox-style controller that connects to your smartphone to fly the drone.

Parrot says it is aiming for a product that can be used by both newbies and professionals without any faffing around.

That means it's incredibly easy to set up and fly while the more intricate settings (such as ISO levels for the camera) are easily accessible in the app should you choose to go looking for them.

The Anafi is a brilliantly compact package. It weighs only 320g, making it 100g lighter than its chief rival, the DJI Mavic Air and the four quadcopter arms fold out with a satisfying click. A single press of the button on the battery pack and the drone will power on an align its camera ready for flight.

Flight time is an impressive 25 minutes on each charge. You can read our full review of the Parrot Anafi here.

Price: £549.99, Argos - buy here now

8. RYZE Tello Drone

RYZE Tello Drone

If you're looking for something a little more at beginner's level - the RYZE Tello drone is a great suggestion with an even better asking price.

Admittedly, as it is described as a 'starting drone' it doesn't have some of the fancy features of the bigger name models. However, if you're just using it for decent quality photos from angles you usually wouldn't be able to capture them, there's nothing not to love about this.

The compact size is ideal for carrying around with you on days out, although it doesn't fold like some of the others - it's still a fairly transportable size.

The camera resolution is decent at 720p, the footage shot is nice and stable as this drone is a breeze to fly. For under £100 it's really not bad at all.

Price: £85, Argos - buy here now

 

Looking for great pictures on a budget? Check out the best drones for under £100, worth investing in now.