When I set out to purchase my first drone, I had several conditions that it needed to meet. First of all, I wanted something under $200. Not too expensive if I crashed it but at the same time not a cheap toy. It had to have a decent camera and most importantly, live wifi video streaming from the drone to the controller. After a lot of research, I finally decided on the UDI u818a HD+. Basically this drone started out in life as a base model UDI u818, a simple $80 drone. However it has been specially modifed by UDI and given several key upgrades. For starters, the low quality 720p camera has been upgraded to a 1080p full hd camera. It's no DJI Phantom, but it produces surprisingly good video quality for the price. The second (and most important) upgrade is the wifi transmitter allowing live streaming video to your phone, along with the ability to fully control the drone with a simple app and VR headset compatiblility. If your looking to get a drone in this price range, and you want the ability to live stream video, I highly recommend that you make 100% sure the drone you plan to buy comes with this. Many drone advertisements are misleading and imply that they have live video without actually having it. Now this is a picture of what you'll actually be getting. The size may be a bit hard to determine by this picture so for reference, the drone is about 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, and 4 inches tall.
When you first take it out of the box, you'll immediately notice how flexible the body is. This is a HUGE advantage for first time drone enthusiasts because it gives you the ability to crash into trees, walls, and the ground with little to no damage. You will also recieve extra propeller blades just incase you break one. The drone comes with 2 lithium ion batteries that give approximately 10 - 15 minutes of flight time (depending on how vigorously you're flying) and take about 25 minutes to charge. The drone's controller comes with headless mode for easy learning, 2 different speed modes, and my personal favorite, a flip button. All in all this drone is amazing value for what your recieving. To be honest, I couldn't find another drone that meet my requirements in the under $200 price range. The next best thing would be considering a refurbished parrot drone or DJI Phantom but even then your still spending $300-$600 and your not getting a new drone. It might not have satelite lock on stability or miles of range but for a starter drone, the UDI u818a HD+ is more than you'll need. If your interested in purchasing this drone, it's available on amazon here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HE18R1Q?psc=1 (I believe it's currently on sale). Thanks for reading!
