Ultimate Drone Buying Guide for Intermediates and Pros 2023

Best Camera Drones for Intermediates or Professionals aren't new to cameras compared:
DJI Mini 3 Pro vs. Mavic 3 Pro vs. Air 3 vs. Mavic 3 Classic vs. DJI Inspire 2 with X5S

Link for the Cinematography & Editing drone course, includes the drone business/marketing course now too so they are just one thing.
$100 Off because I love you I guess:
https://courses.dronelaunchacademy.co...

If you cannot get the best thing do not stress about it, all of the drones I go over are still incredible to be able to get and you will have a huge ceiling before you outgrow it.

Or find one on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. USED DRONES ARE A THING I forgot to mention - I have bought used drones before. Usually you know right away if something is up with it and the app will alert you.

Mavic 3 Pro (2023) - $2300
5.1K Video, 4/3" Sensor, 20mp RAW photos, collision sensors, parking cameras black & white preview thing, 3 cameras.
46m flight time. Get the normal version not the $4000 CINE version if you don't know why you need Prores.
This is the Business Class plane ticket drone, there is no going back after having this. Unbelievable dynamic range. UNREAL stability, default color profile is great, flexible rich data for color grading.
A 3x and a 7x telephoto camera, Great for cool angles and cinematography nerds. In general most of what I film on this drone looks better in the end than what I thought I was getting while shooting. They knocked it out of the park with this drone, no limits honestly.

Mavic 3 Classic - $1600
Not typing all that again, you get the point. Same same but different, no telephoto cameras. Main camera is only priority anyway, everything else is the same. Crapping myself at the price being so cheap now.


Air 3 (2023) - $1100
4K Footage x2, 2x .76" sensors, 12mp RAW photos, 2 cameras, 46m flight
Closer to Mavic 3 size than Mini 3 Pro. Feels like a big step up from Mini 3 Pro despite same sensor size of .76"
Great low-light, better than Air 2S despite less hardware. Sensor is a huge improvement, clearly beats Mini 3 Pro and Air 2S in quality AND has a 3x telephoto (the only one you really need).


Mini 3 Pro (2022) - $750/$900
4K, 12mp RAW photos, Great connection, Vertical Filming, .76 inch sensor, really impressive for the convenience and ease. Makes you forget you have it on you and go fly WAY more often. By far the most fun
Get the $900 one, it is a billion times worth having a dedicated smart remote especially for so little extra.


Autel Evo Lite Plus (2022) - $1100
6K 1" inch sensor, 20 megapixel photos. Flies pretty rigid so stick to front/back and left/right. Actually a nice picture, lovely reds like in all Autels. Oversharpened image but I can live with that. Fun colors to pick from give extra points, could use on a work day no sweat. Doesn't beat DJI but this isn't bad if you HAVE to.


Inspire 2 + X5S camera - $8000+ Used
Shoots 6K RAW Video (literally films in RAW format photos)
5.2K 422 Prores and 4K Proress 4444 if you know what that means. Cinema formats but such a pain to lug around, and the noise is a lot. It's more like a once in a while, Ace in the hole to blow something out the water or shoot Stock Footage and practice cinematography. Interchangeable lenses are really nice too, would still pick Mavic 3 Pro over it at this point.

I edit with Adobe Premiere Pro and the color grading you see me doing is in there as well using the Lumetri Color effect it has, if you use DaVinci good for you I don't care, stop pumping your cult.

I have other videos on making money, go watch those if you need.
If you want the fastest way to get better footage, watch the Cinematography one for some faster advice too.

00:00 Fast comparison
00:53 Drone Standards 2023
02:30 Features
04:10 Best Drone
06:45 Prores
08:11 Mini 3 Pro
08:45 Air 3
09:40 Resolution
09:50 Photography
11:40 Low Light
12:52 SMART REMOTE!!
14:00 Small Indoor Uses
14:42 Dlog Profiles
15:23 Inspire 2 & 3
20:38 Selling Footage