Last verification: April 2025
If you're eager to embark on capturing stunning aerial imagery but find yourself hesitant, you're not alone.
The allure of piloting a drone is undeniable, yet the potential for mishaps, intricate controls, and the daunting price tags can dampen enthusiasm.
Recognizing these challenges, we delved into the world of beginner-friendly drones, seeking affordability without sacrificing performance.
Our exploration unveiled a landscape cluttered with subpar offerings, where authenticity was scarce amid a sea of impostors. Surprisingly, our journey led us to a hidden gem crafted by a fledgling startup, defying expectations with its intuitive controls, extended battery life, and impressive camera capabilities.
Here are our Top 5 Picks this year, with a full review of our top pick at the bottom of the page:
Best Overall Drone
Summary: Buying an affordable beginner drone no longer means losing out on all the latest features and performance. During our testing we found the Black Falcon 4K was able to keep up and even exceed the performance of the expensive ‘big brand’ name drones.
Black Falcon 4K is currently on a limited time 50% Off Sale in stores and online.
UPDATE April 26th, 2025: Due to frequent media coverage and high consumer demand, the Black Falcon 4K is currently sold out in retail stores nationwide. However, it may still be available on their online website HERE.
Flying drones has been a passion of mine for over 10 years. I first started flying RC helicopters as a hobby in 2012, progressing onto micro drones and all other newer models as the technology advanced.
Eventually I was lucky enough to try even the highest end drones such as the Shotover U1 ( used to film the action scenes in the new James Bond film) so I’m confident in saying that I have experienced the full range of products available on the market right now.
And while these high end drones can be incredibly fun to fly, they are also hard to control and VERY expensive.
Imagine crashing a $1000 drone as a beginner on your first go? It would be heart breaking!
The problem with more affordable drones however, is that while they can be easy to use – their camera quality usually sucks!
So when I was assigned to review the Black Falcon 4K and saw that it only cost $149 ($99 with Christmas discount), I figured it’s going to be another junk drone with poor performance and quality…however after testing it for a couple of days I realised that I could not have been more wrong!
The Black Falcon 4K turned out to be a top class drone packed with amazing features suitable for beginners and even enthusiasts like me.
My package arrived within 2 days of ordering which already put me in a good mood. There’s nothing worse than buying something new online and having to wait for weeks in anticipation for it to arrive so I was happy with this company’s delivery process so far.
Upon opening the package I picked up the Black Falcon 4K in my hand and immediately felt confused. The drone I was holding FELT like a $500 drone. The material, the sturdiness, the build quality all reminded me of the high end drone models that I’ve tested before.
We’ve all experienced the difference of a cheap or brittle product and a high quality one, whether its sunglasses, clothes or shoes… well drones are no different and this one felt and looked amazing.
The big problem with all the ”budget” drones that I’ve tested before is that they aren’t actually built for speed or durability. Sure you can fly them at low altitudes under perfect weather conditions, but as soon as you go beyond 200 feet they will lose their signal and drop.
When I closely inspected the build quality of the Black Falcon 4K Drone, I was immediately impressed with the rotor and arm strength and stability. The drone was very compact and I was able to fold it easily meaning I could take it anywhere with me without much hassle.
I started to read more about the drone in the manual and my jaw dropped when I saw that the the transmission distance was 3000 feet!
Did this company really manage to design a drone with such a long transmission distance?
If this was true that would be on par with some of the expensive big brand models. I was still a little bit sceptical and resumed my investigation.
The controller felt really comfortable in my hands. It was ergonomic, I could definitely do a long flight session without any trouble. The buttons were springy and easy to press.
The joysticks felt similar to a gaming controller with adequate resistance and precision. The controller also has a retractable phone holder and foldable antennas.
Together with the foldable drone design I could tell the creators really wanted to make this drone convenient to transport and use anywhere. I saw this as a huge plus as I’ve often found myself thinking ‘ wow if only I had my drone right now’.
The Black Falcon 4K even has phone app that allows you to control the drone with a remote. Well no excuses not to have the drone with me now, I thought.
I messed around with the drone controls a bit more and found some pretty cool features. One being the ability to steer the drone by tilting your phone, making it super intuitive and beginner friendly. It’s really as easy as playing a mobile game.
Some other features that stood out was the pre-programmed 360 camera moves, slow motion recording, automatic take off and 1 button landing.
Finally it was time to test what this drone was capable of. The previous features I outlined are all great but don’t mean much if the drone can’t perform as promised.
The 3 most important features of a high tier drone are the camera quality, transmission distance and responsiveness to controls so this is what my testing focused on.
After charging the drone I headed to the nearest park, connected my phone and pushed the automatic take off button.
The drone flew straight up and just steadily hovered above me.
I consider this test to be really important, especially for beginners. I remembered when I flew my first drone many years ago and just how easy it was to lose control of it.
This test showed that even a beginner could get this drone up in the air stress free. Perfect.
In my next test I flew a bit higher and tested taking some sharp turns to see just how responsive the drone was to my control. Some cheaper drones I’ve tested before had a lot of trouble with this input delay and unresponsiveness, but not the Black Falcon 4K.
It really felt very similar to the $500~ models that I’ve tested, the only tiny difference being in advanced rolling manoeuvres. So far so good.
To my surprise even the transmission distance worked as promised! I was able to fly 3000 Feet out without losing signal. It was so far that I lost track of where the drone was, so it’s definitely far enough!
Oh and in case you actually are worried about losing the drone, there’s a nifty little feature that returns it back to you with the press of 1 button!
That paired with the anti-collision sensors will allow you to use the drone for a very long time without any problems.
The camera quality on this drone easily rivals the big expensive brand names. I was able to take both beautiful photos and videos during my tests. The footage comes out very stable and clear, unlike other less expensive drones.
Amazingly after all my testing I checked the battery and it was still on 30%! I got over 20 Minutes of intense fly time and footage and still had some juice left in the tank.
So far, the Black Falcon 4K has sold millions of units directly to consumers. It’s has been selling out every time they re-stock, it’s become THAT popular.
All of the success can be attributed to word of mouth referrals. People like you and I are loving it so much they’re posting about it on social media. Here are some posts that I managed to find online.
It’s clear that this drone is developing a cult like following in the drone community!
After a few days of testing this drone and all of it’s features, I can confidently say that you cannot compare it with anything in it’s price class. This drone truly rivals the quality and performance of big brand names that cost $500+. Here’s some reasons why the Black Falcon 4K is superior:
Q: Does The Black Falcon 4K Drone Require Any Installation?
No. All you need to do is unpack it, charge it, connect your phone and fly away!
Q: Do I need to buy batteries for it?
No, the Black Falcon 4K comes with a pre charged lithium battery and a charging hub that you connect to an outlet. But you can always get extra batteries to bring with you as they are easy to swap so you can get back up in the air in no time.
Q: Can I control the Black Falcon 4K with my phone?
Yes. You can install an app on your phone that allows you to control the Black Falcon 4K with two different modes, touch controls or by tilting your phone.
Q: Do I need a license to fly it?
You don’t need to have any experience or knowledge of drones to use it. There is no license needed for recreational purposes.
From my experience, a top tier level drone costs around $500-1000 so without knowing the price tag of the Black Falcon 4K, I would have expected it to be in this price range as well.
In reality, the Black Falcon 4K usually sells for $149 as the founders of the start up company are doing everything to keep the prices as affordable as possible.
In fact they are even running a limited time 34% OFF sale right now, meaning some lucky customers are going to be able to get the drone for just $99!
Click here to claim a discounted Black Falcon 4K Drone. (If it’s still available.)
That’s a small price to pay to be zooming through the sky with 4K Ultra HD video.
The big name brands spend billions on fancy advertising (e.g. $6.5 Million for a 30 sec SuperBowl Ad). Guess who’s paying for that in the end? The customer!
Instead, Black Falcon 4K doesn’t run many ads and instead relies on word of mouth referral sales from their customers. That and selling mostly through their online store allowed them to keep costs lower than the competition.
I have to say that I was honestly very pleasantly surprised after reviewing and testing this drone. Never thought I’d say this but I would highly recommend this drone, especially while its on sale for $99.
It seems like modern technology has advanced to such a level where an ambitious start up company can design a high tier drone for a fraction of the price of traditional big brand companies.
So whether you are a beginner or a drone enthusiast looking for a new drone that has a crystal clear & stable camera, long battery life, great transmission range and many other incredible features, you should seriously consider picking up the Black Falcon 4K.
If you’re still on the fence, Black Falcon 4K has a 30 day money back guarantee (no questions asked) meaning that you could always buy one and return if if you don’t like it.
BEWARE of copycats — they DO NOT use the same Camera and Anti-Collision features as the genuine Black Falcon 4K! Only buy the Black Falcon 4K from the official site listed below!
To take advantage of the current 34% discount and order simply follow these steps:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION!
As of April 26th, 2025, Ever since the Black Falcon 4K was on major international media, an incredible amount of buzz has been generated. Due to its popularity and positive reviews, the company is so confident in their product that they are now offering a one-time, first time buyer 34% discount.