Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0

Flight Time: 18 minutes/battery (two included)

Control Method: Smartphone App (about 50-meter range)

Price: B14,990

Available at: .life, 3/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-9884-6. BTS Siam. www.dotlife.co

As far as mid-range drones go, Parrot’s offerings are a great place to start. The front-mounted camera relays live footage to the smartphone app, allowing you to fly the drone in first-person view. The camera also supports video capture at a decent resolution of 720p in 30fps. The single biggest caveat we have with this model is that it only supports connection via Wi-Fi, not cellular networks, which limits the drone’s usability in outdoor areas.

DJI Phantom 2 Vision (BK PICK)

Flight Time: 20-25 minutes

Control Method: Proprietary controller and smartphone

Price: B25,000

Available at: Hobby Time, Ratchapruek Rd., 081-643-1037. www.djithailand.com

If you’re looking for a drone with real photography capabilities, this is the one. Sporting a 360-degree tilt-able 14-megapixel camera, helped by a 3-axis camera stabilization mechanism, the drone can take crystal clear pictures mid-flight. It can even take 1080p, HD videos at both 30 and 60 frames-per-second. The range isn’t too bad, either; with an extended (only if you use the controller) range of 700 meters. The video-feed can only be transmitted 300 meters, though.

Parrot Rolling Spider

Flight Time: 8 minutes

Control Method: Smartphone (Bluetooth)

Price: B3,990

Available at: .life, 3/F Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-9884-6. BTS Siam. www.dotlife.co

More of a toy than the other drones, this cute little machine has a top-speed of almost 20-kilometers an hour, making it ideal for racing but not much else, as the drone can only receive signals from a maximum range of 20 meters. The 300k pixel camera can only realistically be used for live-viewing, as captured photos will be incredibly small in resolution. Still, with the comparatively low cost, and included pair of attachable wheels, it should make a tremendously cool Christmas present.

Walkera W100

Flight Time: 7 minutes

Control Method: Smartphone (iOS only)

Price: B3,900

Available at: Concept Toy Shop, Ladprao Soi 71, 081-824-4986. www.concepttoy-rcmodel.com

With the built-in accelerometer and three axis gyros helping with flight stabilization, this drone is perfect for newcomers who would like a cheap product for practice before moving on to more robust and costly drones. The camera is horrible. though, constantly lagging at outrageously low framerates. This makes the drone very difficult to fly using live-view, though the sturdy build should alleviate some concerns when it comes to flying into hard objects.

Cheerson CX-20 Auto-Pathfinder

Flight Time: 15 minutes

Control Method: Radio-controlled

Price: B12,900 (drone only), B16,900 (HD camera attachment bundled)

Available at: Concept Toy Shop, Ladprao Soi 71, 081-824-4986. www.concepttoy-rcmodel.com

The coolest thing about this drone is its ability to fly in auto-pilot mode using GPS. The lack of an attached camera means that you can’t fly the drone in live-view, though that can probably be worked around by using a camera that displays into your phone. The drone has a control distance of 600 meters, and can also be set to hover in place. It’s an interesting choice for people who already own decent cameras. 

Drone V666

Flight Time: 10 minutes

Control Method: Radio-controlled

Price: B6,990

Available at: dronediy.lnwshop.com

Another great Christmas gift for the kids. The drone’s camera can’t snap photos, though it does display and record live-view video through the controller-mounted LCD screen. The control distance isn’t anything special, but sits at a decent 150 meters. The drone is very easy to keep in the air thanks to its six gyro sensors, which allows it to do neat tricks like the classic barrel roll.