If you’re searching to purchase drone-related accessories, then you’ll find that you’re bombarded with numerous options, many of which are completely ineffective for the majority of people.
In this post, I’ll place them in order of importance based on my experiences from many years of flying drones.
It’s difficult to discern what are the top drone accessories when you don’t have previous experience using them firsthand and that’s why I’ll concentrate on those that offer the greatest change in the overall flight and cinematic effects and less on those that are mere games.
We’ll focus primarily on camera drones that are made by such brands as DJI, Xiaomi, Hubsan, Parrot etc and less on FPV drones since they are a distinct category.
1.ND Filters – The most crucial accessory for any drone camera
Before I wrote this article I scoured the internet for other articles to determine whether there was a reason to include another piece of content to the web.
Then I was not satisfied with their suggestions because it suggests they’ve never used drones to fly cameras correctly.
ND filters make the greatest impact on the final outcome of the drone camera is intended to be used for, which is creating photos and videos.
What is ND filters?
Filters with ND are a pair of glasses that you can use on your quadcopter. It’s tiny, but slightly opaque lens you place over the main camera on your drone.
What’s the purpose of ND filters on the drone?
ND filters’ main function is to block a portion of the light coming in the camera. What is the reason you would want to use ND filters?
For various reasons, such as preventing glare and eliminating sun reflections that are not natural but the most important of all is keeping the rule of 180 shutters in cinematography.
What is the 180-degree shutter rule?
This explanation may not be enough if aren’t familiar with the fundamentals of cameras I’ll try my hand at giving it a thorough explanation:
You probably already know that each camera has a shutter speed. This is how fast the camera’s shutter speed is to let the light into. It’s measured in terms of time (how long it can keep its eyes open in anticipation of every blink).
The amount is typically tiny, like 1/120 or 1/8 (which is an 80-fold number divided by a second).
Also, frame rate which, as you’re aware refers to the number of frames you can shoot in.
This is why the “180-degree shutter” rule is useful.
In the event that the shutter rate is not high enough ( an extremely small number such as 1/600) it indicates that the drone is blinking very quickly (in simple terms) and the video will be blurry and not cinematic in any way even.
It’s very obvious This is especially evident when using drones, since there is almost always movement within the camera (or otherwise you’ll get bored).
To stop this from happening and create smooth and creamy footage, you have to create a motion blur. This is made with the use of the 180-degree shutter rule:
The shutter speed you choose should be at least 2x the frame rate.
It’s as simple as that.
For example, if you’re filming in 30 FPS you should aim to get approximately 1:60 ( it should equal 2x 30 in this example). If you’re filming at 60 FPS Try to achieve around 1/1200.
2.Backpacks and Cases Which are the most effective?
Yes, some drones have backpacks or bags straight from their manufacturer however very few have adequate protection, or provide good transportability for your other equipment.
One of the most effective ways to make your drone’s transport safer and to discover a common way to organize all your other camera equipment and other accessories is to buy the appropriate carrying case.
Here are a few advantages a good carrying case could bring:
Waterproofing – Although there are very few cases that are truly waterproof that are waterproof, you will see that the majority of them are splash proof , and particularly for case tops, the water will have an extremely difficult time entering. I’ve dropped my previous Mavic Pro with its hard case in a river when shooting for an upcoming rafting contest and within 5 seconds submerged, it was discovered that there was no damage to the case and there was no evidence of water in the case.
Damage prevention by Brute Force In the event that you carry everything you need in your usual backpack could cause a problem if someone is sitting on it, your drones that cost a lot of money could end up being very damaged. This is why it is important to have a case comes with foam protection (especially sturdy ones) as well as an outer protection casing.
Compartmentalization: Let’s consider the previous scenario in which you purchase your controller, drone camera batteries, and other accessories, and put all of them in the same backpack compartment. The items will be scratched! That’s why having separate compartments for one main piece of equipment can greatly keep damage from happening. Believe me I’ve made the same mistake as well and put 3 drones into the same backpack, and resulted in scratching the drones and , in turn, it was more difficult to sell them afterwards.
Slots for accessories that can be added like batteries may not fit into the bag that the drone came with , and it’s not easy to carry them all separately. This is why I suggest every bag you purchase to hold at least two more batteries (besides the ones already included on the drone). Places for pockets and other items like cables or landing pads are an excellent as an addition.
3.Micro SD cards for drones – What is the importance of this gadget?
Although the decision to purchase an Micro SD card might seem to be a simple decision, the consequences of making the wrong choice could be far more damaging than other items that is on the list.
I was screaming more about defective Micro SD cards than because of all other drone issues.
Because most drones nowadays are recording in 4K (some even record in 8 or 6k, such as those with the Autel Evo 2), the capability to use Micro SD cards to write quickly during recording is of the utmost importance.
The resolution alone isn’t the only thing because Bitrate could significantly increase the amount of data that micro SDs can write every second.
Even the tiniest drones, like Mini 2 Mini 2 shooting in over 100mBps, you’ll see why we’re in dire need of storage devices to store data.
What are the top Micro SD Cards that work with 4K drones?
Although most cards today are capable of handling 1080p resolution, if we want to go up one step further, we should take a look at the following on micro SD cards:
Speed class
Minimum Sequential write speed
Manufacturer (Brand)
Size (I prefer 128GB)
Brand appears to be crucial
As I normally try to stay away from paying more when purchasing branded goods I’ve noticed a change this time.
When I’ve used no-name microSD cards I’ve experienced more issues (even when they were identical speed classes, in theoretical terms).
Two brands I would recommend is Sandisk along with Samsung.
4.Sunshade for your drone controller
The sunshade you use to protect your Drone Controller’s screen is often overlooked as an accessory until you get out and experience how difficult it is to see anything in the sun in your monitor.
This could lead to improper photography, other camera malfunctions and poor photos.
The most effective sunshades for your drone controller.
Because controllers vary with regard to mounting positions and the kind of tablet or phone you’re using could make your lookup for a shade of a drone controller extremely specific.
5.Winter Drone Gloves – surprising important
As I tested a few DJI accessories made by the manufacturer PGYtech on the DJI Mini 2 I ordered a pair of winter-related photography gloves as well.
For instance, they’re gloves that have tops of the fingers that are removed to allow greater control of a monitor or camera.
But, they do be extremely compatible with flying drones as well.
Many times, I ran into the issue of flying during winter(besides the battery’s life being shorter) that was looking to get home and my fingers shaking.
The gloves resolved all of the issues instantly. It’s great to not be able to operate with your hands freezing when using an extremely sensitive device for flying.
DJI Osmo Pocket – the perfect pocket camera accessory
If you’re looking to make videos using drones there’s a high chance that you’ll have to combine the footage with ground footage.
The best method to avoid having to be spending much money on a costly camera drone and stabilized is to buy Osmo Pocket. Osmo Pocket.
It can be a fantastic addition to your drone footage, and it’s extremely stable due to the 3 axis system.
Lanyard Lanyard “how to ensure that you don’t fall your controller onto the floor”
The risk of dropping a controller is costly, therefore using the neck strap (lanyard) to secure it could be a cost-effective method to ensure it’s safe.
Additionally, you can place on your belly when you’re looking to work with your hands at the same time.
Your own landing pad tiny Helidrome
If you’d like to be like a pilot in a helicopter or just want to avoid landing on grass and wreck your drone, purchasing landing pads can be a huge difference.
Due to their vibrant colours (usually blue in one direction, and red on the opposite) drone landing pads are excellent accessories to aid your drone in landing more precisely.
Because more advanced drones are equipped with bottom facing sensors that are able to detect the place they land the distinctive surface could aid in locating it more precisely.
Lipo battery bag – safety first
This drone accessory is crucial for safety, especially for those who travel and you plan to take your drone into airports.
A battery bag made of lipo is constructed of fireproof material and ensures that in the event that any battery is damaged and caught it burns it won’t spread to other locations.
The typical smart batteries you’ll discover in DJI drones are equipped with safety systems in place, however, they are still able to explode (from personal experiences) and it’s always better to stay safe while traveling.
This makes security at airports less anxious around you.
Tablet holder – essential accessory for people who use tables
Utilizing a tablet as drones can significantly enhance your perspective of what you’re shooting but the majority of controllers aren’t equipped to work with larger tablets.
This is the point where a tablet holder steps into play and can help extend the capabilities. The combination of a sunshade will make your setting different from the standard setup (in an excellent way).
DJI Drone Accessories
Because this is the most well-known and popular company, I’ll begin with a list of top products for well-known models of the DJI collection.
The Little Red Journal Business Pages