Ever wanted to film yourself skiing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, hiking, biking, running, skateboarding, surfing, jet skiing, or doing any other activity?
Back in the day, this was impossibly difficult and annoying.
However, a few smart people have given consumer drones the ability to focus on an object, maintain the right altitude, and follow that object as it conducts an activity.
These are called Follow Me drones. They have an auto “Follow Me” mode that gives you the ability to film yourself doing just about anything.
But not all of these camera drones are made equal. Some are much better than others (especially if you’re filming action sports).
This article breaks down the best drones that follow you for sale in 2018.
It will help you pick out the best self following drone for your goals and budget.
The drones are arranged by price level. Scroll down to start from the beginning, or use the table below to get an overview of each model.
And make sure to check out the price level column on the right. It will help you find the rigs that fit your budget.
Table of the Best Follow Me Drones
# | Model | Camera | Flight Time | Price | Price Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4K / 12MP | 18 minutes | $$$$ | ||
2 | GoPro | 18 minutes | $$$$ | ||
3 | 4K / 12MP | 22 minutes | $$$$ | ||
4 | 4K / 12MP | 28 minutes | $$$$ | ||
5 | 2.7K-4K / 12MP | 25 minutes | $$ to $$$ | ||
6 | 4K / 12MP | 25 minutes | $$$ | ||
7 | 4K / 12MP | 25 minutes | $$$ | ||
8 | 4K | 25 minutes | $$$ | ||
9 | 4K | 22 minutes | $$$ | ||
10 | 4K / 13MP | 9 minutes | $$ | ||
11 | GoPro | 16 minutes | $$ | ||
12 | 1080p | 19 minutes | $$ | ||
13 | 720p | 12 minutes | $ |
1. DJI Inspire 1 V2.0 Bundle
The DJI Inspire 1 V2.0 comes with a 4K camera that takes 12 megapixel stills and a powerful Zenmuse X3 gimbal to help you get stable aerial shots.
DJI added new propeller kits version 2 of the Inspire 1 in order to make installation smoother, and a more reliable locking mechanism reduces the abrasion that is common in propeller installation — prolonging the propeller’s lifespan.
DJI has also made the quadcopter more powerful by improving the Inspire 1’s motor performance.
The Inspire 1 comes with a number of autonomous flight modes:
- Follow Me
- Course Lock
- Waypoints
- Home Lock
- Point of Interest
And this package comes with a bunch of useful add-ons:
- Carrying case for easy transport
- Extra propellers
- Extra battery
- A 16GB MicroSD card to save your images/videos
- Remote control harness
- And more
The Inspire 1 V2.0 is a great choice for people who want a drone that can follow them.
2. AirDog – Autonomous Action Sports Drone for GoPro
AirDog is arguably the best follow me drone for action sports filming.
First off, it’s fully autonomous. No pilot skills are required, because the drone follows you using AirLeash, a waterproof watch-like device that gets attached to your arm or whatever point of interest you want AirDog to focus on.
You can also change settings and various controls using AirLeash.
The drone comes with different mode depending on the sport you’re doing:
- Surf
- Wakeboard
- MTB (mountain biking)
- Backcountry (snowboarding)
- Windsurf
- And more on the way
The AirDog team worked with professional athletes in each sport to determine a range of tendencies that AirDog could remember and adjust for when filming.
The drone comes with auto take-off and landing, and how it takes off and lands depends on the mode you set it to. For instance, in Surf mode, AirDog will only take off once you hit the break. This helps to save battery and camera space. Before running out of battery, the drone will land itself safely back on the beach.
AirDog comes in a foldable design for easy transport, and it supports GoPro Hero action cams.
If you want to film yourself doing action sports, AirDog is one of your best bets.
3. Yuneec Typhoon H
The Yuneec Typhoon H has 6 blades (hexacopter) which typically provides a more powerful lift than the 4 blades of a quadcopter.
This is also one of the few camera drones that follow you that comes with an obstacle avoidance system. The Typhoon H uses a sonar system in the front of the rig to bounce back and move around objects that enter its flight path.
The landing gears retract, giving your camera a 360 field of view. This is helpful for getting shots at tough angles and giving your camera an unobstructed view.
And the Typhoon H has a 22-minute flight time, films in 4K resolution, and takes 12 megapixel stills. This hexacopter is a powerhouse and one of the best drones available, period.
4. DJI Phantom 4
The DJI Phantom 4 is one of the most advanced drones money can buy.
Its camera shoots amazing 4K video, takes sharp 12 megapixel stills, and the quadcopter has an excellent flight time of 28 minutes. This is one of the longest flight times available.
It also comes with an obstacle avoidance system. The drone will move out of the way or bounce backwards when an obstacle comes in its way.
The Phantom 4 comes standard with five intelligent flight modes — Course Lock, Follow Me, Waypoints, Point of Interest, and Home Lock . You can read about them more on DJI’s website.
This fantastic drone’s price has come down a lot since its release, so you can get some of the best features out there for an even better price.
5. DJI Phantom 3
The DJI Phantom 3 is arguably the best follow me drone for the money.
The drone comes in four versions:
1. The Phantom 3 Standard— The Phantom 3 Standard offers less features than the other versions, but it is also the cheapest. Even so, it has a 25-minute flight time, can shoot 2.7K video, and it takes 12 megapixel still photos. This puts the Standard ahead of most other drones in its price range.
2.The Phantom 3 4K — The Phantom 3 4K is similar to the Standard except it comes with an upgraded camera that offers 4K video capture capability, and flight distance increases by to 1200m.
3. The Phantom 3 Advanced — Like the Standard, The Phantom 3 Advanced shoots 2.7k video and takes 12 megapixel stills, but control distance increases to a whopping 5 km and it offers live FPV (first person view) streaming of the camera’s view to your controller.
4. The Phantom 3 Professional — The Phantom 3 Professional’s video quality takes a massive jump up to 4K, making it an excellent choice for professional pilots.
For $449 for the Standard up to $799 for the Professional, you can’t make a bad choice with any of these amazing quadcopters.
6. Autel Robotics X-Star Premium
Looking for a high quality drone camera that follows you?
Look no further than the Autel Robotics X-Star Premium.
This drone is packed with great features:
- A 25 minute flight time
- A long flight range of 2km
- 4K camera that takes 12 megapixel still photos
- Autonomous flight modes (including Follow Me, Orbit, and Waypoints) controlled via the free Starlink app for iOS or Android
- Remote control with mobile device holder for an FPV display
- The Starpoint Positioning System helps the quadcopter stay stable and safe, even during indoor flight and at low altitudes
- SecureFly technology helps the drone return to home safely in case of a fly-away
The package even comes with a carrying case, 64-GB MicroSD card, extra propellers, and more.
The X-Star Premium is a fantastic top-tier drone.
7. Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon
The Yuneec Q500 4K Typhoon comes with some advanced features at a price that’s affordable for many drone buyers.
The built-in camera shoots 4K video, and it takes crisp 12MP still photos. The Q500 4K also comes with two autonomous flight modes — Watch Me and Follow Me — standard.
The controller comes with a built-in touch screen that lets you adjust flight settings. And you can get a first person view feed from the drone camera.
This quadcopter is a great choice for autonomously filming yourself conducting an activity.
8. FlyPro Xeagle Follow Me Sports Drone
The FlyPro XEagle is a great drone for self-followed filming.
It comes with a powerful 4K camera for crisp videos, and the drone requires zero pilot skills to operate. Simply put on the XWatch (the device XEagle uses as a point of interest) and let the quadcopter’s pre-programmed flight algorithms take over.
XWatch also allows you to adjust the drone’s position, altitude, speed, and monitor your flight stats — all on the fly.
The drone has a 17m/s, maximum altitude of 5,000m, and a flight time of 22 mins. This gives you more than enough speed to keep up with you and time in the air to get the shots you need.
And when the battery runs low, the drone will automatically return to where it took off and land safely.
XEagle is a a great quadcopter that follows you (and that comes at an affordable price).
9. GHOSTDRONE 2.0 with 4K Camera
The GHOSTDRONE is one of our favorite quadcopters that can follow you.
It comes with an mega-powerful 4K camera, and the drone itself has a great set of distinguishing features:
After downloading the EHANG Play app (iOS and Android), you can choose Avatar Control. This allows you to use motion control to fly the quadcopter simply by tilting your phone in the desired direction.
Using the same app, you can use Waypoints to give GHOSTDRONE a flight path and have it follow the path automatically. This frees you up to take aerial images/videos or simply get an aerial view of the world on the FPV screen.
Or you can use Follow Me to have the drone follow your every move.
The quadcopter also has an auto return-to-home function when battery power gets low (an important safety feature). And the camera comes with multiple image capture modes — Wide Dynamic Range, Cycle Recording, Burst Mode, and Time Lapse.
GHOSTDRONE is also ready to fly right out of the box.
With this set of features and a 25-minute flight time, this drone offers a ton of opportunity to get great shots of yourself and your surroundings.
10. DOBBY Selfie Drone with 13MP Camera
DOBBY is a selfie drone, meaning that it was designed specifically for taking aerial selfies (or “dronies”).
This self-image capture quadcopter comes packed with fun features:
- A 13 megapixel camera
- Facial recognition
- Target tracking
- 10-second auto follow short video shooting
- A foldable design that allows the drone to fit in your pocket
You can also use your mobile device to get a first-person view of what your camera is seeing in real time, and you can control it using phone’s swipe function or as a motion controller (the drone moves according to how you tilt your phone).
Then you can synchronize the photos to your phone with one click and share them immediately.
DOBBY is an excellent mini drone for getting pictures of you and your surroundings.
11. 3D Robotics Solo for GoPro
Solo offers a ton of autonomous flight features. And the price has come down drastically to make this a very affordable follow me quadcopter.
It’s a GoPro drone and one of the only ones that allows in-flight access to your GoPro, giving you the ability to adjust camera settings, start recording, and stop recording while flying.
Solo comes with four autonomous flight modes — Follow Me, Orbit, Cable Cam, and Selfie.
The quadcopter’s controller is manufactured in a video game design to make it easier to handle, and it offers one-touch takeoff and landing.
This is one of the few drones that beginners and experienced pilots can both fly to get professional quality shots.
12. Hubsan H501S FPV Quadcopter
Hubsan are products fun, durable, and they get the job done.
The Hubsan H501S is definitely one of them.
This quadcopter is smaller, more compact, and is on sale for under $300, yet it still comes with a powerful 1080p camera and FPV capability. The drone’s remote control comes with a 4.3 inch LCD screen that gives you a real time view of what your drone is seeing.
The H501S also comes with some surprisingly advanced features:
- GPS Hold
- Headless Mode
- Return to Home
- Altitude Mode
- Follow Me Autonomous Flight Mode — The drone will lock onto your position and follow you as you conduct an activity
- 19 minutes of flight time
The H501S is a compact FPV drone and one of the most affordable drones that follow you.
13. Hubsan H502S FPV Drone
The Hubsan H502S is the cheapest drone with follow me mode on the market right now.
It’s the smaller, cheaper version of the H501S. It comes with a camera that shoots video in 720p. For the price, this is great quality for a drone with autonomous capabilities.
The quad also comes with an LCD screen built into the controller. This gives you a first-person-view of what your drone’s camera is seeing in real time. And it has a nice flight time of 12 minutes and a control distance of 150m.
Compared to the other drones in the list, the H502S won’t blow you away. But for the price, it’s one of the best drones for experiencing Follow Me mode (and FPV as well).
