Top 5 Best Action Cameras For Drones: The Ultimate Guide 2019
If you’re looking for the best action cameras to install on your favorite drones. You have come to the right place because we’re going to share the top 5 best action cameras for drones. Ever since the drones were introduced to the consumer market, they have become more and more popular. As a matter of fact, the Federal Aviation Administration released an Aerospace Report that the number of hobbyist drones will increase to 2.4 million units by 2022.
Plus, having an action camera on the other hand can be quite useful whenever you are flying the drones or not. With a high-quality action camera, you can capture beautiful aerial shots. After you are done flying your drones, you can easily switch to a handheld action camera and film on the ground. Which gives you incredible flexibility and plenty of good tools. Since we are talking about the top 5 best action cameras for drones only in this guide.
If you want to know what are the best drones for action cameras, you can read my in-depth ultimate guide about that. Often of the time, the quality of action cameras that the drones are equipped aren’t the best. But they allow users the choice to replace their favorite action cameras. Or, even to a better one if they have the desire to transform the drones into an aerial photography quadcopter. So, stick with us to find out the top 5 best action cameras for drones.
Why You Should Upgrade to 4K Action Camera?
For the most part of flying drones with an action camera. Many users decided to upgrade their drones with a high-quality action camera that can capture stills and record videos at 4K resolution settings. There are many good reasons why you should consider upgrading your drone with a 4K action camera. Even though it will require at least some extra investment to make, but the result is totally worth it. Here is why you should upgrade to a 4K action camera:
- Better image quality and higher resolution setting that offer clear, sharp, and professional footage.
- Smoother video animation that creates a cinematic feeling, capturing your audience’s attention.
- Great remote control distance and offers you reliable live streaming in first-person view mode.
- You can make money with it by turning stills and videos into masterpieces.
Now, these sound like good reasons why you should get these high-quality action cameras for your favorite drones? Right? After all, a drone with a high-quality action camera offers you a completely new aerial perspective and brings more features that are otherwise not possible.
Top 5 Best Action Cameras for Drones
GoPro HERO7 Black
Amazon.com | Price history for GoPro HERO7 Black — Waterproof Digital Action Camera with Touch Screen 4K HD Video 12MP Photos Live Streaming Stabilization | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
First and foremost, the best action camera for all drones is obviously the GoPro HERO7 Black. This action camera features HyperSmooth Video Stabilization that provides precise and smooth animation, without the need for a gimbal. Basically, it can predict your hand movement and corrects it automatically to minimize the camera shake for high-quality video. Plus, the GoPro HERO7 Black can perform Time Warp that captures videos and speeds up activities 30 times faster into shareable moments.
Not only this action camera is literally packed with a lot of awesome features that professional-grade camera drones can’t do. You can easily dismount this action camera and dive underwater to capture vibrant marine life. GoPro HERO7 Black action camera is equipped with a powerful sensor size that beautifully captures stills at 12 million pixels. Plus, it can record videos on 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, giving you a complete and immersive experience from the skies.
Specifications:
- Packed with a lot of features: Time Warp, Super Photo, Voice Control, Livestreaming
- HyperSmooth Video Stabilization that eliminates camera shakiness.
- Battery Duration: 120 Minutes
- Camera Quality: 12 MP
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 60 FPS
GoPro HERO6 Black
Amazon.com | Price history for GoPro HERO6 Black — Waterproof Digital Action Camera for Travel with Touch Screen 4K HD Video 12MP Photos | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
While GoPro dominates the top three of the best action cameras for drones. The following runner-up is the HERO6 Black action camera. This action camera will work with a lot of drones like the HS700 Ophelia and 3DR Solo. If you don’t want to spend that much money on getting a professional-grade action camera, the HERO6 Black might be a great alternative choice. After all, it doesn’t come with a lot of new changes, besides the capabilities to record videos at 4K resolution setting.
Featuring advanced video stabilization, this action camera can produce perfect and smooth footage with ease. Whether it is done handheld or mounted on your favorite drone. Plus, it is built to be waterproof and can withstand up to 30 feet deep. Allowing you to capture a glimpse of marine life. Don’t worry because the GoPro HERO6 Black features upgraded 5GHz Wi-Fi signal that gets sent over to your smartphone three times faster than HERO5 Black.
Specifications:
- HyperSmooth Video Stabilization that eliminates camera shakiness.
- Improved Wi-Fi Signal for better and smooth video experience.
- Battery Duration: 120 Minutes
- Camera Quality: 12 MP
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 60 FPS / 1080P HD @ 240 FPS
GoPro HERO5 Black
Amazon.com | Price history for GoPro HERO5 Black — Waterproof Digital Action Camera for Travel with Touch Screen 4K HD Video 12MP Photos | |
|---|---|
| Latest updates:
|
|
Another great action camera that is worth the money for. This is one of the least expensive GoPro action camera models that doesn’t cost that much as its successors. As a matter of fact, this action camera is packed with powerful camera sensors that easily capture lighting and transforms them into high-quality stills/videos with ease. Furthermore, you can create awesome videos using Single, Burst, and Time Lapse modes in combination with your drone.
Personally, the GoPro HERO5 Black is one of my favorite action cameras because it is a durable design by default. Whenever you are not using this action camera on your drone, you can capture videos and pictures on the ground. Not only it does a beautiful job at creating perfect moments, the design it is crafted is built to withstand underwater up to 30 feet deep. At the price tag that GoPro HERO5 Black is going for, it is definitely a real deal.
Specifications:
- Features: Time Lapse, Single, Burst
- Battery Duration: 120 Minutes
- Camera Quality: 12 MP
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 60 FPS / 1080P HD @ 240 FPS
YI 4K+
Amazon.com This action camera is totally worth checking out. In fact, the YI 4K+ sports action camera is one of the world’s first cameras to feature a built-in Sony IMX377 image sensor. It easily can capture stills and films at a mouth-watering 12MP on a 4K UHD resolution setting. Moreover, this action camera features advanced electronic image stabilization that offers smooth and steady videos up to 4K @ 30 FPS, providing you with the best experience shooting fast-moving objects.
One of the main reasons why beginners and kids will love to use this action camera on their drones is that it comes with long battery life and intuitive UI design. Which makes adjusting settings and editing stills super easy. Plus, you can command the action camera to perform certain functions using your voice even when you are flying the drones above. Not to mention that YI offers superior customer service if you have any issues and this action camera is updated frequently to stay updated.
Specifications:
- Features: Advanced Electronic Image Stabilization, Intuitive UI Design
- Battery Duration: 70 Minutes
- Camera Quality: 12 MP
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 60 FPS / 4K UHD @ 30 FPS / 1080P HD @ 240 FPS
SJCAM SJ8 Pro 4K
Amazon.com Meet the SJCAM SJ8 Pro 4K action camera. This is a recently released action camera featuring built-in SONY IMX377 that captures beautiful and rich videos. Unlike most action cameras under $200, the SJCAM SJ8 Pro 4K action camera comes with Ambarella H22 S85 chipset that delivers high-quality images and handles the process with ease. Plus, this action camera can produce both JPEG and RAW files format, which gives you the option to Photoshop them into a masterpiece.
If you have a fat thumb (no pun intended), you will like this action camera because it has the biggest touchscreen out of all. As a matter of fact, it has a 2.33″ touchscreen that allows you to operate the action camera with better comfort. In addition to that, the SJ8 Pro 4K action camera supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz which allows lighting fast communication with your personal favorite mobile devices.
Specifications:
- Features: Supports RAW format, Advanced Electronic Image Stabilization, Digital Zoom, Image Digital Lossless, Dual User Interface
- Battery Duration: 90 Minutes
- Camera Quality: 12 MP
- Image Resolution: 4K UHD
- Video Resolution: 4K UHD @ 60 FPS / 4K UHD @ 30 FPS / 1080P HD @ 240 FPS
- Large 2.33″ Touchscreen for better comfortability.
What Drones Are Best for Action Cameras?
Now that we have covered on the top 5 best action cameras for drones. If you are looking to grab the perfect drone for an action camera. There are a lot of action camera drones that are available for sale right now. But not all of them are great or suitable for action cameras. So, I want to share some of the best action camera drones with you. And you definitely won’t be disappointed with the quality of action camera drones at all!
Obviously, if you want to get the best flight experience, you should go for the top 3 action camera drones. They already come with built-in gimbal stabilizer, great battery life, long remote control distance, and of course advanced flight features. If you simply want to transform an inexpensive drone into aerial photography, you definitely can do that too.
Which Action Camera Should You Pick?
All of these action cameras that I recently shared in the top 5 best action cameras for drones are the best of all. For some of you who might be on a tight budget, the GoPro HERO5 Black, SJ8 Pro 4K, and YI 4K+ all are great alternative choices that deliver amazing quality stills and videos. However, if you want to get your hands on the best action camera for drones. The GoPro HERO7 Black automatically should be your to-go choice for action camera drones.
For me personally, having a drone that comes with a gimbal stabilizer and an inexpensive action camera that records videos in true 4K format is good enough. Decking out an action camera with the latest gadget, gears and all of this stuff is completely optional. At least for some professional aerial photographers who want to have flexibility. Plus, having an action camera doesn’t mean you are limited to flying drones only.
If you are traveling around, you can easily turn your action camera into a selfie stick and capture moments. Rake up likes, views and you probably will become a well-known YouTuber. Even more so, these action camera drones offer you the option to capture aerial views of beautiful isles and landscape. It is a very easy way to capture your audience’s attention and generate conversation among your families and friends. So, what do you think of these top 5 best action cameras for drones?
