Drone With a Camera vs. Drone With My GoPro On

We all know for a fact that there aren’t that many GoPro compatible drones available in the market today. One of the reasons behind this is that nowadays, most drones usually come with high-quality cameras mounted. Therefore, for most people, it’s usually unnecessary to add another camera to the drone. But one question that still abounds in the minds of most drone owners is which one is better; getting a drone that comes with a camera already installed or getting a drone that is compatible with a GoPro and using it as the drone’s primary camera?

A drone with your GoPro mounted is better because it gives you a wider angle for capturing photos and videos, is quite durable, it’s easier to upgrade, has amazing video and image quality, and is more cost effective. 

In this article, we will compare getting a drone with a camera vs. a drone with a GoPro camera on. So, if this interests you, read on to find out more, as this is guaranteed to be a highly insightful article for you!

Can You Use GoPro on Any Drone?

A GoPro is a compact action camera designed to help you capture high-quality photos and videos. One of the camera’s most intriguing features is the wide-angle lens which allows users to take in more detail in their shots. These cameras are mostly popular with outdoor people and extreme athletes, but they have found their way into the drone market. GoPro cameras nowadays feature greatly on drones as more and more pilots increasingly learn to trust the high-quality output these cameras give out.

To definitively answer the question, GoPros cannot be used on just any drone. Not all drones available in the market are compatible with or can support GoPro cameras. GoPro compatible drones allow for integration of the camera with the drone’s control system, while supportive drones, on the other hand, only provide the structure for carrying the GoPro camera.

Before buying a drone, it’s important to check and confirm whether it has a mount where you can place your GoPro camera. In addition to this, you must make sure that the drone meets all your other requirements.

Which Is Better: Drone With Camera or Drone With GoPro On?

Drones usually come with in-built cameras. The quality of these cameras usually varies from one drone to the next, with the best cameras coming with high-end drones that cost more than the average drone. Nowadays, most drone owners desire to have powerful cameras for their drones to help capture stunning videos and photos.

But while you can find drones with amazing cameras in the market, they usually cost a fortune which can be a huge bummer. This is why most people opt to buy cheaper drones with the option to upgrade the camera. Some people go ahead and get GoPro cameras if their drones are compatible with them, and they end up working just fine. But, for this article, we will try and decipher which is better; a drone with a camera or a drone with a GoPro mounted.

For the most part, if you put these two against each other, you’ll realize that GoPro cameras have certain pros over the in-built cameras on drones. Let’s break it down, shall we?

1. Wider angle

GoPro cameras have a fixed 170˚ lens, which allows for wide-angle photos and videos that are stunning, to say the least. Basically, this means that the camera can capture almost everything in front of it. Thanks to the wide-angle lens, you only have to adjust your drone’s positioning, and it will capture it all. This wide-angle is great anytime you want to capture a lot all at once. On the other hand, drone cameras lack this capability, meaning that what they can capture is much more limited.

2. Durability

The GoPro camera is super tough, thanks to its rugged construction. This gives it more durability than in-built cameras that come with drones. Therefore, the GoPro would be the best bet in case your drone falls from the sky, as you are assured it will quite likely survive the fall.

3. Upgradability

It is easier to upgrade your drone’s GoPro camera than it is to upgrade the in-built camera. This is because you are assured that you’ll get a legitimate GoPro camera for your drone should you choose to upgrade. On the reverse, upgrading an in-built camera is harder because there are many drone cameras available out there, and finding a legitimate one that will serve your needs well is hard.

4. Image and Video Quality

Cameras that come with drones are notoriously known for capturing poor-quality outputs. If you think about it, this is the reason why most people choose to get another camera for their drones rather than use the one that came with the drone. On the other hand, GoPro cameras are designed to capture not only the best quality videos but also photos.

5. Cost-effective

If you think about it, it’s more cost-effective to get a GoPro for your camera than to get a high-end quality drone with a professional camera. A GoPro will cost you from $449, while a high-end drone with a good quality camera can cost you up to about $1500. So, it’s actually better to get a GoPro camera for your drone, as this will likely save you a few hundred bucks.

The above are some reasons why it’s better to get a GoPro for your drone rather than using your drone’s camera. But while GoPro cameras have their advantages, they still have some disadvantages. These include:

• Mediocre low-light performance– The low-light performance of GoPros is still not very good. While the resolution has been improved in recent models, the size of the sensor hasn’t, and therefore low-light performance isn’t so great.
• Small screen– The only downside of the compact size of GoPros is the small screen size which makes it hard to watch videos and scroll through photos to make sure you got the right shots while flying your drone.

All in all, a GoPro camera is better than the camera that comes with the drone. We should, however, mention that you should take extreme care when buying your drone to make sure it can support or is compatible with your GoPro before getting it.