Recommended Drones
Scanifly software supports any drone that takes geo-tagged imagery with a few exceptions.
What is a geo-tagged image?
Autel EVO II Pro 6k - Recommended Top Pick
The Autel EVO II Pro 6k is an extremely capable drone that may not have the brand recognition of DJI but has the same quality and feature set. At this time we are recommending this drone because of its ability to do point of interest flights easily. It also has an integrated Mission planning mode that allows for larger grid flights to be flown within the default app for the drone.
To find an option to purchase this drone please check out this page: B&H Photo
Note - This is not an affiliate link. We don't make any money off of drone purchases through B&H.
Recommended Drone for Indoor Practice
Less than ~$30 - Sansisco A21 Mini Drone
Authorized Drone Dealers
- Autel Robotics - Dealer List
- DJI - Dealer List
Drone Recommendation At A Glance
Drones in this list are evaluated on their ability to conduct orbit/point of interest (POI) flight paths in an automated way while also being able to have photos captured automatically at timed intervals.
🟩 -Drones marked with green satisfy the automated criteria above and also work with other 3rd party apps for grid flight paths utilized on commercial sites.
🟨 -Drones marked with yellow partially satisfy criteria, but are not fully automated like drones marked with green. They may also not be compatible with popular 3rd party mapping software for grid flight.
🟥 -Drones marked with red do not satisfy criteria or are believed to not capture imagery well enough for 3D model creation.
Autel
| Drone | Recommended | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Autel Evo II Pro 6k | 🟩 | Top Pick |
| Autel Evo Lite & Lite+ | 🟥 | Not true point of interest flight |
| Autel Evo Nano & Nano+ | 🟥 | Not true point of interest flight |
DJI
DJI Mavic 3 Pro Firmware & GPS Updates
DJI has released the latest firmware update to the Mavic 3 and DJI Fly app. While the Mavic 3 still does not support mapping / 3rd party software, the update includes new FocusTrack Intelligent Flight Modes, which give you point of interest (POI) capabilities. Unfortunately, you are still unable to take timed interval photos while in this mode. You will have to manually take the photos in order to use this drone for your site surveys. With that said, we are recommending new Scanifly users purchase an Autel EVO II Pro 6k since it is widely available and has nearly identical features to the Mavic 2 pro. Additionally, there is still an issue with the Mavic 3's GPS where it takes an extended amount of time to lock in on satellites during start up. This can cause delays on site or the failure to acquire photos that are geo-tagged.
| Drone | Recommended | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| DJI Air 2S | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight |
| DJI Inspire 1 | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight Not compatible with DroneDeploy for grid flight |
| DJI Inspire 2 | 🟩 | Most expensive prosumer option |
| DJI Mavic Air | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight |
| DJI Mavic Air 2 | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight |
| DJI Mavic Mini | 🟥 | Unstable flight for quality image capture |
| DJI Mavic 2 Pro | 🟩 | Top Pick Runner-up This drone is discontinued, so availability may be limited. |
| DJI Mavic 2 Zoom | 🟩 | Do not use zoom when capturing images to be used in Scanifly |
| DJI Mavic Pro | 🟩 | Discontinued |
| DJI Mavic 3 | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight |
| DJI Mini 2 | 🟥 | Unstable flight for quality image capture No timed interval photos with point of interest flight |
| DJI Phantom 3 Series | 🟨 | No timed interval photos with point of interest flight Only compatible with DJI Ground Station Pro for grid flight |
| DJI Phantom 4 Advanced | 🟩 | Does not fold up like the Mavic series. A great drone option, none the less. |
| DJI Phantom 4 Pro | 🟩 | Does not fold up like the Mavic series. A great drone option, none the less. |
| DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2 | 🟩 | Does not fold up like the Mavic series. A great drone option, none the less. |
| DJI Spark | 🟥 | Unstable flight for quality image capture |
EXO
| Drone | Recommended | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| EXO X7 Ranger | 🟥 | Unstable flight for quality image capture |
| EXO X7 Ranger Plus | 🟥 | Unstable flight for quality image capture |
Skydio
| Drone | Recommended | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Skydio 2 | 🟥 | No point of interest for stationary objects |
| Skydio 2+ | 🟥 | No point of interest for stationary objects |
Disclaimer:
Scanifly is not in partnership with Autel Robotics, DJI, Skydio or other manufacturers. All of our statements are based on our experience and testing only, and without affiliation to particular manufacturers or distributors. If you have any questions please reach out to us at [email protected].
Updated over 2 years ago