Just wanted to ask—what do you folks think is the best drone for urban exploration? I got the DJI Avata and it actually worked pretty well for this, except for the video signal issues when it starts buffering. I’m just curious if there are any other DJI drones, big or small, that might be better for this kind of thing?
You’ll probably want something with propeller guards if you’re flying indoors. I use the Mini 4 Pro and it works okay, but it doesn’t get any GPS when I’m inside, which can be annoying.
You could try the Avata 2, Mini 4 Pro, or Air 3S. Nothing’s going to be perfect—if you’re flying behind thick walls or trees, even the best video signal will struggle. But anything using DJI’s newer O4 transmission (like the Avata 2) will give you better range and fewer dropouts than the older O3 system.
Or, if you’re really serious, you could look into a high-end analog setup. It’s not as clean as DJI, but it might still give you a fuzzy image where DJI’s digital feed would just freeze. Something’s better than nothing, right?
Honestly? I’d say the DJI Neo. It’s small, has built-in prop guards, and best of all, it’s pretty cheap. So if you end up crashing or losing it while exploring, it’s not the end of the world.
When I fly my Avata 2 indoors and the lighting is low, the sensors go crazy and it just starts landing on its own. The O4 signal is great, but you’ll still lose it if you’re too far behind walls. If you want to use it in normal mode for urbex stuff, you’ll need decent lighting. But if you switch to manual mode, it turns off all the sensors, so you can fly in complete darkness as long as you can see through your goggles. 