Best Drones For Night-Time Videography And Photography

Drones take excellent pictures and videos of a scene or an event during the day, but if you want to have the same quality videos shot at night, you will have to look for special drones with nighttime videography and photography capabilities.

Until recently, only professional drones had the capabilities of taking good photos and videos at night. That has thankfully changed. Numerous consumer drones can now take high-quality videos and pictures at night.

The large number of drones available on the market may be daunting when trying to decide on the best one to buy. In this article, I will narrow down to the best features that you should look for in a drone and give you some tips on the best drones to buy to take your night videography and photography experience to the next level!

DJI Inspire 2 #

Best top-speed drone for night videography and photography.

The Inspire was the first drone brand in the world to integrate an HD transmission system, 4k camera, and a 360-degree rotating gimbal. All with the simplicity of app control. 

DJI Inspire is compatible with both the Zenmuse X5 and the X5R cameras that provide stellar video-taking abilities under low light, making them perfect for night videography. The high-quality cameras have further cemented the DJI Inspire 2 as a critical tool in the videography and photography industries.

The X5S has an excellent micro 4/3 senor that can capture 5.2k videos at 30 fps using the H.265 compression. It can also capture 20mp images in RAW format, thanks to the eight lenses from 9mm to 45mm mounted on it.

DJI Inspire has all-new image processing abilities that record up to about 5.2k in cinema DNG raw, Apple pores. Additionally, it has high acceleration and can go from zero to 50mph, which is almost 80kph in just 5 seconds. This enables you to take videos of fast-moving objects quite easily. It also has a maximum speed of 58mph, or around 94kph.

With a dual battery system, the DJI Inspire can stay aloft for up to 27 minutes with the X4S allowing you more time to take your videos and photographs without having to change the battery or recharge it so often. 

It has a self-heating technology that allows it to fly even in low temperatures, and a revised flight autonomy developed specifically for the DJI 2 inspire. It provides two directions for obstacle avoidance and sensor redundancy. 

To add to that, the increased intelligence that comes with this drone adds multiple intelligent flight modes to the drones’ camera, including spotlight pro. This gives even single pilots the ability to create complex dramatic shots.

Finally, it has an upgraded video transmission system capable of dual signal frequency and dual channel streaming video from an onboard FPV camera and the primary camera for better camera and pilot operator collaboration at night. 

DJI Phantom 4 Pro #

Best drone to capture images and videos under low light.

If you are looking for the best possible image quality, then this is the drone for you. DJI Phantom 4 Pro has a large 1″ and a 20mp CMOS sensor. The sensor has a 24mm lens with a variable aperture ranging from f/2.8 to f/11. The variable aperture allows you to control the amount of light captured other than with ISO sensitivity. This will enable you to take quality photos and videos at night while also preventing over-exposed scenes.

For excellent videography, DJI Phantom 4 Pro provides 4k recording with perfect fluidity. This will guarantee you quality images even when the drone moves quickly, experiences light bursts, or is constantly changing directions. 

Finally, the DJI Phantom 4 Pro has a FOV camera with an expansive view of 94 degrees. This allows it to capture images in wide-angle and also enables you to configure the type and quality that interests you from the wide choice of formatting available in classic HD (1280x 720 24) up to UHD (4096x 2160), which is the 4K format.

PowerVision PowerEye #

Best night drone with a thermal camera.

The PowerVision PowerEye has a stabilized 3-axis gimbal camera compatible with variable microlenses for 4k and HD videos and photos. Multiple lenses allow you to change between them easily. It also has three built-in cameras at the front. One of the cameras is mainly used to stream from the drone to give the pilot a better view during navigation.

PowerVision PowerEye has an obstacle avoidance sensor that will warn you when the drone is within a ten-meter radius of an obstacle. This comes in handy when flying it during the night and will help you avoid crashing the drone at night.

With a flight time of 30 minutes, the PowerVision PowerEye will give you ample time when taking your videos and pictures without having to cut your flight short. It has a remarkable top speed of about 70kph and will thus suit you when recording fast-moving objects.

One unique feature of this drone is that it has a thermal camera. This can be used in building inspection and rescue missions on dark nights. Finally, it has landing gear that retracts after take-off, thus allowing the three gimbal camera to spin in any direction without interference.

Yuneec Typhoon H Plus #

Best drone to capture images and videos at wide angles.

The Typhoon drone from Yuneec can flip up its landing gear after take-off. This allows the pilot and camera operator to enjoy a 360 degrees view.

The Typhoon can record videos at 60 fps in 4k. It has a maximum photo resolution of 5472 x 3648 pixels with a 20mp camera, and the image files are saved in JPEG and DNG format while the videos are saved in MP4 format. Thanks to the robust camera and the 360-degree field of view, you can capture high-quality videos and pictures even in low light or at night.

The H Plus is primarily designed for wide-angle filming, thanks to the F2.8 lenses that come with it. The focal length equivalent is 23mm, and the field of view is 91 degrees.

DJI Mavic 2 Pro #

Drone with the best color accuracy.

The DJI Mavic 2 Pro can record at UHD 4k/30p and HD/120p, with a view of 70 degrees. It has a hyperlapse among its shooting modes and an improved APAs pilot assistance system that detects obstacles around the drone. This prevents it from crashing into objects at night.

This is the first drone with a Hasselblad camera and a 20mp 1-inch CMOS sensor that uses a proprietary Hasselblad natural color solution (HNCS) to increase color accuracy even in the dark at night.

Finally, it uses the OcuSync data transmission system and supports a 4K 10-bit HDR video and 10-bit color profile Blog-M, all to enhance your videography and photography experience.