Kit Yourself Out With These Must-have Drone Accessories

Whether you’ve just bought a drone for the first time or you’re an adopter that’s been flying them since the hobby market exploded in 2013, you’re likely looking for any opportunity to boost your high-flying experience in any way you can. The best way to do that is by picking up some nifty drone accessories.

Purchasing drone accessories is a lot like flying your unmanned aerial vehicle - you shouldn’t do it blind! Instead, read this OnBuy guide for buyers to learn more about all the products and get a flying start on your shopping! 

For the purposes of this buyer’s guide, we’ll assume that you have a working knowledge of how a drone works and the different things you can use it for. However, if you need to brush up on your drone knowledge before continuing, why not take a few minutes to read OnBuy’s own ultimate guide to buying a drone?

The best drone accessories for you largely depends on what tasks you use your UAV for. If you’re only interested in the joy of piloting it across the sky, basic drone accessories, such as a drone case and accessories that protect your machine from damage, will be good enough. If you want to record footage on your drone, a compatible MicroSD memory card is a must as most drones don’t come with built-in memory. These additional purchases are relatively inexpensive.

On the other hand, if you’re a videographer who needs to set up that perfect shot or you race other pilots in head-to-head drone racing, you might be interested in some of the advanced paraphernalia that’s up for grabs. These include FPV systems. FPV stands for ‘First Person View’ and they work in a similar way to the VR headsets available for PCs and video game consoles. It’ll feel like you’re the one flying through the air, not your drone!

The pre-flight checks for this buyer’s guide have been made, so it’s time to examine our high-flying drone accessories! In this list, you’ll find a wealth of nifty accessories spanning a whole array of uses and price points, from pocket-friendly picks to products on the more premium end of the spectrum. Each one’s brilliant in their own way, and you’ll soon love flying your drone more than ever!

First up in our list of drone accessories is a product that will take care of one of the UAV pilot’s biggest enemies: sun glare! If you’ve ever launched your drone outside in sunny weather, you’ll have quickly learnt that the sun’s rays falling on its monitor can spoil your view of its camera and make it difficult to avoid obstacles. 

This simple folding sun shade neatly solves that problem. It clips onto the top of your drone monitor or mobile device, creating an oasis of shade so you can better see what’s on your screen. It comes in a variety of size options that range from small monitors and mobile phones all the way up to 9.7” tablets. The functional yet fabulous folding design is very handy, although be warned: the larger models do add some noticeable extra weight to your drone monitor. It’s also only good for rectangular devices. If yours has a particularly odd or curvy screen, the sun shade won’t attach. Make sure to check the dimensions of your drone monitor before ordering this accessory.

Very few UAVs have digital storage built into their bodies, so if you want to record photographs or videos on your drone, you’ll need to fit it with a MicroSD card. There are lots of options out there, but our favourite for the average user is the Ultra series from SanDisk. SanDisk is a reputable company with decades of experience in making digital storage solutions, and the reliability of the Ultra series makes it an attractive choice. You can be certain that these drone accessories won’t fail in mid air! 

Despite being so dependable, the Ultra series is by no means expensive. In fact, you can usually find these MicroSD cards on sale for under £10 for low capacity models. Low capacity in this context means 32 GB of storage space, which is still enough for over an hour of full HD video. You can buy SanDisk Ultra MicroSD cards with even more space on them - up to 256 GB - although there are some competitors that can pack an entire terabyte, or 1000 GB, of data inside.

The Ultra series may be our pick of MicroSD cards for the average drone pilot, but their transfer speeds are too slow for reliable 4K video recording. They won’t struggle to save 720p or 1080p video, but for ultra high definition video, you’ll want a more powerful MicroSD card. Don’t worry, we’ll give a great 4K-compatible option later on in our guide.

If your child regularly has a go on your gadget, this is the accessory for you. Accidents happen, and even the most experienced drone pilot has a crash or two in their history. So if the worst happens you want to make sure the most vulnerable part of your drone is protected from harm - the propellers.

The Ryze Tello Propeller Guards clip onto the motor housing at the bottom of each propeller. Their special semi circular, skeletal design protects the propeller blades from bashing against objects while still leaving them the space they need to move freely.

It’s a great protective feature, and is especially useful for the Ryze Tello, the drone model they are designed for. That’s because the Tello is a relatively inexpensive machine marketed as a first drone for children. Given their inexperience, young pilots are more likely to crash their drone than adults are, making the protection offered by the guards even more important.

These propeller guards are less effective if you like to take photographs. This is because the propeller guards will appear in the frame of your drone’s camera when it’s set towards the horizon. It won’t affect your visibility, but it will interfere with your shot composition in certain circumstances.

It should be noted that this particular set of propeller guards is designed for use with the Ryze Tello only. That’s very common with protective drone accessories. Like phone cases, the propeller guards can only protect the drone properly if they’re a good fit. You can find plenty of propeller guards to fit all manner of models from popular drone manufacturers.

No matter how careful you are when you take your machine when it’s out of its drone case, it’s almost certain that you’ll get a fingerprint or smudge on its camera lens. Grease and grime are a photographer’s worst nightmare, but the ExPro Professional Lens Cleaning Kit will soon wipe the problem away!

This cleaning kit is truly comprehensive. It includes several microfibre cloths and swabs which, along with the cleaning fluid, will perfectly polish the surface of your drone’s camera. An air blower and a soft fibrous brush are great for cleaning away tough stains, too. Unlike most drone accessories, this lens cleaning kit is equally useful for cleaning traditional cameras.

This kit isn’t as vital if you don’t use your camera to take photographs, although it can still be useful. A few lens smudges might not affect your ability to fly your drone, but larger patches of dirt might obscure your view. Bear in mind that the cleaning fluid is a limited resource, and you’ll have to replace the swabs and microfibre cloths eventually to maintain the effectiveness of the kit. But that’s the case with all lens cleaning kits, and the ExPro is particularly cost-effective for drone owners.

A perfect partner for the propeller guards mentioned earlier in this guide is this simple yet super effective drone case designed for the Ryze Tello. Its nylon exterior protects your drone from rain and dust, and it has a super slim profile, making it easy to carry under your arm. There’s no complicated series of straps and buckles, instead you open it with a simple zip. It’s certainly the easiest drone case to use day-to-day.

Despite its small size, this case offers quite a lot of protection for your drone. That’s because inside there’s a layer of shockproof padding that’s perfectly moulded to the shape of the Ryze Tello. There’s also space for you to bring your drone controller.

The protection your drone will get from this case is good enough for most accidental drops you’re likely to experience during ordinary use, but it’s not the toughest drone case you can buy. Some people like to take their drone into extreme conditions, like scaling up mountains with it to take breathtaking aerial shots. If you’re among this daredevil crowd, you might want to consider buying a more expensive case.

Since the shockproof padding is custom built for the dimensions of the Ryze Tello, you won’t be able to fit other drone designs inside the case. This is an accessory that you should only buy if you own Ryze’s amazing mini drone, but it’s one of the best drone accessories out there if you do!

Most drone pilots use their smartphone to see where their drone is going and navigate obstacles. This is fine for most drone users, but if you’re serious about your unmanned aerial vehicle - and you’ve already bought into the DJI drone ecosystem - then buying the DJI CrystalSky might be a brilliant upgrade for you.

The DJI CrystalSky is a dedicated drone monitor specifically designed to meet the needs of elite UAV enthusiasts. One of its main selling points is its incredibly bright high resolution screen. The baseline model has a 1080p full resolution display, but if you pay extra for the advanced ultra model, that resolution increases to 2048 x 1536 pixels. Regardless of which version you choose, the screen will be more than four times as bright as a typical mobile phone. Combine it with a compatible drone monitor sunshade and you’ll never worry about the sun’s rays again.

Beyond a brighter, clearer picture, the DJI CrystalSky has a range of features that true drone enthusiasts will adore. For example, this drone monitor allows you to capture even more footage from your drone than you normally could thanks to its dual MicroSD card slots. Insert a pair of high quality MicroSD cards into these slots and you’ll never be short of storage space for your photos and videos.

Like many of the drone accessories made by DJI, the DJI CrystalSky is one expensive piece of kit, and it’s only compatible with DJI’s proprietary DJI GO application. It’s too pricey for most users, but for dedicated DJI fans, this drone monitor is one of the best accessories you can buy.

Our next must-have drone accessory is the DJI FPV Goggles. These cyberpunk-style goggles are purpose built by DJI to completely absorb you in your gadget’s flight. They’re the best FPV system around!

Any wireless signal is going to have some latency (the time it takes for data sent by one device to be received by another). This is a particular problem with drones because they send large high definition video files. If there’s too much latency in the system, you’ll find it difficult to steer your machine. We’re happy to report that the DJI Goggles have an extremely low latency. When they’re used in optimum conditions, these drone goggles have a latency of just 28 milliseconds, or 0.028 seconds. That’s an incredible result - much faster than using your mobile phone or even DJI’s Crystal Sky drone monitor.

This pair of drone goggles is a truly incredible piece of tech, but there are limitations. For one, these goggles are only compatible with the DJI FPV Drone. The DJI FPV Goggles are mostly sold in a bundle along with the DJI FPV Drone and a drone controller. These bundles are typically expensive, but if you want the ultimate drone experience, they’re well worth it.

Something else you need to consider before you buy the DJI FPV Goggles is how to use them safely. Because the goggles cover your entire field of vision, you can’t see your drone naturally. This makes it a little difficult to spot dangers outside of the drone’s field of view. In the UK, it's a legal requirement for you to have a partner observing the drone when you fly in FPV mode, and even if the law’s different where you live it’s still an excellent idea. For more details on flying safe, please check out our blog post on the do's and don’ts of flying drones.

A small drone case is an excellent choice for many users, but if you’re hiking across hills and valleys, you might want to go with a drone storage solution that’s more convenient for long journeys: a drone bag. Drone bags are fashioned after backpacks, but instead of a large single compartment, they have several smaller padded compartments to store your drone and all its accessories. 

Our choice of drone bag is the Lowepro Trekker backpack. It's not only convenient, but also one of the most secure ways to carry your machine. This backpack comes with a dedicated drone case that provides the all-important padding, spare rotor blades, its controller, and more. The drone case has its own cubby at the centre of the backpack and is secured by a pair of velcro straps. 

Lowepro offers a range of camera bags in addition to their drone cases, and the influence of photography is clear. In addition to your drone and its accessories, this large backpack also has room for a digital camera body, tripod, and a range of different sized camera lenses. If your drone is a part of your sophisticated camera toolbox, this Lowepro drone bag is an essential accessory. 

With so much functionality, it’s no surprise that the Lowepro drone bag is expensive. Not to mention, if you don’t own much (or any!) camera equipment, you may find that its many pockets are redundant for what you need and would therefore be better off with a smaller drone case. But if you need that extra space, the Lowepro Pro Trekker is second to none.

The SanDisk Extreme is significantly more expensive than the SanDisk Ultra that we’ve already covered. So why offer the choice between these two drone accessories at all? Why wouldn’t you opt for the SanDisk Ultra every time? 

The answer is read-write speed. That’s the term for how fast the SD card can load and save data. This is incredibly important for slick performance when taking photographs or video on your drone. If you choose a MicroSD card with too slow a read-write speed, you’ll have to wait many seconds, maybe minutes, before the photo or video is saved. This makes it impossible to take many shots in quick succession. It also makes it more likely that your files will be corrupted. 

We’ve already mentioned that the read-write speed of the SanDisk Ultra series is around 51 megabytes per second. That’s great for most photos and full HD video, but if you’re recording 4K video on a DJI Mavic Air 2, you’ll need the faster read-write speed offered by the Extreme range. This MicroSD card can write at almost 90 megabytes per second, which is plenty fast enough for 4K video. 

The SanDisk Extreme MicroSD card is also one of the most durable internal drone accessories around. It’s waterproof and shockproof, which protects it from the most common threats, and it’s even shielded against x-rays, meaning it can’t be damaged by airport security scanners.

There’s no doubt that the SanDisk Extreme is more expensive than the Ultra series, and it’s a little overkill if you’re not recording 4K video. But if you use your drone for professional quality video recording and photography, this is an essential purchase.

That was the last of our essential drone accessories! Most of the accessories we’ve selected appear in our super comprehensive drones category. There, you’ll find many more awesome accessories to choose from. Whether you desire a top of the line drone monitor or a simple drone case, you’ll find the products you’re looking for there. 

Once you’ve selected your drone accessories, you’ll want to put them to good use - but this can be a little difficult if you've run out of ideas for how to use your high-flying machine. If you’re searching for inspiration, you absolutely must read our blog post on fun things to do with your drone! We cover all sorts of activities, from taking a fabulous aerial selfie with your flying camera to how to set up your very own drone light show! 

Please note: The information in this buyers guide is correct at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.