On a budget or got thousands to spend: There's a drone out there for you

You still can’t fly drones in India. But you can still buy them. Take them for a spin on your next backpacking trip when you’re far away from cities. Make sure there are no airports or military bases around or you’ll be busted faster than you can blink. Here are our favourites. Badboy Quadcopter with Camera, Rs. 8,404: The Badboy lives up to its name by being a tough little sucker. Amazon buyers report no damage despite multiple crashes. A smart gyroscope inside lets it hover mid-flight – even if you let go of the controls completely.

You still can’t fly drones in India. But you can still buy them. Take them for a spin on your next backpacking trip when you’re far away from cities. Make sure there are no airports or military bases around or you’ll be busted faster than you can blink. Here are our favourites. Badboy Quadcopter with Camera, Rs. 8,404: The Badboy lives up to its name by being a tough little sucker. Amazon buyers report no damage despite multiple crashes. A smart gyroscope inside lets it hover mid-flight – even if you let go of the controls completely.

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1/5 You still can’t fly drones in India. But you can still buy them. Take them for a spin on your next backpacking trip when you’re far away from cities. Make sure there are no airports or military bases around or you’ll be busted faster than you can blink. Here are our favourites. Badboy Quadcopter with Camera, Rs. 8,404: The Badboy lives up to its name by being a tough little sucker. Amazon buyers report no damage despite multiple crashes. A smart gyroscope inside lets it hover mid-flight – even if you let go of the controls completely.

DJI Phantom 2, Rs. 1,18,999: Oh boy, now you’re talking. The Phantom 2 is the granddaddy of hobbyist drones and comes with an insane (by drone standards) battery life of 25 minutes. It shoots amazing video and even streams it live to your phone when flying.

2/5 DJI Phantom 2, Rs. 1,18,999: Oh boy, now you’re talking. The Phantom 2 is the granddaddy of hobbyist drones and comes with an insane (by drone standards) battery life of 25 minutes. It shoots amazing video and even streams it live to your phone when flying.

Bay Phantom 2 Plus Drone (with camera), Rs. 6,099: The Phantom 2 plus is a sleek beast that’s small enough to fit into your backpack. It comes with LED lights, so you can fly it in the dark (not that you’d want to). On the flipside, it only flies for 10 minutes. Bummer.

3/5 Bay Phantom 2 Plus Drone (with camera), Rs. 6,099: The Phantom 2 plus is a sleek beast that’s small enough to fit into your backpack. It comes with LED lights, so you can fly it in the dark (not that you’d want to). On the flipside, it only flies for 10 minutes. Bummer.

Parrot A R Drone 2.0 Power Edition, Rs. 44,990: Welcome to the big league. The Parrot uses GPS to accurate map its position in the sky and records crisp, high-definition video. You can even pre-program camera movements – panning, tracking and more – and let the Parrot take charge of your next aerial video production.

4/5 Parrot A R Drone 2.0 Power Edition, Rs. 44,990: Welcome to the big league. The Parrot uses GPS to accurate map its position in the sky and records crisp, high-definition video. You can even pre-program camera movements – panning, tracking and more – and let the Parrot take charge of your next aerial video production.

Flyer's Bay X-drone Evolution, Rs. 4,999: Just warming up to this whole drone thing, are you? Flyer Bay’s X-drone is cheap enough to be an impulse buy and good enough for casual flying. It even comes with a (admittedly terrible) camera for some aerial photography.

5/5 Flyer's Bay X-drone Evolution, Rs. 4,999: Just warming up to this whole drone thing, are you? Flyer Bay’s X-drone is cheap enough to be an impulse buy and good enough for casual flying. It even comes with a (admittedly terrible) camera for some aerial photography.