Gadgetory

remote-controlled quad copters from companies like parrot DJI are a lot of fun they shoot amazing video and they're much more stable than remote-controlled airplanes or helicopters if it sounds like the hobby for you here are five things you should know before taking the plunge starting off at number five they're expensive sure you can buy those little indoor drones for like thirty or fifty bucks but the real deal starts at around five hundred dollars you could buy a Playstation 4 and a game for that and get about the same amount of physical activity either way you're really just standing there with a remote control in your hand except the drone runs out of power in 15 minutes at number four it's creepy people are rightfully freaked out about drones spying on them so when you're flying one some people will stare at you an MV and others will stare and concern in judgment and if you don't think drones are creepy just wait until your neighbor buys one next thing you know a GoPro video of you sunbathing with your manboobs exposes trending on twitter hashtag drone moobs coming in at number three the law the subject of where you can and can't fly your drone is being fought in courts every week it seems it is now against the law to fly drones in national parks you can't fly drones around airports and you can't fly drones for commercial uses whether that's delivering an Amazon package or recording video that you intend to profit from they have interactive maps now that show where it's illegal to fly drones and those areas are only growing so not only do you feel like a creep when you use one but you also feel like a criminal at number two safety you ever had four plastic blades whipping around your face at thousands of revolutions per minute it's unnerving so you take it up a little higher only to wonder what's really preventing that thing from falling down on someone's head and even if you're Johnny safety with this thing you can't control other people not to mention nature can you imagine how much you hate drones if you were a bird just saying if you buy a drone and a bird poops on your head you had that coming now before we get to the number one reason not to buy a drone let's take a minute to acknowledge one of the best reasons you should buy a drone right now it's still legal before local laws in general paranoia ruined the party get yourself a drone in fly it until the man shuts you down the way things look now regulations are only going to get more strict but the number one reason you shouldn't buy a drone it's a slippery slope first it's the drone then it's the camera upgrade then you upgrade the controller the gimbal you buy more battery packs you buy an iPad so you can plot out your flight path you get an oculus rift so you can see what the drone sees in real time and then the next thing you know you're the guy who's out there on the beach with your VR goggles on your face and $10,000 worth of delicate gear hanging in the air turned around to look back at yourself getting pooped on by a large flock of enraged seagulls let me save you the pain so there you go five reasons not to pick up a drone as your new hobby i'm donald bell and for more top fives visit top-5 cnet.com thanks for watching