DroneGuru is first and foremost a site dedicated to following the latest developments in the drone industry. We write for a general consumer and professional audience. As you might suspect, this means that we often have to write on specific drone releases or groups of drone products that are similar. We provide consumer advice and will recommend specific products over others. A type of writing that’s commonly known as reviewing.
In the interest of transparency, we want are readers to know exactly how we review products. After all, we expect you to spend your hard-earned money based on our recommendations. So it is fair that you know how we reach our conclusions. Here’s how we make our reviews.
Our Reviewer Credentials
Our pool of reviewers are quite diverse when it comes to their individual areas of expertise and interests. Some are hard-core drone racers. Others may mainly be aerial photographers. Some are strongly-interested in the technological side of drones.
Whatever their individual attributes, we require three things from all our reviewers:
- Passion for all things drone.
- Accuracy and honesty.
- Interesting, strong opinions
Apart from these three basic requirements our writers have to demonstrate a strong knowledge of drone technology, RC craft in general and camera technology.
What Drones Are Worth Reviewing?
There are thousands and thousands of drones on the market. The vast majority of these drones are definitely not worth anyone’s time. Obviously our resources have a limit as well. So how do we decide which drones should appear on our site?
The first and most obvious factor that will get a drone featured on DroneGuru is if it’s released by one of the major names in drones. We’re all interested in the major companies that own the lion’s share of the market.
Secondly, sending us a press-release about your new drone will also get our attention. If it looks like the sort of thing our readers would want to know about, chances are we’ll review it.
Thirdly, our writers are always looking around for interesting themes, which then lead to a collection of reviews for drones that fit that theme. We’re also interested in innovate, weird and otherwise noteworthy drones. All in service of our reader’s time.
Hands-Off Reviews
Most drones we review we have bought ourselves, or have tried before. Due to the number of drones on the market it is not possible to try them all so occasionally we will have to rely on other reviews and views, and we regularly reach out to others who regularly use or have tried the drones we have not.
We take a good look at what other publications are saying, where they agree and where they disagree. We’ll check as many user impressions as we can, along with third-party footage of real flights if we can find them. Essentially, the reviewer will look for all the hard facts possible without having a review unit in hand.
After all the information is gathered, the writer will package it into a concise review article just for you.
The goal is to create lists of drones that are so good we would recommend them not only to our readers but also to family and friends.
Hands-On Reviews
Hands-on reviews work almost the same as the hands-off variety when it comes to the information gathering stage. The reviewer will learn everything about the drone that they can.
Then we’ll take the drone for a solid spin, trying out all the advertised features. We specifically look to build a personal impression of the machine, to convey information about it that you can’t get without flying it yourself. We also make a point of measuring claimed performance against real-world performance and making sure all the advertised features work as described.
We don’t use a slavish review formula or simplified numeric scores. Instead, with both review types, we consider the product as a whole, who it is for and what the balance of good and bad attributes are. This should be more than enough information so that readers can make quality decisions about which drones are the right ones for their unique situation.
The Role of the Editorial Team
Of course, we don’t just let our reviewers run wild with no oversight. The editorial team reviews every submission and will ask hard questions of the writer if we think there’s anything not quite up to our standards. We are especially hard on undue bias or unverified facts!
Community Moderation
Reviewers and editors are, contrary to popular belief, just human beings. This means we make mistakes, reach incorrect conclusions and sometimes just miss the mark somehow. That’s where the DroneGuru community comes in. We welcome corrections submitted to us through any channel. Comments, emails or social media are all welcome.
In the end, DroneGuru is meant to reflect the values and interests of the global drone community. If we stray from that path, your feedback is what gets us back on track. DroneGuru is growing every day and our community is growing with us. We want our reviews and features to also reflect your voice and through them be a force for positive change in the drone industry.