What accessories do you use for your drones

I was doing some maintenance on our fleet and realized that I have a bunch of accessories for each drone. That got me to thinking it’d be nice to get a thread going where fellow owners could chime in with what they are using, as some of us might not have seen them or know where to acquire them.

So I thought I’d start, by listing some of the ones I use for some of our drones.

DJI MINI 3 PRO

STARTRC Mini 3 Pro Gimbal Protector
This was actually one of the very first items I purchased for my Mini 3 Pro, the day I received the drone. I have a similar one for the Air 2S. The reason I got this was to protect the sensors, in addition to the gimbal. Since I’m not planning on getting a hard case for the M3P, something that’d protect it more while in one of my photography backpacks is a plus. This cover is as easy to slide on and off the Mini 3 Pro as the original but protects more of the drone.

YETEETH 6 FILTER SET CPL, ND8, 16, 32, 64, 128
I am not one to go the cheap route on my drones, by any means. However, when I got the Mini 3 Pro, the only available filter sets were in like 4,8,16,32 ND values and they were expensive. Living here in Florida and shooting regularly on white sand Gulf Coast beaches, anything lower than a 64 for the M3P wasn’t going to work. Why? Simply because with that wide f1.7 aperture, the Mini 3 lets in a TON of light. Because of that, I find myself shooting video with the ND64 on in most cases. Unlike cheap filter sets, there is no discoloration or weird color casts on this filter set. Nice.

GARDTOK MINI 3 PRO ANTI-REFLECTIVE GLASS SCREEN PROTECTOR
Second to the ND Filter set, this glass screen protector is a must for bright-day shooters like myself. The set comes with 2 screen protectors. I thought the 700-nits on the DJI RC was pretty good prior, however, with these screen protectors on I really have zero problems when flying on uber-bright days. The protectors are decently priced and include everything needed to get the protector on the RC nice, straight, and bubble free.

DJI AIR 2S

AIR 2S GIMBAL GUARD
For me, one of the things I disliked the most about the Air 2S was the original gimbal cover. It’s not like it was super difficult to remove, I just didn’t like the fact that it could be easily overlooked and left on at start-up. With this cover, the entire front of the A2S is covered. I never, ever forget to remove the cover now. It goes on easily and is easily removed as well. What’s more, it fits in the hard case I have for the Air 2S.

AIR 2S PROP GUARDS/HOLDER
I’m not one to regularly use prop holders, however, when I used to travel light with the A2S, I wanted to make sure the props were out of the way when I tossed the unit into a beach backpack, or in my SUVs armrest. These do just fine for this. As a word of caution, I wouldn’t leave them on the drone for extended periods of time, for fear they’d warp the props. I actually no longer use them, as my Mini 3 Pro is my new "bring it everywhere drone. There’s even a place in my center dashboard the the M3P fits perfectly.

LYKUS AIR 2/2S HARD CASE
There are normally 3 things I purchase immediately when I get a new drone: ND Filter Sets, Extra Batts, and a hard case. The Lykus case is the perfect blend of functionality and price. It holds everything that comes in the flymore combo, along with 2 extra batteries (for a total of 5 - when one is installed in the drone) and even a place for the tablet holder I purchased (below). I never understand why the likes of Pelican Cases and some of the others break the $100 mark when you can purchase something similar for way less.

STARTRC TABLET HOLDER
When searching for a brighter device to fly my A2S, I used this tablet holder on various 7 and 8" tablets. Of course, none of them were bright enough. I eventually just used a Samsung S20+ with the holder. I used the holder with a large phone because the holder is fully articulating, which is great. The holder is well-built, solid, and partially metal. I also purchased a 12" braided, USB-C RC-N1 specific cable to work with the tablet holder.

ND4 - ND512 VARIABLE FILTER SET
Again, as a Florida video shooter, NDs are a must. Although the Air 2S Flymore came with filters, I was tired of swapping them out to deal with the rapidly changing sky conditions we deal with all the time. One minute it’s like looking into the face of the sun itself and 30 seconds later it’s end-of-days dark. Anyway, these filters have worked since launch week for me and I stand by them. Although they might be discontinued, there are similar ones out there by various companies.

I didn’t even go into the various Autel Accessories iI have for the Evos. That might be a post for another day.

What accessories are you finding useful for your drones?