Next up in our “Ask Drone Girl” series is a question about upgrading to the DJI Matrice vs Mavic or Air series of drones, which are much cheaper. If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here. Note, the following question has been edited for clarity and brevity.

I am not a pro, but am thinking I might try launching a drone business in my retirement. I am also a sailor and I am thinking about offering drone footage to sailors who want to show off their boats!   I have “droned” a dozen lighthouses on the coast of Mass and Maine and done a bunch of other flying.

I have salivated over the DJI M30T drone, thinking I could save some little kid’s life someday. But with a $10,000 price tag, that would be way out of the budget. Getting a paying gig in drones is the only way I could justify the price.

Not to mention that drone, while extremely cool in so many ways, does not even have MasterShots, or other cinematic stuff. Still, I thought maybe I could do inspections as well or even try mapping.

Then there’s the new Matrice 4, which is touted as “rescue” or public safety drone (as well as mapping, etc.,) but it is not waterproof!  DJI lost some respect from me when they touted this. Can you imagine telling the parents of the 4-year-old lost in the nearby woods that you could find her in 10 minutes but that you cannot even take flight until the rain stops since it will wreck your $10,000 drone? Yikes…

I love this question, which really has a lot of prongs to it! Let me take it in pieces:

Let’s start out by talking about these drones on your mind (and your wishlist!) I totally get the temptation to purchase something like the M30T or Matrice 4 drones. Both are incredible tools for high-end commercial applications. Here’s a quick overview of each:

DJI M30T drone: an overview

The DJI M30T is a rugged, enterprise-level drone designed for public safety, search and rescue, and industrial inspections. It features thermal imaging, zoom capabilities and an IP55 rating, making it highly resistant to dust and water. Its compact, foldable design (it almost resembles the consumer, camera drones in the Mavic line) makes it easier to transport than larger Matrice models.

It costs about $10,400 with DJI Care or about $9,989 without DJI Care.

Key M30T features

• 48MP zoom camera, 12MP wide-angle camera, laser rangefinder
• 640×512 thermal camera for night and low-visibility operations
• IP54-rated weather resistance (water and dustproof)
• 41-minute flight time
• OcuSync 3 Enterprise transmission system
• Compatibility with DJI FlightHub 2 for real-time mapping and fleet management

The M30T is ideal for emergency response teams, infrastructure inspections and industrial applications where portability and durability are key.

• Order the DJI M30T today from Drone Nerds for $10,397.

DJI Matrice 4 drone: an overview

The Matrice 4 Series is the newest in DJI’s lineup of commercial drone built for advanced enterprise applications, including mapping, surveying and rescue operations. DJI launched the Matrice 4 in January 2025, followed by its accompanying DJI Dock 3 in February 2025. DJI’s new Matrice 4 Series consists of two products that are similar, but one is more advanced with thermal imaging capabilities.

The Matrice 4T (that’s the one with thermal imaging) starts at $7,299. The more affordable 4E is better for high-speed aerial mapping assuming you don’t need any thermal images, as it starts at a more affordable $4,799.

Unlike the M30T, it does not have an official IP rating for waterproofing, which (as you noted) is a concern for users needing true all-weather capabilities. DJI advises that you should avoid contact with water while flying this drone and — if it rains during the flight — to return and land as soon as possible.

Key Matrice 4 features

• Customizable payloads for specialized sensors, LiDAR, and thermal cameras
• AI-enhanced flight planning and automated workflows
• 49-minute flight time (depending on payload, using standard propellers)
• Multi-payload support, allowing users to swap out sensors for different tasks

The Matrice 4 is geared toward high-end commercial operators, such as surveyors, construction firms and public safety teams looking for a flexible, multi-purpose drone with AI-assisted capabilities.

• Order the DJI Matrice 4E today from Drone Nerds for $4,799.
• Order the DJI Matrice 4T today from Drone Nerds for $7,299.

When enterprise drones make sense over consumer drones

As you pointed out, the high cost of these drones needs to pay for itself. Even the cheapest of the drones in this mix, the DJI Matrice 4E, comes in at just under $5,000, which is almost 5x what you’d pay for the DJI Air 3S, which is one of my favorite camera drones and easily the best travel drone.

These drones are ideal if you need that high degree of specialization. Your DJI Flip isn’t going to be making detailed maps. But as you noted, even these high-end drones sometimes lack critical features.

For example, the Matrice 4’s lack of waterproofing as a “rescue” drone is indeed a head-scratcher, especially since DJI markets this as an ideal product for first responders. Instead, it seems that DJI likely prioritized modularity and sensor options in favor of weather resistance.

What about high-end camera drones?

I also want to acknowledge your point about MasterShots, or other cinematic stuff. In rare cases is a jack-of-all trades drone the best drone. The Matrice 4 line and the M30T drone are more geared toward industrial applications, not making Hollywood movies.

For a high-end camera drone, you’ll like want the Mavic 3 Cine Combo. The combo gets you the improved DJI RC Pro controller, as well as other key features for film editors such as Apple ProRes 422 HQ encoding for richer video processing. It also has convenient features such as an internal 1TB SSD onboard for high-speed data storage.

How to break into drone businesses

If you’re serious about commercial work, start by deciding what sort of niche you want to lean in to in the drone industry. Do you want a paid gig in Hollywood, or do you want to conduct search and rescue missions?

Do some market research: You might have a passion or prior background that might make your decision easy. If you’re more open-minded, then do some market research. Just as you wouldn’t open a coffee shop in a neighborhood without finding out what other coffee shops are around (and if the neighbors even like coffee), find out what drone pilots are already in the area and what fields have the most demand.

Network with local businesses to find out how they could benefit from a drone. You might be able to get away with a prosumer drone like the DJI Air 3S if you need a visual camera, but don’t need all the bells and whistles of something like a thermal camera. Since you mentioned search and rescue, connect with public safety teams to see if there’s actual demand for drone services in your area.

Gain knowledge in that area: You mentioned getting paid gigs in mapping. That’s a smart move! These highly-specialized drone jobs pay much more than something like, say, aerial real estate photography that even a kid with a nice drone could do. But more pay necessitates more knowledge.

Before investing thousands of dollars in a drone, invest just a few hundred dollars to see if mapping is something you want to do. There are great online drone mapping courses out there for less than $200. Sure, you could pay close to $1,000 for a specialized in-person course, like UAV Coach’s Drone Mapping Essentials 2-Day Workshop. But even UAV Coach offers a similar (albeit pared-down) online course for less than $200. Consider making a smaller, more manageable investment by enrolling in a low-cost online mapping course to see if mapping piques your interest in the first place.

Enroll in a drone business course: I love The Drone Business Blueprint course, which also comes from UAV Coach. If you’re not really sure what exactly you want to do in making money in drones, this course can help you hone in on that. It’s $119 which, again, is a far better upfront investment than spending thousands of dollars on a drone with features that are suited for use cases you aren’t actually using.

Related read: The Drone Business Blueprint: a review of UAV Coach’s newest course

Before you buy a new drone, understand the market. Put together a business plan. Then make that big investment — but only if you really need to.

Drone business ideas to consider

Since you’re already flying lighthouses and coastal areas, here are some realistic ways to monetize your drone skills:

• Sailing footage: Market your aerial videos to boat owners or regatta organizers. High-quality footage is valuable for yacht brokers and event promoters. You could do this with a more affordable but still high-quality camera drone like the DJI Air 3S.
• Real estate aerials: Coastal properties, marinas and luxury homes benefit from drone photography. Again, a DJI Air 3S is likely sufficient.
• Mapping and inspections: These fields require additional software training (think DroneDeploy or Pix4D), but they can be lucrative. Start by enrolling in a mapping course. From there, you may need to offer free services to local businesses to build a portfolio.
• Search and rescue: Thermal cameras can make search and rescue operations much more efficient, particularly at night. But you might not need to go with a fancy, thermal drone at the outset. You could start your business with daytime drones, in which case, again something like a DJI Air 3S or Mavic 3 Pro can be sufficient. If the business grows, then upgrade to a thermal camera.

If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.

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