Heads up – Big Garmin sales are out!!! The Garmin Fenix 8 is $250 off, the Forerunner 965 is $150, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is $249, and a ton of other Garmin gear has substantial discounts! Go check out the full list here!
Here’s your consolidated list of the best action camera and drone deals, with tons of insight for those using these products for sports, such as follow-me drones and more. In virtually every product below, I’ve used them extensively across countless hours of testing and regular usage. Thus, I can give you tips on what to buy…and what to skip. Note, do see my general note about DJI below this.
With that, let’s take a look at some of the most popular product deals (or, my favorites):
– GoPro Hero 13 Black for $309 ($100 off):GoPro has decided to skip releasing a Hero 14 this year, and thus this remains their most recent model. It easily holds its own in daylight footage against all of its competitors. It’s the main camera I use, and I most appreciate the GoPro Cloud backup piece, so everything just automatically syncs there, in case I kill/lose (yet) another camera to the ocean.
– Insta360 Ace 2 Pro for $334 ($65 off):This is my other main daily driver, primarily for low-light footage (where the GoPro struggles). They’ve also got really good integration with your sports data, including Garmin, Apple, and more. This allows you to very seamlessly overlay data from those workout types automatically. It’s super slick.
– DJI NEO 1 for $159 ($40 off): This is DJI’s smallest and most affordable drone, and is designed to follow you during sports. You can check out my full in-depth review on it here. It’s super cool, yet, the just-announced DJI NEO 2 came out last week, and is frankly, so much more impressive. I’ve just started testing it, and thus far it’s astonishing. Sure, the image quality is a huge step up, but even more so is just the way you control it. Hand signals, voice, buttons, all things not found on the NEO 1. That said, man, DJI spends an insane amount of engineering time avoiding doing what everyone has been asking for years for: A beacon/remote.
– HoverAir Pro/Pro Max Drones (up to $350 off):These drones are the main competitor to DJI’s drones, except that HoverAir specifically focuses on follow-me drones for sports. That’s their jam, and they’re really really really good at it. In general, the HoverAir drone delivers better tracking and image quality than the NEO drones, but lacks all the regular-flying software features of DJI’s higher-end drones like the DJI Mini 5 Pro, etc… Said differently, if I’m going to take a drone to follow-me in the trees, it’s going to be a HoverAir drone (it’s the current reigning champ of my challenging Gauntlet test). But if I’m taking a drone to shoot super pretty scenic shots, it’s going to be a DJI drone.
Got all that? Good – the above would be my best picks on this list to consider.
Now, as noted, one thing to keep in mind about DJI if you are US-based, is that their ability to support US owners with replacement parts will dramatically decrease in about 33 days, on December 23rd, 2025. DJI has not officially launched any new products in the US in 2025 (except DJI Mic 3), due to the upcoming ban on DJI imports. This ban specifically covers all wireless components of all DJI products, thus includes both action cams and drones. Thus, if you crash your drone, your ability to get replacement/service is going to be extremely limited after that. As it is today, certain drones are already unsupported in the US (e.g., DJI NEO 2, Mini 5 Pro, etc…).
Now, I’d look at purchasing decisions from a risk-based standpoint. If you’re talking something like a DJI Action Cam, they’re frankly pretty darn hard to kill. About the only way you’re likely to kill one is leaving a battery door open and going swimming. Inversely, it’s extremely easy to kill a higher-end drone like a DJI Air 3S or Mavic 4. Whereas something like the DJI NEO series is pretty darn hard to kill, short of running it over with a car. Finally, remember that DJI’s warranties are specific to the country/region you bought it in.
Of course, the big challenge here is that when it comes to drones specifically, there just aren’t good competitors to DJI’s higher-end units (e.g., Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S, Mavic 4, etc…). Thus, your alternatives are nonexistent. Whereas on the action cam side, both GoPro & Insta360 make fantastic products, which I’d argue are better in almost every feature area than DJI’s action cams.
As always, thanks for your support. Using the links below (and throughout the holiday season) helps the site, so I appreciate it (seriously!) As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: I’ll be publishing the full list of other sports tech deals here shortly, but you can find a similar page to this, with all the Garmin deals here, such as $250 off the Garmin Fenix 8, and plenty more.
Action Cameras & Drones:
Here’s the full list of everything that’s on sale right now:
This is last year's model. And sure, the Action 6 came out 48 hours ago, but honestly, the initial rection hasn't been kind there. I just started testing it, so more to come very shortly.
Look, don't buy this drone. This is the drone that never should have left the napkin at the lunch table at DJI's HQ. The unit breaks easily (as I, and many others found out), and doesn't really do anything super well. Literally, buy any other DJI drone except htis one...you're welcome.
This is a great little drone as your first drone, especially for sports usage, where it'll do an astonishing job following you (running, cycling, etc...). And, you can crash it a gazillion times without any problem.
This is GoPro's budget option, which includes a full color touchscreen on the back as well. The main benefit is it's super small, but note it's not quite in the same quality ballpark as their higher-end cameras. If you want size and GoPro ecosystem on a budget, this is an option. But with the DJI Action 4 just $20 more than $199, that offers notably better quality.
This has become one of my favorite drones, given it's tiny size (fits in my running shorts pockets) and ease of use. Plus, you can crash the crap out of it (hundreds of times for me and my wife) without any issues. This combo includes an extra battery and fast charger.
This is a solid deal on a solid drone, and one of the two main ones I use when taking videos of myself hiking or running. This includes the two extra batteries as well as the fast charger (so 3 batteries total).
This is one of the best 360 action cams on the market, alongside the GoPro Max 2 (both have their pros and cons, check out my full comparison guide linked).
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2024 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
