We are rapidly becoming a civilization that uses smart homes and cities, which means there will be an increasing need to install Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. Constant monitoring is key to smart city development. For decades, researchers have been studying the pros and cons of closed-circuit television cameras for video surveillance. These cameras have restricted coverage areas, don’t share their locations, and can’t be tracked. However, drones equipped with vision sensors provide more extensive surveillance coverage, are more versatile, and can be scaled to fit different needs. Drones have many advantages, but they also have their fair share of problems, such as fluctuating transmission signals, limited processing and power resources, and shaky cameras in the live broadcasts. We gather relevant literature and transmit their practical perspective extensively since drone surveillance lacks the researcher’s attention. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments, smart city traffic management, post-apocalyptic catastrophe management, object identification and tracking, video summarizing, and persistent target monitoring are the main topics covered in this article. For those interested in Computer Vision (CV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), this concise review reveals research gaps and provides deep insights into the methodologies utilized in the cited studies, paving the way for future study.