Drones Reviews
Hexo+ Hands-Free Drone Review
by David L. Priede, May 29, 2016
Review
Until now, using drones to follow me hands-free during my climbing adventures was not possible. Hexo+ is a self-flying camera: an intelligent drone and an app designed to create video footage of yourself all without any piloting. The Hero is completely self-flying because it’s entirely automated. Takeoff, flight and landing happen via your smartphone. So, ready to create aerial footage of yourself, hands-free? Sounds remarkable unless you want to use it as a regular drone with an RC and void the limited warranty.
Now going back to my climbing story, Hexo+ lets you create videos of yourself from above, with taps on a smartphone. It combines a fast and responsive drone, a 3-axis gimbal, and a camera movement for perfectly framed and stabilized aerial images. Just pick your camera movement in the app and everything happens automatically: Takeoff, flight trajectory, landing and constant framing are all taken care of. Maximum range is up to 300 Ft; if it goes over, it will land automatically. Sounds like magic? Not really, it’s called predictive tracking with “framing algorithms with data fusion.”
Easy to use, the Hexo+ takes the hassle out of aerial filming. Based on its developer’s background as movie makers, the Hero+ tells your stories in motion: follow, slide, pan, hover, fly, close, far, in, out—there are close to 100 ways to film yourself. As a take it anywhere drone, you can film in different conditions as Hexo+ is designed to for most situations. While the Hexo+ does fly through light rain or snow, it isn’t waterproof. So don’t use it in heavy situations. It flies up to 40 mph to keep up with descents, strong winds and some “limited” abuse. On top of that, it is compact, carryable and strapable onto a backpack. Obstacle avoidance? No. When using Hexo+, you will have to anticipate the drone’s trajectory, just like you would with a kite.
The average flight time for a drone carrying a 3DGimbal and a GoPro is about 10 to 15 minutes. The obstacle avoidance technology available today isn’t there yet, but give it time and your drone will not wind up in a tree.
Highlights
-
Easy to use, takes the hassle out of aerial filming.
-
Follows and films you, using smartphone.
-
Completely Self-Flying.
-
Fits on or in a backpack, tool-free removable props, feet and gimbal.
-
Easy battery swap replacement.Perfectly stable footage 3-Axis Gimbal for image stabilization.
-
GoPro compatible.
-
Built-in library with dozens of cinematic camera movements.
-
Built-in fail-safe scenarios in case of failure.
-
Futureproof - Quarterly upgrades of the app and firmware.
-
RC Compatible Fly Hexo+ with an RC if you would like (however it voids the warranty).
-
Durable construction.
-
Fast and Stable 6-props design and 45 mph max speed.
-
1 year limited warranty.
Pros
-
Automated camera movements
-
Compatible with GoPro action cams.
-
Emergency Stop by pressing for 5 seconds on the interface
-
Follows you at up to 45mph
-
Takes off, flies and lands automatically
Score
9.4
Cons
-
10-15 minutes flight time
-
Camera not included
-
Lacks obstacle avoidance
-
No video downlink to phone
Hexo+ Official Video
DJI Phantom 3 Pro Review
by Malcolm Black, January 20, 2016
Review
Take stunning 4K videos and crisp, clear photos with the DJI Phantom 3 Professional. With improved image sensors and a wide-angle lens, you get higher quality photos and more vibrant videos than its predecessors. The Phantom 3 is easy to assemble and has user-friendly remote controls. DJI’s intuitive app—that even offers a built-in flight practice simulator—makes controlling your drone a simple process. Equipped with GPS-assisted hover, automatic flight logs, and a vision positioning system, flying while taking photos and video footage, is easy and enjoyable.
With a 3.1-mile flight distance and a mere 23-minute flight time, you may be worried about your Phantom dying mid-flight—don’t. With the improved Intelligent Flight Battery, GPS-assisted hover, and GLONASS satellite system, the Phantom 3 always knows how far it is from your location. This drone continuously calculates how much power it needs to return safely back to you. With a simple push of the return home button located on the remote control, your drone returns to its original launch site.
DJI has made controlling your drone’s camera and flight path simple. The remote control has dedicated buttons for various photo and video functions: camera tilting, flight direction, as well as an option to customize the functions of the command sticks and back buttons. Additionally, air braking mechanisms allow you to stop your drone in an instant—leaving it hovering steadily in the air, so you can focus on taking beautiful photos.
With the DJI Go app and Phantom’s built-in DJI LightBridge technology, your smartphone or tablet has a direct video feed of your drone’s camera. The Go app lets you switch between photo and video mode, take photos, and start/stop video recording. You can even enable intelligent flight modes and track your drone with the live map and radar function. By using the DJI Director video editor, you can edit and upload your photos or videos to social media with ease.
The Phantom 3 offers an easy setup, has an interactive and helpful app, as well as an amazing 4K video camera. The DJI Phantom 3 Professional is one of the easiest drones to setup—even if you are not familiar with drone technology. If you are an aerial photographer or videographer who wants high-quality photos and videos of fantastic sights and landscapes—the DJI Phantom 3 Professional may be just what you are looking for.
Highlights
-
Safety features
-
Easy to fly
-
Worry free autopilot
-
Powerful mobil app
-
4K video camera
-
12-megapixel camera
-
DJI Go app
-
Intelligent Flight Battery
-
GLONASS satellite system
-
GPS-assisted hover
-
3-axis stabilization gimbal
-
Automatic flight logs
-
Vision positioning system
-
DJI LightBridge
-
Ascends at 13 mph/horizontal speed up to 35mph
-
Up to 23-minutes for flight time
-
Warranty: 12 months for remote control; six months for battery, gimbal camera, and motor; 12 months for central processor board; no warranty for frame or propeller.
Pros
-
Easy to assemble/use
-
4K video camera/12-megapixel camera
-
GPS-assisted hover
-
DJI Go app
Score
9.5
Cons
-
23-minute battery life
-
Live video streaming requires you to have a smartphone or tablet
-
Camera is not detachable
DJI Phantom 3 Pro Official Video
Highlights
-
Built with safety in mind
-
Easy disassembly
-
Safe to fly indoors
-
Freeflight 3: An ultra intuitive application
-
Full HD quality with 180° vision
-
Stabilized on 3-axes
-
Own Wi-Fi for instant sharing
-
Return Home feature
-
First Person View piloting
-
Great high-end entry level droid
Pros
-
2 batteries included for extended flight time
-
Ready to fly out of the box
-
Easy high-End beginner’s drone
-
Durable
9.0
Score
Cons
-
Short flight time of 13 minutes
-
Short range without add-ons
-
Night Video quality
-
Drifts 3-4 ft while hovering
Parrot Bebop Drone
Review
by Sarah Gruenewald - August 18, 2015
Drones were, at first, strictly for professional surveillance use, but have been evolving towards personal, in-home use. One of the most exciting areas drones can revolutionize in the modern consumer’s life is in video and photography.
At approximately 400 grams, the ultra-light Bebop Drone takes professional aerial pictures and videos with an HD camera that digitally stabilizes itself on 3-axes. Full-digital image stabilization technology allows the Bebop Drone to take stable and clear in-flight footage regardless of the drone’s position. Armed with a 14 megapixel "fisheye" camera, the Parrot Bebop Drone takes 180° pictures and videos with breathtaking quality. Ordinary action cameras often show horizontal distortion; however, Parrot’s Bebop Drone delivers clear, undistorted, uncurved images, just like a regular camera would, but now from a bird’s eye view.
The Bebop has a splash and dust-proof lens that can withstand flying through the air at 45 miles per hour and withstand gusts up to 30 miles per hour. In the event of a collision, the propellers stop immediately on contact to prevent further damage. Another safety feature is the Return Home function, allowing Bebop to return to its point of take-off.
Another feature that sets Parrot’s Bebop Drone apart is its ability to generate a private Wi-Fi 802.11 network that allows you to share your spectacular photos, videos, and data instantly on YouTube and Facebook via Parrot Cloud. The Cloud also gives you a free backup of 8GB of internal data.
The app used by the Bebop is the Freeflight 3 for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. With a swipe of your thumb, you can remotely control the camera’s angle from Freeflight 3 which also allows you to track of all your flight sessions and routes. Now, your video and photo-taking experience and abilities can soar as high as your Bebop.
Parrot Bebop Official Video
Highlights
-
Effortless flight with auto-pilot
-
Stream HD GoPro video to mobile devices or through HDMI
-
The first-ever consumer drone run by two computers
-
Smart Battery
-
Expandable
-
Flight time 20-25 minutes
-
Controller battery life up to 4 hours
-
Wi-Fi range up to half a mile
The 3DR Solo is an all-in-one personal drone which provides ease of use and powerful new features that begin a new generation of consumer drones. The Solo offers features that enable new pilots to shoot professional aerial video from day one.
The 3DR Solo offers a best-of-breed flight experience along with remarkable user friendliness by leveraging the processing power of two computers. This new technology allows 3DR to create a revolutionary innovation in autonomous flight and camera control.
For the regular pro-consumer or professional, Solo can define its own flight, freeing users to concentrate on grabbing the footage they need. Additionally, this brilliant drone is the first to support full control of GoPro® cameras and produce live-streaming HD video directly to mobile devices or via the controller’s HDMI port.
Solo’s video game-style controller feels familiar as soon as you pick it up, even if you’ve never flown a drone before. Pushbutton directions put both camera and drone at your fingertips. Take off, land, or instantly pause your flight in midair with a single touch of the control. You can easily fine-tune the camera angle as you fly and push a button to start and stop recording or take a high quality picture.
By working directly with GoPro, 3DR Solo is the first drone to provide full control of HERO3+® or HERO4® cameras during flight. The new 3-axis gimbal sends smooth HD video to your mobile device, delivers in-flight recording control, and access to GoPro camera settings.
The sturdy new Solo app for iOS and Android makes it simple to get the most out of Solo’s intelligent capabilities. Take pleasure and have fun with innovative camera and drone control with the push of a button.
Pros
-
Easy to fly
-
Customizable and upgradable
-
Stable flight up to 35 mph
-
Top speed of 55mph
-
Made in the USA
Cons
9.5
Score
-
Programmable control and software learning curve requires practice
-
Not all upgrades are ready available
3D Robotics Solo
Review
by Michael Lee - August 12, 2015
3D Robotics Solo Official Video
TechNEWS
TechTV