Xiaomi drone 4K hand-on review

Xiaomi launched its maiden venture in the fast emerging drone market last year in May. Xiaomi drone 4K and a second variant with a 1080p.

However, ever since, there has been no substantial update on the status of the 4K variant of the UAV. But then, the company crushed all those rumors by listing the Xiaomi Drone 4K on March 3 this year. After more than 400 software optimization and 5 hardware upgrade.What are the big upgrades?

The Xiaomi Mi Drone comes in two boxes actually. There is the main large box containing the drone and accessories, and a smaller box which houses the camera.

One difference between the 4K version and the 1080P version is the color. As you can see the logo and cooling holes are decorated in gold.

The color is the only way to separate them. Xiaomi drone 4K also used folding design, it can be put down when using it. When taking it, we can keep the parallel between stents and its body. Xiaomi drone 4K design is very compact and its camera can be removable in view of convenience.We can put the drone and its accessories in the computer bag when we go out. So we don’t have to take the other bag to pack the Xiaomi Mi drone.

Compared with Mi Drone 1080P version’s self-tightening propeller, Mi Drone 4K version comes with ARA-D quick release propeller which is more safe and stable in fight.

Both version use GPS+ GLONASS (US GPS and Russian GLONASS satellite positioning), dual satellite positioning and optical flow auxiliary localization system.While the Mi drone 4K  is also equipped vision positioning system.

The biggest difference between them is the camera. Xiaomi drone 4k adopts 12MP Sony sensor, up to 3840 * 2160 pixel video resolution and it can support RAW format photographing. Compared with Xiaomi MI Drone 1080p screen, Xiaomi Drone 4K uses TDMA technology image transferring plan, which can not own stronger anti-jamming performance than traditional Wifi solution, and it can improve the transmission distance from 1km to 4km, making players own wider viewing angle.

There’s no big difference between the controllers except for the color. The remote control looks like game handle, mobile phone stents used the capacitor design, making its appearance more concise.

Both versions use 15.2 V / 5100 mah, 77.52 Wh in total. It is using a 4.35V lithium battery, whose capacity has improved 8% around than the common 4.2V in theory. The company claimed the Xiaomi drone 4K can support 26 minutes flying time for it’s lighter.

Compared with Xiaomi MI Drone 1080p, Xiaomi Drone 4K uses two separate IMU and compass sensor, which is rare used in UAV. The flight remote control monitors the mixed data of two roads sensor in the real time and then compare, keeping flying data accurate.

Xiaomi MI Drone 4K is equipped with 3 axis stable gimbal, built in 3 axis accelerometer and 3 axis gyroscope, 3 axis brushless motor drive, bringing as much as 2000 times per second of  data collection and operation compensation, which can make camera pixel level more stable and accurate and finally finish taking videos without shaking.

Below are some photos shot by Xiaomi drone 4K.

DJI has just released a somewhat brand new drone called the Phantom 3 SE priced at $430,which is a good alternative to Xiaomi Drone 4K. So will you go with the DJI Phantom 3 SE or the old version Mi drone 1080P?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Could the 3DR Solo survive after crashed into the ocean?

The 3DR Solo drone received fair reviews from users as it survived different situations during times when it had a face-to-face collision with another object such as trees, bushes, and poles. There was even one instance when it crashed into a tree and only resulted to three broken blades. It is interesting that it sustained no other further damage.

However, in this video you will see the 3DR Solo definitely has no chance of surviving if it crashes into the ocean. The drone is pretty lightweight but it is still meant to sink and the water will then corrode all important components of the drone making it eventually meet its demise right away.

But one pointed out that you should learned how to salvage any part of it. First order of business is to immediately rinse everything in tap water. Open up everything that is openable and blast the whole thing with fresh water. You have to do this within minutes because the salt water starts corroding everything almost immediately. Then, while everything is opened up you get it dry as quickly as possible. Big hot, dry air. I used a hair dryer once and the sun and trade winds another time. Then you have to make sure the water is completely displaced in every little teeny crevice. This is where using the right product made a difference in how much was salvageable. I used a product called Corrosion x. it’s also good for spraying on your parts in advance of them going in the ocean. It’s its messy, yes, its smelly, but I managed to save two motors, some of the gimbal, the main board and many parts from the GoPro. (lens and some boards, etc.) What immediately dies is the battery and all the parts that might get shorted out.

Another pilot viewed, ” If you had maybe flushed everything off good with fresh water, or alcohol before you put it in the bag of rice you might have gotten lucky. I dropped mine in a fresh water reservoir (well as fresh as water can be from runoff off a cow pasture) and literally hosed my GoPro off, inside and out, with my garden hose. The SD card survived as well as the GoPro. 3DR SOLO/ … well that seems to be a different story. I had in rice for 3 weeks and tested it and found some intermittent connection issues. I took it completely apart and cleaned every connection I could find with DeoxIT, although I did forget to completely remove the WiFi card and Pix from their boards. I noticed corrosion already forming on the WiFi card screws and on the Gimbal motor balancer. Now I’m finding that I have to be within 6 ft in order to connect to SOLO so I’m pretty sure I have a WiFi problem. I plan on taking it apart once more time before I have a burial service for mine. Not sure if I really want to buy another one.”

As these pilots shared, you couldn’t expect anything to come out well in the event of an ocean crash, but you could be confident that you will come out with more useable parts if it happens again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Range is not an issue with the GoPro Karma

GoPro is a camera company that made a drone. The Karma drone is first an accessory for GoPro cameras.

TechCrunch reviewed, on paper, the GoPro Karma looks like it’s going to compete with the DJI Mavic drone. They’re both packable drones with limited feature sets, designed with portability in mind. In reality, the Karma’s main competitor is the DJI Phantom.

But we think the Karma’s competitor is not the Phantom 3 or 4 but it is the Mavic Pro. Portability is what the Karma was developed for and it falls short when compared to the Mavic although it does have a much better camera with the Black. The Karma will be the go to for those deep in the GoPro ecosystem and for GoPro’s first shot at a drone it’s a home run, but let’s not minimize the impact of the Mavic, it is the standard everyone will now try to emulate.

It’s clear that the product bundle itself is one of the main differences between the GoPro Karma and its DJI rival. GoPro shares a single camera between both the drone and its gimbal grip, and wants you to buy it separately. You’ll need to supply a Hero4 Black or Silver, or the new Hero5 Session or Hero5 Black camera for use with your drone, bolstering GoPro’s camera sales in the process unless you already own one. But the drone ships with its gimbal grip as a free accessory, and realistically speaking, many target customers likely already own one or more GoPro cameras anyway.

Range is not an issue with the GoPro Karma. Its maximum flight distance is 3,000m, which in most cases is far enough for the pilot to lose sight of the drone, breaking one of the key FAA rules of piloting a drone of keeping the drone in visible range. However, many other drones available around the Karma’s price now have a range of 5,000 meters or farther.

The DJI Mavic has a claimed a maximum flying distance of 8 miles (13km). OcuSync long-range-transmission technology is capable of relaying a signal up to 4.3 miles line-of-sight while supporting 720p HD video (1080p HD transmission in short-range mode). Every time you fly, OcuSync scans a range of available frequencies to find and use the one with the least interference to give you more reliability and control, OcuSync transfers vital statistics of the Mavic to you in real time, and can also be used to download photos and videos at up to 40 Mbps while flying. It can be controlled using the DJI Go app over shorter ranges. If you to want to fly further the you can add a tiny remote controller which increases the range to a claimed 7km. The remote can link to a mobile device and view a live feed from the copter in 1080P.

On the whole, the GoPro Karma is a great drone. Think of it as a flying GoPro mount, though, instead of an autonomous aerial vehicle. It lacks collision detection and follow-me abilities — the latest features found on most drones in the Karma’s price point. And that’s a shame, too, as both are excellent additions to drone technology. Think of the Karma as one of the best drones from 2014, and maybe, for GoPro’s core audience, that’s fine.

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Hover Camera: See what they think

Speaking of Hover Camera, you may think of the bankrupt Zano and the Lily in the drones marketing, the three drones are similar, they are all the drones mainly coming with the Self-Timer function, including the following shot function.

Then Hover Camera will follow in their footsteps? How do you think about the Hover Camera?

Below are some comments from the Hover Camera forum.

“More realistic. Its primary selling point is the use of the bottom camera. The rest of the functions are common cellphone camera features. Its main purpose is to stay in place no matter what, the follow feature is probably just the yaw and camera tilt.”

“I saw Hover Camera in my news feed. Looks cool, but at the end of the day, it’s just another toy hitting the market. It might sell well, but I don’t think this is the kind of device that people NEED or that will be super widespread. I’m sure it’ll be fun to fly, though.”

“Just seems a bit pricey for a design that looks like it was 3D printed to hold crayons. Why enclose the props with all that plastic? You’re losing a lot of functionality (lift and aerodynamics) that way.”

“Video is pretty bad. Which is why they market it more for taking photos instead video. I still need to take it out for another ride on the Boosted Board and see how Beast Mode works and how the video quality it when it’s flying at a constant speed. I’m hoping it does a little better than when just floating. Overall, it’s still a fun little toy.”

“The Dobby and Yuneec Breeze look like good options as well. I’ve had Phantoms and actually lugged them along on some pretty long hikes to do exactly what one of these will do. And the fact is I’m not a videographer and while the capabilities of that platform are wonderful, I’ve just come to the realization that one of these types – or maybe a Bebop 2 – are much more my speed, being that all I ended up using the Phantom for is remote selfies anyway.”

“Just purchased Hover Camera because the concept seemed cool and I wanted to try it. Not worth the money really. But still a fun little guy to mess around with. May end up on eBay in a couple weeks.”

“I don’t think I need Hover Camera but and glad I found out about it through an entertaining and honest, robust instructional delivery well done. Imagine it above you while your cooking acting as a fan while filming.”

“If you are looking to use for photos only, this could be a good choice. If you want more video, I’d suggest something like the DJI Mavic. I did a review of that too. It may be more of what you are looking for.”

 

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Drone Parrot Jumping Max test

Here is the test of a drone that does not fly, but which rolls: Drone Parrot Jumping Max.

Drone Parrot Jumping Max: a drone like no other

Ten years ago, the Jumping Max Race was called a radio controlled vehicle. In 2015, they say a drone. Indeed, if you are used to a drone being a small flying object (like me), you will be surprised by unpacking the Max Jumping drone.

On the box, you can see the drone, which looks more like a race car than a helicopter, and we have a glimpse of the proposed functions: jumping and rolling, talking and listening through the drone, and finally the turbo boost. As usual with the Parrot drones, you need to download Freeflight 3 (iOS or Android), which will allow you to control the Jumping Max Race.

To use the Jumping Max Race, you have to connect it via Wi-Fi. Indeed, while the Rolling Spider that I tested was used via Bluetooth, it is used in Wi-Fi, taking advantage of greater scope. I do not know if I am special or not, but I found that the Jumping Max Race was much easier and intuitive than the Rolling Spider. In just a few minutes I managed to drive it properly.

Rolled, jumps, turns

The Jumping Max Race drives up to 13 km/h and jumps to 75 cm. It may sound a little bit, but believe me, inside it is enough. As the photo above suggests, you see what the drone sees when you pilot it in the Freeflight 3 application. In this way, if you are quietly sitting in your office chair, you can still bring your drone on the other side of the apartment with no problem.

However, there is a significant latency between the drone and your smartphone. It is sometimes annoying and it is better to have an eye on the Jumping Max Race to see where it goes in real time.

The Jumping Max Race allows Freeflight 3 to make some jump sequences and fun figures, such as a jumping tops for example. It must be confessed that Parrot did well this point. Another thing I appreciate about this drone is the autonomy. You will have about 20 minutes of fun per charge, which is much better than a drone that flies for example Hover Camera (around 8 minutes).

Last thing that makes the Jumping Max Race is an interesting drone in my opinion: the spacing of the wheels is adjustable, to allow two different driving modes. Spread the wheels and enjoy excellent handling. Shorten the distance between the wheels and you can sneak everywhere. The procedure is instantaneous and it is quite practical.

Overall, this drone is very fun and especially resistant. It always falls on its wheels, and does not become damaged at all.$99 for this Jumping Max Race.

 

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