Holding your smartphone up to take a selfie is so 2022! Take the leap to 2023 with your very own selfie drone. You read that right: a selfie drone.
You may be wondering: what is it? It’s a tiny 125-gram drone that takes off and lands on your palm, has built-in storage, autonomous flight modes, and can capture high-quality photos and video with very little energy. intervention on the part of the person driving it.
That’s what the Hover Camera X1 from Zero offers you.
Technical characteristics of the Hover Camera X1
- Dimensions (L×W×H): Folded: 127mm × 86mm × 31mm / Unfolded: 127mm × 145mm × 30mm
- Weight : 125g (with battery)
- Flight duration: Each battery allows approximately 20 flights.
- Storage : 32 GB
- Gimbal adjustment range: -90°~15°
- Maximum speed : 7m/s (horizontal), 1.5m/s (ascent), 1.5m/s (descent)
- Maximum flight height: 15m
- Video Modes: 2704×1520 @30fps, 1920×1080 @60fps, 1920×1080 @30fps (HDR)
- Image size: 4000×3000（12MP）
- Battery capacity: 1050mAh
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Loading time : 35 minutes (with docking station), 55 minutes (with X1 docking station)
I have flown many drones. But since I’ve never tried a selfie drone, I was a little confused as to what set them apart from other camera drones I’ve flown.
No controller
The first thing that struck me was the lack of a controller. There is no joystick or control pad. The app has a feature to control the drone, but it’s more for framing shots than anything else.
The drone has a single on/off button on the front, another tiny button to change flight modes, and that’s it. There are six flight modes: hover, zoom out, orbital, follow, aerial view, and a custom mode that you can configure yourself.
Tracking mode in action. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Yes, it’s weird having to trust a drone to fly itself.
With its 125 grams, this drone weighs half of a DJI Mini 3 Pro
The other thing that struck me was how light the drone was. With its 125 grams, this selfie drone weighs half of a DJI Mini 3 Pro. It’s really small, especially considering that the propellers are covered with a guard to prevent them from coming into contact with fingers or eyes.
It folds flat when not in use.
The Hover Camera X1 selfie drone folds flat when not in use. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
There isn’t even a slot for a microSD card. The drone has a storage capacity of 32 GB.
I am really impressed with what this drone can do
Just charge the batteries, unfold the drone, insert a battery, turn it on and take off.
Smile! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this drone. I’m also going to be completely honest and add that I’m really impressed with what this drone can do.
The drone’s camera is very good considering its size, and works well in good to moderate light conditions. The video is smooth and clear and the colors are pretty good. The result is what you’d expect from a budget smartphone camera, and it’s perfect for social media.
Fly the drone around his face
The flight modes are also superb. The drone takes off, does its thing, then comes back and waits for you to wave your hand below to land. It has no problem coping with winds of up to 10 km/h. Keep in mind that the drone is not equipped with obstacle avoidance sensors, but after a few collisions with walls and trees, I came to the conclusion that this drone is quite robust.
Battery life is also excellent. It allows about 20 flights. That means you can open it up, take a few selfies, do a few orbits and bird’s eye shots, a few follow-up videos, and still have some battery left for a few more shots.
Take-off and landing in the palm of your hand. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
I don’t find the autonomous flight modes of other drones to be as good, and I wouldn’t encourage people to take off and land with their hands and fly a drone around their face. But that’s what the Hover Camera X1 was designed for, and it does it exceptionally well.
I expected a toy, and it’s not
I was expecting a toy, and it’s not.
It is an incredibly simple drone to fly and use. Yes, you are sacrificing features like advanced image control and the ability to adjust flight modes. But for selfies or vacation photos, it’s perfect as is, and I can see it replacing the “action camera on a selfie stick” for a lot of people.
It’s fun, it’s different, and the result he can capture is pretty special.
At €388, the Hover Camera X1 isn’t cheap
At €388, the Hover Camera X1 doesn’t come cheap. But for a little more, you can buy a drone that would allow you to do more. But not exactly what this drone can do.
If you’re looking for a drone to take selfies and group shots – the kind of things you could do with a selfie stick – the Hover Camera X1 isn’t just going to meet that, but it’s also going to give you functionality. It’s going to be a game changer when it comes to social media!
On the other hand, if you want a drone that you will actually fly and control, and want to get into aerial photography and videography, you should probably opt for a more traditional drone.
Source: “ZDNet.com”