Until Then...
To good to be true? Leading smart phone company Xiaomi to launch a 4k Camera Drone. When it comes to new drones and claims from companies that their latest start up will shake the market of UAV, always brings a little of suspicion. I have to say Xiaomi has a good track record and its latest offering of a 4K drone at a remarkable price $456.00 had me shaking with excitement. But like any serious hobbyist , I turned to the faithful Youtube for test and example footage.
I was disappointed when I found in examples and official videos a wonky at least gimbal and fish eye camera.
I hope that this is a pre release bug that will be fixed before the full product launch.
Maybe this drone can bring serious competition to DJI and Yuneec? In the mean time I wait in hope that this new offering opens the market for more affordable camera platforms.
Comments
Wow more affordable you say Lee, before DIYD and other opensource autopilots just the flight controller was north of US$5000 There will be a point where you can't get cheaper without several components having to give in the quality department. There are much better APM based offerings off the shelf for less.
@ Jerry
Are you saying this has a snapdragon FC? As in the Flight board? That's interesting, I might have to follow your lead. ;-)
My Yi camera is OK - a fine $90 camera for action and waterproof use (with case).
But it's still the worst quality camera I own.
The price of this is about the same as a P3S - which has a mature app and capabilities.
4K means nothing in this price range because low budget pilots are unlikely to have the video editing capability - to say nothing of the fact that 4K from tiny sensors and for online use means nothing.
Drones are a lot different than smartphones - where Xiaomi has had their past success. The entire OS of their phones was free (Android) - where this machine needs a lot more investment.
Again, the Yi is not exactly groundbreaking and even their smartphones are not officially in the US yet - so this company is not a juggernaut, more of a copycat that succeeded in China due to a low price.
on its debut even, they had a live online demo. they (are likely cheated or ) 3sec+ lagging was on the youku (chinese youtube) when it's crashed. i will buy one to tear it down for the snapdragon board and flash it with px4... and the rest of it, like @Fnoop said, repalce it with something i know i can depends on.
just a joke.
Replace the FC that comes with it with a pixracer and you've still got a very cheap RTF drone :)
Thanks guys for the comments, It does seem by using a sony sensor and a big effort in lenses give some indication that the quality of the build will not be less than cheap plastic. The overall quality of the camera is very good. I guess it like Yuneec with the q500 and DJI P2 which had the same issue with the wide angle lens.I guess that the 4K may address this issue. I hope it will progress. They seem to play a very good game with Samsung with smart devices and have a good business model. I look forward to July
One thing that is never addressed in these new low priced drones is the quality of the components.
Hi Lee,
Apparently not ready for prime time yet.
The inclusion of a 4K camera at any price indicates they are attempting to play with the big boys.
But if the real world performance isn't there, no amount of specs and hype will do them any good.
It will be interesting to see how this progresses.
Glad you brought us this information, at least something to watch.
Best Regards,
Gary