£120 budget,with HD camera and easy to fly

[Nomis]

Hi all,

Thinking of buying my first quad ( in the UK) , I have flown before, not for long but long enough to know I liked it!! I mainly will be looking to use for ariel photography and video and would like more than 2 mp camera if possible, ( I do have a go pro but want to avoid putting tha on first quad and have a built in camera)
Any suggestions to help me out, makes to avoid or recommend. I would like some thing reliable and easy to fly. Look forward to your replies and help.

Feel free to ask me further questions

Nomis

 

[Mike H.]

For that price range its hard to beat the SYMA X8C.

The toy quad cameras and fpv really are nothing to write home about quality wise. Some are better than others but, a far cry from anything crystal clear and quality looking.

The toy quad (in your price range) with highest payload carrying capacity at this point ,is the SYMA X8C...This quad is capable of carrying full sized Go Pro cameras and even hobby grade FPV systems..This X8C also has one of the better flight times of 10 to 12 minutes using a 2000mah 2s lipo battery (in stock configuration)..Even more with a higher capacity battery.

You do get a 2mp camera with the X8C but will soon find out how the quality lacks in that department...Not that they they arent a decent start into it but you may want more than that and, the X8C will allow you to do that easily.

Considering you already have a Go pro i can imagine you are wanting more flight time before attaching such an expensive piece of equipment to your quad....You do have a few alternatives however.

808 #16 V3 keychain camera..Better than any of the 2mp cameras that typically come with toy quads...$45.00 (US funds)

Mobius camera..Even better than an 808 and is much larger and heavier but hardly too much for the X8C. Around $65.00 (US funds)

XiaoMi YI "Go pro clone" camera...A cheap alternative to the real go pro with surprisingly good quality for the money..Priced about the same as the mobius at around $75.00 (US funds)

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Jackson]

...This quad is capable of carrying full sized Go Pro cameras

Capable but not advisable, too much weight for those so-so motors, remember the stock camera only weighs ~10 grams.

If buying an X8 this is a better choice.
http://www.banggood.com/Syma-X8G-2_...era-Headless-Mode-RC-Quadcopter-p-985603.html

A GoPro look, but It saves on weight and the motors by NOT having a separate battery in the camera. Less flight times but not by much.

XiaoMi YI "Go pro clone" camera...A cheap alternative to the real go pro with surprisingly good quality for the money

Has to be refocused, looks like a toy and has to be Wi-Fi connected for adjustments.

For those who don't need all the various action cam doo dads (that is a tripod mount BTW) , this is by far the best deal out there. Has a nice 2" LCD Screen for all the settings that also makes a great view finder for other tasks, plus great vid, mic audio and build quality.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221900556238

Firmware here:
http://www.dazzne.com/article/detail/id/62?lang=en_us

 

[Mike H.]

The lift capacity is around 175 to 200g for the x8c...they are brushed motors but, much larger the size of other 7.4v toy quads...could carry a go pro or clone of one easily...The X8C weighs around 600g...its a full 350mm size and a direct clone size wise of the DJI Phantom...Its as powerful of a toy quad as you are going to get...next step up would a Cheerson CX20 or something in the $250 or up range.

With a 3000mah 2s expect 15 minutes or longer flight times carrying a go pro type camera...Quite impressive for the $100 range.

The X8G is the same quad as the X8C just with a better camera but still not as good as some go pro clones and i think over priced for the camera...the mounting is nice though.

 

[GJH105775]

The lift capacity is around 175 to 200g for the x8c...they are brushed motors but, much larger the size of other 7.4v toy quads...could carry a go pro or clone of one easily...The X8C weighs around 600g...its a full 350mm size and a direct clone size wise of the DJI Phantom...Its as powerful of a toy quad as you are going to get...next step up would a Cheerson CX20 or something in the $250 or up range.

With a 3000mah 2s expect 15 minutes or longer flight times carrying a go pro type camera...Quite impressive for the $100 range.

The X8G is the same quad as the X8C just with a better camera but still not as good as some go pro clones and i think over priced for the camera...the mounting is nice though.

You might be better to use a Mobius or Runcam. Or if you want an all in one FPV and action cam setup this is a REALLY nice camera as far as all in one systems go.

 

[Nomis]

Thanks for the replies above,some great info to think about. A few questions-
A- I have seen the syma X8G and liked the increased mp of the camera ( 5 official and 8 unofficial, reading certain websites) is this camera still no good then?
B- can you remove the stock camera and replace with go pro or other camera mentioned above?
C- is there any difference other than the camera between the x8c and x8g?
D- do the hobby grade start at $250 my budget is €185 (£120 as I'm in uk) would I be better putting more money in to start with a hobby grade?
Look forward to you replies

Simon

 

[GJH105775]

Thanks for the replies above,some great info to think about. A few questions-
A- I have seen the syma X8G and liked the increased mp of the camera ( 5 official and 8 unofficial, reading certain websites) is this camera still no good then?
B- can you remove the stock camera and replace with go pro or other camera mentioned above?
C- is there any difference other than the camera between the x8c and x8g?
D- do the hobby grade start at $250 my budget is €185 (£120 as I'm in uk) would I be better putting more money in to start with a hobby grade?
Look forward to you replies

Simon

If you could save ~€50 up to add to your budget you could build a quad pretty reasonably, buying too cheap of parts makes it really easy to go from $250 to $500 after you replace a few things like motors, ESCs, and a frame . Just post a part list to the form before you click that buy button and you should be fine, people here are always glad to steer you in buying parts that won't break during your first flight hahaha. Now if you have never flown you might want to leave a couple extra dollars to grab a really cheap toy to learn on. Also if you play and Battlefeild 4 fly in the scout helicopter for a bit in default mode for the controls to kinda get used to the 3D.


@HDtallrider

 

[RGJameson]

Thanks for the replies above,some great info to think about. A few questions-
A- I have seen the syma X8G and liked the increased mp of the camera ( 5 official and 8 unofficial, reading certain websites) is this camera still no good then?

There are a number of onboard vid test on YouTube, take a peek. Looks pretty decent. It will certainly look much better than this member's scratchbuilt hobby grade with Runcam footage.

B- can you remove the stock camera and replace with go pro or other camera mentioned above?

Looks like a GoPro should fit, note the X8 cam comes in at about 32 grams, a GoPro3 about 74 grams.

D- do the hobby grade start at $250 my budget is €185 (£120 as I'm in uk) would I be better putting more money in to start with a hobby grade?

No, do you want to be flying 10 minutes after you get the quad, or spend another month sorting through parts opinions, then posting numerous 'help me' questions trying to get it flying. You can worry about building the next time around.

Many folks seem to really like the X8. Get some spare props, motors, another battery and maybe this to tame the small amount of jello. Good reviews.
http://www.banggood.com/Walkera-QR-...ti-vibration-Camera-Mount-GoPro-p-911721.html

 

[Mike H.]

74 grams is a piece of cake for the X8 to lift.

Seems a hobby grade versus toy grade with suggestions here.

Both have advantages and dis advantages...Toy grade is ready to go..no spending hours figuring out where to find this download and that download and how to set up the radios properly and worrying about more strict safety measures to avoid possible injury..Hobby grade is not for the beginner in my opinion..You can get flying now and learn the ins and outs of hobby grade and have a better chance of success when you decide to possibly move up.

The X8C is the most powerful toy quad you can get today and really even that quad is not a beginners quad but its the closest thing you are going to get to hobby grade power and stability for video/camera/FPV usage for the price range.

 

[GJH105775]

There are a number of onboard vid test on YouTube, take a peek. Looks pretty decent. It will certainly look much better than this member's scratchbuilt hobby grade with Runcam footage.

Looks like a GoPro should fit, note the X8 cam comes in at about 32 grams, a GoPro3 about 74 grams.


No, do you want to be flying 10 minutes after you get the quad, or spend another month sorting through parts opinions, then posting numerous 'help me' questions trying to get it flying. You can worry about building the next time around.

Many folks seem to really like the X8. Get some spare props, motors, another battery and maybe this to tame the small amount of jello. Good reviews.
http://www.banggood.com/Walkera-QR-...ti-vibration-Camera-Mount-GoPro-p-911721.html

I would hope it would look better hahaha, that was a Runcam direct mounted to an aluminium frame with unbalanced props, also the the footage was edited to be in lower quality. It can be improved on greatly by just adding jellos and a proper video export techniques, so the equipment is fine.