Skybird
Well-Known Member
When we first laid eyes on the X8G, our first thought was the design reminded us of a DJI Phantom. It seems like Syma is going in that direction as far as arial photography is concerned. Unlike the previous Syma series X5 and X8 with 720p cameras and non exchangeable mounts. This is a first of it's kind for Syma where there is not only an action camera included, but a mount that makes it easy to connect a Go Pro or other type of Go Pro like action cam, so you don't use up battery life. It does have power to lift,the camera and then some. The camera is very light connects easily to the quad and does not need a battery, it gets it's power from the quad battery. While the camera is no Go Pro, it does take 720p1080p HD video(there is a switch on the camera itself to select between 720p and 1020p) and 5 mega pixel photos, we had some great aerial footage being recorded, unfortunately we found out the hard way that like most camera equipped quads, not only do you have to stop recording before turning off the quad, but crashes count, if you crash while recording you will lose what you were recording, at least that was the case for us, it wasn't a serious crash, we tried to do a flip with the camera on and something went amiss, some quads don't let you do flips with the camera on, but from what we have read, that's not the case with the X8G. The brushed motors are geared which slows them down a bit in comparison to either gearless or the more expensive brushless motors found on quads like the Phantom, so you should not expect anything like the Phantom other than the design, that said, it has the ability to do what the Phantom can do and that is take nice aerial photography, It comes with an impressive fairly large 2000 MAH lipo battery and we got close to 10 minutes flight time with it. You might want to get at least a second battery because this baby can take from anywhere from 90 to 200 minutes to charge. Most beginners will find the IOC headless mode orientation a plus, this allows you to fly in forward regardless of which way the quad is facing, making it easier to navigate and pan for aerial photography. The X8G has an off switch which not all quads have, some just require connecting the wires of the battery and quad. We were not able to test the headless mode, when the button was pressed as you can see in the video, the quad just dropped out of the air, it was most likely due to a failing motor, so no fault of the headless mode. We hope to try that feature out again when we replace the motor. The transmitter or TX has an LCD like the previous Syma models, but the color scheme is different, the LCD has indicators of speed etc. The TX is very light even with 4 AA batteries, there is a small hole in the middle to connect a lanyard if that's your preference and with the very little weight you will hardly notice it's there. It's comfortable to use and the sticks feel quite alright, but it does have a toy like feel to it compared to hobby grade transmitters.
The manual explains all the functions well enough, one thing to point out is like previous Syma models, the Tx has no camera mode/operation indicator the only way to tell if the camera is recording is by looking at the LEDs on the camera itself, the LEDs are green when it's powered and ready, continuously blink red while recording video and briefly flash red when taking a picture. you push the right button near the trims up down for video, up for photos, this has been the case with most of Syma camera models and it would have been nice if they had put vide/photo buttons on this TX. It ships with a fairly straight forward instruction manual, 2000 MAH lipo battery and a nice balance charger, 4 extra props, prop guards, a 1080 pixel, 5 mega pixel camera and mount, a 4GB SD card, screwdriver and extra screws and mounting pins for the propellers. Binding is like most other Syma models just turn on the Tx, then turn on the quad push the throttle forward till it binds, that's a good safety feature not found on all quads.
After putting on the props, it was off to the park to try it out, it was getting late but we managed to get some flight time and a little footage, it's very stable, but it does tend to drift, which can be compensated for with the trim buttons, if you calibrate the gyros it also helps, to calibrate, just push both sticks to the right bottom and wait for the lights to blink. It can fight a 5 MPH wind even in low rates. We tried out the rates, but unfortunately it started to get cold and dark so we didn't have much light left, but as you will see it flies nicely. It should be mentioned that together with it's red in the front, green in the back orientation lights and headless mode, one should not be afraid to fly at night, but beware of very cold climates it can affect motor and battery operation, that goes for most quads even the expensive ones. For those familiar with previous Syma models, It's no Syma X5C-1 in the respect that it's much bigger and more solid, but it does somewhat maneuver like the X5C-1, although a lot bigger and slightly heavier, it's big but not that big that you can't at least hover indoors, one thing that makes this quad differ from the Syma X5 series, is like the other X8 quads it has easy motor maintenance, meaning Plug and Play, easy to change motors, which is good news for those who don't like to have to solder, let's face it motors sooner or later(hopefully later) burn out and have to be replaced, manufacturers who make quads like this one and other PNP motors, must be keeping the novice hobbyist in mind when they make these quads knowing some people just either don't know how to solder or just don't care for it. So there's 1 big plus for the X8G!
Rather than do a pros and cons list, we thought we would wrap up this review with a summary ala the famous Clint Eastwood western, the Good The Bad and The Ugly. Cue the cheezy spaghetti western music.
The Good- Nice design, compared to earlier Syma models, the nice big battery bay holds a nice big battery. It's a Syma, they have a very good reputation with entry level quadcopters, as compared to a DJI Phantom, this is a good inexpensive way to enter aerial photography with stable platform without risking a lot. It's got headless mode which makes learning to take aerial shots and night flying easier, it has PNP motors, prop guards easy to put and take off, just 2 screws, the balance charger is a nice feature and works well. The TX has an LCD, if you prefer that. The camera takes nice video and photos and is easy to operate, It ships super fast.
The Bad- It's not your ideal entry level quad, you can't really fly it indoors, it does not ship with a USB type charger.
The Ugly- The props use a lock pin system which can be safer but can also be a pain to deal with. The transmitter isn't like the other black ones that ship with other Syma models, but then again, you might like the 50/50 bar color scheme, not much more else we can think to add.
So in summary we like the quad for it's sturdiness and aerial photography capabilities, all in all it has it's benefits and it's little drawbacks, it doesn't seem like the ideal entry level quad for beginners, but it depends on the pilot, the Syma X5C-1 or any X5 series and X11C both with cameras, would be small enough to fly indoors especially if it rains or it's windy a lot in your area, but then again the aforementioned quads don't have the ability to take the kind of photos the X8G can take, so it's a trade off, tit for tat, there is a slight learning curve and it can be a bit challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it you will be taking nice aerial video and photos in no time. If you are looking for a nice low cost entry into aerial photography with a stable platform, that's fun to fly, you can't go wrong with the Syma X8G!
The manual explains all the functions well enough, one thing to point out is like previous Syma models, the Tx has no camera mode/operation indicator the only way to tell if the camera is recording is by looking at the LEDs on the camera itself, the LEDs are green when it's powered and ready, continuously blink red while recording video and briefly flash red when taking a picture. you push the right button near the trims up down for video, up for photos, this has been the case with most of Syma camera models and it would have been nice if they had put vide/photo buttons on this TX. It ships with a fairly straight forward instruction manual, 2000 MAH lipo battery and a nice balance charger, 4 extra props, prop guards, a 1080 pixel, 5 mega pixel camera and mount, a 4GB SD card, screwdriver and extra screws and mounting pins for the propellers. Binding is like most other Syma models just turn on the Tx, then turn on the quad push the throttle forward till it binds, that's a good safety feature not found on all quads.
After putting on the props, it was off to the park to try it out, it was getting late but we managed to get some flight time and a little footage, it's very stable, but it does tend to drift, which can be compensated for with the trim buttons, if you calibrate the gyros it also helps, to calibrate, just push both sticks to the right bottom and wait for the lights to blink. It can fight a 5 MPH wind even in low rates. We tried out the rates, but unfortunately it started to get cold and dark so we didn't have much light left, but as you will see it flies nicely. It should be mentioned that together with it's red in the front, green in the back orientation lights and headless mode, one should not be afraid to fly at night, but beware of very cold climates it can affect motor and battery operation, that goes for most quads even the expensive ones. For those familiar with previous Syma models, It's no Syma X5C-1 in the respect that it's much bigger and more solid, but it does somewhat maneuver like the X5C-1, although a lot bigger and slightly heavier, it's big but not that big that you can't at least hover indoors, one thing that makes this quad differ from the Syma X5 series, is like the other X8 quads it has easy motor maintenance, meaning Plug and Play, easy to change motors, which is good news for those who don't like to have to solder, let's face it motors sooner or later(hopefully later) burn out and have to be replaced, manufacturers who make quads like this one and other PNP motors, must be keeping the novice hobbyist in mind when they make these quads knowing some people just either don't know how to solder or just don't care for it. So there's 1 big plus for the X8G!
Rather than do a pros and cons list, we thought we would wrap up this review with a summary ala the famous Clint Eastwood western, the Good The Bad and The Ugly. Cue the cheezy spaghetti western music.
The Good- Nice design, compared to earlier Syma models, the nice big battery bay holds a nice big battery. It's a Syma, they have a very good reputation with entry level quadcopters, as compared to a DJI Phantom, this is a good inexpensive way to enter aerial photography with stable platform without risking a lot. It's got headless mode which makes learning to take aerial shots and night flying easier, it has PNP motors, prop guards easy to put and take off, just 2 screws, the balance charger is a nice feature and works well. The TX has an LCD, if you prefer that. The camera takes nice video and photos and is easy to operate, It ships super fast.
The Bad- It's not your ideal entry level quad, you can't really fly it indoors, it does not ship with a USB type charger.
The Ugly- The props use a lock pin system which can be safer but can also be a pain to deal with. The transmitter isn't like the other black ones that ship with other Syma models, but then again, you might like the 50/50 bar color scheme, not much more else we can think to add.
So in summary we like the quad for it's sturdiness and aerial photography capabilities, all in all it has it's benefits and it's little drawbacks, it doesn't seem like the ideal entry level quad for beginners, but it depends on the pilot, the Syma X5C-1 or any X5 series and X11C both with cameras, would be small enough to fly indoors especially if it rains or it's windy a lot in your area, but then again the aforementioned quads don't have the ability to take the kind of photos the X8G can take, so it's a trade off, tit for tat, there is a slight learning curve and it can be a bit challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it you will be taking nice aerial video and photos in no time. If you are looking for a nice low cost entry into aerial photography with a stable platform, that's fun to fly, you can't go wrong with the Syma X8G!
