Bring On The Drones

The past brought us RC planes — the RC standing for radio controlled because the plane flew using a propeller and was controlled through radio frequency with a handheld controller. Then along came drones, which started out only being for the uber-wealthy or businesses because they were big, bulky and problematic to control. Then these drones got shrunk down both in size and cost to become something the average person could afford. That didn’t make them easy to use though, you still had to work at making the drone do its thing and work even harder at keeping it from going out of range of your control and, worse than that, hitting something and breaking off a piece or more.

That was then and now the market seems flooded with drones. But what is wanted is a drone that does all that teems flooded with drones. But what is wanted is a drone that does all that the rest does but pretty much automatically. So either use your imagination or get hold of the HOVERAir X1 Pocket-sized Self-flying Camera.

The HOVERAir X1 Pocket-sized Self-flying Camera

Let’s start with two imposing factors that makes most shy away from getting a drone — its size and its weight. So lets take these two factors and apply them to the X1: to start it only weighs 125g and this also avoids the need for buying a license. Now as to size, 127mm ×145mm ×30mm where the rotors are extends out, but when not being flown it becomes smaller. So unlike other drones, the X1 can most easily be folded down to fit in a backpack or just carried along by hand to whenever without causing any strain.

The App and Power

Now as expected, the drone works in tandem with an iOS/Android app in order to access different camera modes along with flight patterns. So it can shoot photos, burst photos and video, Video modes include 2704 x1520@30fps., 1920 x1080@60fps and 1920 x1080@30fps (HDR). The app strives to provide details as to what NOT to do, along with a wealth of aids for what you CAN do (examples: Beginner’s videos, Choosing a Flight mode, Snapshot video). Plus large icons aid in understanding the mode choices (examples: Orbit, Snapshot, Bird’s Eye) which does also include manual

A direct Wi-Fi connection between the app and the drone does the trick.. Because as much fun as it is having the X1 fly using its tech, sticking with a default gets boring fast. And for sure you can add filters and music to the mix. The Live Preview (near real-time) aids in looking at what the camera is seeing, but as noted many times here, the A1 does the work to keep a level looking at you.

Let’s Fly

So the best thing might be how easy it is to get the X1 going — unfold it, let it sit on the palm of your hand, press a button and it’ll take off and fly up and stabilize all on its own. We found that the stabilization tech does keep the drone level as it moves about, and as it followed us around there wasn’t any real “wobbling” to catch the eye. Having it hover in place makes for the best selfies and avoids any focus blurs. Sure it’s doing the hard part (i.e., flying and keeping an “eye” on you), but that doesn’t mean you can’t be in control and make the choices as to how it is going to be reacting. Because that is what the app is for (more on that in a bit). Now the lightness of the A1 has both ups and downs — the most significant being that while it can handle a bit of wind, but if you’ve got 14mph working around you — don’t even try because that’s too much (as we found out on day 2). So a light breeze is okay but don’t push it and you and the A1 will be fine.

What About The Battery And The Outdoors?

Charging the battery is best done externally in the charging hub provided, although the X1 can be charged with battery inside (one battery is included but it makes sense to get a second for use when out and about since over a 1/2 hour is needed to bring the battery up to speed ). The exact amount of flight time depends on the electronics in use along with the power expended to keep it flying. Generally speaking you can look for about 10+ minutes in the air — we got slightly more than that but weren’t moving around all that much in our backyard, free of other people and obstructions that could cause issues with both the A1’s flight and its functions. Now taking the X1 into a crowd isn’t an issue as long as there’s enough room for the drone to safely hover in space — it goes high enough in general but there’s always the bird’s eye view to get it up higher so as to avoid problems. The X1’s ability to ”lock in” on it owner once it has risen is quite high — examples of success can be easily found on the app where others who have agreed allow their recordings to be seen. Just remember there are rules for flying these guys around private and public property and some are pretty draconian. So for the “novice” flyer, pick an open area without obstructions or other people — at least until one is comfortable with how things work.

The HOVERAir X1 Pocket-sized Self-flying Camera comes in a standard edition (drone only), with the Combo edition including an extra battery and external charging hub(extending the 5 pre-programmed flight paths to 20). Color wise, you can go for black or white — black standing out better against the sky as we found, except when the light starts to fade (but then you shouldn’t be flying in those conditions anyway). For more details go to https://thehover.com/products/hoverair-x1-self-flying-camera-combo?variant=45724514222365