Hubsan H501S X4 4 Channel GPS Altitude Mode 5.8GHz Transmitter 6 Axis Gyro 1080P FPV Brushless Quadcopter Mode 2 RTF (Black)

After researching the market, and comparing the available technology to my needs, I decided this drone was the best bang for buck option. I was pleased far beyond expectation!About The Price:I feel this is more than fair for a system of this capability. It's features provide for reliable flight and that's what I value most. The FPV monitor designed into the RC was a major selling point. As was the 20 minute flight time. Also this listing, at the time, was cheaper than buying direct from Hubsan. It still may be. Five Stars for pricing.About The Shipping:I wanted to have this drone as soon as possiblewithout blowing excessive money on shipping. Amazon offered free 2-day shipping with a "Prime" trial membership (also free). I've used this offer in the past and have long since expired the trial. I never subscribed. They did not have to do that. Extremely good customer service, Amazon, above and beyond. Five Stars for the offer.I placed my order around noon on a Saturday.The item was shipped by that evening. It arrivedMonday and I couldn't have been happier! Five stars for arrival timing.The package arrived with a dent in the corner of the outermost packaging. Not a big deal. I'm not going to fly the box. No products were damaged. Plus it was slightly discounted. I'm not sure at what point or location this fault occurred, but a dented package speaks for itself. 4 stars for package handling.About The Product Contents:When I inspected the RC's battery bay, I was shocked to see a LiPo battery included. From what I read online, product specs always mentioned batteries were not included. Not one youtube unboxing, that I saw, included batteries of any sort. Many reviewer videos mentioned the ability to modify the RC to equip it with LiPo. Hubsan's earlier productions, as I understand, required some soldering and other alterations to successfully modify the RC to handle a LiPo battery. Hubsan's later productions have this modification built in already. This is a huge plus in itself. To actually include a brand new battery is exceptional customer service. The aircraft's battery is too large for the transmitter, and doesn't require as much power, so a customer is required to research the battery specifications to ensure a good fit that safely powers the device. I am new to the world of RC and UAV's, so knowing I got the correct battery is a huge peace of mind and saved me considerable amounts of time. I'm also not a fan of third party batteries so this was outstansing service. Did I mention it was a free battery? A seperate battery was included for the aircraft, as advertised. I can't be more impressed with this generosity.Another item I was surprised to find was a FPV monitor sun shield. This item is not listed as included from the manufacturer of seller. I didn't see this item included in any unboxing videos I watched. I did order a sun shield from another seller because I thought it was a seperate accessory. I will admit that I'll keep my aftermarket model because it's spring-loaded. The included shield is not. This gesture is still worth honorable mention and highly appreciated.The aircraft and all other accessories were packaged well and were not damaged. There was one problem. The balance charger was defective. After the recommended charging time (210 minutes) has passed the LED indicators should turn solid green. This did not happen. It would remain solid red (charging) for the appx. 210 minutes and then would flash green for a couple of seconds and go back to red. It would remain red for appx. 8-10 seconds and flash green again. The advertised flying time is 20 minutes. I was timing flights of 12-14 minutes. I grounded my aircraft as to not damage the batteries with dysfunctional charging. The seller made me aware that I had to contact Amazon. I was too impatient and stubborn to go through a returning process so I ordered new chargers straight from Hubsan. I'm sure if I went through the return process, Amazon would honor any replacement. They have a great reputation for returns.I normally wouldn't rate 5 stars because of this product flaw. However, considering the free battery and sun shield, plus my faith in Amazon to replace the charger if I sent it back, I'll give it 5 stars for contents. It isn't a perfect world and sometimes things are defective from the factory. A free battery and sun shield more than makes up for this issue.About Product Use (aircraft/RC);Take-off prep is simple and takes only a couple of minutes. In the air it flies smoothly and intuitively. It is easy to operate. The video transmission is clear and functional. Make sure to keep the antenna aimed towards the aircraft. This drone isn't the fastest but is is plenty speedy. It's a little slow on takeoff but that's nowhere near a problem. Performance is great. It isn't instantaneously high speed from idle to throttle, but it's response and performance is quite tight. At top speed it is more than enough unless you intend to follow cars at high speed. I usually use GPS mode which is all I need in terms of speed. Altitude Hold mode offers a more power to the motors and is quite fun but BE CAREFUL! It's easy to get carried away because this thing is EXCITING. I am more concerned with photographs and video so speed isn't my top priority. It goes faster than what I require. This craft is silent and not intimidating. The range on this drone is quite good. 300 meters is plenty for most applications. A $15 after market antenna will take you about a mile away. I'm not comfortable with that range yet but it's nice to know the upgrade is available. This is why I didn't buy the "High Edition" H501s, which has a different RC and larger antennas included. I saved the money and spent it on batteries and other accessories. Plus, this version's LCD monitor is larger! The RC feels natural in the hand. The different flying modes all work as advertised. I haven't experimented with "Follow-Me" mode yet. It may be fun, down the line, but for now I maintain hands on the sticks. **FAILSAFE MODE** .. of paramount importance. My transmitter battery died mid-flight and my first thought was to panic. Immediately I remembered the RTH function should kick in. It did! I was flying about 40m overhead so it didn't have to travel a long distance towards me. It took some time to land, but it landed itself safely a few feet from the takeoff point. I cannot stress to you the importance of this function (or properly charged batteries). Luckily the aircraft never died suddenly.About Product Use (camera):The camera is 1080p video/3mp photo and I am satisfied with the results. The video looks good on a computer screen and is surprisingly stable. I haven't noticed any "jell-o" that really matters. I bit here and there but marginal and not an issue. It won't be perfectly stable because there is no gimbal, but smooth and intentional flying will yield great results. 1080p is plenty for me, I don't care about 4k right now and the huge file sizes. Nor am I interested in the relative platform upgrades required for properly managed 4k production. The photos are better than expected. A touch of post processing for colors, sharpness, and distortion, and you've got perfectly usable images to share online that will impress your friends. There is sometimes a moiré pattern present but only whem image is viewed small (see pictures). Lens flare is sometimes present and dynamic range is fair enough. I have not made prints yet but I'm sure a standars 4x6 will look fine. This clearly isn't a pro-grade model so don't expect seamless video, manual camera settings, RAW files, or extreme detail. Look up DIY CP's and ND's for this camera. A filter over this camera will make a big difference in quality and is inexpensive.5 stars for operation.Overall:I bought this aircraft to further my flying experience and become acquainted with FPV controls. I feel like I have tons of space to grow with this aircraft. My last drone was an $80 model from the electronics store, so it had a really crappy (but operational) camera and fair control. Tons of jell-o and horrible dynamic range. No FPV. 5-7 minute battery life. It wasn't reliable in any wind over 1mph. Even indoors it was a struggle to maintain control. It was my first drone and was used for infant flyer's training. It was a lot of fun once I got the hang of it. I quickly outgrew it and bought the Hubsan. The comparison is world's apart. Lightyears ahead. Amoeba's compared to amphibians. It handles wind much better but I don't intend on stress testing wind negotiation. I love how this model is open for upgrades. A new antenna and FPV goggles will eventually be added to my system. Until I become licensed to operate commercially and can justify a large business-related purchase, this is what I'll fly. Becoming a skilled pilot is the most important skill to keep in focus. All the fancy camera gear should come after learning to fly SAFELY. It's only missing the gimbal, higher resolution, manual camera controls, collision detection/avoidance systems, and extreme long range capabilities. All the really important components are present. The ability to fly reliably. Video and photo recording. GPS lock. FPV transmission. RTH function. Range beyond what the eye can see. 20 MINUTES of flight time per battery! Some brands charge $100-150 per battery. These are $25 from Hubsan. 2 extra batteries and you've got an hour of flight time!I am a thoroughly satisfied customer! This product has taken my photography to new heights that were not achievable with my traditional camera setup. 5 STARS for Overall Satisfaction!

I bought this to replace a Sky Viper 2900 GPS drone which came with great claims but was riddled with bugs in the phone app that went with it. When the company finally admitted there was a problem, we returned it and found this one. And boy, do I wish we'd found the Hubsan first!! To begin, the controller comes with it's own screen, so there is no need to tie up your phone to use this! It literally was as easy as just charge the batteries and go out and fly! We test flew it in a mild breeze, maybe up to 5MPH, and the GPS did a good job of holding it's position. Some wavering in a gust but not bad, especially since this unit is not very heavy. It behaves similarly enough to a DJI Phantom 3 ( which I also own) so that there was really no learning curve to fly this one, except to remember that, being one- third the size if the Phantom, it doesn't do quite as well in the wind.The brushless motors are powerful and it gains altitude maybe a wee bit faster than the Phantom does!The battery life is good-- we have gotten up to 15 full minutes of flight out of it (and it prolly would have gone further but I didn't want to take chances!)The build quality is also very good for a device at this price point. So far I have had no crashes except for one flipover at landing on an uneven surface, but it took no damage and it looks like it will handle impacts well.The camera takes gorgeous hi def pix, much better than I was expecting after seeing some other offerings in this price range!This drone does require a compass Cal to be done before each flight. This is done the same way as for the Phantom, rotating it by hand horizontally, then vertically. This is not a problem, but can be a nuisance. The Phantom seldom needs frequent re-cal unless you are flying it in an area with really different surroundings. --- However to be safe, you should do it frequently in any case so I am not criticizing this aspect.But as with all good things, there were a few drawbacks that prevented me from giving this 5 stars;. First, and the worst issue, is that the live video downlink signal is very weak; we saw video breakup even at less than 100 feet distances, and it was sensitive to the drone's orientation. (The antenna is quite directional). But NOTE-- there are TWO controller options you can buy with this unit:. The cheap one has built in antennas( and very small), while the upgrade version has 2 external antennas, one each for the control and the video downlink. We got the cheaper one...and I would recommend you go for the upgrade version.NOTE, though, that the control range was good, at least out to about 400 feet, on the cheap controller--- only the video seemed to be affected, so you can still fly safely! The control channel seems to have much narrower bandwidth than the video (I expected this) so it is much more sensitive.There are aftermarket antenna add-ons available for the cheap controller, but it requires some cuttin' and hackin' to install them.The other issue is the lack of a camera gimbal mount. Of course, we did not expect that for the price, but it does mean that your vids just might make you a bit seasick unless you only shoot when hovering in place and rotating slowly; any sort of maneuvering will tilt the drone and your vids will show it!One other detail to be aware of is , at least in my unit, the display indicator for drone battery status shows it as discharging a lot sooner than it actually does. I panicked the first time when it turned red after only 5 minutes of operation, but I lowered it to only 5 feet off the ground and hovered it a while to see what the voltage would do, and it held up fine for a good while longer. This * might* be a characteristic of using a new battery; some rechargable chemistries tend to require a break-in period, so we will see as we go. But, so far there are no problems.To sum it all up, I would say if you have the $$$, then just go buy a Phantom. But, if money is an issue, you can't do better at the $230 to $250 price range than the Hubsan!

I've had the drone for a week now and I'm happy with the purchase. I've never owned a proper drone before and I learned to fly this pretty quickly (haven't switched to the more response expert mode yet though). Some basic information:1. Flying time: I've found that it flies about 15 minutes on one battery which is really good for the price. Most drones that get that sort of flight time cost about twice as much. I've purchased 3 extra batteries (they're about $20 each) so that gives me a solid hour of flight time. The one pain in switching batteries is that you have to re calibrate the compass which takes about a minute.2. Range: The image on the remote control starts getting hazy at about 100 metres, but if you buy a $100 pair of goggles they have the advantage of allowing you to change channels along the way that can extend the video range of the camera. The controller itself has a great range if you can keep a visual on it. So far I've taken it about 30 metres high and 180 metres away before I turned back with no problems.3. Maneuverability: I'm a bit new to drone flying so take this with a grain of salt. The one challenge is that unless you're actually looking through the camera, it can be hard to tell from far away which way the drone is facing, which of course makes the flying challenging. But it maneuvers really well and if things get tough to handle on the way bay, you can just flick a switch to get the drone to return to where it took off from.4. Return Home Feature: The return home features works very well. NOTE: it does not avoid objects along the way, but from what I've observed it flies back at the height you had it when you flick on the function, so if you take it to a high point that will avoid all objects on the way back, it's not as if the drone is coming down on an angle. It will remain on that highest point until it is above the landing spot and will only descend at that point.5. Stability in wind: The drone works well and is able to maintain itself in place in light winds. I'd say 0-10 kmph is the ideal wind-speed range. You can push it to 14-17 kmph, but trust me do not use the drone at anything approaching 20 kmph or above. I took it out at 22 kmph and nearly smashed it into a building (that was a safe distance away).6. Headless Mode: Headless mode is supposed to allow you to control the drone relative to your position regardless of where the drone is facing. I haven't had the greatest experiences using it, so I generally keep it off, find it easier.7. Durability: I've crashed it twice at this point. The first major crash was when a gust of wind was carrying it away, so I rapidly brought the drone back manually and grounded it as quickly as possible. It hit the grass pretty hard and ended up upside down. The second time, I was flying it a height of about 5 metres when large bird attacked it and knocked it down. That hit was hard enough to turn off the drone which doesn't usually happen unless you remove the battery. The drone is working perfectly fine still, didn't even have to replace the propellers (they come with a full extra set).Issues to be aware of:1. GPS satellites: This will be your biggest constraint if you live in a large urban centre. The drone needs to have contact with 6 satellites in order to get off the ground. In large urban centres, buildings block off a lot of the sky. Even if you're in a city like Toronto where outside of the downtown core you can generally see the sky without major obstructions, it's still tough to get a lock on 6 satellites. You pretty much need something the size a football pitch, no trees to get it to work. If you don't have satellite coverage, the drone will not fly at all (it doesn't just disable the GPS-related functions). So indoor use, even in a large space, is out. I wasn't able to use it in spacious mid-city parks with trees either.2. No cut-off switch: One of the things that is a bit dangerous about this drone is that it has no cut-off switch. Not on the drone itself, not on the remote. You can turn off the propellers with the remote control by going to the two lower outer corners with the sticks on the remote, but it's finicky and requires two hands. So in an emergency it's extremely difficult to turn off the propellers fast. I cut my hands up pretty badly during an emergency (windy day) getting control of the drone.Overall, for the money, it is a fantastic drone.

Great beginning drone.fly in an open area or above trees. I hit a tree glued broken motor mount to arm still flying. Waiting on new body. Buy an extra battery and spare props.

I am not a reviewer, this is only my opinion based on my experience.I am a non-commercial photographer. Therefore, I am only interested in a drone for personal aerial photography/video, NOT acrobatics. So, my priorities for a drone were: easy flying with no drama; relatively good flying time; reasonable size; basic but decent image quality; ability to see what the drone ‘sees’.For me, the Hubsan H501S checks my priority boxes, except for the image quality, which is rather basic. However, the low resolution is well compensated for by the perspectives of aerial images, so I am still happy.Based on my experience, I would make the following suggestions:1. Consult and follow the Transport Canada rules – have fun, not problems2. Read the manual that comes with the drone. The manual is poorly written (i.e. poor translation, order of pre-flight actions is incorrect, etc.) but not reading it thoroughly will result in disappointment or worse. There are several versions of the manual on the Web, but, because of different firmware versions, they may not correspond to the model received3. Do not discard the box that came with the drone – carrying cases are expensive, and the original box is cleverly designed and protects the drone well4. Do not update firmware unless you are sure that the direct cause of whatever is wrong with the drone is firmware related (unlikely). Firmware updates for Made in China products is an often nebulous process, and this drone is a prime example5. The Hubsan H501S is user friendly, but drones do not ‘fly out of the box’; they are complex devices that require input before the flight. Before every flight, and every time the drone battery is disconnected, Compass Calibration is required (described in the manual). This is a GOOD thing, as it is the second best way to ensure easy control. The first thing is to leave the GPS feature On all the time6. For my own peace of mind, I wrote a pre-flight checklist that I follow exactly before every flight - Day Before the Flight: Charge Drone and Transmitter batteries, Format and install Micro SD card, Pack spare batteries and propellers. Flight Day: Check wind speed (MUST BE BELOW 20 K/Hr); Check Micro SD card is installed; Install and connect Transmitter battery; Install and connect Drone battery; Check connection between Drone and Transmitter; Run Calibration Routines; Check Drone motors; Install and check propellers (correctly installed, clean and in good condition); Start drone and have fun7. Read up about Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) batteries, as they are potentially dangerous for fire and explosion (really). There are several good articles on the Web about best practices for handling. Note: my model came with a Li-Po battery for the transmitter, so, no need to use AA batteries (re-chargeable, of course, but don't last as long as the Li-Po)I hope my opinion was helpful. Happy flying!

An excellent drone. Includes the new 2.0 transmitter with 1300 mAh 2s Lipo that was a real nice surprise. The 2700 mAh 2s lipo for the drone gives a solid 20 minute flight. Drone is super stable due to multi GPS (I typically lock in on 11 satellites). I have had my 8,7 and 5 year old fly since it is so easy. Video footage looks really sharp with great detail even when up 600 ft. I use a 32 gig fat32 format u1 class 10 card with no issue. Calibration is fast and easy due to color prompting of the 4 lights. The charger is adequate and does balance charge using the JST connector @ 1Amp that equates to around 2h to take battery from 6.7v to 8.4v.Recommend purchasing from Mifly additional spare batteries - it may cost only a few dollars extra - but they are original and will offer the 20minute flight times you expect. Be warned, lots of knock off vendors are selling batteries that look nearly identical- but are fakes and don’t be surprised if you only get 10-12minute flights. They are also second rate lipos with high internal resistance (bad), so they will likely not last as long as the original.Finally, love the black and gold finish. Looks as good as it flies!

Great drone, simple, really stable with altitude hold ans GPS activated. Handles small amount of Wind nicely. Camera quality is ok for a drone of this Price. Fpv Works ok but signal is sometimes noisy.