RC Quadcopters Buying Guide
More and more RC quadcopter appears in people's life. In addition to the application of RC quadcopter in some professional fields, it also plays a huge role in daily life. Reasonable use of RC quadcopter can also bring a lot of convenience to life. There are several common applications for RC drones.
Topics in this buying guide: |
What is RC Quadcopter?
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Features of RC Quadcopters. |
5 things to consider before buying RC Quadcopter.
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3 Best RC Quadcopter in 2020 |
What's a RC Quadcopter?
RC quadcopter is unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by radio remote control equipment and self-provided program control equipment. Drones are actually collectively referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles, and modern drones are complex devices.
By using a gyroscope to computerize the flight process, the gyroscope is kept straight and level automatically. Some can even take off and land automatically. Using sensors to detect the ground so they can land gently.
The components of a RC quadcopter: rack, blade, battery, flight control, ESC, and camera. Generally, remote control is provided.
Divided according to different fields of use, RC drones can be divided into three categories: military, civilian and consumer grades, and each has its own emphasis on the performance requirements of drones:
1) Military RC drone have higher requirements for sensitivity, flight altitude, speed and intelligence, and are the RC drones with the highest technical level, including reconnaissance, decoy, electronic countermeasures, communication relay, target drone, unmanned combat aircraft and other types;
2) Civil RC quadcopter have low requirements for speed, distance and ceiling, but for the personnel training, comprehensive cost have higher requirements, so you need to form a mature industrial chain to provide cheap components and support services, as far as possible for now civil RC quadcopter’s biggest market is that the government provide public services, such as police, fire and weather, about 70% of the total demand, and we think the future RC quadcopter's biggest potential market may be in civil, new market demand may appear in agricultural plant protection, goods speed, air wireless network, data acquisition, etc;
3) Consumer-grade RC drones generally adopt low-cost multi-rotor drones for aerial photography, games and other recreational purposes. Consumer-grade drones range in price from a few dollars to several thousand dollars, and vary in size, mostly under 3KG, mainly in aerial photography. They are also used for professional aerial photography and video recording.
Features of RC Quadcopter.
Battery capacity and body weight
The size of the battery capacity and the body weight, to a large extent to determine how long the aircraft can fly, and of course it also affects the flight speed and the aircraft's wind resistance to a certain extent.
Camera resolution
The pixels and resolution of the camera determine the final imaging effect of the video.
GPS function
GPS can tell where your RC drone is, if there is no strong signal, bad things may happen, you can find your drone by GPS positioning.
Remote control distance
The remote control distance of the RC drone is the distance between the remote control and the drone. The longer the remote control distance is, the farther your drone can fly, the larger the picture will be shoot.
5 things to consider before buying RC Quadcopter.
Battery Life
It should be noted that the battery life of a RC quadcopter depends on its weight and onboard equipment, and the actual flight time will depend on a variety of factors, such as weather conditions.
Camera
Whether or not to equip a camera, and the resolution of the camera and video effect, the current camera pixels: 720P, 1080P, 2K, and 4K. mainly is 4K, 720P resolution is 1280 x 720, aspect ratio is 16:9, 1080P resolution is 1920 x 1080, aspect ratio is 16:9, 2K resolution is 2048 x 1080, 4K resolution is 3840 x 2160. The latest aerial camera products, you will find that most of them are equipped with 4K of camera, DJI series and Hubsan (e.g. ZINO 2) and FIMI (e.g. X8 SE) these are basically 4K cameras, these products are basically up to about 30 minutes. If you need professional drone photography, such as shooting documentaries or weddings, the 4K option will provide you with more creativity. If you are a beginner that can choose ordinary small toy quadcopters to add the entertainment of life.
Headless Mode
Each RC drone has front and back side, and when headless mode is activated, the remote control controls forward and backward instead of the front and back of the machine.
One Button to Return
See how far it flies and how many meters the remote control distance reaches. When you lose the control of the RC drone from your sight, this button can make the RC drone return to the origin of flight. GPS can tell you where your drone is, and if you don't get a good signal, bad things can happen.
There are some factors that affect the GPS signal, but the main reason is that there is not enough satellite sight. This happens when fly in big cities, mountains, and large trees, especially indoors. One of the things that people who fly long distances have to worry about is how high they have to fly to stay in sight of the drone. If you were to fly a mile away, the signal would be five times weaker than if you were at 1,000 feet, this means that even small things like trees between you and the drone can cause serious interference and even loss of signal.
Replacement Parts
It may also mean replacing the propeller, motor, camera or landing gear, such as hitting walls, the rings and blades are vulnerable, so make sure the model you choose has plenty of replacement parts available. The following replacement parts are needed to prepare for DIY four-axis:
Brushless motor (4 pcs)
Electronic governor (referred to as ESC, 4 pcs)
Propellers (4 pcs, 2 pcs front blades, 2 pcs reverse blades)
Flight control board
Battery (11.1V aircraft model power battery)
Remote control (minimum four-channel remote control)
Rack
Charger (choose balanced charger if possible)
3 Best RC Quadcopters in 2020
Generally speaking, RC drone is very compact and lightweight, which is easy to carry, the outstanding characteristics of RC quadcopter is becoming smarter, it can be used in indoor and outdoor environment. The 3 RC drones recommended below are the best choices for you. Each has its own characteristics and can meet your shooting needs in different flight conditions. Shooting a blockbuster has never been easier!
Product Name
| Hubsan Zino 2 | Fimi X8 SE | JJRC X12 |
Price | $399.99 | $499 | $239.99 |
Remote Control Distance | 8KM | 5KM | 1.2KM |
RC Drone Battery Capacity | 3800mAh | 4500mAh | 2400mAh |
Max. Flight Time | 33min | 33min | 25min |
Charging Time | about 3.5 hours | about 3.5 hours | about 5 hours |
Resolution | 4K - 60fps | 4K – 30 fps | 4K – 30 fps |
Max. Flying Speed | 72 kph | 65 kph | 40kph |
Weight | 929g | 790g | 437g |
Dimension | 32.6x26x9.49cm | 20.4x10.6x7.3cm | 19.6 x 17.7 x 7cm |
Remote Control | with display | without display | without display |
GPS | YES | YES | YES |
Target User | aerial photography | | |
Applications | | | |
Reasons to Buy | 1. 8KM remote control distance 2. Super long battery life of 33 minutes 3. Remote control with display 4. Can be downloaded directly through wireless link | 1. Remote control distance of 5KM 2. Super long battery life of 33 minutes 3. 4K 100Mbs video, 5KM distance, three-axis gimbal, smart/movie shooting, smart tracking mode, accurate visual positioning system, headless mode, follow mode | 1, 4K-30fps 2. The flight time lasts 25 minutes 3. Lightweight, foldable and easy to carry |