Spark initial review

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 07/27/2017 at 16:15 • Filed to: None

0

13

We got 4 of these little buggers at work this week. I have been flying it a lot since. My initial impressions:

Setup - Holy hell this is bad. It took me over an hour and a call to tech support. Its the way you are required to activate it that is the issue: scan the code, code doesn’t scan. Connect to remote via wifi, you have to be connected to the internet to continue. Etc, etc.

Finally got “poo” registered and flying. (it was initially called “bubbles” but was changed to “poo” on the 37th attempt to register it)

Flying - Its pretty good. The onboard controls keep it from doing things it ought not to but the controls aren’t as linear as I would like (light touch...nothing...slightly less light touch...FULL SPEED AHEAD!)

In sport mode its a manic little puppy, for better or worse. The braking feature is terrifying but it hasn’t wrecked itself so I guess it knows what its doing. In wide open spaces sport mode is fun, in tighter quarters its BAD NEWS. Easy to overshoot your target and super twitchy, plus the extreme maneuvers mean you have lots of play in the precision of where it ends up.

The real pain is the 2 speed jump - standard is slow but accurate, sport is fast and manic. There needs to be some middle ground, like a speed limit knob on the controller to dial in max speed on the fly.

Truthfully with the remote its not at all hard to fly, just feels a little disconnected compared to others I’ve flown.

Images - Seem to be pretty good, exceptional for the size of camera. Like amazing given the size of the camera. That being said, its no pro drone. Great for hobby use, good enough for cutaways in pro use. I haven’t really used the footage in anything yet so the jury is still out.

Quality - Seems well put together, really sturdy and well thought out. Nothing to break but the blades really. The controller is high quality and the batteries are tough enough to take a beating.

Ease of use - Not...amazing. Once you get it up and running its pretty good, but wifi dropouts can be common and its annoying to connect to and use your phone as a screen. I prefer all in one units like Yuneec. It is relatively easy to get up and going though once you know the rythum; you still have to make a effort, its not run and gun, but its pretty quick.

Battery life - Meh. maybe 12 minutes each. Get lots of batteries. I guess I shouldn’t complain given the size and ability but I still will.

Overall - A neat little toy thats priced well and has a lot going for it. A gopro for the sky.

Then Something New > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 16:21

0

I’ve been having some good fun with mine. It’s crazy how much more you can shoot when you can get it up and flying so quickly. The other benefit I found out last weekend at the All British Field Meet, is that it’s small enough that no one really pays attention to it so you don’t get goofy gawker faces in crowds!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 16:27

0

With a name like Spark I’m not worried about battery fires at all.

HammerheadFistpunch > Then Something New 07/27/2017 at 16:28

0

Takes a lot of effort to get smooth shots though I’m finding. Panning in particular introduces a lot of stobing.

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 16:29

0

What is your planned use for these?

HammerheadFistpunch > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 07/27/2017 at 16:30

1

Well the good news is that its made in China, so that helps put those fears to rest.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/27/2017 at 16:32

0

Grabbing a quick shot to spice up production without pulling out the bigger drone

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 16:39

1

Just like all those “hoverboards”

Then Something New > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 16:42

0

Yeah that shot was with the tripod mode on and using the remote control. I’ve been flying it at the park whenever I take the dog for a run just to get some practice.

Also I forgot to mention earlier, but that initial setup is a TOTAL Pain!

HammerheadFistpunch > Then Something New 07/27/2017 at 16:45

0

I couldn’t figure out what tripmode mode was, I will have to play with it more.

diplodicus forgot his password > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 17:51

0

I want a drone so bad. But my dog goes apeshit around them.

Then Something New > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 17:52

0

I didn’t use it for the longest time because I didn’t know what it was, but then I used it! It just makes for a super slow stable platform.

It’s now one of my absolute favorite features.

StudyStudyStudy > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2017 at 18:15

0

I was thinking of getting into the hobby drone game, mixed reviews on this little guy. You mentioned a Yuneec, is there a specific model you recommend?

Then Something New > HammerheadFistpunch 07/31/2017 at 16:00

0

I played around with it over the weekend on some trails. The follow feature was pretty fun.