A Simple Guide and Review Of The Syma X8G
The Syma X8G is a fairly cheap Quadcopter but is it worth the price?
The Syma X8G Quadcopter is one of the most affordable video quadcopters you can buy right now for around £120. The Syma X8G is the upgraded model to the X8C quadcopter and is able to compete with some professional drones such as the DJI phantom which would cost you a considerable amount more money to buy. Obviously, it won’t be able to perform as well as the DJI phantom and certainly does not have all the features as the Phantom but for under a hundred pounds, this Quadcopter is pretty good. The Syma X8G, is probably one of the best entry level RTF quadcopters on the market for beginners.
Recording
The Syma X8G is not a FPV drone but operates by purely recording a video to an SD card on the camera. The video files will split themselves off at around 5 minutes. This means that every five minutes, the videos will be saved. This is a really useful feature that means your video footage will not be lost if the drone crashes, runs out of power or you forget to stop the video and power off the quad.
Camera
Yes, there are many cheaper drones with cameras to choose from but many have 2 pixel cameras and the footage is not so good. The Syma X8G has a good HD 8-megapixel camera which looks like a GoPro and performs pretty well. It is able to record at 1080p with 30 frames per second or 720p with 60 frames-per-second. The camera does not have its own battery and is powered and runs off the battery from the drone, so there is no separate independent switch for turning the camera on and off. This means that you cannot use the camera manually when it is detached from the drone itself.
The camera angle is not adjustable and is in a solid fixed position, which means that the camera is always facing forward and cannot be moved to face down.
For just over one hundred pounds, it is not really a drone you would want to buy if you need to achieve professional footage but it’s an excellent investment for playing around with and learning how to operate and fly a drone to achieve maximum effects. For a drone that is in the ‘toy market’, it’s a good choice.
The drone is able to perform fairly well in light winds and you have a fair amount of control over the drone the higher it goes as it becomes more stable at height. However, it does become harder to get the drone back down to where it started from!
Controls – Transmitter
The Syma X8G has a very simple and easy to use remote controller but there is no built-in GPS so you won’t get any useful features such as ‘press button to return home’. The controls are a nice size and are easy to use with your thumbs or by pinching.
Flying the drone for fun and to practice taking cool shots is easy to handle and the Syma X8G is a good investment. The Syma X8G is not designed to go at very high altitude and as we mentioned previously, does not have GPS but as long as you keep the drone in sight, you should be ok! The extra weight of the quadcopter with the camera attached does not really affect the handling and is relatively stable during flight. The battery life is quite good and the LVC warning time is enough to get the drone back to you safely.
Modes
The Syma X8G comes with a couple of ‘Sports’ modes which allow you to get some nice shots and allow you to do a few stunts when flying the drone.
Another really nice feature with the Syma X8G drone, is that if you really want better quality footage, you can attached a better quality camera such as a GoPro to the drone instead of using the camera it is supplied with.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Syma X8G drone is pretty good too and you should get an average of 15-20 minutes flying time on a single full charge. However, this does depend on conditions and some people say they get about 11 minutes from a fully charged battery. A nice feature on the X8G is the LVC warning and you get about a 3 minutes after this, which is plenty time to get the drone back to you before it runs out of charge.
Prop Guards
The Drone comes with four prop guards that are easy to fit by simply sliding in to the unit near the motor mount and securing in place with the screws supplied.
What’s In The Box
When you buy the Syma X8G Quadcopter, it comes with everything you need to be up and running quickly. The Quadcopter comes with a number of different accessories included in the box and they are as follow:
Spare Props
SD Card (4 gigabyte)
Charger
Screws and tools
Battery (takes about 3 hours to charge)
Price Of The Syma X8G Drone
The price of the Syma X8G Drone is pretty reasonable at around £120 (at the time of writing), considering what you get and the quality of the footage it produces.
Summary
The Syma X8G Aerial Video Quad is a great entry level Quadcopter that is very affordable and produces good quality footage from the HD camera supplied. Obviously, the footage is not as good as the more expensive drones on the market and it does not offer the features that the more expensive drones have. However, that said, if you are just starting out flying and want to practice your flying skills, this is a great piece of kit to have to learn. All in all, if you are looking for a drone/quadcopter and have a budget of around £100-£120, then you won’t go far wrong or be disappointed with the Syma X8G Aerial Video Quadcopter.