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| Average 0/5 |
A pretty extraordinary quadrocopter is the 3DR Solo drone. It is designed to carry a GoPro camera and has many different features to take spectacular pictures.
We have taken a closer look at the model and will show you in this report whether the purchase of a 3DR Solo Quadcopter could be worthwhile for you or not.
Technical data & facts
Many drone pilots are enthusiastic about the simple, intuitive controls and the autonomous flight modes.
What we actually find really cool about the drone is the top speed and the fact that you can use GoPro cameras. So it belongs to the drones for GoPro cameras.
The max speed is almost 90 kilometers per hour, which is really heavy for this price! It also flies extremely stable and incredibly reliable.
One common complaint is that the charging times are quite long and that a mobile device (for example a smartphone or tablet) is needed to be able to fly at all. Furthermore you can buy several batteries to extend your flight time with a short stopover.
Since most of you surely have a smartphone, this should not be a problem.
Design, Material Processing, Safety, Size & Weight
The size is manageable and for this price segment quite good, we are talking about a width and length of 37 cm and a height of about 18 cm. The weight is a little higher at 1.5 kg, but the engines are very powerful and the drone doesn’t look cumbersome at all.
To us, the design looks a bit like a DJI drone. Maybe it’s like the DJI Phantom 4, but if it was white, it could be mistaken for a drone.
2 The big differences between the Phantom 4 and the 3DR Solo drone are the camera and the drive. The 3DR Solo can reach almost 15 kilometers per hour more max speed. If you remember how powerful the Phantom 4 was, you know what to expect.
Everything seems very stable, the materials do not seem to have been cobbled together cheaply, but it was made sure that all elements are very robust.
Crashes are often no problem for the 3DR Solo Quadrocopter. The propellers are sometimes damaged.
You don’t need to worry about your GoPro camera either. In case it breaks in a crash, the manufacturer promises to replace the GoPro, provided there is a fault in the 3DR drone and no pilot error.
The 3DR has a flight recorder for this purpose, a kind of onboard black box. Here, malfunctions of the entire quadrocopter are recorded. Errors are automatically stored here for evidence.
Drive, battery & flight time
To your advantage, the drone has a good battery pack with a charge capacity of 5,200 mAh at a voltage of 14.8 volts. This is a lithium-ion flight battery.
Without a built-in camera you can achieve up to 25 minutes of flight time. If you use a camera, which of course brings extra weight, the drone can only achieve a maximum flight time of 20 minutes.
Here it depends on your flying style, if you fly calmly and modestly, the copter can fly for over 20 minutes even with a built-in cam. On the other hand, it is also clear that if the 3DR Solo is constantly accelerated to max speed, the flight time will be much shorter.
Unfortunately, the battery takes just over 90 minutes to charge. Compared to other models this is quite okay, but it’s annoying if after 20 minutes the flight battery has no more power and you have to charge for 1.5 hours. We therefore recommend that you buy several batteries.
The drone must naturally convert the enormous electrical energy into mechanical work. For this purpose 4 strong 880 KV motors are used. These are equipped with self-locking, glass fibre reinforced nylon props. They work very safely and the probability of the 3DR crashing because of engine failure is very low.
Gimbal system and sensors
The naked 3DR Solo which you can buy at Amazon does not include a gimbal system. You have to buy it separately.
If you buy it, you can use the GoPro camera there.
Thanks to the sophisticated GPS system, the drone maintains its location without any problems. Overall, the sensor system works very reliably.
Remote control, range, app & FPV
For this drone you need, as already mentioned, an app to fly with the drone. The system is coupled with the smartphone and now video data and the FPV image can be transmitted live to the terminal.
Many users have noticed that the app runs very stable and reliable. Even with Android 8.0 and most devices the app does not crash, freeze or have other problems. A clear plus point.
The app displays many current data like the current speed, live image view and GPS view in small format.
What we find extremely cool is the possibility to transfer the live image data of the GoPro directly to the end device. For this purpose, a GoPro frame holder is included in the scope of delivery of the separately available gimbal system.
Depending on the weather conditions, you can reach a signal range of about 800 meters with the remote control which is included in the set. But you should respect the laws in Germany and fly the quadrocopter only on sight. You will also need a drone license plate for this model.
The remote control is the Pixhawk-2 controller. It has a special holder for Smartphones and iPads, which can be easily adjusted.
It also has its own color screen and extra buttons for takeoff, landing, Autom Return To Home, pause and a button for switching the drone on and off.
There are 2 programmable A/B buttons and of course the 2 joysticks to control the 3DR Solo. The operation is actually very simple.
In addition, the remote control can be easily recharged, but it will last several cycles of charging the flight battery.
What we also find cool is the HDMI output, where you can transfer the live FPV picture to a larger display or TV.
Also the inner life offers a lot of performance, here 2 on-board computers are used in the remote control. One of these board computers is responsible for the autopilot, the other one takes over the functions of steering and other features of the controller.
Flight modes and other functions
The flight modes will make many pilots’ hearts beat faster, because in combination with the perfectly working app, the software functions are worth their weight in gold.
Follow Me
A typical flight mode for drones in this price class is the “Follow Me Mode”. No matter if you are on a bike, hiking or riding a hoverboard, as soon as the quadrocopter has you in sight and you have set the settings for the Follow Me mode, the 3DR Solo follows you everywhere.
While automatically following you, the drone keeps the camera pointed at you at all times.
Orbit (orbit)
You can take egocentric pictures with the “Orbit Mode”. Here you can fix the drone with the GoPro on an object, which should orbit the 3DR Solo.
In the app you have to enter the radius with which the drone should fly around the object. Additionally you can set the altitude and the flight speed.
Similar features are also available on many DJI models, but we haven’t seen many drones with an Orbit mode before. This feature is very versatile and the recordings make a very professional impression.
Cable Cam
With the cable-cam mode a virtual cable or you could also say rope is stretched. In which direction this cable should be aligned, you can easily set in the app.
The drone then flies this virtual rope and you can swivel the camera up or down or bend it. The autopilot of the 3DR Solo is fully engaged and you don’t have to worry about anything, because it flies the defined route completely by itself.
A similar feature is also available on other models such as the DJI Mavic Pro. Here this mode is called “Way Point”.
Selfie mode
Actually, you don’t really need this mode, but it is very practical. Here you adjust the quadrocopter so that it moves away from you on its own, takes a picture of you and then returns.
Is the 3DR Solo Drone suitable for beginners?
All in all the 3DR Solo Drone is in our opinion very well suited for beginners. Thanks to the advanced remote control you can control it intuitively, comfortably and easily.
It also has GPS for a more stable flight and is very robustly built. The drone can usually survive a crash, but if it should happen and it was due to a system error, the manufacturer will replace your GoPro camera. A flight recorder collects important flight data and errors.
For beginners, it is particularly well suited because it quickly gets the pilot to master many modes such as Follow Me, Orbit Cable Cam and Selfie. Besides, it also manages very high speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour. This means that the 3DR Solo is also equipped to withstand strong gusts of wind.
The learning effect is very high and thus the beginner quickly turns into an advanced drone pilot, because the range of experience with this model is larger than with other quadrocopters.
Advantages and disadvantages
Each model has its advantages and disadvantages. We have noticed some points which we have summarized briefly for you.
Advantages:
- There are a lot of autonomous flight modes (Follow Me, Cable Cam, Orbit, Return To Home and Selfie)
- Withstands crashes because the design and materials have been processed very robust
- Can be versatilely equipped with different cameras
- Creates top speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour
- The flight stability is excellent and incredibly reliable
- Also perfectly suited for beginners
- Intuitive and simple control
- Stable app which does not crash but works very clean
- Excellent GPS recognition
Cons:
- Unfortunately the drone is quite loud
- Quite heavy (1.5 kg)
- 3DR does not install new updates anymore
- Long charging times
- Requires a device (Smartphone or Tablet)
- Unfortunately there is no obstacle detection for this model
- The gimbal system is not included in the set and must be purchased separately
Scope of delivery
No concrete statement can be made about the scope of delivery. Depending on where you order the 3DR Solo Drone, a gimbal system or even a camera is included in the set. Usually the gimbal has to be purchased separately.
Included are the drone itself, 1 battery, 1 charger + cable and an operating manual.
Conclusion
All in all the 3DR Solo is a really hot part, even if there are some disadvantages. For beginners and advanced users it is very well suited. Professionals will probably complain about some things, but that is then grumbling on a high level.
In any case, the manufacturer has done a great job here, especially since this is a drone that transmits a live HD GoPro stream to a terminal device (tablet or Android).
We were also impressed by the high performance and speed of the drone. Unfortunately, it is very loud, the rotor blades are designed for maximum performance, and we probably forgot to pay attention to the volume during development.
We can definitely recommend the 3DR Solo to you. At the moment you can find the drone here on Amazon!*
