| Spaßfaktor | |
| Flugverhalten | |
| Materialqualität | |
| Aufnahmequalität | |
| Preis-Leistung | |
| Average 0/5 |
We have already tested several drones from “Parrot”. Recently the French manufacturer announced that another quadrocopter can be expected soon. This is a foldable aircraft with a 4-propeller drive and a 21 megapixel camera sensor, which produces razor-sharp detail shots in true Ultra-HD, i.e. 4,096 x 2,160 pixels
Before that the manufacturer became known on the drone market mainly through the Parrot Bebop 1 and 2, as well as some mini and beginner drones. Although the products always kept what they promised and the quality was in a good relation to the price, testers and buyers of the big Bebop 2 quadrocopter delivered criticism from time to time.
Especially the camera sensor has been significantly improved compared to bebop. Here you can watch our test video of the Parrot Anafi drone:
Technical data at a glance
The drone can reach a top speed of about 53 km/h. It is slightly lighter than the Parrot Bebop 2 and weighs only 320 g, but it can easily handle wind speeds of up to about 50 km/h.
When folded out, the Anafi Drone can be made to the following external dimensions: 175x240x65mm. The design reminds a bit of the DJI Mavic, which you can fold up. This is exactly what the new drone from Parrot can do now. When folded it has these dimensions: 244x67x65mm. When folded, it fits into almost any backpack or bag.
With the intelligent flight battery, which has a capacity of 2,700 mAh, you can achieve a flight time of 25 minutes per battery charge. Dual-band operating frequencies of 2.4 and 5.8 Ghz allow a range of up to 4 km with the Skycontroller 3. Without this controller, only via smartphone control, a maximum range of up to about 350 meters is possible. You should, however, observe the currently valid laws in Germany, which state that a drone may only be flown within visual range and up to a height of 100 m!
This drone weighs over 250 g and you need a fireproof license plate with your data (first name, surname and current address) to be allowed to fly it legally in Germany. You can have such a drone license plate created and delivered for you at a low price on the Internet. You do not need a drone licence for the Anafi drone, it is only necessary from a take-off weight of 2 kg.
This new quadrocopter from Parrot also does not have a special obstacle detection system as many of the DJI devices do. So you should definitely try to avoid collisions. If a crash does occur, don’t worry, this model also has particularly durable material.
We had already had several crashes with the Parrot Bebop 2, as well as with the smaller models of the French manufacturer. In the process, we were able to see again and again that the drones from Parrot are very forgiving. This will also be the case with the Anafi Drone, as it is made of particularly stable carbon fibre reinforced material, which is also responsible for its low weight.
The remote control is the Parrot Skycontroller 3, which seems to be the successor of the Skycontroller 2, which was used to control the Bebop 2. The design is similar, not much has changed from the design of the remote control. The third generation of the controller now looks a bit more sporty and is probably even better in the hand than its predecessor.
A smartphone or tablet holder can be screwed back on above. To start the drone, the smartphone must be compatible with the Parrot app. In the application there is then, as usual, a lot of data about the current state of the Anafi Drone to be found out and the most different setting possibilities. However, various functions such as the follow-me mode are still not available for free, but behind a pay-wall. You have to buy this function in the app.
Special features of the Anafi Drone
The “Cameraman” mode represents the assistant to create all kinds of video recordings from a bird’s eye view. You could use your index finger to frame an object, which the camera then automatically frames and keeps in focus.
The only thing the pilot has to do is to control the drone in the air and fly after the object if necessary. This function is very new and is probably something like the preliminary stage to the Follow-Me mode.
For the camera there are more different modes and features planned, such as Boomerang, Orbit, Dolly Zoom, Tornado and Parabola. Furthermore there is the possibility to record videos in cinema style. The 4K-camera provides the appropriate format and resolution. There are also other modes like Epic, Reveal, Rise and 360 degrees.
Photo and video quality
The high quality camera with 4K and 4.096 x 2.160 pixels is simply amazing. It has a 4K resolution and the quality of the photo and video recordings is on a very high level. Pictures and videos are not pixelated, there are no picture errors and even at dusk you can still produce good shots and can see everything very well. Contrast, sharpness and color depth are more than excellent for a drone with a camera in this price range and perfectly suited for private use.
If you want to zoom with the camera, you don’t have to make any major sacrifices in terms of sharpness. Thanks to the 21-megapixel photo sensor, which works with special software, the image is enlarged by interpolation. For video recordings, the frame rates do not depend on the zoom but on the resolution. At the highest resolution you have up to 60 frames per second and at 1080p about 60 fps.
A maximum zoom of 3x strength is common. However, this is only really loss-free up to a certain zoom range. The lossless zoom factor also depends on the resolution. It is about 1.4 in 4K shots and 2.8 in Full-HD.
Video recordings have a high sharpness and very good dynamics due to a data rate of up to 100 Mbit/s. Of course you need a large memory. Unfortunately, the space of the memory card is located underneath the battery. There you can use the 16 gigabyte SD card. But we find this solution a bit impractical. You could have chosen the location for the memory card more intelligently.
What really stood out was the Anafi drone’s special gimbal system. It is installed in a way that you can film a bridge from below, because the camera can swivel more than 180 degrees in its vertical position. Nevertheless, the rotor blades are never in the picture and can therefore not disturb while flying.
The image stabilization is done over 3 axes and provides especially balanced video recordings. Even if you fly extreme maneuvers with the Anafi, the video recordings appear as if the drone is always in a horizontal position. It would have been especially cool if Parrot had integrated a panorama function here. Unfortunately such a feature is not available on this model. But exactly this would have made sense because of the 180 degree swivel camera.
Flight characteristics and battery life
Especially with a budget of several 100 €, flight characteristics and battery life should not fall below a certain lower limit of quality. However, in tests we could find out that the Anafi drone is very safe and relaxed in the air, even at higher wind speeds. Furthermore, fast turning maneuvers are possible and the quadrocopter balances all gusts of wind without any problems. The flight behaviour appears very agile and reminds a bit of the DJI Mavic Pro, which we already presented in detail in one of our test series.
The Anafi makes the hearts of advanced drone pilots beat significantly faster. However, novice pilots could run into problems due to a lack of obstacle detection. However, a very well implemented obstacle detection from the software and hardware side costs a lot of money. Usually such a system is only used for high-priced drones from 1000 € upwards. If you have little flight experience, we recommend that you start by practicing only on a field or other large open area. If you are looking for a cheaper entry-level model, we can also recommend the Hubsan drone, which has an extremely good price/performance ratio.
The battery has 2.700 mAh and due to the low weight of the drone of only 320g you will have an effective flight time of only 24 minutes. It can be charged via a power bank, laptop or even in the car. The problem what we could observe here is the fact that the charging time is extremely long with about 2.5 hours. Even with a quick charger from Parrot, you need about 105 minutes to recharge. We therefore recommend that you buy several additional flight batteries so that you are not so dependent on the charge level of your battery. A purchase of additional batteries is in our opinion worthwhile in any case!
Scope of delivery of the Anafi
The scope of delivery of the Anafi is average. Everything that is necessary to start the drone is included in the set. Included:
- 1 x Parrot Anafi drone
- 1 x remote control
- 2 x propeller set
- 1x Skycontroller 3
- 1x transport box
- 1x 16 Gbyte microSD card
- 1x USB-A to USB-C cable
- 1x assembly tool
If the 16 Gbyte SD card is not enough, you can also switch to a 32 Gbyte SD card. To be able to fly with the Anafi, you still need a suitable device, usually a smartphone or tablet.
Advantages and disadvantages of the new drone from Parrot
You can get the Parrot Anafi for about 700 € at Amazon*, the current entry price is of course a disadvantage. With new products the costs are of course always the highest, but usually the prices fall with time. In one year it might already be available for 600 € or less. We have summarized the biggest advantages and disadvantages in an overview for you:
Advantages:
- Very high quality processing
- Reaches high speeds of up to 53 km/h
- Powerful camera sensor with high recording quality
- Camera can be tilted 180 degrees, i.e. 90 degrees down and 90 degrees up
- Very quiet, 10DB quieter than DJI’s Mavic Air
- Extensive setting options and features
- Anafi drone is foldable, perfect travel drone
- Cool design and very stable
- Finally the drone is rechargeable via a power bank
Cons:
- Loading time is unfortunately at least 2,5h
- When circling around objects, the images sometimes look messed up, hopefully there will be an update from Parrot
- Further functions like Follow-Me only against surcharge
- No obstacle detection integrated
Conclusion on the Parrot Anafi drone
The great flight characteristics and the very powerful camera make the Parrot Anafi an absolute all-rounder for me. Despite the low weight, the quadrocopter stands like chiseled in the air.
Due to its foldability, the Parrot Anafi is particularly suitable for holidaymakers and filmmakers who are often on the move and need a small compact and reliable drone. Parrot has done a great job and the model is definitely worth its price of 700€.
The lack of obstacle detection did not bother me personally, as I now have some experience in drone flying. If that is important to you, you should take a look at the Mavic Air or the Mavic Pro from DJI, both of which are foldable as well.
The Parrt Anafi is currently available at Amazon for a very reasonable price*.
Alternatives to the Anafi drone for beginners
Not everyone who is looking for a beginner drone is at the right address with Anafi. The price discourages many beginners. From a price of about 200€ you can get good beginner drones in this size class. The Hubsan X4 H501S FPV Brushless Quadrocopter has a high quality camera, GPS and many modes, which can also run expensive aircraft. According to our test, this drone is really worth its money and you don’t use up too much budget.
Mini drones like the Parrot Mambo or Airborne are even cheaper and available for under 100€. However, such quadrocopters have a less powerful camera or none at all. On the other hand these aircraft are a lot of fun and can be flown indoors. Mini drones are also much more resistant and forgiving. So they are perfect for every beginner.
Another drone from Parrot that we have tested extensively is the Parrot Bebop 2, one of our favourite drones and you can get it for under 500 €. Especially popular is the FPV function in combination with the FPV glasses of the Parrot Bebop 2, but even with this model, some modes, such as the follow me function, are behind a pay wall. Again, you have to unlock advanced functions in the app by paying a certain amount. However, the price is limited.
