| Spaßfaktor | |
| Features | |
| Materialqualität | |
| Flugverhalten | |
| Preis-Leistung | |
| Average 0/5 |
With the Spot VR, the well-known toy manufacturer Revell is launching a small but powerful drone for beginners.
From the very beginning, the presentation gives the clear message: This drone is not meant to be a competition for DJI & Co., but rather a high quality, but nevertheless inexpensive drone for fun, which in the worst case scenario can even land under the Christmas tree.
Data sheet:
-Wingspan: 14,4 x 4,2 x 14,4 cm
-Weight: approx. 32g
-Flight time: 6-10 min.
-Battery: 3.7V 350mAh
-Loading time: about 1 hour
-Operating frequency: 2.4GHz
-Range: up to 40m
-Camera: 480p
Battery performance and flight time
In our test we were able to record a flight duration of about 7 minutes, which is a good average in this price class. The Parrot Mambo as well as the Parrot Airbourne have similar flight times and prices.
The battery can be removed and fully recharged within about 60 minutes.
With the included battery to USB adapter, the battery can be charged at any USB port, but we recommend using a mains USB plug, as charging at e.g. a computer could take a little longer.
The possibility to charge the battery via USB is very practical for camping trips or similar. This mechanism is present on this drone, but unfortunately not found on much more expensive models such as the Mavic Air (newest drone model from DJI).
Since the battery cable is quite short we recommend to use a USB extension to avoid pulling the cables during the charging process.
Remote control & glasses
To operate the remote control you first need four AAA batteries, when they are installed and ready to go.
The controls are simply constructed, they are pleasantly light and fit well in the hand, despite the fact that they seem a bit smaller than comparable models.
A smartphone can be fixed on the top of the remote control if you are not flying in FPV mode with the included VR glasses. In the app, which is available free of charge, the flight can be followed in real time from the perspective of the drone.
The glasses are very well padded and comfortable to wear. They close reliably to the face and we could not detect any light penetration. All common smartphones can be inserted.
Drone camera and video quality
The camera of the Spot VR is primarily used only for tracking the flight, so you should not expect miracles.
With a resolution of 480p it is not really possible to capture appealing and high-quality images, but that’s not what the camera is really meant for. The video image is similar to the recordings of the Syma drone.
To fly to live image, the quality is quite sufficient, especially in VR mode, the image in test on the Samsung Note 3 (Samsung image post-processing switched on) is very impressive.
But the image transmission is also stable at the maximum range of 35-40m. Fortunately, in our test we didn’t experience any image drop-off or unpleasant jerking.
Material quality and processing
As you know it from Revell the drone is more like a toy, it is very colourful in green/pink/grey/white/black. Apart from the almost “colourful” fuselage, the two front rotor blades are also in bright green, which can be seen well in flight.
The landing feet are unusually attached to the underside of the rotors, i.e. to the outriggers instead of the fuselage, which makes sense for a rather smaller drone.
Equally unusual is that the rotor protectors are fixed and not removable. On the whole, the Copter gives the impression to be aimed at a younger generation and to be classified in the toy segment.
The drone in the air
First of all it is noticeable that the drone with its unbelievably low take-off weight of only 90g starts to sway even in light wind. In moderate winds we were even forced to cancel or postpone a test.
With this weight, the quadrocopter clearly belongs to the mini drones.
The Super drone flies in enclosed spaces. It can be steered very precisely and you can easily manoeuvre through window or door frames with a little bit of tact and also stands stable in the air.
Especially because of the choice between fast and slow mode the drone is well suited for indoor and outdoor flights.
When the wind had died down the next day, we could test the drone in the open field. Here you can see the advantage and especially the fun factor of the VR mode.
Beginners we recommend, as always, to do the first flights in VR mode in a sitting position to get used to the unusual perspective. The image quality of the live transmission is sufficient to good.
It has to be said that even with much more expensive copters, the quality of the live image is not necessarily much better. Despite the partially installed 4K cameras, the real-time transmission of the image is so demanding that the quality for the smartphone is scaled down a little for each drone.
One could say that the VR function is as good as a drone, which is priced in the upper three-digit Euro range.
When flying outdoors, the range is unfortunately quite limited. As soon as you feel you have reached top speed and are hovering over a forest from a drone’s perspective, the 40m are already reached.
If you are not looking for the speed rush of VR-Glasses, you will have a lot of fun with it.
In terms of control and response, the drone is very easy to control, it reacts directly, but comparatively tame and thus allows the odd mistake or two, which is probably ideal for beginners.
Summarizing consideration
If you want to have a bird’s eye view of the nearest grove or river, but can’t afford a ticket, or want to run the risk of losing a thousand euro drone, then Spot VR is ideal.
It is super suitable for beginners, and at a very reasonable price. If the drone does something, then one thing above all: fun! And who doesn’t like to learn to fly when it’s a lot of fun, without emptying their wallet to a dangerous degree. Currently you can buy the quadrocopter at Amazon.
P.S.: Our test video will follow shortly 🙂
