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| Flugverhalten | |
| Materialqualität | |
| Aufnahmequalität | |
| Preis-Leistung | |
| Average 0/5 |
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The quadrocopter comes with a combat rice of almost 550€ (in the 4k version, there is also a cheaper version with a Full-HD camera) and is supposed to be the next DJI killer.
The drone has a lot of technical features and is very similar to the DJI Phantom 3 Professional. Xiaomi is usually known from the mobile phone market and is also very successful in this sector. With this bargain model it should now also work in the drone market.
But just because it says 4k the quality doesn’t have to be good! That’s why we have taken a closer look at the drone and tell you in detail if it’s really worth buying the quadrocopter.
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Xiaomi Mi Drone – Unboxing, design and quality
The package will arrive after some time because it has to be shipped from the Chinese warehouse to Germany, but still after 15 working days. The packaging is high quality and shines as we unpack the package. The following is included in the delivery:
- The drone itself
- Two propeller sets
- Remote control
- A battery and the gimbal system with camera
- Battery charger
We think it is great that the Mi drone can be folded in and out, so that it can be transported easily and space-saving in the included case.
You can do all of this using two sliders on the bottom of the drone. You can either carry the copter back and forth in your own backpack or you can use the alternative of Xiaomi who offers a backpack for 30€ that is perfectly tailored to the drone.
The propellers are marked as usual by other manufacturers with grey and orange. Accordingly, they may only be attached to the respective blades.
What strikes us particularly: The design is shclicht and high quality, but is very similar to the Phantom 3 series of DJI. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard has similar dimensions, but does not have the same technical equipment (more on this below).
The battery shows the current charging status (with white LEDs shining) when you click on the button with your finger. Furthermore, it has 5100mAh and an effective flight time of almost 25 minutes, although the manufacturer has also stated a time of 27 minutes, so we were only able to achieve 25 minutes in our Xiami Mi drone battery life test (which is of course still a great value!).
Of course you can also check the current battery level on the Smarthphone App. If the battery is empty, then it takes about 3h until it is fully charged again. An additional battery still costs about 100€.
The controller (Smart Remote Controller) fits very well in the hand and is very light and much smaller than the remote control of the Phantom 3 series. Xiaomi has deliberately avoided overloading the controller, so that only the most important buttons are actually found.
On the front side there are two joysticks left and right with which you can steer the drone up or down and in all directions.
On the front side there are two separate antennas that support both the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz signal to transmit the live stream image to your mobile phone.
Your smartphone is connected to the remote control via a USB cable (not included!). The battery cannot be removed from the remote control because it is permanently installed.
On the left front side of the remote control there is a on/off button and a button with which you can automatically start the drone from the ground. On the backside there is a button on the left side with which you can start a video and on the right side the photo button.
Furthermore there are two wheels on the left and right side with which you can tilt the camera up and down (left wheel) as well as the brightness of the LED lights on the front of the drone.
Now you’re probably wondering what the LED lights on the front of the drone are for. These can give you some light in low light conditions, so the picture is not too dark and starts to rustle.
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Flight behaviour and technology
Before you can take the drone up into the air, you have to register with the Mi Drone App which you can download for free in the Google Playstore or at IOS. Without this step you will not be able to get the drone in the air.
It is advisable to switch the app to the English language, because you are able to speak Chinese. This small obstacle must be overcome, but after that you can start immediately.
Once you have installed the app, you have to attach your mobile phone to the controller and connect the two devices to each other via the USB cable. Afterwards you can switch on the remote control and the app will connect automatically with the remote control and the drone.
In order for the drone to lie calmly and stable in the air, at least 13 satellites must be available. Xiaomi uses the Russian satellite system Glonass and the GPS signal.
If you want to fly with the drone in your house (indoor), then this is not impossible, but especially demanding because the radio contact to 13 satellites is not given. The size of the drone is also not designed to fly in closed rooms.
When you fly the drone outside for the first time, make sure that you have established the connection from the above mentioned satellites.
This guarantees a smooth and safe first flight, so if you’re ready, you can press the button on the front of the remote control to make the drone rise automatically.
The Mi drone takes off and climbs to a total height of 4m. There it waits for further orders from you.
If you have not set it otherwise, you are in approach mode, which reduces the drone to a speed of 22 km/h and you can fly a maximum of 50m high and 150m away. You will then receive a warning signal and the drone will stop the flight.
To deactivate this mode you need 300 minutes of flight experience. This is not bad for beginners, but it is very annoying for experienced drone pilots or those who feel confident in using the quadrocopter after a short time.
The flight behaviour of the Mi drone is really good and even in strong gusts of wind the quadrocopter lies calm in the air. When you are finally in professional mode, the drone flies up to 65km/h and can reach a range of up to 500m.
In our practical test a range of up to 450m was no problem, after that there were sometimes some radio difficulties between the drone and the remote control.
However, you are not allowed to fly much further away in Germany anyway, as the drone must always be within the pilot’s field of view. You should also never fly higher than 100m, otherwise you will be in violation of the current drone law. A fireproof license plate is also mandatory and a must in case of damage.
The drone reacts very directly to your commands and immediately implements what you give the drone via the controller. This is especially praiseworthy in comparison with some other models. The Return-to-Home mode works very reliably due to the dual satellite connectivity (GPS and Glonass).
The drone landed only about half a meter away from our starting point and achieves better results than some other more expensive competing models.
If you want to land the drone on its own, this also works very well because there are two ultrasonic sensors on the underside of the drone, which allow it to land on the ground calmly and relaxed.
It is important that the ground is relatively straight, otherwise it can happen that the copter tips over to one side (has not happened to us yet, but we want to point out this as a precaution).
The distance of the camera to the ground is not very big, so if you want to land in the grass it could be that the single stalks touch and twist the camera.
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Photo and video recordings
The photos are good, even if the depth of field did not quite knock us off our feet. The color contrast is great with good and bad exposure and delivers great photos.
Photos can be saved in JPG format with a resolution of 12 MP. Unfortunately there is no possibility to save pictures in RAW format for further processing.
The video recording in 4k with a frame rate of 30 frames per second is really cool and will surely inspire even the professional film maker. The gimbal system works reliably and the recordings are never blurred.
The transfer to the mobile phone is smooth and very direct. The drone is therefore also suitable for a flight with FPV glasses. However, note that there must still be another person with you, otherwise you will not get a cent back from your insurance in case of damage (German law!).
Conclusion about the Xiaomi Mi drone
With their very inexpensive drone, the manufacturer delivers a great overall product that is an absolute hit at this price.
The only thing that could be improved is the app and the sometimes pale color contrast in photo and video recordings. Otherwise it is an absolutely recommendable drone that offers a lot of drone for little price!
