The Syma Toys company, which produces excellent drones, did not fail even this time, having produced an excellent high-level model with a two-megapixel camera and a first-person view.
Should I buy a quadcopter Syma X5SW 4CH?
Syma X5SW has both advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to a drone with a camera, it’s very cool. The video quality is excellent. The only problem is that to watch the broadcast you need a smartphone with Wi-Fi. This is a great gadget within the capabilities of toy drones. Any quadcopter made by Syma Toys is a pleasure. True, the flight duration is very short, and this is actually a problem. The price of the device is low - 61 US dollars. The gadget is worth a try.
The quadcopter Syma X5SW reviews are called one of the best manufacturer drones in the toy class. At the time of release, it was the most expensive, albeit not by much, model, as well as the only one that offered the FPV function (first-person view) using Wi-Fi. The quadcopter is offered in red, black and white.
The gadget is inexpensive, durable and, according to customers, so simple that even a ten-year-old can learn how to manage it. Looking at this cute and entertaining drone, it is hard to imagine how much adverse criticism he caused.
It is understood that, at such a low cost, hoping too much is still not worth it. Many users believe that this is one of the best quadrocopters for beginners costing less than $ 100 (after Syma X5C and U818A). This review attempts to dig a little deeper and check what it really can give.
The quadcopter Syma X5SW is a drone with a camera preinstalled on it. All parts of the device, including the controller and battery, are an exact copy of the X5SC parts. However, this model differs from its predecessors, such as Syma X8C, X8G and X8W. Modifications to the original X5SW series were made on the X5SW Explorers 2 and X5SW-1 models.
Among the advantages of the quadrocopter, users name its lightness and stable flight, high chassis, inexpensive FPV system, good body design, the presence of Headless mode and applications for smartphones. Among the shortcomings of the device are the large FPV delays and its errors, as well as the sub-standard flight duration.
Model Features
The quadcopter Syma X5SW is a unique drone among models cheaper than $ 100. The main reason for this is the ability to control using the first person view, which can be observed using your own smartphone. This alone more than justifies the cost of the device.
The quadcopter is fairly stable in the air and can record decent video and / or take photos. Although the charging time is about 130 minutes, this inconvenience can be easily overcome by purchasing additional batteries.
The flight duration is approximately five minutes. This time can be more or less, depending on how actively piloting is carried out, whether there is wind and whether recording is carried out.
The main problem when starting light mini-quadrocopters in the open air is the wind. Although most drones can easily handle airspeeds of up to 15 km / h, further increase can lead to a loss of balance, although some prefer windsurfing.
Inside the package
The kit includes:
- Sam quadrocopter Syma X5SW.
- Remote Control.
- 3.7 V lithium polymer battery and 500 mAh capacity.
- Two pairs of additional propellers.
- Screwdriver.
- USB cable to charge the battery.
- Four chassis.
- Four protective frames.
- Wi-fi camera.
- Mounting clip for smartphone.
- Instructions for the quadcopter Syma X5SW.
Convenient control panel with a clear LCD screen
The quadrocopter rating will be incomplete if the control panel is not discussed. If the battery suddenly discharges completely during flight, this can have unpredictable consequences. Probably all users of drones have experienced this on themselves. However, thanks to the detailed LCD screen on the Syma X5SW radio transmitter, this is no longer a problem. The display shows all the necessary flight diagnostics, such as Wi-Fi signal strength, battery level, direction of travel and much more. It really helps a lot.
User controls are relatively simple. RC quadcopter Syma X5SW can fly forward, sideways, up and down, and even allows you to perform aerobatics. After some practice, even beginners will not have any complications.
Users are advised, as in the case of any other quadrocopter, to launch the model gradually and only then gain speed and altitude, when the control becomes less stressful and much calmer. This will reduce the percentage of collisions, as well as significantly increase the life of the device.
Cameras
The camera is removable, so the user can choose to fly with it or without it, increasing the flight time, since it does not have its own battery - it draws energy from the power supply of the quadrocopter. The difference between the camera of this model and the previous ones is the availability of FPV. Transfer is carried out via Wi-Fi, which allowed to reduce the price and make the function more accessible. X5SW uses Android or iOS devices as a monitor. To do this, just download the free application and establish a Wi-Fi connection. The model provides its own Wi-Fi, so it will be easy for the user to connect. The application allows you to take pictures or record videos. Each entry can last up to 30 minutes. Since the model does not use memory cards for storing data, files are saved directly in the phone or tablet.
A quadcopter with a Syma X5SW camera, the 2-megapixel sensor of which can capture though not HD, but incredibly exciting video, according to some users, exceeding all expectations. There are not many drones that offer an FPV image transmission system at such a low cost (the closest competitor is the Hubsan X4 H107D). The ability to control flight using a smartphone, of course, is a significant advantage of this model.
Charging time
One of the possible disadvantages of this device is that the battery requires a very long charge time (about 130 minutes). If the user is ready to go outdoors to start, two hours drag on very slowly.
Fortunately, there is a way to deal with this problem - it is enough to purchase additional batteries. They are not so expensive and will increase the total duration of use of the quadrocopter. A typical flight duration on a fully charged power source is about five minutes.
Headless mode
The model supports Headless control mode - the X5SW will fly in the direction of the tilt of the joystick of the control panel, regardless of where the quadcopter nose is currently turned. Users who have tested this feature confirm that, of course, it greatly facilitates drone control for beginners, but they do not recommend using it on an ongoing basis. Otherwise, the beginner will not be able to master more complex flight modes.
Transmitter
The transmitter operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, so it will not interfere with the FPV. Other quadrocopters use 2.4 or 5.8 GHz frequencies instead of Wi-Fi for live broadcasting, which interferes with the transmitter.
conclusions
The quadcopter Syma X5SW is not entirely clear. On the one hand, it costs only $ 61 and offers the ability to control in the first person. This is one of the most affordable toy drones that can boast FPV. But the first-person view is poorly implemented and has its drawbacks. Nevertheless, if you look at models with an unmistakable FPV function, they cost 10-30 times more than the Syma X5SW, so you can simply ignore its weak points.