is a beginner drone for users that are looking to make the first step into aerial filming/cinematography. The X8C provides a very stable platform with room for small pocket camera upgrades. I tested out the gimbal and Go Pro with the X8C and it’s too heavy to maintain height. I can get it off the ground but just barely and only for a few seconds.
Still, this is a very fun drone to fly. You can attach the RunCam HD with some vibration dampeners and you can still get decent video/pictures. Remember that this is a beginner drone and something to learn on without worrying too much about destroying it. Don’t expect Phantom 3 type picture quality or flight control but it’s a good cheap drone that is similar to the higher priced DJI Phantom drones. On the other hand, I think there are much better beginner drones to invest in. I would say this drone would be a good drone to put on your shelf and keep it there. I had a slightly harder landing and it just fell apart.
The included battery is a 7.4V 2000mAh Li-on battery and you’ll need six AA batteries for the remote control. I’ve averaged around 8-10 minutes of flight time depending if I have the camera attached to the X8c or not. It’s roughly three hours to fully charge the battery so I definitely recommend that you pick up an extra battery and possibly an extra charger as well. You’re going to want to be out flying this thing, not waiting another three hours for the battery to charge.
So far, I haven’t taken the Syma X8C out of range. It’s been up pretty high and pretty far away so I’m guessing that it would easily do 100 yards in any direction. The feature I like most about the Syma X8C would be the headless mode. I can control the quadcopter much better this way especially when I’m trying to learn drone filming or if it’s a pretty windy day.
Like I mentioned above, I highly recommend that you pick up an extra battery and probably just get an extra set of motors as well (2 CC, 2CCW). I did sucessfully get the Gimbal wired up and the GoPro working on the unit but the entire setup was too much weight for the Syma X8C. So if you are looking for something a little more professional then you’ll probably be up in the $350 range for a phantom 1.
My X8C has been in some small crashes mostly getting stuck in trees and so far I’ve been lucky enough to get it down each time. Nothing has broken on the quadcopter even when it comes tumbling to the ground after I hit it out with a tennis ball. So it’s pretty durable and made pretty well. One of the motors are starting to go bad now but I believe that’s because I attached a gimbal and GoPro to my Syma X8C adding over 170 grams to the quadcopter and I think it took a heavy toll on the motors. (I don’t recommend the syma x8c for the gimbal and GoPro, the quadcopter can’t lift the load. It can lift a RunCam HD just fine though and I’ve been able to get some ok videos/pictures.)
