Our initial take on the VISUO XS809HW (HW) quadcopter is one of admiration. The designers over at VISUO managed to put quite a bit of technology into a small, inexpensive package. Five years ago the 2MP 720p camera, found on the front of the HW, would have made this drone an excessive amount of money. Times have definitely changed, www.Banggood.com is selling the HW with the 720p camera upgrade and three batteries for a little over 40 dollars in the United States. Overall it’s a great buy for the hobby flier who might want a better drone, like our editor’s choice, the Mavic Pro, but doesn’t have that much flight time. This little flyer would also work well for a parent who wants to give their child a great drone experience, but doesn’t want to spend a ton of money. The VISUO XS809HW comes with a great mix of basic tech in an inexpensive package, and lands a respectable DroneScore 9.XX.
Right out of the box the drone seems large for what it weighs, a mire 158 grams. The HW’s foldable wing design is similar to a lot of drones these days. When fully opened, they span about thirteen inches. The quadcopter is about two inches tall, making it a middle sized drone, but large when compared to toy drones. That’s not to say this should be considered just a toy drone. Because of its weight, it’s sporty and easy to maneuver, but also sensitive to wind and changes in air movement. Upon initial flight, we noticed that drone seemed either imbalanced or calibrated incorrectly. It is important to note that the HW does come standard with a convenient altitude hold setting, which allows a person to set the drone into a self-adjusting hover. This option is made possible by a six axis gyro onboard. Once off of the ground, the HW gets around with very little movement of the control sticks. The controller again seems light and relatively ergonomic. The HW sports a button dedicated to takeoff and landing as well as a button designated for an emergency stop. The HW also has a return home function. For a drone under 50 dollars we were very impressed that it had a function found on most higher-end crafts. After testing it a few times, we saw that the return home seemed to work very well. This makes it very easy for the first time flier to get out of trouble if the drone gets out of sight, which doesn’t happen too often given the shortness of range. It’s also important to note that the HW, along with most drones in its class, do not have obstacle avoidance in any direction. Therefore, if obstacles exist between the pilot and craft when the “return home” button is pressed, that obstacle quickly becomes the scene of a crash. Once pressed, the option can’t be reversed, so pilot beware! The HW also comes standard with the ability to do a 360 degree roll with little effort or lost altitude, making it a favorite for children and adults alike
To make the first time pilot a little more comfortable, the HW uses three different flying speeds, adjustable during flight.
One convenient feature of the HW is the smartphone integration it supports. Almost any phone can be held securely on the HW’s controller via a sliding plastic clip that unfolds. (We say almost any phone because a Samsung Note or Apple Iphone plus won’t fit.) Once the XSW app is installed on a phone, the pilot can fly with a first person perspective or use the virtual sticks on the smartphone screen. When selected a smartphone can also be tilted to fly via a virtual gyro. “Headless” mode is a pretty cool advancement, when enabled regardless of the direction the drone is aimed your controls stay the same. This feature makes it a great drone for a novice pilot who wants a better chance at not wrecking their craft.
While the HW can be controlled with the use of a phone as pictured below, we found it was easier for us to use the conventional controls. The controller is definitely adequate, and boasts several advanced features not always seen at this price point.
After loading the 3.7v 900 mAh battery into the bottom of the drone, we found the company-claimed ten minute battery lifetime to be accurate. Most HWs sold online come with multiple batteries to make the fun last a little longer. A full charge unfortunately takes a little longer than hoped, clocking in at over two hours after a handful of uses. While pretty standard for drones in this class, we hope as time goes on these numbers will improve in the industry. The longer the batteries take to recharge it seems the easier it is to forget about the drone altogether.
The HW and its controller connect via a 2.4 ghz wifi network. Our particular drone didn’t seem to stay connected over wi-fi very well. While many sources claim communications over the 2.4 ghz wi-fi connection lasting well over 600 feet, we struggled to keep the HW flying out passed 300 feet. Overhead the drone seemed to get about that high as well. Our suggestion however, is to never take your HW more than 50 feet over your head. Because of its light weight and vulnerability to wind, the HW can travel long distances away from the pilot if they lose control at an unsafe altitude. It’s surprisingly easy to lose this drone if flown a few hundred feet from the pilot.
The unfolded arms hold two green LEDS facing the pilot this indicates the front, or camera side, while two red LEDs face the rear. This gives the pilot a visual orientation of where the craft is aimed. While the lights are stylish, they are hard to see from a distance in daylight. They remind us of the LED’s from a Playstation four controller. We find the best LED’s are small and bright rather than large and less directed. The HW has two of these red LEDS near the camera on the front of the craft, a pilot should avoid depending on these lights for guidance with this drone when flying in full daylight. After practice, a quick tap of the right stick entering a yaw adjustment (horizontal left to right motion) should be enough to orientate the pilot with their craft.
The 2.0 mp camera takes adequate photos. Our take on the camera is that it works well for what it is. This drone isn’t designed for media capture in the first place, but the camera is a fun tool to play around with and take aerial shots. We do not recommend this drone for taking exceptional content, or high quality photos. As you can see from the examples below, the camera…..
One of the standout features, and selling points, about this drone is the front-mounted 720p 120° video camera. For the price point, this option makes the HW drone one of our favorites. This allows a pilot to shoot a wide angled video while in flight, increasing the area of video capture. The one thing to note is that while in hover, the camera is relatively stable. When tilted in any direction however, the image seems to shake and vibrate, making almost any surface appear fluid. While we at DroneScores, hope for the best in image quality in regards to both photo and video, we won’t hold it against the HW that it has room for improvement. True, it would be nice if it could take some better pictures and videos, but at a price point of under 50 dollars, we’ll do our best not to complain.
As previously stated the HW comes with SILUROID app for tablets and smartphones. Search “XSW UFO” to download from the app store on your device. We were satisfied with the XSW app and its functionality. Right away, the pilot feels as though they have more control over their aircraft with the first person perspective being displayed in front of them. After following an easy connection process found in the manual, located here, the HW’s 720p wide-angle camera displayed itself on our smartphone. The image was fairly stable and mostly clear. While some reviewers have stated their video image was shaky when not in level flight, we found it to be very watchable, providing a good video up to around the 300 foot mark. One improvement we would like to see is the ability to record through the app instead of solely on the external flash card.
Charging extra batteries is made easy on the HW thanks to the USB type C charging port. That cable can be found almost anywhere. And our hats are off to the HW because some manufacturers use proprietary charging configurations, which once the unique cable is lost, the drone ends up collecting dust without a replacement. Extra batteries for the HW can be purchased here to avoid that situation.
