Starting out on my drone journey, I quickly discovered the HUGE range of toy/beginner drones out there. So much choice left me stuck, which drone would be the best for a complete beginner? The one I decided to start out with is the one I’m going to talk about in more detail today, the Hubsan X4 H107C. As a beginner drone, the Hubsan X4 is great! It’s widely available and cheap, but what else sets it apart from the competition?
Hubsan X4 – Overview & Key Features
The X4 107C is the version with a camera, but there is also a cheaper version without a camera and an FPV version, if you want to jump straight in at the deep end!
- Battery: 3.7V 380mAh
- Flight Time: around 7 minutes
- Charging Time: 40 minutes
- Transmitter: 2.4Ghz 4 channels
- Camera: 0.3MP
- Video Recording Module: included
- Memory Card: Micro SDHC(NOT Included)
- Random Colour: Black&Red; Black&Green; Red&White
Hubsan X4 – First Impressions
The version I got (107C) with a camera comes with a basic but perfectly acceptable game pad-style controller. This fits nicely into your hands and is easy to use. The drone is reasonably easy to fly and flies very nicely. The stability is incredible for something so small and cheap! This really adds to the overall experience and as a beginner it’s great not to have to worry about the tune of the quad. The trims work well to stop the quad drifting in one direction or another after an initial calibration.
Getting started is really simple and quick. Once you have charged the battery and pushed the props onto the motors (they just friction fit), just turn on the transmitter and then plug in the battery to the quad. An initial calibration or pairing may be needed, but I found that the included instructions were easy to follow.
My initial flights were indoors and involved lots of crashing into walls! Luckily there is a prop protector included as this really helps, when you hit something it prevents damage but also means you can keep flying. Once I had mastered the basics and had a reasonable amount of control, I took the quad outside. The X4 is a really quick quadcopter, so having some wide open space means you can make the most of its speed.
The LEDs my the motors (different colours front and back) make the orientation very easy to tell, even from a reasonable distance. They also flash when it’s nearly time to land, which gives you enough time to bring the drone back for a safe landing.
Tip: Get spares here, you will want props and having additional batteries will keep you in the air for longer between recharging. At some stage you will crash and break/lose props, so make sure you have spares.
Hubsan X4 – Cons
- Friction fit props can fly off causing you to crash
- Prop protector can break if you take a hard hit
- Video camera is very low quality
- Video is not stabilised and on such a small drone, this means shaky footage
- Doesn’t handle wind well
Hubsan X4 – Pros
- Easy to find replacement parts
- Really easy to fly and nice stable flight
- Incredibly cheap
- Lightweight and durable
- Charges via USB
- Can fly outdoors as well as indoors
- LEDs help with orientation
Hubsan X4 – Verdict
Comparing the Hubsan X4 to other beginner drones that I have tried since, I really did get lucky and pick the best of the bunch to start on. I have since tried the Cheerson CX-10 and Syma X5 and neither even come close to how brilliant the X4 is to fly. Whenever someone asks me about the best beginner drone, I always recommend the Hubsan X4! If you are just starting out, make sure you check it out here.
If you’re looking for a full-scale starter FPV drone, make sure you check out my Eachine Wizard X220 Review!