The Drone craze has been and gone, and there is no fear of receiving one of those cheap and impossible to control little buzzy bots in our stockings this year, what has been left is a variety of decent drones for the people might have the dedication to take the drone out more than once and learn how to control it properly. If you are looking to try your hand at aerial video and photography but still can’t bring yourself to stump up the cash for a top of the range model that you might instantly lose on its maiden flight, then the Zoopa Q900 Phoenix might be you ideal starting point. The 720p HD camera isn’t going to blow you away but it will certainly do for a starter kit, it has automatic take off and landing features helping you skip out the tricky bits as well as the Auto Return feature forces your drone back to you (ACCIO DRONE!) when you it gets away from you. It also has Steady Control and 2-axis gimbal stabilizer that acts like stabilisers, in the air all these features allow you to focus on getting used to steering and allow you capture some clean and sharp images.

You will get up to 18mins of flight time, which is the around average life span of this kind of entry level drone, other specs include, 2.4 GHz technology 4+2 channel, 1000ft/300m range and the remote needs 4 1.5 AA batteries that are not included. The handset is well made, with strong and responsive controls, it also has a dedicated slot that you can store you phone and receive a first-person viewing experience. Also included in the kit are a T charger and charging adapter, eight propellers (four needed for the flight and four spares), there is also a 4G SD card included as well as a card reader for uploading your images and videos. So, what’s the verdict? The Zoopa Q900 Phoenix is good choice for a lower budget beginner drone that will help you learn to ropes and provide with good pictures, long battery life and ease of handling when compared to other beginner drones and with the solid build quality and handy features you might never feel the need to upgrade.

4 out of 5

More Info

Pros

Good build quality

Clear images

18min battery life

Take off and land assist

Auto return

First person view from phone

Good value for money