The evolution of my experience with drones has been a quick one. It started when I decided to buy one for one of my sons for this just-passed Christmas. The one I got him was one of the lightweight ones with about 8 minutes flying time. It occurred to me that a drone would be an excellent tool for teaching youth football (I coach 8-9 year olds), so I bought one for myself as well, intending to practice with it to get used to the flying concept and maybe later get a more advanced one.
Shortly after, Amazon was offering a very low price (around $260) for the Wingsland Scarlet Minivet. I jumped on it, thinking this would be 'the one'. Problems: First time I flew it, I cracked a couple of the propellers, so I ordered a replacement SET, the last set in stock at the time. I found out a 'SET' is only two props! I needed to order more, but (this was a couple weeks ago) but they were not due to arrive until Feb. 28 at the earliest! That would be unacceptable if I needed them and had to wait 4-5 weeks to get them. Plus they were around $25 a pair!
So I was considering a DJI Phantom 3, about which everyone seems to rave, and DJI seems to be the most popular brand right now. Then I came across this, the X-Star Premium (XSP). Its specs seems to be very comparable to the Phantoms, and user reviews were solidly positive. Add to that a much nicer price, and that did it. I contacted their extremely attentive and helpful support with all kinds of pre-sale questions and they answered honestly every one of them. The fact that the XSP cones with a very nice case as part of the deal was amazing. I can't even find a case for the Wingsland, though it comes in a pretty sturdy box. But it's still a BOX. DJI Phantoms have a plethora of cases available, but they cost extra.
Initially, I found it impossible to calibrate the compass, and the motors wouldn't start (both due to magnetic interference according to the display on the remote). I tried in four different locations, all of which I had flown either the Wingsland or one of my other drones. Before repacking and preparing to return it, I contacted support and found out my Fitbit Blaze was the culprit. I removed that and the compass calibrated successfully. My first test was in the house, the motors spun up and sat idling. I raised the throttle level to get it off the floor, but for some reason it suddenly pitched forward and crashed into a corner, with blades still spinning for several seconds against two walls and the floor before I could get them shut down. I was sure I'd destroyed at least the front two props. To my serendipitous surprise, the props were undamaged! By the way, the XSP comes with 8 props.
Just today, I finally got a chance to really give the XSP a test. Temperature was about 55 degrees with winds gusting at 12-15 mph. I fired it up, calibrated the compass, and flew it for roughly 25 minutes before I got a low battery warning (display said about 6 minutes left). It flies beautifully, and easily held its own against the gusty winds. It did seem to have a slightly harder time the higher it went, but that was't surprising. The pictures and video were amazing; extremely stable, excellent color and high resolution (the XSP has a 4k camera). I didn't do anything fancy, as I'm really still learning how to fly proficiently. The good thing about having 25 minutes plus of flying time, is you get a good solid practice in. I'm getting much better at maneuvering in the air. This thing will stop and hover pretty much on a quarter, if not a dime, if you tell it to. You'll need to install and run the 'Starlink' app on your phone or tablet if you want to see the live video feed and execute some of the other special functions.
For my intended primary use, I'm going to take it about 30 feet or so up, have it hover slightly behind my football players, and have them line up and run plays while recording it all. I'll then show them the video so they can better see how they line up and execute plays. Not only will it be fun for them to see themselves from that perspective, but it'll be an excellent teaching tool, allowing them to better see what they did right...and wrong. The one challenge will be to get them to pay attention to what they're doing without being distracted by the drone and its noise!
The only negative I have with this drone, and it's not worth deducting a star in my opinion, is that it seems to be more sensitive to magnetic interference. Its motors will not start if the interference level is too high. During my test flight, I got warnings of 'medium magnetic interference' a few times, but it had no effect on the flight. I had no issue flying my Wingsland drone even though the compass didn't calibrate (Now I know why. Wingsland support, whom I contacted, didn't have a clue). I suppose this will minimize the chances of this drone suddenly developing a mind of its own, ignoring the controller due to interference, and flying off into the sunset never to be seen again...at least not by me! That's an acceptable trade-off.
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the XSP. It's solidly built, ready to fly out of the box, comes with a very nice case, handles itself very well in the air and responds very quickly to what you're doing on the controller. It comes with a dual-action charger, so you charge the battery and the remote with the same charger, at the same time if need be. The battery charges fully in about an hour, but the remote takes 4.5 hours, according to the manual. I just charge it at the same time I charge the battery. I'll ask support if the remote's battery might be negatively affected by being charged before being fully discharged.
If you're thinking about this drone, I recommend you go for it. You'll save a few hundred dollars over a comparable Phantom, support is US-based (and much better from what I've read) and the 4k camera is awesome. It supposedly has a range of a mile and a half (not that I'd ever need nearly that) and has very sturdy props. Plus extra props are only $10 a pair, and according to support, they have plenty in stock ready for immediate shipment. I'm 99% satisfied.
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This Item  Autel Robotics X-Star Premium Drone with 4K Camera, 1.2-Mile HD Live View & Hard Case (Orange) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $199.50 | -5% $199.99 List: $209.99 | -11% $399.99 List: $449.99 | $959.00 | -30% $829.00 Typical: $1,184.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 3 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 3 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 3 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| Remote Control | ||||||
| For beginners | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Sold By | — | LUCKHYD | Holy Stone | Potensic® | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| model name | RC DRONR | — | HS360S | ATOM | DJIMINI4PRRC2 | DJIAVATAEXPL |
| weight | 3.2 pounds | — | 8.7 ounces | 249 grams | 0.67 grams | 0.41 kilograms |
| control type | Remote Control | Remote Control | Remote Control | Remote Control | Remote Control | control |
| maximum range | 1.2 miles | — | — | 6 kilometers | 20 kilometers | — |
| media type | Mini DVD | SD | SD | Micro SD | SD | SD |
| video resolution | 4K | 4K | 4K | 4K @30fps；4K @25fps；4K @24fps； 2.7K @30fps；2.7K @25fps；2.7K @24fps； 1080P@60fps；1080P@50fps；1080P@30fps；1080P@25fps；1080P@24fps | 4K | 4K |
| wireless tech | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | 5GHz Wi-Fi (802.11n/a) | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
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From the manufacturer
Superior Flight
The Starpoint Positioning System measures the aircraft’s flying height and optically tracks its position. This lets the X-Star Premium fly accurately, at low altitude, even when a GPS signal is unavailable. In addition, dual GPS and GLONASS navigation ensure solid positioning even in low signal environments. Smart-Flight features like Follow, Orbit, and Waypoints allow you to focus on controlling the camera rather than the flight controls so that you can capture the most extraordinary scenes, while options like Beginner Mode can provide a geo-fence that limits your aircraft’s range and speed. The X-Star Premium is powered by a powerful, lightweight, intelligent 14.8V LiPo battery that provides up to 25 minutes of flight time and 1.5-hour worry-free charging with the included fast charger.
Starlink App
The free-to-download Starlink App is your portal to a whole new world. Enjoy an HD live video feed from your 4K camera to your mobile device (sold separately), even when the X-Star Premium is a speck on the horizon. Adjust camera settings to capture videos or photos precisely how you want them to be. Configure your aircraft’s flight control settings to best suit your preferences. And stay safe with Smart Pre-Flight Check to ensure every aspect of your aircraft is safe and ready before takeoff.
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4K Camera and Removable GimbalBreath-taking scenes deserve to be captured with world-class quality. That’s why the X-Star Premium is equipped with a 4K Ultra HD camera that has 108 degree FOV and is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal that prevents unwanted camera movements to capture stable, smooth video footage. Take video at 4K30, 2.7K60, 1080p120, or 720p240 and take 12-MP photographs. The camera and gimbal are easily removable for replacements or future upgrades. |
Remote ControllerClamp your smart-phone or tablet (sold separately) securely in place to enjoy the camera’s HD live view. Make informed decisions with the help of important flight information displayed on the controller's integrated LCD screen. Command sticks provide maximum grip and confidence for agile maneuvers, while function keys instantly capture the perfect moment, or quickly activate the aircraft’s flight-assist modes. |
Customer SupportEach X-Star Premium comes backed by Autel Robotics’s 7-day-a-week customer support. Our U.S.-based team looks forward to assisting you with any questions you have about your X-Star Premium, from getting started to troubleshooting. |
Reviews with images
While many people choose to fly their drone for only for the joy of flying
Seriously??? Don't buy it just because the specs, unbelievable.I am just wondering about the original review, what is it that the Phantom 3 or 4 can do that this drone can't?. I own both drones, X-Star Premium and a Phantom 3 Professional.Let's talk about the controller first, Autel has added an LCD display to the controller itself which provides critical flight telemetry data such as altitude, range, battery remaining (for both the remote and the AC), gimbal's tilt, AC's orientation, etc. This redundancy provides an increased margin of safety and allows the pilot the option to use the full screen of the external display to view video coming back from the drone at 720P. Let's say that the battery of your tablet or phone dies or that your flying app collapses while you are flying the drone, with X-Star Premium you have an actual LCD that tells you everything you need to know to bring your drone back home safely.While DJI's Phantom 3 / 4 have a return to home feature (button in the controller), if DJI's Go App or the mobile device was to crash, the operator does not have the visibility of knowing how far the phantom is from the home point, orientation, battery level of the aircraft, altitude. Simply an RTH button in the controller.While many people choose to fly their drone for only for the joy of flying, the real purpose of camera drones is to capture photos and videos from an elevated perspective. The X-Star Premium 108's degree FOV camera is capable of taking video at 4K30, 2.7K60, 1080p120, or 720p240 fps. It has the ability to take 12 MP photographs and has burst shooting (3/5/7 seconds), time lapse (5/7/10/20/30 seconds) and Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) modes and saves them as JPG or DNG. This is something the P3P and P4 can do.The X-Star Premium is designed with an easily removable gimbal which only requires the push of a button on the side of the gimbal to slide it off. This feature will allow the camera to be easily upgraded as payload technologies advance. If you’re happy with the platform and just want an upgraded payload, you can save significant money by replacing only the camera instead of buying a new drone. I know the Phantom 3 does not have this.Range can be subjective, the FAA requires to fly within visual line of sight. Speaking of range, the X-Star Premium advertised maximum control range is 1.2 miles. In practice, pilots have managed to extend the range nearly twice that far. Autel achieves this extended range by broadcasting the video link via the 900 MHz frequency band (via the controller) rather than the more commonly used 2.4GHz WiFi band. Not only does using this frequency allow for increased video range, it also reduces the potential for interference from other WiFi signals in the area, resulting in a clear picture at extended ranges. I get more interference in my phantom 3 than with the X-star Premium.The FAA requires pilots to keep their drone within line of sight. In most weather conditions, high-visibility orange should allow X-Star Premium pilots to fly at greater ranges while still maintaining visual contact with their drone.This is a big one and a deal breaker for me - In an ideal world, every drone would work perfectly, right out of the box. Unfortunately, in the real world, sometimes drones have problems. When problems happen, it’s important to have someone to turn to for help. Autel Robotics has made a commitment to customer service. They provide 7-day per week customer support via phone, email or live chat. After hours, you can still find the answers to many of your questions through an extensive knowledge base that can be found on the Autel Robotics website. It’s difficult to put a value on customer support. If you never need it, it’s worth nothing, but if you must have it, there’s no substitute.This is where DJI falls way short, try to give them or email them for support, good luck with that. Do you want to buy a drone without warranty and customer support?. Buy a Phantom from DJI, they have louse customer service and support.When you grab the X-Star Premium and touch it, the shell feels solid, well made. Unlike the Phantom 3 P3A - P3P that feels like a cheap piece of plastic, not to mention the Phantom 3 Adv and Phantom 3 Pro line is prone to develop cracks. Apparently there is a major design flaw with the Phantom 3 shell around the motors area, the plastic is simply not strong enough. Customers are reporting cracks even after shell replacement.I have compared the quality of the pictures and videos side by side, I prefer the quality of the X-star premium video. The X-Star Premium is equipped with a 4K Ultra HD camera that has an 108-degree field of view. It takes 4K video and 12 megapixel photos. Footage is shot with an integrated 3-axis gimbal.If I could only fly one drone and pick just one, between the P3P and X-Star Premium, I would pick the X-Star Premium.
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
The shipment arrived today in its looks like a work of art
Reviewed in Canada on September 9, 2016
Yannick
Battery dead amazon leave thé drone on thé shelf with out taking care of the battery
Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2017