When I hear the phrase ‘selfie drone’ my first reaction is to shrug and move on. This is due to the fact that time and time again I’ve been disappointed with the so-called selfie drones companies have produced — while their demo video looks great, the product turns out to be terribly made, or, in extreme cases, such as with the Lily drone, a pure case of fakery. But the concept — easy aerial photography on the go — is so appealing that companies keep designing new products, and with the AirSelfie, they may have finally nailed it.
You may have already heard about the AirSelfie from Curtis Silver’s great review, but seeing as he went hands-on with a prototype while I’ve been playing with the final model I thought it was worth providing an update here.The main reason people buy budget drones (the sub $500 models) is for fun and photography, and the dronie (a drone selfie) aspect is part of the appeal — currently, over 40,000 dronies hashtagged on Instagram.
AirSelfie The Basics:
When they say it’s cellphone sized they aren't kidding — it's slightly wider than my iPhone 6S and about twice as thick, which still makes it extremely portable. It charges via micro USB and one charge provides around three minutes of flight time — not much, but enough to get some nice images and videos. A built-in 4GB memory stores all your snaps, which can be transferred wirelessly or through a USB cable. The camera takes five-megapixel images — not amazing quality, but still sharp and it’s easy to switch between photos and video recording. It weighs in at 61 grams, which is incredibly light, but the drones built-in sonar and visual sensor help keep it relatively steady in the air -- not perfect, but stable enough to get some nice images.
Setup:
The drone is controlled by your cell phone, so the first thing you need to do is download the app. That’s also where the instruction manual is (no hard copies) so it’s important to check this out first. Depending on what accessories you purchased with the drone, you’ll charge either with a phone case attachment or a charging bank. I received the charging bank, and it’s simple to slot the drone inside and connect the whole rig to a power source. As well as charge the drone (through a micro USB port) the bank also stores power so you can recharge on the move, meaning you can get a couple of uses out of it at an event or a party. They provide a rubber collision bumper that can be placed around the drone, to help mitigate damage in crashes — this went on immediately (though it must be removed to fit into the charging bank).
Flying
There are three modes to pick from for flying, Selfie Mode for beginners, Selfie Motion Control Mode and Standard control mode. They’re pretty idiot proof which is nice — the main focus here is to have the camera facing you on take off, as that’s the whole point of the thing. It can go up to 20 meters high and can be launched mid-air — toss and fly the drone as you swipe the take-off switch and as long as you’re pretty level, up it will go.
AirSelfie Selfie Examples
Here’s a selection of selfies I took with the AirSelfie. As you can see, the drone isn't great with bright lights, but can still get a good color capture and some nice definition. It doesn't do well with low light either, so daylight is optimal.
AirSelfie Video Example
Here’s some video I cut together that was captured using the AirSelfie. The wind makes some of the video a little shaky, and stabilization is an issue -- the shakiness is a little offputting.
Overall Thoughts:
This is a fun, easy drone to use that takes nice quality video and images. It’s idiot proof which makes it good for all ages — the design means you're unlikely to catch your finger on a blade, (the brushless motors go to auto shut off if it senses anything odd). Overall battery life could be better as that’s very frustrating, but the portable charger aspect makes this still highly usable and compared to what’s been on the market before this, the AirSelfie is a king of the consumer selfie world.
Available from around $320-$340 depending on accessories from AirSelfie, to be delivered in November 2017.
