Contixo - F28 Stratus Max 4K GPS Drone with Intelligent Flight Modes, 26-Min Flight, Brushless Motors & Carrying Case - Gray

This drone is absolutely perfect for my first one. After doing some research, I realized a 2 axis gimbal is a must have to avoid shaky videos, and this one even has EIS, so the footage is super steady. I also wanted something with good battery life to enjoy longer flights, and this drone totally checks both boxes. It's really beginner friendly and was super easy to connect to my phone. Since it's under 250g, I didn't even have to register it. My first flight went smoothly, it was easy to control, and I didn't run into any issues. The 2 axis gimbal works great, keeping the footage stable, and I can adjust the camera angle with the remote. The GPS return function is awesome too, when the drone's far away and hard to see, I just press the return button, and it comes right back. The remote also shows the distance, height, and speed, which is really cool. If I ever need another drone, I'd definitely get this one again.

This is the third drone I've owned and probably the last one I'll ever need to buy, and this one has everything I need. High quality camera, it's 4K and has a zoom feature for clear details. The previous drone I purchased didn't have a gimbal, so when it shook in the wind, the image would shake along with it. This drone has a two-axis gimbal, so the shaking of the drone will not affect the image at all, which is great. What's more, the GPS on this drone is so good that I haven't had any problems with it losing control, whereas the drones I've bought before would just fly around on their own whims and eventually disappear. This is something I think is very important, we have to be safe while enjoying the fun of drones. The flight time and range are what I like, enough for any of my shooting needs. I would definitely recommend this drone to my friends as it is a high tech product at a good price.

I've used drones before, but this one still surprised me with how smooth it is. I've had drones with gimbals before, and they'd sometimes wobble, or even worse, fly off on their own! This one is totally different—clear, stable footage every time. I've flown it three times, always until the battery is about to die, and the GPS is super accurate. It even lands right back on the launch pad! Controls are precise and do exactly what I want. My only wish is that they offered a bundle with extra batteries because when you find a great view, you'll want more than 20 minutes of flight time.

The Contixo F28-Premium is my first budget-level mini gimbal camera drone. At first glance it seems nearly an exact copy of another brand name drone but at a more affordable price point; however, there are several differences, namely the camera and software features, that sets it apart. The drone comes with a 5 GHz remote control with built-in stats LCD, 1 removable battery, replacement parts, landing pad, a USB-C charging cable, and semi-rigid carrying case. The plastic body of this drone is extremely lightweight and feels almost toy-like though is not as delicate as it seems and can survive bumps and mild crashes. The drone arms fold in and nest for compact storage, but the blades aren’t secured in place when folded. The joysticks on the controller can also be unscrewed and stored in its base. Note that you will have to supply your own microSD card up to 128GB (Class 10 or higher) for recording video and taking photos with the 4K camera, as one is not included. If this is your first drone, you may need to register with the FAA for a small fee, however, drones that are under 249g, like this one, are exempt if using solely for recreation and not business (e.g. content creation, marketing, or real estate etc.). Regardless, even unregistered drone users must follow all FAA UAV regulations, and a number of mobile apps can help you determine where there is unregulated airspace in which you may fly the drone safely. The drone’s battery and remote control each take about 3 hours to charge fully when depleted; a wall adapter is not included. On a full charge the remote can run for approximately 90 minutes while the drone’s battery lasts for around 20-25 minutes of flight depending on flight conditions and flying habits. Given such a short flight time, I wish that the drone had come with at least 1 spare battery since there is such a long lead-time between charges. The 4K camera and gimbal have a protective cover over it that needs to be removed before flight. To power on/off the drone, press and hold the button on the battery for about 5 seconds. When powering on the remote control, you need to click the power button once, then press it again while holding it down, otherwise it’ll simply display the remaining battery life. Once both are powered on they will pair with each other automatically. You’ll also need to download and use the Contixo F28 mobile app on a smartphone and connect to the drone’s local WiFi network. The top of the controller contains a spring-loaded phone holster, so you can mount your phone just above it. The spring has just enough extension to accommodate my Samsung Galaxy s24 Ultra with a slim case. Chunkier cases may need to be removed in order to fit. The controller has two swappable joysticks for flight control and one-touch buttons for take-off/landing, auto-return home, and mode selection: GPS, Normal, Sport, or Camera. The LCD shows you the current mode, battery levels, GPS and remote signal strength, and distance, height, and speed of the drone. The two dials on the shoulders control the camera’s zoom and tilt of the 2-axis gimbal. Having a 2-axis gimbal versus 3-axis means that rotational movement (side-to-side) will not be stabilized in your videos. The drone compass needs to be calibrated each time you launch from a new location. The remote will also perform a GPS search to determine its location for functions like auto return home, drone finder, and certain follow features, which are only available if using outdoors. The mobile app streams a live view of the drone’s camera feed and provides you with on-screen controls for take-off, return home/landing, changing flight modes, and changing settings like safety parameters including maximum flight distance, max altitude, and return altitude. There’s also a flight tracking page that gives you stats on your flight habits like time and distance flown. Snapping photos and starting recordings can be triggered from the app’s on-screen controls or via hand gestures performed by a subject within frame of the camera: peace sign for photos and open palm for video in their respective modes, which I find work well. You’re able to view recorded video and snapshots in the app and can download the files wirelessly from the drone to your phone. The max resolution for photos is 3840x2160 while for video is 2560x1440 at 30 fps when recording to the microSD card. Without an SD card, photos and video are saved directly to your mobile device, however, video quality is reduced to 1280x720p at 25 fps. There is no microphone in the camera so no audio is captured in your video footage, however, you can overlay a handful of stock “music” tracks in your recordings from upbeat to dramatic styles. There are also a handful of filter effects as well, and you can even record in “VR” split footage allowing you to experience your flight recordings in 3D. Flying the drone takes a bit of practice and its wind resistance was a bit less robust than I had anticipated, though it is rated to withstand up to 12 mph winds. In mildly breezy conditions (8-12 mph) I found it had difficulty staying stable in one spot, often drifting slowly several feet up or to the side. This, of course, can be compensated for by the pilot, though may make it more difficult for beginners to handle. The other thing to remember is that the drone doesn’t have built-in obstacle avoidance, so the operator has to be vigilant in ensuring the drone doesn’t drift or fly into obstacles like tree branches. In general, the controls for flight were responsive with the drone ascending/descending and moving nearly instantaneously respective to the joysticks’ movements. The drone adhered to the range limitations set in the app accordingly. Remember that the RTH minimum altitude is quite high, so the drone may ascend prior to retuning to the 'home' point. I did find that the RTH didn’t precisely locate the original take-off point but landed in the general vicinity. The landing mat also isn’t tracked at all by the drone and is more of a visual target for the pilot. I haven’t played around with all the different modes, but they are pretty interesting. ‘GPS follow’ tracks your phone coordinates. ‘Image follow’ attempts to follow a slowly moving subject that you mark on your screen. ‘Interest point’ flies a circle around its position in a set radius. ‘Waypoint flight’ allows you to select up to 16 positions on a GPS map for the drone to visit. There are also a handful of cool one-touch cinematic aerial effect the drone can perform while recording footage, like an upward spiral, vertical ascent, and an ascent that moves away from you. Just be sure to verify that there won’t be any obstacles in the predefined flight path prior to executing them, or you may need to manually intervene mid-flight. The photos and video footage from the camera are decently clear, but due to the small CMOS sensor you lose a bit of detail from what you might typically expect from “4K” resolution. The camera does have a nice, wide 110° FOV, though it has a fixed focus so your mileage may vary on whether or not your subject and backgrounds are in sharp focus. Colors appear slightly dark and under-saturated, at times with an overly warm hue and at others a slightly cooler hue depending on your lighting conditions. Fast movement in videos is fairly smooth with only a hint of choppiness and smearing during rotational panning. The gimbal performs well, keeping the footage smooth and level while in flight. Overall, this drone is a pretty nice budget 4K gimbal camera mini drone. It takes decent photos and smooth/stable video, has a wide range of flight modes and GPS based functionality, and enforces safety limits. It doesn’t fly well in moderately windy conditions though, which limits when and where you can fly.

Easy 2 use. Good for beginners. I would buy extra batteries