DJI - Spark Fly More Combo Quadcopter - Red

I had been waiting on a quality drone, that didn't cost and arm and a leg, that also had some decent flight time. The Spark meets all those criteria and more. While I would love to have the Mavic Pro, I just couldn't justify the price for what I wanted to use it for, mainly some quick flight jaunts to maybe get some interesting footage or shots while out and about. The Spark is insanely easy to set up and just as easy to fly. Though, to be fair, the hand gesture thing is a bit more of a gimmick than an actual flight model. It works well for taking selfies and wowing people but for maximum flight ability you of course need to use the remote. After downloading the app onto my iPhone 7+, I updated the firmware, and was flying within minutes. That being said, I would HIGHLY recommend buying an OTG (On The Go) cable and hardwiring it to your controller rather than just relying on the wi-fi set-up. Since I have done that, there has not been a single dropped frame or any control issues. You can find one online or in stores for less than $4 usually and you already have the cable for your phone, though I also bought a short Lightning cable to keep things from tangling up. Video and photo quality is stellar and it is incredibly easy to set up some neat shots. It also has a ton of safety features to keep you from doing something stupid with it and harming you, a loved one, or the drone. My only quibble with it so far is that I guess I'm within the flight path of the local airfield and it limits some of my maneuvering window, but that is easily solved by taking it elsewhere to fly. This drone is heavy enough to warrant FAA registration but that was done in 5 minutes and only cost $5. If you aren't planning on doing serious photo/videography with your drone and don't need super long flight times to get where you want to shoot, this is the drone for you. A lot of fun and really easy to use.

So, I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a DJI Spark. I've wanted one for the longest time, but couldn't get myself to spend so much money for it. And then Mavic Air came one, so I once again got very excited and thought "this is it, I'm buying THE Air!" Yeah, yeah, I know-- "but, you didn't buy the Air!" Yes, I indeed instead bought the Spark, for a couple of reasons. 1. The price. I realized that for the price of Air, I can get the Fly More combo deal of the Spark, so there. 2. I'm no photographer, or even an experienced flyer. Really, I should've bought something way cheaper for someone who needs practice! (So far, I'm doing well.) My actual experience with the Spark: **Setting up** Upon opening the package, I excitedly unpacked everything and charged the batteries. By the time both batteries were fully charged, I followed some steps on Youtube on "before you fly your Spark" videos. ~ Pair the device with the RC. -Done- ~Turn on the Spark. -Done- ~Wait for "connected / Go Fly" sign. -Waiting...- This took about 10 minutes before I realized nothing was happening. So, I go watch more Youtube videos. So many videos on how to fix this possible "issue" I was having, but none helped. I was getting frustrated and annoyed. I stumbled upon a DJI forum, typed my issue, found a topic similar to my problem, suggested to turn on Airplane mode. Then, just like that, I was connected! Oh, my excitement! **Flying and controls** ~ Maneuvering with RC is very easy. ~ Joystick hurts my thumbs, but not too bad. ~I get about 15-16 minutes of fly time if I'm not messing around with the camera settings too much. ~ Videos and pictures are amazing. Not 4K amazing, but you get what I'm saying. My experience hasn't been too bad, but for the price I paid, I can't believe I have to fly the drone on Airplane mode-- or otherwise have to mess with OTG cables. Four stars, because I wish I didn't have to do this. Otherwise, DJI has my support from here on, and maybe someday, I'll get one of those bigger and better drones that can lift a puppy! (lol, just kidding)

I have been waiting for this drone for a long long time. The Spark is the best of what DJI drones can do, in a small and more affordable package. Recently, DJI has released AutoPilot for Spark, which adds waypoints and a slew of automation, making this "toy" a commercial contender for sure. Best part of that is people assuming it's a toy and ignoring it, when in reality it's a mid-grade camera platform with amazing capabilities. I use Pano and Globe constantly. For an aspiring flying-camera pilot this is a GREAT place to start. But since detailed reviews are everywhere maybe I can save you a few dollars and frustrations with 3 easy rookie tips. 1. Check your controller and drone battery levels obsessively. If the controller gets low the drone will auto-return to home. If, like me, you live among trees, this is bad. If the drone battery gets cold, it can click along very quickly, again triggering a Return to Home into a tree. Not good. 2. Set your Return To Home at a sane level. Like 0. I suppose in Ireland with no trees, RTH is fine, but here in the woods, where I'm 20 feet from my drone, watching the thing run off to play in the trees is very distressing. if your RTH is set to 30% of battery remaining, well in the cold this can happen quickly and suddenly, and again, you're in the trees. OF NOTE, THE BIG RED PAUSE BUTTON WILL STOP RTH IMMEDIATELY. 3. Get landing gear that clips on around the motors and snaps onto the arms. Why? This will protect the camera and the motor mounts in a crash. What breaks on a Spark? The motor mounts. They hit and shatter as the plastic at the intersection is a bit thin. 3rd party landing gear fixes this with minimal added weight. And any buffer to hitting concrete is super helpful as the GPS unit is also very easily shaken loose and this grounds your drone. Don't need GPS? Too bad, you still can't fly without it. Noticing a theme? RTH is responsible for my crashes, I have not crashed, but the software has taken the drone out twice now. This is particularly noticable with the shorter running time of the Spark. To do over I'd start exactly the same, but I'd be more vigilant about the batteries, and don't forget that PAUSE button, It's better than a 1-month repair for $250. Get DJI Care, it's worth every penny for the rookies.

This is a cool drone. I’ve only uses it a couple of times so far but it has been easy to fly so far. This is my first drone. And the sensors have worked well. The home button is cool. My battery got low and it was about a block from my house so it told me it was coming home because of the battery and it did all by it’s self and landed about 2 ft from where it took off. It handled pretty good in the wind to. It would give you a high wind warning on your phone but wouldn’t move from it’s spot and the video was perfectly still no shake. It’s not 4K but videos are clear and so are pics. Haven’t got a chance to do hand gestures or follow me yet but plan to soon. If your in a neighborhood the signal will be a little weaker do to all the WiFi signals around compared to the country but it is still strong. I flew it up to 350ft up and two neighborhoods over and still had half of my signal bars left. Then I hit the home button and it was back in no time and landed within feet of were it left. I have to admit I did get to close to a branch once and it hit it and shut down and dropped about 6 or 7ft. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But it powered right back on. It made me recalibrate compass. But then launched right after and flew fine. I then went inside and ordered the exstended service plan from the dji site. Lol. I bought the fly more combo you get more for the price. I did also buy a carrying case for it I didn’t like the setup it came with ( a styrofoam box for the spark and a carrying bag for accessories). It’s so much more compact than the phantoms and the case is so much smaller. A lot easier for transport. I do recommend extra batteries do to the 10 to 15 min flight times so you can fly while you charge. A+ so far.

I recently bought the drone, diligently followed instructions and was beginning to enjoy the drone. Didn't have any issues even though initial setup was a real pain and not at all user friendly, and mind you I am floozy - still had trouble walking through the setup. The fateful reason I am giving a bad review is because nowhere did I read that drones can flyaway or land when they loose signal. I was flying on the beach trying to get a good aerial shot of the waves when I suddenly lost signal due to weak transmission as I could not see the video and lost the drone visually in the background - spark is very tiny to begin with (was flying with a remote) , the drone notified it would land home. I accepted the warning and kept waiting for the drone to return but it did not come back and I lost my drone. It was all a freak incident lasting a few minutes and I felt absolutely helpless. I was locked in with GPS and everything was working fine and it was my second flight that day and boom I lost my drone and I could not do anything to retrieve or salvage my device. I wish I had known that all those drone videos and footage that is advertised everywhere comes with a real chance to just randomly loose your drone due to signal interference or some technical issue that is beyond your control and the drone just flows away or lands somewhere randomly. Please do your research and be cautious when you make a purchase and be really careful when you fly these drones. They are not a guaranteed working functioning device and can easily be lost and cost tons of money without any real pilot issue all due to hardware glitches. If it cannot differentiate with its GPS and maps that its flying over water vs land what good is its "smarts"

Can't set it up. Several abbreviated start up booklets included but not the one you need. You have to download one...Really!? Tried doing online chat with support but it turns out they were giving instructions for the wrong model. Best Buy doesn't offer Geek Squad help for drones. Was finally able speak with some from support by phone but they had such a strong accent we couldn't understand but half of what they were trying to say. This was a gift for my boyfriend. He's the smart type that can figure out most anything. He became so frustrated trying to set it up also. I was afraid this drone's first flight was going to be out the window. Took it back to Best Buy and was told I only had 15 days to return it. Per instructions it says to take outside to sync when there is no rain,moisture or snow. How do you do this in upstate New York? So.. I was deprived of ability to take it back during 15 day window. Thinking will try to sell on Craigslist for a loss.

Definitely get the Fly More package. Without it, I’d be driven mad! The battery life is decent at 12-15 minutes but I enjoy continuing to zip around (max speed ~30 mph) once I have my recordings done. Controls were easy to pick up, you can set a beginner’s mode to restrict how for and how high your drone can go until you turn the mode off. You can fly this drone with just your phone but having the control makes everything much easier/more smooth. Once I figured out how to set it up to my phone (YouTube/Google was my friend during this part) I was up in no time. The carrying bag is also very handy, holds both batteries, the drone, and it’s cobtroller.

So, I waited about a month before getting the courage to buy this bad-boy. Let me just tell you, good things come in small sizes (well some things do) and the Spark was one of them. This thing is perfect for selfies, personal movies, checking yourself out and spying on the neighbors (Just kidding) but in all seriousness, I thought it was going to be mediocre and this thing blew me away, well in high winds, and the app is easy to use. The RC makes the experience that much more unleashed. Only complaint is that the battery life is so low but that is expected due to its size. Don't get me started about sports mode. Pigeons didn't know what hit them as soon as my little Spark came zooming in. The camera is amazing. Only thing is that its not the best for like a panoramic scene when turning clockwise or counterclockwise. The video kinda gets a little weird. It goes from buttery smooth to a tad bit flakey but let me tell you, Its totally worth it.