Parrot Mambo Review

Parrot drone maker has really done an amazing job of coming up with inexpensive mini drones that are easy and fun to fly. Thus, your search for the best mini drone for beginners stops here.

The Parrot Mambo is one of their best toy drones. It is a quadcopter-style drone, and does not promise anything more than just fun. However, it has quite a good number of features and many people fall in love with it on their first flight experience. This drone is not your usual standard mini-drone; it sets the bar a bit higher.

First, it is designed around the idea of ease in flying. Second, it is equipped with various features and accessories that bring flight with pure fun and thrill. There are so many good things about this mini drone.

One of those features is the grabber, which may not be able to lift much weight but hey, it is something. Other mini drones do not have this feature.

You will also love the fact that you can fire miniature fireballs while the drone is in the sky. The only problem is the small payload that it can fly with and the fireballs will be hard to find once fired. Again, this is a small feature, but not many mini drones come with it.

Parrot Mambo Image

Here is a detailed look at some of the features that make the Parrot Mambo drone a must-have for drone enthusiasts.

Parrot Mambo Features & Technical Details

Size, weight and other physical features

Just like most of the mini drones, the Parrot Mambo comes in a compact and lightweight design. This makes it perfect for indoor flights. It is small such that it can comfortably on your palm.

Weighing a paltry 63 g, it is so light in weight you will barely feel its weight on your hand. It measures 5.2 by 5.2 inches, small enough to carry in your jacket pocket without feeling the weight.

Despite its lightweight design, the frame is sturdy, with good build quality. This makes the drone quite resilient. If you miss something when doing a roll or a flip, this drone can take the crash like a big boy and still come out intact.

The overall design is pretty standard. The only notable features are the grappling claw and the Lego-like studs at the top where various accessories are attached. When the package is shipped to you, it will contain the drone itself, a controller and a user manual.

The Parrot Mambo comes fully assembled, so that you can enjoy your first flight seconds after taking it out of the box. The propeller guards are already installed. All you need to do is just insert the battery, attach the camera and you are good to fly.

Camera

It is a tiny wee bit 0.3MP camera. It does not take good quality photos, but again, this drone does not promise that you will have incredible footage. It is just a fun drone and we do not know whether the camera shoots videos. It is positioned at the bottom, interesting because many drones have their cameras in the nose.

The internal storage is 1GB and there is no microSD card slot. Thus, you cannot expand the memory, but then you will also not need any more memory.

You can control the drone through your smart phone. You will need to install the drone’s app on your smart phone. This app works with Android and iOS.

The Mambo Parrot uses a 550 mAh battery. It gives you 9 minutes of continuous flight time. Luckily, the battery takes only thirty minutes to be fully charged, which means fewer delays between flights. However, you can extend the flight time by getting your drone an extra battery.

Flight modes and performance

Regarding the flight performance of this drone, it is a delight to fly. It has a small learning curve that makes even the novice pilots enjoy the experience within the first few minutes. You can control the drone by using the smart phone app or via the controller included in the package.

The fun factor

The Parrot Mambo drone can be equipped with accessories that allow you to enjoy just more than an average flight.

Attach the cannon to your drone, you can fire miniature fireballs at light weight targets such as a pyramid of plastic cups, or a house of cards. The cannon can load up to 6 miniature balls at a time. You can also fire at your friends. These balls are small and harmless

The grabber claw allows you to move lightweight objects (up to 4g) through the air and drop them at your preferred location.

You can surprise your loved one with a romantic note or a birthday wish. However, please note that the grabber does not grab items when the drone is flying. This drone is able to perform various flips and acrobatic tricks while on flight.

The Parrot Mambo is also equipped with high-tech sensors that ensure maximum stability of your drone while on flight. The autopilot functionality also ensures that it remains stable in the air even when you release the controls. For safety, the Parrot Mambo comes with an automatic shutdown functionality, which stops the motors from rotating in case of collision or a crash.

The controller

The two joysticks are very responsive. It also has several buttons that allow you to execute different commands such as take off, landing, flips and so on.

The controller has a stand for your smartphone. However, the flight range for the smartphone is only 20 meters. With controller, the flight range is bigger at 65 meters.

Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners

I bought the Parrot Mambo drone for my son when he turned 9. He has been having so much fun with the drone. Jenifer Smith

This is a really nice product from the Parrot brand. I love flying it around my condo and it does pretty fine. The battery life is a bit short though. I am disappointed with the tiny camera though. It looks like it was an afterthought. Raymond C

This is a resilient and easy to fly drone for beginners. However, I feel like the 9 minutes flight time is a little too short to do all the flips, rolls and other pellet my daughter with the tiny fireballs. Dennis M

I bought this drone as a gift to my daughter. However, I thought she was having so much fun and I ordered another one for myself. Every weekend, we grab some time to fly our drones together. Jesse D

Parrot Mambo Box

Pros of Parrot Mambo

  • Easy to fly
  • Fun filled flights
  • Battery takes a short time to charge
  • Affordable price
  • Great build quality
  • Ideal for both indoor and outdoor flights
  • Compatible with various accessories

Cons of Parrot Mambo

  • Short flight time
  • Does not perform well in windy conditions
  • No FPV

Who Should Buy Parrot Mambo?

The Parrot Mambo is a perfect purchase for drone lovers who might be looking for a beginner drone that does more than just fly. It is ideal for people that want to have a thrill with their mini drones. It is also perfect for novice pilots who are looking for drones with a small learning curve. If you are limited of space but you love drones, the Parrot Mambo is still a great choice. It performs incredibly well even in enclosed spaces.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The Parrot Mambo is a robust, versatile and extremely easy-to-fly drone. It comes with extra features that are not common in most mini-drones. This little buddy will give you good value for money thanks to its package of features. Although it is far from perfect, it is worth investing in. It is the best mini drone for beginners to introduce yourself into the world or drones.

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Parrot Anafi Drone Review

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Parrot Anafi Drone Review

There is no doubt that Parrot is one of the most well known names in the drone industry. And their newest release in the market does not disappoint at all as you will see in this Parrot Anafi drone review. Parrot is a French drone-manufacturer, and as is usual with the French, they build everything with a touch of love and with the future in mind. After you buy this drone, your aerial videography and photography will never be the same again. If there is something like a performance commercial drone, this is it.

Parrot-Anafi-Drone

Parrot Anafi Drone Features & Technical Details

Size

This is a small drone because it is made with traveling in mind so that you can shoot videos and photos from different locations. It measures 9.6 by 2.6 by 2.5 inches and it packs small in its bag (it is sold with a carry bag) which you can easily pack inside your travel case without taking up too much space.

Camera

The 4K camera is designed on 3-axis gimbals, which enables 180-degree vertical movement so that you can shoot videos and photos of what is happening above and below the drone. The 21MP camera can zoom 2.8x in 4K and still maintain high quality results. Another important thing to note is that the camera can shoot HDR (high dynamic range) videos, and this is quite a feat because many camera drones can only shoot HDR photos.

For videos, you will be able to shoot ultra high-definition videos at 3840 x 2180 at 30fps. Turn on your phone’s GPS and the drone can follow you wherever you go taking pictures and shooting videos.

You can do some nice tricks with the camera, which Anafi engineers say has been designed with some effects from Hollywood. For example, the camera has a dolly zoom effect, which allows it to zoom as the drone flies further from the object/subject shooting photos to create quite a dramatic effect.

The camera can also shoot photos in Lossless mode where you can magnify the power of the camera for up to 2.8x. Lossless mode also means that even when shooting from a distance, you will not lose the resolution quality.

Batteries

This drone comes with one 2,700mAh lithium-polymer, which lasts for 25-minutes when fully charged. While the time on paper always varies from the actual time, the difference cannot be all that big. If you can buy a second battery, then it means you will shoot pictures and videos much longer with your drone.

To get the drone started, just click the button found on the battery-pack, the Parrot Drone powers-on and aligns its camera ready for flight and camera work.

Any standard USB-C charger can charge the battery, even your smartphone charger. The manufacturer says that charging with an iPhone USB charger can take about one and a half hours while the slower cords takes up to two and a half hours.

Storage

Even though the drone itself does not come with storage space, it will be shipped with one microSD card with a capacity of 16GB. This capacity is enough to store your videos and images until such a time as you can transfer them to another drive. You will find this card under the drone’s removable battery.

Flight modes and safety

Users will be happy to know that at last, here is a drone that is made to fly in the wind. It has been designed to do a maximum speed of 33 miles per hour, quite high and better yet, it has a wind resistance of winds flowing at a speed of 31 miles per hour.

But great flight is nothing if it is not safe flight and Parrot understands this perfectly. That is why they have incorporated a return to home feature, which enables the drone to return home when battery is low. Then there is a GeoFence feature, with which you can define the boundaries for this drone such that it does not fly out of the designated area.

With the Find My Drone feature, just tap at a button and the drone beeps, enabling you to find it easily.

App and controller

XBOX lookalike, but a bit heavy on the hand as you will feel when you start using it. However, it has many things going for it. It is black, looks quite sturdy and as you open the antennas, you will also access the smartphone stand, but your device must be utmost 6 inches in size to fit.

To control the drone through your smartphone, which by the way can be an android or an iOS device, just download the free Anafi app and you will be ready to go. After installing it, choose the camera mode and start shooting photos and videos.

 

Short Summary of Feedback From Existing Owners

I am very proud to have been one of the very first users of the Parrot Anafi. I am very pleased with everything except the heavy controller. Remy K.

I find this drone much quieter than many others that I have tested in the past. We flew it in a small room and we could talk normally and hear each other above the humming noise of the drone. Excellent piece! Ricky J.

I just cannot wrap my head on the left joystick, which is ideally supposed to move the drone up and down or rotate it. I always mistake one movement for the other, rotating it when I need it to move up, and so on. Otherwise, I am happy with this drone. Treza R.

I did shoot some awesome photos and videos in the backyard as I was testing this drone. I have not yet taken it to the beach or park to shoot some videos as I ride my bike, but I will soon. Satisfied User

Pros of Parrot Anafi Drone

  • It is a lightweight compact package, which weighs 320g
  • Solid 21MP camera with 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR)
  • Camera stabilization features
  • Highly flexible making it very resilient to crashes
  • 25-minutes flying time
  • Light and portable
  • Sold with 8 spare rotors

Cons of Parrot Anafi Drone

  • Controller feels a bit heavy
  • Though small, drone cannot fit in pants pocket
  • Rotors are not protected

 

Who Should Buy the Parrot Anafi Drone?

People who want to make aerial videography and photography can use this drone. You will be able to fly it without a controller if you choose the right flight mode. Its stellar camera provides creative and fulfilling filming experience. Besides personal photography, professional users can also use Parrot Anafi Drone. Its tilting capabilities and zooming, together with its special filming modes, make Anafi to stand out among all portable drones. This is without doubt going to be one of the best commercial drones in the market.

Conclusion and Recommendation

If you have been searching for a portable drone, perhaps you should think of Parrot Anafi. It has clear object-awareness and long transmission range as you have seen in this Parrot Anafi drone review. You can charge it through a USB-C connection, is user-friendly with very small learning curve even for the first-time user, and so simple to set up. The electronically stabilized camera provides top quality that every user would want. More so, the drone is suitable for professional presentations and making high quality YouTube videos.

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