The high landing gear and the suspended camera make the SJRC F7 PRO 4K drone look unique. Also,a carry bag is part of the package, so your storage and travel needs are well taken care of.
You can order the package with one, two or three batteries. Of course, there will be price differences, but for more fun and longer flight time, the two or three-battery option is always better.
You will also enjoy an immersive flight experience with the F7 4K PRO thanks to functions such as follow me, gesture shooting and the one key return. Equipped with GPS, this aircraft is hard to lose.
The one downside that you might want to be aware of is that the quadcopter does not have propeller guards. Thus, if there is a crash, you are likely to lose the propeller blades. Since it is marketed as a beginner and intermediate drone, it should come with propeller guards.
We shall look at these flight functions in deeper detail later.
SJRC F7 4K Pro Features & Technical Details
Once you see the features of a drone, you can be sure whether you want to buy it, or not. For its price, the features of the F7 4K PRO look really good.
Design and Build Quality
This is a foldable aircraft. When unfolded, it measures 33 by 32.5 by 13.5CM. When you fold it for storage, the size reduces considerably to 11.8 by 16.1 by 13.5CM.
With a takeoff weight of 550G, that is too high so you have to register it with the FAA before you can fly it in the USA. On the good side, the weight helps to enhance the stability of the drone in the wind.
This drone’s body is made of tough but lightweight ABS plastic. In case there is a crash, the interior electronic parts will stay protected. The dark grayish color matte finishing makes up the rest of the exterior.
For a more powerful, better and more stable flight experience, the manufacturer has made brushless motors for this aircraft. Coupled with a 5-level wind resistance, this drone will fly nicely along a coastline even when there is a breeze.
The high landing gear is hard to miss, probably made that way because of the camera that is attached to the underside of the drone. This camera is integrated into the drone, so it is not removable. However, this design gives it a wider field of view than many of its peers.
Camera Quality – 3-axis gimbal and EIS
With a three-axis mechanical gimbal and electronic image stabilization, you cannot get a more stable camera. Thus, it is able to eliminate all distortion that could come from the shaking when the drone is flying at speed.
The photo quality stays stunning all the time, whether you take them when the drone is hovering or when it is flying at high speed. Besides, the gimbal corrects the orientation of the camera even when the drone slants when it is navigating a corner.
4K resolution is the real deal when it comes to capturing vivid color detail and even here, it does not disappoint. You can capture shot after stunning shot of the area that the drone flies over.
You will enjoy an immense first person view experience with the F7 4K PRO. For that, you have to use your smartphone. The recommended mobile software is iOS 9.0 or newer and Android 5.0 or newer.
This aircraft has an SD card slot, but you have to buy the right SD card separately. That way, you do not have to store your footage in your smartphone, which affects the resolution. The supported SD card sizes are between 32 and 128GB.
The overall FPV transmission distance is 3000 meters if there are no obstructions.
Batteries and Flight Time
You could get the SJRC F7 4K PRO with one, two or even three batteries. This is an 11.1V/2600mAh battery. It can give you a flight time of up to 25 minutes.
Thus, three batteries can give you 75 minutes of flight time. One downside with high capacity batteries such as these ones is that they take too long to charge. Each charges fully in about 6.5 hours.
Only use the cables provided with the package for charging the batteries. Also, these are safe batteries with overcharge protection, so they will never overcharge.
Since these are smart batteries, they charge outside the drone with a USB cable. They have small LED lights that are going to show you how much voltage remains.
Remote Controller
It comes in a small size and lightweight design. It also comes with an integrated rechargeable battery that has a capacity of 1500mAh.
On a full charge, this battery is going to run the transmitter for close to three hours. The charging time for the transmitter battery is two hours and a charging cable is provided.
Since this transmitter supports both the 2.4 and 5.8GHz frequencies, you can fly the drone blindly for the overall transmitter range of 3000 meters.
The transmitter also has a small LCD display in the middle. It displays important stats such as drone distance, height and speed. It also shows you the remaining voltage so you can know when to bring the drone back home.
The few keys on the simple interface of the remote controller are straightforward and easy to interpret especially because they have icons.
Flight Functions
Since the target user of this drone is one at beginner or intermediate piloting level, it comes with some fabulous flight functions. These make it more fun to fly, take pictures and even share them on social media.
GPS/GLONASS Connectivity
GPS and GLONASS do the same thing and that is to pinpoint the exact location of the drone all the time.
So then, why do you need two? Two are better than one and since there are times when GPS experiences hitches, GLONASS kicks in. With GPS/GLONASS positioning, you will always know where your F7 4K PRO is.
Automatic return home
If the drone loses signal when it is mid-flight, it will turn and come home automatically. Thus, you need not panic even if you find the return home key unresponsive.
MV Production/Filter effects
You can add music to the footage that you capture with the quadcopter. You can also filter the images to make them better and then share them with your family and friends on social media. Remember, you can do all of these things on the app.
Image Follow
The drone recognizes and locks onto you, following you wherever you go while maintaining a distance of between 3 and 10 meters. Such a function comes in handy when you are taking a road trip or enjoying any other outdoor adventure.
Waypoint Flight Mode
To make a hands-free flight with this aircraft, get to the app and access the map interface. There, you can draw a line along the route that you want the aircraft to follow when you launch it.
5 Times Zoom
A drone camera with a zoom is better than one without since you can bring objects closer and take better photos of them.
Gesture Shooting
From a distance of 3 to 5 meters, you can show the drone the victory sign to start taking photos. You could also show it the palm sign to start taking videos.
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
Buying my F7 4K PRO is the best thing I ever did even though it was my first drone ever. I wanted something that I would not outgrow too fast and I am glad that I am getting all the aerial shooting experience that I need. Frank M.
This drone is such a powerful flier with good wind resistance. It is a bit pricey though for a first-timer drone, so you might want to try a different one. Emely J.
If you want to learn aerial photography, start with the SJRC F7 4K PRO that takes awesome footage. With a 3-axis mechanical gimbal plus EIS, your footage will be of almost amateur quality. Karis M
I am not sure I will ever have the courage to fly my F7 out of my sight for the entire 3000 meters of flight range. I still fear that I could lose it. Nat H.
The price is good, the build quality is incredible and the camera does what the manufacturer says it can do. It would make a good gift for a drone freak. Martin W.
SJRC F7 4K PRO Pros
- It is sold with its own carry case
- The aircraft has circle mode to capture different angle shots of landmarks
- It has a nicely designed transmitter with the smartphone holder on the top side
- Long distance flight range and image transmission
- The zoom effect is quite good for image enhancement
- Smart return and GPS for safety
- Transmitter battery lasts a long time
- Supports SD Card usage
SJRC F7 4K PRO Cons
- It seems a bit bulky because of the high landing gear
- The charging time is too long
Who Should Buy the SJRC F7 4K PRO?
This is a good aircraft for intermediate pilots. However, because of functions such as MV production, long flight distance and many more, even experienced pilots will have a lot of fun with the drone. If you are a total beginner, perhaps you might want to try something smaller and cheaper to learn how to fly. You can upgrade to this one later after you have learned some piloting skills.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The SJRC F7 4K PRO drone is easily one of the best in its price range. The design is quite unique with the suspended camera and boxy look. The camera is going to take stunning footage that you can enhance further using MV production functions.
Do not fly it to the full range unless you can see quite far in the distance. You do not want the drone to spook people or animals, so you need to choose a large and open space to fly it.
Study the user manual to know how everything works and download the app to unlock more fun with the F7 4K Pro.
