A search for the best camera drones in the market for 2019 will no doubt bring up the Supkiir drone RC Quadcopter. This is not a mistake because it has a high quality 4K camera. But so do many other drones. So what sets it apart from the others? To talk about the price a bit, it will knock the socks off your feet. The first thing that comes to mind is that no drone with a 4K camera can be sold at such an affordable price. However, no matter how good the price of your drone is, if it lacks the features that make a drone exciting to fly, it is not worth buying.
In this Supkiir foldable drone review, we are going to see what features it comes with, its performance as well as flight features and functions. Just like the MIXI dual camera drone that we reviewed earlier, even this one has dual camera. Are you set to enjoy a great flight experience from this aircraft toy? Keep reading.
Supkiir Drone Features & Technical Details
In this section, we shall look at the physical features (read hardware) of the Supkiir drone. We shall also consider the technical details regarding the motors, camera and other details. By the time you are done reading this section, you will know what kind of experience to expect.
Design, Build Quality and Durability
This drone is foldable. The good thing is that when you fold it for storage and traveling, you do not have to remove the rotor blades. It folds into a compact, small shape. You will find it easy to tuck in your travel backpack.
This is not a big drone. When it is unfolded, it measures 7.9 by 7.9 by 1.8 inches. That is very manageable. When it is folded, it measures 5.9 by 3.9 by 1.8 inches. With an overall weight of 226g, you do not need to register this drone with the FAA. The minimal weight also makes it easy to travel with. You do not want to travel without your aerial camera.
This drone comes with brushless motors. We all know the benefits of having brushless motors as compared to the brushed ones. First, they do not overheat. Secondly, they last a long time with minimal maintenance and care and thirdly, these motors do not make a lot of noise.
About the build quality, this drone is very hardy. As a beginner drone, a crash or two are bound to happen. However, it has a strong exterior casing, which protects the interior parts in case of a crash. However, no drone is invincible so you should take care not to crash yours.
This drone is very stylish. It has good trim lines and the two markings on the front make it look quite predatorial, especially when the front LED strip is turned on. If you care about style and cute things, this is it.
The drone also has blade guards. These protect the blades, which are usually the first culprit to go if a drone crashes because they extend outwards. They are also light and delicate.
The dual cameras
We know that a good camera sells a drone and the Supkiir drone does not disappoint. After all, it has a 4K camera, which takes videos and photos at high resolutions thus capturing color and other details vividly. In fact, many people buy the drone because of its cameras.
Adjustable and with a wide field of view of 120 degrees, your videos and photos will have a lot of background and clarity. This is much better than the footage that you would get with a regular HD camera. Please note that the 4K camera is the front one.
There is a second, lower resolution camera on the belly of the drone. You can switch between the cameras intermittently to capture views from the front and the bottom of the drone on your smartphone. The bottom camera captures videos at a resolution of 480P.
You will enjoy the FPV experience. You will have to download the Supkiir app to your phone. You will enjoy real-time video transmission over WiFi frequency. Videos are captured in a resolution of 2K while the photos are captured with a resolution of 4K.
Battery and flight time
In 2019, drone batteries were the biggest winners for drone enthusiasts. Even for the mini drones, we have seen incredible flight times of 10 minutes and above.
Our Supkiir drone does not disappoint. It comes with 1800mAh 3.7V Li-Po battery that gives a flight time of 20 minutes. You can see what a second and a third battery would mean.
The charging time for this battery is only 60 minutes, but you have to use the provided charging cable. In any case, this is a faster charging time than what we have seen from many drones of this size.
Remote controller
This is stylish and small. It looks like a controller that you would use with a Playstation. It uses 2 AA batteries which are not sold with the drone, but they are easy to buy anywhere in the world.
To control the drone with the 2.4GHz controller, the first thing you need to do is pair it with the drone. Turn the drone on and then switch on the controller. In fact, even when using the app, you still have to switch the controller on.
The controller also has a retractable smartphone holder. It holds different smartphones securely. Whether you use the app or the controller, you will find that the Supkiir drone responds to commands promptly.
Flight Features, Functions and Performance
We have already established that this drone comes with a nice battery, a good remote controller, and an dual camera. Now, what can the drone do apart from taking good videos and photos? That is what this section is about. First, we shall look at the flight features and functions that it comes with.
Gesture control
You will love this feature. It is nice, fun and easy to use. You can use your hand to get the drone to start capturing video footage. You can also use the victory sign for the drone to start taking selfies. In all this, it will keep a respectable distance.
Headless mode
You do not have to worry about which direction the drone faces, especially if you are learning to fly a drone. You just need to engage the headless mode and the drone will align itself. It is not as if the drone will ever be out of your sight since the maximum flight range is 50 meters, but all the same, it feels good to have headless mode.
Altitude Hold
This is a very important feature for beginners. When you engage the altitude hold mode, you do not have to worry about the vertical height of the drone as it flies. It will automatically hold to the height that you have set. You just have to mind how the drone flies horizontally.
3D Flips
To make the drone even more fun to fly, it comes with fun features such as 3D flips. The drone can execute beautiful flips forwards, backwards, and to either side. It may consume more battery power, but it is definitely worth it.
3 speed modes
Speed control is very important in a drone targeted at beginners. With the Supkiir drone, you get three speed modes. We recommend that a beginner starts with the lowest speed mode and then proceeds to higher speeds later.
Vision recognition technology
The drone has sensors and of course the cameras which collect data (image and sound) and store it. The drone will start to follow the people that it can recognize capturing video and photo footage all the time. However, it keeps a respectable distance all the time. Combined with gesture control feature, the drone will work like a marvel.
Gravity control Mode
When you engage the gravity control mode, you can control the movement of the drone by waving your smartphone. If you wave the phone to the left, the drone flies to the left. You can make the drone fly backwards and forwards.
Trajectory Flight path
This has become a very common feature in almost all drones. You just open the app control page, draw dots over the route that you would like the drone to follow and then connect the dots to create a path for the drone. When you launch it, it will follow that path.
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
This Supkiir drone does not have everything, missing some important features such as GPS. However, it still has plenty of features that you can enjoy. Lord D.
I am very pleased with the video and photo quality. And the long flight time. The manufacturer says the battery can do 20 minutes but I have only been able to coax 17 minutes out of it. This is a fair deal for me and I am planning to buy my brother one on his upcoming birthday. Petr J.
This is a very interactive drone. First, it has human recognition technology and secondly, it responds to gestures. I love everything about it. Chris A.
I knew I was going to order this drone for myself when I saw the 4K camera and the low price. That is the best decision I ever made. I am having a lot of fun with the drone today. Jacob M.
The camera quality is excellent! It captures videos at better quality and clarity than the regular Ultra HD cameras that most drones come with. Phillip N.
The Supkiir drone is so easy to fly. Even if this is your first time, you will find it quite easy to fly, with a short learning curve. Billy B.
I just wanted a simple-to-fly aerial camera and I think I have found it in the Supkiir drone. Tonny N.
Pros of Supkiir drone
- Battery life of 15 to 20 minutes is quite impressive
- Easy to use even for total newbie pilots
- Has high quality casing and durable build
- The battery charges fast at 60 minutes, some people claim it takes 2 hours*
- The Supkiir drone has interactive features, which are very simple to use
- Has two cameras. Video captured at 2K resolution looks good
- The drone is foldable, portable, easy to travel with
- The brushless motors give great performance
Cons of Supkiir drone
- It does not come with a carry-case, so you have to buy one
- Spare battery is hard to find, mostly only found with third party merchants
Who Should Buy The Supkiir Drone?
In some resources, you will find the Supkiir drone being referred to as a drone for beginners. However, this is a great drone for all people and it has the features to back that claim. Beginners will find it suitable because of the three speeds, the easy calibration, blade guards for protection and the general performance. Advanced users can buy the drone because it is affordable, it has a high quality camera, can perform 3D flips and most importantly, it has some interactive features.
Conclusion and recommendation
Buying the Supkiir drone is such a good decision. As we have seen in this review, this drone does come with some interesting features. However, before you can launch it, you need to know a few things. First, we recommend that you fly it in daylight if you want to capture high quality videos and photos. Secondly, only use the drone when there is no wind at all. It does not have GPS and therefore it might fail to return if it loses signal with the controller. Thirdly, start flying it on the low speed mode, see how it performs and handles and then move on to high speeds later.