3DR Solo

3DR Solo is one of the latest drones for 3D Robotics. It is simple to control a mighty gadget yet. You will surely enjoy flying this device. The company has packed up many interesting features in this drone. To attain the maximum advantage of the gadget, you might have to buy a few add-ops. This might cost you a bit but will surely be worth it. Here we will talk about 3DR Solo. You will know about the features and limitations of the device. At the end of it, you will surely know if this device is ideal for you or not.

Our Verdict

3DR Solo is technically designed to capture mind-blowing aerial photos. It is an autonomous drone with every single feature you might ever need. Almost every cinematographer prefers it. When connected with GoPro, it captures even more stunning pictures. The only downside is the weak GPS, and the battery life is a bit short. Otherwise, it is a great product. In some cases, the positives outpower the negatives of this drone. The company offers a lot of features in a drone, which is extremely easy to fly. In fact, for many people, the drone works like a co-pilot as well. You should buy this drone without thinking if the GPS is not a big issue for you.

Design

The 3DR Solo has an excellent design. The 10x18x18 inches (HWD) drone weighs around 4 pounds. It has a gimbal installed along with GoPro Hero 3/4. It has a 5,200mAh battery. The battery and the power button are placed next to each other. It is one of the best drones in which you will hardly face any complexities. You will have to get the drone registered with the FAA as the weight goes above the 0.5-pound limit.

The quadcopter of the drone is comparatively larger than other models. It is just under about 19 inches from top to bottom. They get more colorful when you turn the device on. The bright LEDs of various colors placed under the motors display the status of the device. Thankfully you won’t have a hard time recognizing them in daylight. They become even brighter at night. When the drone is in flying mode, the red color indicates the quadcopter’s black front and blue.

There are an accessory connector and many small LEDs at the downside of the device. The LEDs indicate the state of the drone when it is about to fly. The lights technically blink when the drone is about to fly, and the lights might blink fast if there is a problem in the system. The front of the base is where the camera holder is located. This camera holder fits the GoPro Hero.

Additionally, the 3DR gimbal tilts or rotates the camera as per your needs. You will find a cable connected to the gimbal. The cable comes from the inside of the device. This enables you to control the camera as well as the gimbal. An HDMI cable is also connected to the camera. This cable is responsible for giving a live view of the smartphone connected to the drone. This all happens via the app affiliated with the drone. You will have to download that app on your smartphone. Once you download it, you will have to pair it up with the device.

The black color remote that comes along the drone has dual antennae. It also has a clip to hold a smartphone or any device you will pair with your drone. The integrated LCD will let you know whenever there is any issue faced by the drone.

Flight

Before flying the drone, make sure that the area is not a no-fly zone by the FAA. Don’t worry because the SOLO app will inform you. But still, there is nothing wrong with taking precautions. The app will give you an alert notification if you are within 5 miles of any no-fly zone. When under the no-fly zone, the app will provide you with the nearest control tower’s phone number. This way, you can inform them you will be using a drone within that area.

This drone is simple; you won’t face any complications while flying it. It’s magnificent features allow it to take automated takeoffs and landing. Before the takeoff, give the drone a minute to attain a GPS signal. Then once it has acquired a GPS signal, select the fly button. By doing this, you will start the motor of the drone. Now, the drone will take off once you press the fly button again. It will hover around 4 feet high from the ground. You should know that the controller sticks that come along are quite responsive. They respond to even the minute moments and changes.

The drone gives you an effortless flight experience. It offers four videos and five types of flight modes. The video modes are pretty amazing. They capture some specific video shots. The Cable Cam makes it convenient to capture flyby shots. More importantly, it captures the image at the exact speed you have set. On the other hand, the Orbit mode sets the device into a circular orbit that keeps revolving around the chosen point. It keeps the camera towards the center. The other mode is named the Follow mode. In this mode, the drone is set to follow the controller. It remains at the altitude and the distance set by the user. All these flight modes are extremely efficient and work wonderfully. They are similar to DJI Phantom 3. But funnily quite different as well. In DJI Phantom 3, under flight mode, the pilot controls the drone’s speed along with a control stick. But this drone automates this control.

The experience of flying this drone is like having a co-pilot along. You can keep your focus on the video; meanwhile, the co-pilot will take care of the flight. Yes, it literally feels like this. If the area has many trees, then you can click the pause button. The drone will stop and hover at a particular place when selected this button.

You can further unlock many new flight modes by enabling the advanced modes settings. You can use these new modes for acrobatic use. Your drone will fly like an RC place when you drive it. It can roll, flip, and do anything you want it to do. The sports mode is very similar to Acro mode. It might even override the pilot in case the drone comes very near to the ground. While you will have a huge amount of fun using these modes but at the same time, they require some experience. Otherwise, you will be just risking your expensive gadget for a crash.

It is an autonomous flying drone. The processing power required by the drone to fly is built within itself. It is not built inside any controller or any smartphone.

Camera Quality

The Solo needs an additional device to be able to capture photos and videos. It works with a GoPro Hero camera. The 3DR Solo is used to connect the control wire and the HDMI wire. The drone can change the setting and control the GoPro 4. There might be some issues while controlling the older models. The older models, like GoPro 3, doesn’t attain the same extent of control. Yet, the drone can start and stop video recordings. The combination of GoPro along the Solo drone is amazing.

You should know that the resolution and the frame rate totally depend on GoPro’s model. The latest GoPro will ensure the best quality. With the GoPro Hero 4, you can get a 4K video at 60 fps. The Solo app can be used to control the resolution and frame rate of the drone. It is recommended to use a standard holder at the dock of the camera. You can also purchase another gimbal for that. Both of them basically hold the GoPro at a fixed angle to prevent the video from being fuzzy.

Battery

The drone has a big 5200mAh battery. It can be used to fly the drone for up to 22 minutes. This time might decrease to 15 to 18 minutes under challenging weather conditions.  Solo gives DJI quite a competition when it comes to battery. It has good battery life. It takes about 70 minutes to charge the battery for the next use.

Unfortunately, you will have to use the charge which comes with the drone. The device won’t charge from a third-party charger. Also, third-party batteries are not supported by the drone. You can buy Solo batteries, but they are quite expensive. It will cost you around $149 per battery.

What Comes Inside The Box?

The following things come inside the package of 3DR Solo with the Frame are:-

• Remote Controller
• Solo
• Three silver-top props
• Three black-top props
• Charger for drone
• Charger for controller
• Drone

The following things come inside the box of 3DR Solo with 3-Axis Gimbal are:-

• Controller
• Solo with installed gimbal
• Four silver top props
• Four blacktop props
• Controller charger
• Solo Charger

Pros And Cons

Final Thoughts

The positives features of Solo outweigh the negatives of this drone. It is an extremely amazing device. Every penny you will spend will be worth it. It is quite reliable during flights. You will learn more about it while actually flying it in the air. The drone’s craft is designed so that it can accommodate a huge range of updates. However, the company could have worked more on the GPS connectivity and the drone’s maximum range. Anyway, they don’t cause any hindrance as such. It is fantastically autonomous makes you forget everything cons that it might have.