Revell Control Nano Quad Cam drone review
Revell Control Nano Quad Cam
£49.99
Pros
- Size
- Fun factor
- Quick to start flying
- Decent price
Cons
- Can be tricky to learn
- Calibration is trial and error
Following on from the well received Nano Quad is the latest from Revell Control – the Nano Quad Cam.
No doubt you have guessed what this new version has that the last one didn’t. No?
The Nano Quad Cam features a tiny camera that records directly to an on board SD Card.
Do great things come in small packages? Abe took the Revell Nano Quad Cam home for a test flight.
Nano Quad Cam design
This tiny radio controlled camera drone packs a lot in to its 68 x 68 x 25mm (LWH) frame.
The copter looks pretty cool. A little like some military spy gear.
The open frame appears to be durable and the rotors at each corner should give it a decent amount of agility.
The front of the drone is where you’ll find the little camera. This captures video at 720×480 pixels in AVI format.
Other than what comes with the box, you don’t need any other tools (e.g. screw driver) to use the Quadcopter but you do need two triple A batteries for the controller
Nano Quad Cam performance
Preflight
Charging the quadcopter takes about 45 minutes, but you get very little flying time – 10 maybe 15 minutes at best. (Bear in mind the copter wasn’t in the air most the time as I kept crashing).
The core of the Quadcopter is quite durable. I was crashing all over the place but it was still in very good condition. However, I think one of the lights may have been damaged as it wasn’t turning on.
An extra set of propellers are provided in the box which you’ll most likely be using as it is VERY easy to lose the propellers after a crash. There have been a few times where I’ve spent up to 20 minutes looking for a propeller so I’m sure even spare ones won’t be enough in the long run.
Thankfully, it’s very easy to change the propellers as each one is marked differently and the instructions are clear on how to fix each one on.
In flight
I calibrated and aligned the Quad Cam on many occasions but it still has a habit of drifting. I have only been flying indoors so can’t blame the wind. This was the main cause of me crashing as I had to counteract the drift using the joysticks.
According to the manual, the resolution of the recording is 720 x 480 pixels. When I did test this function, I thought it was quite blurry and the colours weren’t really accurate.
Flight recorder
Checking the files is straight forward though. You can add the 4GB microSD into a USB adaptor (which is provided in the box) and connect directly to your laptop/ PC.
Once the USB is registered you double click on the file in the drive which takes you to your recordings. One thing to note is I was getting a few ‘corrupt’ messages when trying to the view the recordings.
The recordings do NOT record sound. I think it would be a good idea for the next generation Quadcopter to be able to do so.
Apart from the MicroSD card and MicroSD to USB adaptor I’ve mentioned already, you also receive a USB charger to charge the Quad Cam. You also get a microSD to SD card adaptor. This is all useful as you don’t need to buy any items (apart from the batteries for the controller).
Having said that, the microSD is only 4GB so you’ll probably run out of space quite easily if you’re recording a lot.
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Although it does mention it in the instructions, I think the company still need to be a bit more clear on how to put the microSD card in to the drone. There is another section which you can mistakenly enter the SD card in which could potentially damage the microSD card or the quadcopter.
Nano Quad Cam review conclusion
The Nano Quad Cam is very easy and fun to use.
Revell states that it’s suitable for ages 14 and over, which feels about right.
The copter is fairly easy to control indoors and I think I need more time calibrating it. The short flying time can be a little frustrating as it’s usually at the time I feel I’m getting the hang of when it dies.
As long as you’re not expecting fantastic quality from the video, it is watchable. It’s fun to play back and watch your flights in first person view.
In the next generation, I think it would be a good idea if the controller could be charged using the same USB charger for the Quad Cam rather than having to purchase two triple AA batteries.
Nano Quad Cam price and availability
The Revell Control Nano Quad Cam is available from Argos and all good toy and model retailers. The RRP is £49.99
For details visit www.revell.de/en
