4K Quadcopter

4K-capable Drone / Quadcopter 

While not nearly so well known in the consumer drone market as DJI or even Yuneec, 3DR seems to definitely be capable of delivering the goods as far as UAV quality is concerned. We can see this with the 3DR Solo drone this review is about. With a rather utilitarian looking build, a matte metallic black body and a size that roughly matches that of the DJI Phantom 3 UAV in the same consumer market, the Solo drone is not an exceptionally radical new type of drone but what it does deliver is solid flight specs, decent flight controls and many of the features its better known competitor cousins also come with

 This is definitely a drone for those who are looking for alternatives to the dominant DJI offerings on the market and while the Solo may not please all users due to some issues we’ll be covering shortly, it’s definitely a purchase candidate for anyone looking for quality and unique design in a new video recording drone.

 For starters, the Solo from 3DR just looks downright cool. We ourselves consider its black utilitarian body to be the superior looker in a contest between the Solo and any of the Phantom series drones from DJI. This machine is both more streamlined looking and just gives off a cooler vibe thanks partly to its darker colors and a few other design features. In fact, the one thing we’d most compare the look of the Solo to is the classic 1950s pulp science fiction flying saucers of yesteryear. It’s like a little time traveler from the imaginations of 50’s era pulp scifi fantasy artists.

 Next up, the Solo comes with quite an interesting array of intelligent flight features which we definitely like and think potentially particularly useful to videographers or aerial surveyors who need precise flight patterns. Among these fixed flight capabilities you can find the “cable” option, which essentially creates a sort of virtual fixed zip-line cable between any two points in space, allowing the drone to fly back and forth along the line with near perfect precision even with changing altitudes for the sake of linear tracking shots of a specific area. Then there is the more widely recognized “Orbit” intelligent flight option, which sets the Solo in a circular orbital flight around a fixed point with the camera adjusting itself constantly so that it points at the same object of central focus. The radius of Orbit can be adjusted mid-flight as well. From there there are also Selfie and Follow-Me modes and of course all the usual manual flight options which work quite simply and smoothly in the SDR Solo

And speaking of manual flight specs, we first of all like the Solo’s very decent flight time. This drone can manage a solid 25 minutes in the air simply performing flight maneuvers and with camera and gimbal attached for recording or constant photo capture, it can handle about 21 minutes of flight time. In this the DJI Phantom 4 drone definitely beats the Solo thanks to its 25 minute recorded flight times but the Solo’s performance does basically match that of older Phantom drones. We also find the Solo to be an easy flier, with controls that can be very quickly learned and safety features like Find Me and a dual flight computer system which reduced the possibility of mechanical failure mid-flight.

Solo has also even included the simplicity of One-Button flying in the Solo, allowing you to take off, land and return home with a single button push while also including a “Pause” option which stops the little drone dead in its tracks if you’re unsure about how to keep maneuvering. We should also note that the Solo is one fast drone, with the ability to hit speeds of up to 55mph. Even DJI’s latest Phantom 4 flier can barely manage 50mph.

Finally, connectivity, controller setup and drone setup are all quite simple in the Solo, with a remote control that works much like what you’d see for a video game console and easy to install gimbal and camera functionality being available.