Top positive review
30 people found this helpful
Easy setup, sturdy build, an excellent buy for the money.
By Drone Pilot on Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2018
The Contixo F18 is my first drone, which I received as a Christmas gift. After reading the manual times, I found the assembly of the props easy. You do have to pay attention to the "A" prop and "B" prop positions on the drone as well as the particular screws for each. Paying attention to the direction to tighten the props, i.e., clockwise and counter clockwise is important in order to avoid stripping the screws/prop post. After the assembly, the start up is pretty straight forward. Charge the drone battery for approximately 5 hours and install four new AA batteries in the controller. The next step was a little confusing at first but after watching several videos on YouTube from other F 18 users, it all became clear. I recommend that any new users take the time to watch these videos! Starting the drone was a easy as was the first flight. I do recommend that the new user become familiar with the controller before the inital flight. I also recommend getting in multiple practice flights before pushing limits. The wifi signal on my unit has been exceptional each time out. You do have to wait a couple minutes for what ever number of satellites there are to connect to the remote/F18 before flying. I've had my unit up as high as 395 and never lost a bar of the 5 bars of signal strength. The RTH (Return Home) has worked well each time out with my unit. The unit will rise after pushing the RTH button as it hovers above the landing site. This is for GPS positioning. My landings have consistently been within 6 feet of the take off point. I have not yet tested the low battery return home function. I recommend caution when flying in wind speeds of 7 plus mph as the drone will tend to drift. While it does test piloting skills, it can cause a little anxiety. Making sure the GPS mode is on will greatly help prevent drift. I also recommend that when piloting, remember that as the orientation of the drone changes, i.e., north to south, east to west, the control joystick will change. Not paying attention to this could be a problem if the user needs to avoid obstacles quickly. For example, if the drone camera is facing away from you the joystick will work as described, i.e., up is north, down is south, left is east, right is west. If the camera is facing the user, the controls would work in opposite. Sounds a little complicated but not so much as long as the user is paying attention to drone orientation.The headless mode can be helpful with this issue but read the warning about using this mode before turning it on. I read a few concerns about some danger the F18 can pose. I can say from first hand knowledge that you should be aware that the propellers are turning at a very high rpm and can cause serious damage to a finger, or any other part of the body it may come into contact with. The F18 is small but I would not classify it as a child's toy. For this reason, proceed with caution with small children and pets nearby. First time users would be better to gain skills in an wide open area. If not in the countryside, then a high school football field, etc. when few people are around. The 1080p camera does a better job than I expected. The range is great and for basic photography from above, the quality is fairly good. The camera does okay in low light photography, much better in daylight. The examples are from 300 to approximately 375 ft. The drone holds altitude very well and can hover at any altitude for photography. The camera does well with video photography as well given it is only 1080p. If you want a high resolution camera or at least 16mp, expect to pay $500 or more. For a starter, the camera in the F18 is better than expected. The F18 is a great starter drone especially with its features and for the price. I cannot compare this drone to any other but I have no problem recommending it to someone looking to get started.
Top critical review
7 people found this helpful
Has a mind of its own!
By Larry on Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2019
I was very excited to receive this drone. While waiting for the battery to charge I read the manual and watched some YouTube videos. At first startup I had to sync the drone. Turning it horizontal then vertical till I got the correct lighting on the drone. This in itself took a couple of tries to get right. After that I started the drone up. I used the auto takeoff button and it hovered about 5 feet off the ground. I pushed the button again and it landed. Landing was a little rough. It skipped quite a bit across the ground before it finally stopped. After this, I took off again and flew it around and turned it sideways to test headless mode. Headless mode worked Great! Anyone that has ever flown a drone and lost what direction it is pointing would love this feature. I was able to bring the drone back without knowing what direction it was pointing with no problem or panic. I then flew the drone out a little ways and pressed the return to home feature. The drone is suppose to come back and land at its takeoff location. When I pressed the button it started climbing altitude and floating away. I had no control with the remote and was helpless from stopping it. The instructions say you have to have at least 7 satellite signal for this to work. I had between 9 and 12 the whole time. Luckily for me there was a large pine tree close. The drone flew up about 40 feet and hit a branch. It fell violently down about 20 feet and when clear of the limbs started the propellers bringing it upright. Unfortunately it started to fly away again. After hitting a few more limbs it was low enough I could grab it. In most cases I do not recommend this. The blades are sharp and they did break the skin when I grabbed it. I was desperate to save the drone! I immediately tried calling the manufacturers 3 times. I was not successful reaching anyone so I emailed them. It has been almost a month and still have not heard from the manufacturer. After a couple of weeks of looking at this drone I attempted to use it again. Since everything but the return to home button worked fine I thought I might try some low flying. I replaced all the blades and took it out. Everything went great with the first battery. I flew it around till it ran completely out of power. The second battery when flying it back to me it locked the controller out and started flying away. It found another tree and crashed around till it got out of the branches then started floating away in an open field. It flew about 20 yards and ran out of battery and came down. Took this out twice and have no more propellers. I could get new ones, they are reasonably priced. The unfortunate thing is that I don't know if it takes off if I will get it back. On the plus side I do have to say this drone is very durable. It has been in 2 very bad crashes and took a large beating. I watched helpless as it slammed into the tree trunk and hit multiple limbs. The only thing that was damaged is the lock for the battery (still functioning but weak) and the propellers.
Sort by:
Filter by:
Sorry, no reviews match your current selections.
Try clearing or changing some filters.Show all reviews
Show more reviews