UDI 818a Buy Now!
Its name makes me think we are talking about a cold war submarine but we ain’t (yeah I just said ain’t- sorry Mrs. Pritchett). We talking quadcopters, drones, UAVs, UFOs, or whatever, so let’s get into it. The UDI 818a is a cool beginner/practice drone. It’s bigger than the palm of your hand like the other rc drones that we have talked about, but still cheap, and not cheap in quality but price. On Amazon, it has a $55-60 price tag and happens to be a #1 best seller! That’s not too shabby if you ask me, but I had to ask myself, “why is it a best seller?” I mean it’s not as nimble, quick, or responsive as the Hubsan x4 or the Blade Proto so what is it? It is durable with the flexible prop guards which gives good resistance to crashes, running into people, or yourself (which was my case).
The Camera
I believe the popularity is partly because of the camera! The combination of the price and the fact you can film and take pictures is about unbeatable. Now, I know you can get the Hubsan x4 with a camera, but the difference with this is that you can control the camera with the transmitter! That is dope for this price. With other models, you start the camera, fly to what you want to film, then have to edit out the stuff you don’t want. Not the case with the UDI 818a. You only record when ready, even in mid flight. Throw in the fact that you can hit a button on the transmitter and take a picture is just a big bonus, if you are wanting to try your hand at aerial photography. The camera is 640×480, which is the highest quality on the planet, but, come on people, this a camera drone for under $70 bucks. Again, this why we said a good beginner drone.
It does use a 1 gig SD card to store images and video. There are color propellers and LED lights, all to help with flight orientation. I would highly recommend extra batteries with this model, as I do with all beginner drones I’ve talked about, but a little more so with this due the charge time, which is 2 hrs. So snatch up some extra batteries. Ain’t nobody got 2 hrs. to wait for a charge.