Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k - 393 euro including delivery

tedpan

I know most will think this is a lot to spend on a drone although this could be used for both fun and professional requirements.

Xiaomi 4k Gearbest

The drone is solid, simple to use, quick and incredibly stable.

It records in 4K 2160p 30FPS , 1440p 60FPS & 1080p 30/50/60/100FPS.

I can't recommend this quad enough, I've flown it a few times, here's some footage from the weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewAOX0ezvjk

Here's the Xiaomi Mi Drone Thread

AS1890

Excellent footage. Is it hard to get the hang of flying this? Or any drone in particular. I ordered one for 30€ just to get started and to practice.

tedpan

AS1890 wrote: »

Excellent footage. Is it hard to get the hang of flying this? Or any drone in particular. I ordered one for 30€ just to get started and to practice.

Cheers. No it's really simple to fly, it stays in the same position when you let go of the controls and returns to home if you fly out of range(approx 4kms). I think this drone lets you forget about flying and focus more on cool camera shots.

I'd say after an hour you'd be flying like a pro.

Best of luck with the little quad, you can see if you like drones or not. Although there would be a huge difference in the way they fly.

Oat23

Not into drones myself but a youtuber I watch (Techtablets,com) posted a really good review of this recently for anyone looking at buying this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl19TyEnJvk

It looks to be great value when you look at the price of some of the competitors.

userfriendly

Brush up on the law of flying drones before you go flying.

Anything over 1kg (which this drone appears to be) should be registered with the IAA, no flying beyond 300m or visual line of site etc.

Good map of airspace here: https://www.flyryte.com/airspace/

Just because it's not enforced doesn't mean it's OK to break the law, especially when you could be a risk to manned aircraft.

tedpan

Yep, totally understand, I use the airmap app to let me know where's safe and stay below 120metres. I also registered on the IAA site for a fiver.

Suckit

Just a heads up. That will most likely attract the attention of customs, and you will probably be asked for an extra €100 at the door.

Unless it is the EU Warehouse, which it does not seem to be.

Charlie19

So would you be better off buying of TomTop and pay the bit extra. I had placed it in the basket at €411 and signed up but Didn't go through with the purchase.

Tomtop then emailed me with a 4% discount off 1st purchase.

Still undecided.

Suckit

Charlie19 wrote: »

So would you be better off buying of TomTop and pay the bit extra. I had placed it in the basket at €411 and signed up but Didn't go through with the purchase.

Tomtop then emailed me with a 4% discount off 1st purchase.

Still undecided.

Yes, Tomtop is €411 (€407 if you pay in USD and use Revolut or N26). (It works out at €391 with your 4% off and paying in USD)
There are also 300 new signup discount points (200 with New Sign up and 100 with Newsletter Subscription).
And they will pay any customs fees.

Charlie19

Suckit wrote: »

Yes, Tomtop is €411 (€407 if you pay in USD and use Revolut or N26). (It works out at €391 with your 4% off and paying in USD)
There are also 300 new signup discount points (200 with New Sign up and 100 with Newsletter Subscription).
And they will pay any customs fees.

This could finally swing my decision😉

The footage that the OP shot is class and I think the home feature is a great option.

Etnies

I'm buying a house right by there, great footage

tedpan

Suckit wrote:

Just a heads up. That will most likely attract the attention of customs, and you will probably be asked for an extra €100 at the door.

I've never paid customs with Gearbest and have ordered 5 drones now for me and friends. But I suppose there's always a risk.

Suckit wrote:

Unless it is the EU Warehouse, which it does not seem to be.

Yeah, they ship into the London warehouse, then it ships Ireland express. Has an Irish tracking number from the start. Takes approximately 2 weeks for delivery.

SachaJ

I'm usually over on Baltray beach with the dog. Never seen what the other side looks like - thanks!

tedpan

tedpan wrote:

It records in 4K 2160p 30FPS , 1440p 60FPS & 1080p 30/50/60/100FPS.

It actually records in 1440p at 60/50FPS depending whether it's set to NTSC or Pal.

gustafo

Absolutely stunning footage..so tempted to buy this drone.

digitaldr

How would this compare to a DJI phantom?

tedpan

digitaldr wrote:

How would this compare to a DJI phantom?

It depends which Phantom you're comparing with, the camera and gimbal specs are very good, probably closest to a high end Phantom 3 or a Phantom 4 Standard.

The Xiaomi does lack a few Features like follow/track mode, but for the cost, there's nothing close.

Suckit

digitaldr wrote: »

How would this compare to a DJI phantom?

The Phantom 3SE is €439 if you pay in USD, and if you get the 5% off first purchase, it is €416.
Customs are included in the price.

Some comparisons here
http://rccamp.blogspot.ch/2017/03/why-dji-phantom-3-se-is-more-worth.html
http://dronein.blogspot.ch/2017/03/does-dji-phantom-3-se-crush-xiaomi.html
http://www.droneinner.com/tag/phantom-3-se-vs-xiaomi-drone-4k

https://www.gizmochina.com/2017/06/12/xiaomi-mi-drone-dji-phantom-3-se-deals-tomtop-rc-month/

Unfortunately there are not really a whole lot more comparisons, but they will start appearing. Most comparisons are for the Phantom 3 Standard vs the Xiaomi 4K.

tedpan

Yeah, these reviews are good, but old, they hadn't even flown the drones in the first two reviews. There have been several firmware updates through the mi drone app. Now the max altitude and range are the same as the P3SE. They also talked about the issues with the old 1080p version and these are solved with the 4K.

Both are cool.

tedpan

gustafo wrote: »

Absolutely stunning footage..so tempted to buy this drone.

Here's some more from today. Loving this drone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbULH294_Fs

sunny2004

Is it gone up in price ?

tedpan

sunny2004 wrote:

Is it gone up in price ?

Yeah, was a one week offer. It should be on offer again soon..

tedpan

sunny2004 wrote:

Is it gone up in price ?

It's back on offer. That didn't take long

dedaw

Operating on iPhone, or android? What device? Any issues?

sunny2004

Note: the protecting circle and auxiliary locator, we'll randomly choose one of them to deliver.
any ideas what this means ? new to this..

tedpan

sunny2004 wrote:

Note: the protecting circle and auxiliary locator, we'll randomly choose one of them to deliver. any ideas what this means ? new to this..

Sorry, not sure. Where does it say that, can you give me a link?

sunny2004

tedpan wrote: »

Sorry, not sure. Where does it say that, can you give me a link?

4th pointer down in the description, just under, download manual, and just above SPECIFICATIONS>

tedpan

sunny2004 wrote:

4th pointer down in the description, just under, download manual, and just above SPECIFICATIONS>

Ah, I think that means it will either come the WiFi dongle or the blade guards. Mine came with the WiFi dongle to connect the transmitter wirelessly to the phone.

I don't think I'd use either to be honest with you as the usb connection from the transmitter to the phone also charges the phone and the blade guards can interfere with recording.

tedpan

Just found this clip, Another Mi Drone 4K Owner in Howth..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEg92lqvoQQ

JJJJNR

Does it have a follow me function and does it work.

tedpan

JJJJNR wrote: »

Does it have a follow me function and does it work.

Nope, Follow me is one of the features not currently on the Mi Drone although with development I think this could come with a firmware update.

Currently it has Auto take off, Dronie Mode, Orbit, Return to Home and route planning with waypoints.

arek_s

have you seen this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcQcr4rc0kE

did you expierience something like this?

tedpan

arek_s wrote:

have you seen this one:

Yeah, I watched it a few days ago.

arek_s wrote:

did you expierience something like this?

His battery is obviously not clicking in. It's a very secure mechanism when it clicks and is properly installed, so I'd say he has a faulty unit.

He's an idiot to fly like that when he knows about the fault. He has a few videos on it and has known for a while before he crashed.

Dummy

I see this is now selling at €567.

tedpan

Dummy wrote:

I see this is now selling at 567.

It's back to 385 euro now.. happy days

Dummy

tedpan wrote: »

It's back to 385 euro now.. happy days

It's reading €567 still for me :-(

SteM

Dummy wrote: »

It's reading €567 still for me :-(

€407 from tomtop.

Suckit

€397 if you pay in USD

Dummy

Suckit wrote: »

€397 if you pay in USD

I must be doing something wrong. In US dollars it is $673 for me.

The site I am looking at is - https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_363299.html?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=linkshare&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-cKdL_y6sZOCgnpGBnTeirA

Do I have that right at least????


D.

Suckit

Dummy wrote: »

I must be doing something wrong. In US dollars it is $673 for me.

The site I am looking at is - https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_363299.html?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=linkshare&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-cKdL_y6sZOCgnpGBnTeirA

Do I have that right at least????


D.

https://www.tomtop.com/p-rm6355eu.html
https://www.tomtop.com/p-c-rm0064us.html

Tomtop will also pay any fees that it may get hit for.

tedpan

Dummy wrote:

Do I have that right at least????

Yes, must have been a glitch in the matrix! It's 385e again.

Best of luck!

tedpan

Suckit wrote:

Tomtop will also pay any fees that it may get hit for.

I've never seen fees/customs when shopping with Gearbest, I'm guessing they use the same shipping system as Tomtop.

Banggood does not, and I've been hit twice now.

Suckit

tedpan wrote: »

I've never seen fees/customs when shopping with Gearbest, I'm guessing they use the same shipping system as Tomtop.

Banggood does not, and I've been hit twice now.

They definitely do not.
With Gearbest you are taking a risk. If it does get stopped, you will have to pay the extra fees.
Tomtop pay for you (in the case o the more expensive and popular drones).
Gearbest ship through different EU postal systems in the hope that it ill look like it originated in the EU or that fees were already paid.
(All of the others do that too (Tomtop, LIITB. Banggood etc), so just as likely to get caught). Gearbest have manipulated tracking in the past, and do not have a good history (not even here on boards), i am guessing it will only be a matter of time before their current vat circumventing gets stopped. They will not pay any fees for you. Unless the items come from their 'EU Warehouse', you still risk having to pay.
On most other sites the individual seller is responsible for their own method of shipping unless they choose to use the sites method.

tedpan

Suckit wrote:

They definitely do not. With Gearbest you are taking a risk. If it does get stopped, you will have to pay the extra fees. Tomtop pay for you (in the case o the more expensive and popular drones). Gearbest ship through different EU postal systems in the hope that it ill look like it originated in the EU or that fees were already paid. (All of the others do that too (Tomtop, LIITB. Banggood etc), so just as likely to get caught). Gearbest have manipulated tracking in the past, and do not have a good history (not even here on boards), i am guessing it will only be a matter of time before their current vat circumventing gets stopped. They will not pay any fees for you. Unless the items come from their 'EU Warehouse', you still risk having to pay. On most other sites the individual seller is responsible for their own method of shipping unless they choose to use the sites method.

I understand, I'm just saying, I've used gearbest at least 10 times over the past 24 months for phones and drones and have never had an issue with customs. Maybe they've changed their process? Several people in my office have had the same experience. How has everything got through?

I order once with banggood as their Mi Drone batteries were 20quid cheaper. It was shipped through Sweden and got stopped in Dublin. Had to pay 30quid in taxes and fees. They can't be using the same system.

Suckit

tedpan wrote: »

I understand, I'm just saying, I've used gearbest at least 10 times over the past 24 months for phones and drones and have never had an issue with customs. Maybe they've changed their process? Several people in my office have had the same experience. How has everything got through?

I order once with banggood as their Mi Drone batteries were 20quid cheaper. It was shipped through Sweden and got stopped in Dublin. Had to pay 30quid in taxes and fees. They can't be using the same system.

I get what you are saying and i am not entirely disagreeing with you.
Banggood ship them as normal, sometimes they will skip through, sometimes not.
Gearbest actively try to avoid customs, they even had some method previously manipulating post somehow. They were caught and i am not sure if fined or what happened after.
I have been stopped a few times using Gearbest in the past, so it is just pot luck. Although as mentioned, they do try to avoid them, so until whatever method they are currently using is noticed, they will continue to do so successfully. I have not used Gearbest for a few years down to other reasons so i do not know what methods they currently use.
But unless a site specifically says that they will pay any fees, or that it is shipped from within the EU (implying fees paid) i would expect to pay the extra when it arrives.

The fact that some items do not get charged, i would just count as a pleasant surprise.
Lightinthebox/miniinthebox also have another method of shipping altogether.
They even have a 'customs duty issue' fee form on their site, although i have yet to have any need to use it. You can also choose to "Add duty & tax insurance to your order".
My point is that there are many sites actively trying to find the best way to ship to EU legitimately, Gearbest do not seem to be trying (and they have a very chequered past), so there is a chance that they will get stopped soon, especially with UK coming under pressure and the €2bn fine (or whatever it is now).

EireCelt

Purchased my drone few weeks ago, shipped out on the 3rd Sep, been keeping an eye on the tracting, the last update was Sep 10th " Parcel is in clearance"....getting frustrated at the hold up considering its been in Dublin since the 10th, is this normal? anyone know a contact number for the customs, thanks in advance

tedpan

EireCelt wrote:

Purchased my drone few weeks ago, shipped out on the 3rd Sep, been keeping an eye on the tracting, the last update was Sep 10th " Parcel is in clearance"....getting frustrated at the hold up considering its been in Dublin since the 10th, is this normal? anyone know a contact number for the customs, thanks in advance

Ah no, that's really annoying. Is it with an post since the 10th? If so you can ring customer services, there's a number below the tracking.

Usually when it gets to Dublin, it's delivered next day. Is it from gearbest or tomtop? Sorry for all the questions.

tedpan

It's down to 363euro now.. https://m.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_728058.html

tedpan

Himark wrote:

How many times have the gardai requested boards.ie user info? Simple question boom bap

Huh?

EireCelt

The gearbest tracking says arrived London on 9th and on 10th it just said " Parcel is in clearance".... An Post doesnt reconize the tracking number online... i rang An Post earlier, they said they havent got it, so i presume its still with the customs? Don't really know whats going on and what to do tbh? any advice is appreciated ! I bought it off gearbest mate

bazwaldo

tedpan wrote: »

It's down to 363euro now.. https://m.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_728058.html

334 if you use code XM4KRC. Codes don't last long so could expire anytime.