Xiaomi's entrance in the drone market. DJI should seriously pay attention to their customers now.

[FlyGuy8675309]

I've had the Xiaomi FIMI x8 SE for about a week now. We live on a lake and all the activity is on the other side - about a mile away. I added some parabolic antenna extenders modified from a pair for the Phantom 3 Adv cutting out a center portion to reduce the length. They dramaticlly improved the distance where I could easily go 2 miles + without a hiccup of signal loss. The FIMI has worked flawlessly producing stunning 4k video and hi res photos. I have the DJI Mavic Air, Zoom, Pro and Phantom 3 Adv for comparison. At only $400 I use the Xiaomi for high risk photos & videos as opposed to the more expensinve DJI drones. Also, it is handy in NFZ areas where you just want to get a few feet off of the ground for quick videos of riding on a bike trail at only a few feet off of the ground. Where it does not have obstacle avoidance if used conservatively it's fine. And it has most of the advanced features one desires in a portable drone. As one who has had only the costly DJI equipment I'm surprisingly impressed with this drone and would recommend it for first time users, those on a rigid budget, or those who want to take high risk videos.

Thanks for the review! Can I ask where you got it for $400? I'm seeing $499 everywhere. TIA

 

[TheRoach]

It may be time for you to leave this group. Staying in a DJI forum with the attitude and opinion such as yours is not healthy for you or anyone in this forum. Just my 2 cents worth ?

So we're not entitled to our opinion?

 

[TheRoach]

Really?
Show me one with a camera to match the camera on the P4 pro or the Mavic 2.
Then tell me if it has an SDK and can run mapping apps like DroneDeploy.

Woah, didn't mean to upset a DJI fan. I have a 28MP 4/3 camera on a non-DJI drone. There are plenty of options. Particularly if you want to build rather than purchase.

 

[Meta4]

Woah, didn't mean to upset a DJI fan. I have a 28MP 4/3 camera on a non-DJI drone. There are plenty of options. Particularly if you want to build rather than purchase.

I left DJI last year, too many good alternatives now.

Building rather than purchasing isn't an alternative option for many users.
To match the DJI product, it's going to be expensive and still not as good in some respects.
I'd consider moving to anything that's genuinely an upgrade but I'm not aware of anything available.
Point me towards what you believe is a genuine alternative.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Thanks for the review! Can I ask where you got it for $400? I'm seeing $499 everywhere. TIA

Building rather than purchasing isn't an alternative option for many users.
To match the DJI product, it's going to be expensive and still not as good in some respects.
I'd consider moving to anything that's genuinely an upgrade but I'm not aware of anything available.
Point me towards what you believe is a genuine alternative.

Got it at Banggood with coupons - "Honey" found them and the price dropped by $75. Actual price being $420. The same thing happened over July 4th - coupons dropped the price even lower. There were a number of video posts on how to apply coupons, select the right location source (China or other), and purchase the drone for around $400. Mine came from Thailand. Here is a recent video made with the Xiaomi. On the turns its still a little "jerky" as I haven't worked out the settings yet. Ironically, my purchased antenna boosters (for an older Phantom 3 Advanced) didn't work as well as those home made ones suggested by Toms Tech Time. Since the FIMI X8 controller expands out sideways I could use over-sized parabolic antenna boosters and they really increased the signal to and from the drone. I haven't used my new MPZ once this summer opting for testing the FIMI X8 under various conditions. I've shot over 400gb of video footage with it on about 25 test flights. In my location all of the action is a mile across a lake so I must get there to view the "action." Most of the other recent videos on the page were also shot with the FIMI X8.

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[PhoebeSnow]

Thanks for the review! Can I ask where you got it for $400? I'm seeing $499 everywhere. TIA

I just tried to purchase another one to see the current price on the FIMI X8 and due to a Banggood Prime Sale (7-12) the price was lowered by $90 to $409. This price is good to the 18th!

 

[PhoebeSnow]

What's a rip off is DJI pricing. That's what we finding out here. Same functions, half the price. I left DJI last year, too many good alternatives now.

I'd be curious to know what those "good alternatives" are? Can you expand on that?

 

[Panamaramas]

I bought a FIMI X8 SE and so far I like it. The only concern right now is there are no lens filters available. If so, I'd really like to know where you could buy them. After all, what's a great camera if you can't use it in all conditions. Thanks

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Thanks for the review! Can I ask where you got it for $400? I'm seeing $499 everywhere. TIA

Here is the $409 price. It won't last long as the Prime Sale ends in a few days. I'm also looking at that UMIDIGI A5 Pro Global Version 6.3 Inch phone for $99. It has a large 6.3 inch 2280 x 1080 screen, fast Helio P23 CPU, 2.0 GHz, and more. And for only $99 a nice dedicated drone flying phone.
AMENDED COMMENT _ I did order the Umidigi 6.3" phone for dedicated drone flying. I have dedicated phones for each drone - M Air, Pro, Zoom, P3Adv and Xiaomi FIMI X8.

2019-Summer-Sale-Encore

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Improved the reception and distance on the Xiaomi Fimi X8 with these antenna boosters. They actually worked better for me then the plastic purchased ones. The commercial plastic ones are too heavy pulling the antanna's down. I made the ones suggested by Tom's Tech Time with thick paper stock and aluminun foil and then purchased some copper foil which also was an improvement. What I like about the Xiaomi Fimi X8 is that the antennas are farther apart on the controller so that you can use large size antenna boosters.

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

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So, I really like the footage you shared in this video. The sharpness and color look nice. I did notice that some of the shots have a pronounced tilt to the horizon and other shots don't. Did you adjust this between flights or something? Just curious. I've only ever owned DJI drones (except toy ones) so I'm not familiar with what the user can adjust and what is set by the manufacturer.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

So, I really like the footage you shared in this video. The sharpness and color look nice. I did notice that some of the shots have a pronounced tilt to the horizon and other shots don't. Did you adjust this between flights or something? Just curious. I've only ever owned DJI drones (except toy ones) so I'm not familiar with what the user can adjust and what is set by the manufacturer.

No, just shot each one and to be honest haven't noticed an off-horizon issue. I'm very surprised how will it performs being a sole DJI drone owner up until now.