Blade 350 QX Review

Blade 350 QX is a beginner to intermediate level drone. In a way it’s similar to it’s competitor the DJI Phantom. Like the DJI Phantom, Blade 350 QX is made for aerial photography. Price wise you can call it a middle class drone at $470 on amazon. But can it compete with the DJI Phantom?

Versions

Bladehelis has provided 2 versions of the drone: Ready-To-Fly (BLH7800) and Bind-N-Fly (FLH7880). Unlike Bind-N-Fly, the Ready-To-Fly version comes with a full range Spektrum DX5e transmitter. The BNF drone is $50 cheaper than the RTF version. Both versions include a Li-Po battery, charger and a GoPro camera mount.

In the box

Like most of these toy drones, the Blade 350 QX comes fully assembled. The only thing I had to do was charge the battery and that was it. The Bind-N-Fly requires a bit more work such as loading the settings into your transmitter and binding.

The thing I did notice was that the drone is extremely light. Another good thing is the extra blades that are included. Also for those who own a GoPro camera, theres a special GoPro mount included.

Modes

Blade 350 QX comes with 4 different flight modes.

  • Smart Mode – During Smart Mode the LED status light is green. This is probably the easiest mode for beginners. It engages Stick Relativity mode which means that the drone moves to whichever direction you move the stick, regardless which way the drone is facing. It also uses self leveling. Another great thing is that the drone can hold its position with the GPS.
  • Stability Mode – During Stability Mode the LED status light is blue. To be honest I recommend beginners to use this instead of Smart mode. The Stick Relativity can really make things harder for you if you should ever try a more serious drone. It’s best to get used to flying the drone properly. All other features such as position holding, self leveling are the same in this mode as they are in Smart mode.
  • Agility Mode – During Agility Mode the LED status light is red. This mode is for more intermediate pilots. This is the only mode that allows the drone to flip over and make fast aerobatic manoeuvres.
  • Return to Home Mode – During Return to Home Mode the LED status light is fast flashing red. When this mode is activated the drone flies back to where you first took off. Then it slowly descends and lands by itself.

Flying

Flying the drone is extremely simple. The GPS locked in around 30 seconds after turning it on. After that it was just start the motors, lift off and fly! Also the Return to Home mode works extremely well. Self levelling keeps the drone nicely balanced.  What I did notice was that there is quite a bit of shaking when flying forward. After some research I found out it’s quite a common problem but nobody knows why.

The special GoPro mount reduces all vibrations coming from the motors. The best thing is that it comes with the drone which means no inventing for ways to attach a camera. Shooting a video from 50 meters in the air, can’t get better than that.

The body is made out of fairly thin plastic so you should try avoid crashing. Some parts are a bit hard to find and they can be expensive. Ebay is your friend here though.

Blade 350 QX Review

Source: bladehelis.com

Conclusion

This drone is super and I’d recommend it for any beginner that wants to start at aerial photography. It is $100 more expensive than the Parrot AR.Drone BUT it is also a lot more capable at shooting high quality videos. There isn’t really a competitor for this price. Yes the build quality is quite not worth the money but as long as you fly it carefully there shouldn’t be any problems.

Warning: Never use the Blade 350 QX with your GoPro camera when both devices have their Wi-Fi systems turned on. The Blade 350 QX Wi-Fi and the GoPro camera’s Wi-Fi run on the same frequency, so if you use them together when both Wi-Fi systems are engaged, the Blade 350 QX transmitter will lose the ability to communicate with the drone. Whenever this happens, you will not be able to tell the quadcopter where to fly. This may result in loss of property or damage to your equipment.

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