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Published in: Gear
We’ve all seen those incredible aerial shots of lone motorcyclists plying the rocks and dirt of some faraway mountain valley taken using the now ubiquitous drones—the DJIs, Skydios, and Amazon specials. Drones have become a staple for motorcyclists who want to document their adventures, capture the incredible scenery from a bird’s eye view, make awesome cutaway shots, and even follow their motorcycles to deliver different perspectives from the otherwise fixed-mounted cameras. You may even own one or ride with someone who does.
But most of today’s drones have two main problems. First, they are often prohibitively expensive—a quality drone with the features a motorcyclist would need can run well over $600. That’s a chunk of change for something that could be lost in the treetops or damaged in a crash. Second, most mid-priced drones are a serious hassle to deploy, with that dreaded GPS acquisition, pairing with the phone, or fiddling with all the possible settings. These are the kinds of things that make your riding partners impatient when you call a halt to deploy a drone.
Both of these issues have been resolved with the new HOVERAir X1, a so-called “selfie drone” that’s packed with features perfectly suited for adventure motorcyclists. The HOVERAir is a four-prop folding drone that weighs only 125 grams — and that includes the battery. It sports a camera that shoots in 2.7K at 30 fps, or 2K at 60 fps with an onboard memory of 32 gigabytes. The props are protected with a lightweight plastic cage and built with just two function buttons—an ON/OFF switch and a function button to select the shooting modes.
It may look like the DJI knockoffs you can get for $50 on Amazon or Ali Express, but The HOVERAir X1 is not a toy. The drone can function both through a simple smartphone app or, more importantly, by simply using the function button. The HOVERAir doesn’t have a remote controller, so the selectable types of shots are baked into the software—including orbit, follow, zoom in and out, and bird’s eye. Each type of shot can be tweaked to increase or decrease the distance, either within the app or by long-pressing the function button and selecting the shot mode after the audio prompt.
During our testing, I carried the folded drone in its protective sleeve in my tank bag. When there was an interesting vista to capture or an awesome group shot to grab, I’d pull the drone from the tank bag, turn it on, select the shot type, and launch it from the palm of my hand. When deployed, the drone hovers for a second, capturing your image as the reference point, then flies off to do its shot. When done, I’d hold my hand out, and the bottom-sensing camera would help maneuver the Hoverer back to my hand for landing. And that’s all it took! Afterward, I’d throw it back into the tank bag and roll it on.
The video can be downloaded to your phone via the app and shared to a computer for editing for YouTube or whatever. There’s a clever preview in the app that allows viewing of a low-rez version before downloading it, so it doesn’t suck up phone storage, but there’s no removable storage on the HOVERAir itself. The drone is so small, light, and easy to use that it became a constant riding partner on adventures.
However, there are a couple of downsides to the HOVERAir X1—especially compared to pricier models. First is the camera resolution. At 2.7K it’s good enough, but today’s standard is really 4K, a format that can also be cropped. Also, don’t count on the HOVERAir for those ripping “follow me” shots. Though it can do them, because it homes in on your image instead of a GPS signal or your phone’s location, you’re limited to about 15 mph in follow mode, which is fine for setting a scene and a cool perspective, but it’ll lose you if you twist the throttle too much.
But honestly, the HOVERAir X1 is an amazing little camera that does well enough in the resolution department for most users, is light and compact, and is super easy to deploy and use—even when sitting on the bike. And at about $400, that’s a lot of functionality for the rider who wants to deliver that polished perspective when documenting a ride.
HoverAir.com
MSRP: $429
Continue reading...
We’ve all seen those incredible aerial shots of lone motorcyclists plying the rocks and dirt of some faraway mountain valley taken using the now ubiquitous drones—the DJIs, Skydios, and Amazon specials. Drones have become a staple for motorcyclists who want to document their adventures, capture the incredible scenery from a bird’s eye view, make awesome cutaway shots, and even follow their motorcycles to deliver different perspectives from the otherwise fixed-mounted cameras. You may even own one or ride with someone who does.
But most of today’s drones have two main problems. First, they are often prohibitively expensive—a quality drone with the features a motorcyclist would need can run well over $600. That’s a chunk of change for something that could be lost in the treetops or damaged in a crash. Second, most mid-priced drones are a serious hassle to deploy, with that dreaded GPS acquisition, pairing with the phone, or fiddling with all the possible settings. These are the kinds of things that make your riding partners impatient when you call a halt to deploy a drone.
Both of these issues have been resolved with the new HOVERAir X1, a so-called “selfie drone” that’s packed with features perfectly suited for adventure motorcyclists. The HOVERAir is a four-prop folding drone that weighs only 125 grams — and that includes the battery. It sports a camera that shoots in 2.7K at 30 fps, or 2K at 60 fps with an onboard memory of 32 gigabytes. The props are protected with a lightweight plastic cage and built with just two function buttons—an ON/OFF switch and a function button to select the shooting modes.
It may look like the DJI knockoffs you can get for $50 on Amazon or Ali Express, but The HOVERAir X1 is not a toy. The drone can function both through a simple smartphone app or, more importantly, by simply using the function button. The HOVERAir doesn’t have a remote controller, so the selectable types of shots are baked into the software—including orbit, follow, zoom in and out, and bird’s eye. Each type of shot can be tweaked to increase or decrease the distance, either within the app or by long-pressing the function button and selecting the shot mode after the audio prompt.
During our testing, I carried the folded drone in its protective sleeve in my tank bag. When there was an interesting vista to capture or an awesome group shot to grab, I’d pull the drone from the tank bag, turn it on, select the shot type, and launch it from the palm of my hand. When deployed, the drone hovers for a second, capturing your image as the reference point, then flies off to do its shot. When done, I’d hold my hand out, and the bottom-sensing camera would help maneuver the Hoverer back to my hand for landing. And that’s all it took! Afterward, I’d throw it back into the tank bag and roll it on.
The video can be downloaded to your phone via the app and shared to a computer for editing for YouTube or whatever. There’s a clever preview in the app that allows viewing of a low-rez version before downloading it, so it doesn’t suck up phone storage, but there’s no removable storage on the HOVERAir itself. The drone is so small, light, and easy to use that it became a constant riding partner on adventures.
However, there are a couple of downsides to the HOVERAir X1—especially compared to pricier models. First is the camera resolution. At 2.7K it’s good enough, but today’s standard is really 4K, a format that can also be cropped. Also, don’t count on the HOVERAir for those ripping “follow me” shots. Though it can do them, because it homes in on your image instead of a GPS signal or your phone’s location, you’re limited to about 15 mph in follow mode, which is fine for setting a scene and a cool perspective, but it’ll lose you if you twist the throttle too much.
But honestly, the HOVERAir X1 is an amazing little camera that does well enough in the resolution department for most users, is light and compact, and is super easy to deploy and use—even when sitting on the bike. And at about $400, that’s a lot of functionality for the rider who wants to deliver that polished perspective when documenting a ride.
HoverAir.com
MSRP: $429
Where to buy:
PROS:
- Simple, functional user interface with no remote
- Light and compact enough to fit in a tank bag
- All the shots you’ll need for documenting the ride
CONS:
- Speed and distance are restricted
- Not a 4K camera
Continue reading...
