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HUBSAN H501S

If you are looking for a feature filled drone that's not too hard on the pocket then this may be the drone for you. The Hubsan H501s is one of a series of drones released by Hubsan. The  H501s offers a lot of features not found on other drones in the price range. However, although it is a great drone, it is not perfect.

HUBSAN H501S REVIEW

It's Features

The Hubsan H501S cost less than $300 US. It comes equipped with 1080p video camera, Brushless Motors, GPS Hold, Follow Me Mode, Headless Mode, Return to Home, a controller with a built in screen, 2.4 GHZ  control frequency, 5.8 GHZ video frequency and a flight time of 20 minutes. For a drone under $300 that's some good specs.

RANGE

HOW FAR CAN YOU FLY

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There are two variants to the Hubsan H501S, the standard, and the professional. The difference between the two is the transmitter. The standard version comes with built in antennas while the professional comes with external antennas for a longer range . On the standard version, Hubsan say the range is 300 meters while on the professional it's about 300-500 meters. Now there is a dramatic price range between the two because of the transmitter. You can get the standard  for $220 US and the professional for $280 US. If you would like the range of the professional but don't want to spend that much there is a solution. BangGood offers a range extension kit for about $16 US that you can install yourself that offers range equivalent to having the professional version. I used this kit and was able to get a range of over 900 meters.

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BATTERY

How Long Can You Fly

 One of the best selling point about this drone must be the battery life. There is currently no other drone in this price range with these specs that offers 20 minutes of flight time. It comes equiped with a 2700 mAh 2.7 volts Lipo battery. Hubsan announce the fight time for this drone is 20 minutes and from my experience that is very accurate . There is a battery mod you can make to extend the flight time as well. The batteries take roughly 210 minutes to charge which isn't too bad for a battery this size.

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CAMERA

How are photos and videos

Now, one of this most important thing about a camera drone has to be the camera. The Hubson H501S comes with a 1080P 2.1 MP sensor. It records video in MP4 format and pictures are taken in JPEG. Pictures and videos are stored on the drone using a Micro SD Card. Its unfortunate that the max storae capacity is 16GB. Although most drones are coming out equiped  with 4K cameras , for a drone in this price range this is  still a very good camera. My only Gripe with the camera is the lack of stabilization. This doesn't come with a 3 or 2 axis gimbal or it doesn't have image stabilization software.

This wouldn't be a good choice for a drone if you are in to Areal Photography. If it's very windy  the video can get really shaky which is't very good at all if you are trying to get steady shots. Photos are O.K but not the greatest as well. I noticed that if you are not at close range then the photos tend to come out a bit blurry. Not sure the reason for that but it can be a pain cause you can't really get a clear shot from a drone perspective. Another cool feature is that the the controller comes with a 1080P screen built in so you won't need any additional screen to fly it.

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TRANSMITTERS

The Hubson H501S Comes in two variants, the Standard, and the Professional. The difference between the two is the transmitter. The Professional version do have a more clean, polish, look, however the only  difference in functionality is the range due to the external antennas on the advance version. Now do note that there is an Antenna  Mod Kit you can pick up From BangGood  or Amazon" target="_blank">Amazons for under  $16 US which can be easily installed. I did do the Antenna Mod and got  a range of over 900 meters in the farmlands. You do get the exact same telemetry information on both variants of transmitter. You can save $60 US if you get the Standard version and do the Antenna Mod yourself.

VARIANTS

Which one suites you

Hubson do have a line up of drones to choose from, however there are three in this price range that's worth looking at. The Hubson H501S is the number one over all. It offers longer range and longer flight time compare to  the  H502S which only gives you a flight time of around 11 minutes.  The H501A Offers the same fight time as the H501S but uses a wi-fi relay (cell phone)  instead of a regular transmitter which also decrease the range. Now for the H501A you do get some additional features for using the Wi-Fi Relay, like Way Point and and return home to controller instead of returning home to take off point.

To sum it all up, the Hubsan H501S is a great drone for the cost. It offers a lot of features that's not offered on drones in this price range.I wouldn't recommend this drone if you are into aerial video recording due to the lack of stabilization. And the pictures aren't always the best, however they are more than worth it for what you are paying .

SUMMARY

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