Hi, and welcome to my review of the Snaptain SP500 foldable HD camera drone; its been a while since I wrote this review, I decided to update it as I found out that some of the drones from Snaptain have been sold out and have not been restocked. Fortunately, the Snaptain SP500 is still on sale, and it remains a good low-cost drone for beginners.
Snaptain is a company that manufactures toy-grade drones, they have released some decent drones, and I have already reviewed a couple of them, specifically the S5C and SP600 (no longer being sold)
When it comes to drones, I always make sure that they come with a decent camera because that is my favourite feature of a drone, not only does the Snaptain SP500 come with a camera, but it also comes with some cool features that make it a fun drone to fly, although it does have some issues which I will expand on in this review.
If you are looking for a budget-friendly drone for beginners, keep reading this review because the Snaptain SP500 may be a good choice for you.
Snaptain SP500 Review
The Snaptain SP500 is a foldable drone, but in my opinion, it does not have the sleekest design; the rotor arms do not fully fold up, and this makes it look a bit bulky in its foldable form. I stated that foldable drones are my favourite, but the SP500 doesn’t really impress me when it’s folded up.
However, when it is fully unfolded, it does look good, its not a big drone measuring at just 12.9*12.9*2.2 inches, however, with its weight over 250g, you will need to register this drone if you live in the USA, Canada or the UK, if you live in any other country, please check the rules and regulations before flying.
The Snaptain SP500 is a well-built drone, it doesn’t feel fragile like a lot of toy drones, and it can withstand the occasional bumps without any serious damage to its structure.
It comes ready to fly, there is nothing for you to install, except for the battery and propeller guards. The propeller guards are for extra protection, and I highly recommend you use them, especially if you are new to flying drones.
It comes with brushed motors, which are not as efficient or powerful as brushless motors, and they will require a bit more attention when it comes to maintaining them. The props are easy to install, and you get 6 extra ones just in case any of them are damaged.
The HD camera is situated on the nose of the drone, and there are a couple of LED lights at the front which will be useful for orientation and nighttime flying.
There are also some cool green and red LED lights underneath each rotor which not only look spectacular during the night, but the lights also indicate when the drone’s compass is fully calibrated.
The drone is powered by a 7.4v 1000 mAh lipo battery, which will give you a flight time of around 15 minutes. This is a pretty good flight time and you get an extra battery with the drone package, so you will not need to wait the 3 hours it takes to re-charge the battery to fly again.
The last thing I want to mention before I get to the main features of this drone is the remote controller. It’s a nice-looking controller that feels comfortable, it has two handles that pull out from the bottom, which will provide a better grip.
It has a minimalistic design, it actually reminds me of the DJI Mavic Pro controller, which a lot of the small drone companies are copying. The control sticks are easy to move around, and it has a smartphone holder that pulls out from the middle. The holder is large enough to hold a big smartphone but not a tablet; there 4 small LED lights in the middle that indicates what state the drone is in.
It’s powered by an internal rechargeable 3.7v lithium-ion battery, and you get a cool USB cable to recharge it with, which has some green LED lights that indicate when the batteries are fully charged.
Just a quick note the drone is only compatible with smartphones that are 5G enabled, so if your smartphone is fairly new, you will most likely be able to use it.
You can also control the drone via its Nova app; this is a decent app but has some issues and can be a little bit buggy at times. However, it is updated regularly so they do try and patch up bugs as soon as possible.