Potensic ATOM SE Combo GPS Drone with Camera 4K, 93 mins
Potensic ATOM SE Combo GPS Drone with Camera 4K, 93 mins Flight Time <249g, 4KM Transmission, with Charging Hub & Cross bag, Max 16m/s, RTH, EIS ShakeVanish Tech, Camera Drone for Adult & Beginners
From the brand
| Weight: | 1.7 kg |
| Dimensions: | 13.4 x 22.5 x 23.5 cm; 1.7 kg |
| Brand: | Potensic |
| Model: | SE3D |
| Batteries Included: | 3 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Potensic |
| Dimensions: | 13.4 x 22.5 x 23.5 cm; 1.7 kg |
his is my first drone and I am well impressed. Easy to use, amazing battery life, and incredible high quality camera. I have already used it to inspect the exterior of a tall building and flown it in Africa. For the price its is incredible. No need to spend more on a DJI. Highly recommended.
The Potensic Atom SE drone is just what I was looking for, at present I have only flown it a couple of times as the weather has been very wet. I have tried 2 other companies drones before the Atom and had to send them back but the Atom is here to stay.
The battery life of each of the 2 batteries are fantastic remembering I am very new to this so I am playing around and still on beginers mode (so I don’t crash ) they give me plenty of time to play.
Video and camera, I have found the resolution of the camera to be just like my phone taking pictures, a bit funny seeing things from above but great fun.
I had no problem starting once I had downloaded the app and the online instructions and with the controller being rechargeable is also a help.
Overall I have extremely happy with the drone and again is just what I was looking for, I would highly recommend it to any one.
Now 1 thing for UK flyers this is not a toy so you do need to register with the CAA as an operator and flyer as it is not a toy and has a camera. Nothing much to worry about in doing that just search online but would recommend doing this.
Please do not let the CAA put you off buying the drone as it is well worth it and communication from Potensic is great. Would buy again from me then as I get more experienced and need something else.
So this time around I researched heavily, and whilst I did not want to spend this sort of money on a toy, This was the best I could Find. I looked for Drones that can fly in the wind, I found plenty. the DJI drones looked the best but were just too expensive. I then stumbled across another one (Wont Shame them Here) But they looked great for the wind. But the stability of the Camera on all the Review Videos was really Poor.
Getting frustrated and my Sons Birthday looming closer. I stumbled on the Potensic ATOM SE. The review videos looked great and the Customer reviews looked good. It ticked all the boxes.
I convinced my son to put some of his money towards it and I made the purchase.
Item arrived next day, Wrapped it up and my son was delighted when he opened it
when the rain finally stopped a few days later we got the chance to test it out. we connected the app and paired the phone with the Drone. Took it outside, My son had it in the air within seconds. And was flying it about like he had loads of experiance. it was so simple to use and very fun.
I had a go, usally with these thing a struggle to coordinate my fingers with the direction i need to drone to go in. But it was so easy. They claim the drone can go 4km – It may well do, but it certainly went further than we were comfortable with. I could not see it in the sky any more and had to use the camera to navigate back.
It was a windy day as well, But the Drone coped no issues. How windy, well windy enough that you would turn your back into the wind to stay as warm as possible. Not sure how the GPS home function works as yet. I pressed the home button and the drone just kept getting higher and higher. But with the wind I decided to cancel the Home operation. (Will work that out another day)
Video footage – So far so good, very stable picture bordering on Professional. We dont have an SD card as yet so cant record anything but the picture that is sent back to the phone whilst flying is very impressive.
Battery life is also super impressive. In that first test flight we were out there for about 30 mins, Not flying all the time. but we never even had to change to the second Battery. So hats of to Potensic for that one.
We also had a sneaky go in the house, somehow the drone seems to sense its enviroment and seemed to work fine but it was slowed down alot. which was great as we were then easialy able to navigate around the house. (I wont lie I did hit a wall – The drone was not happy and flung off into the kitchen Cupboard – But like i said i am not good with co-ordination. My son flew it around the house absolutly fine)
For me I am so glad we spent the extra money – And my son actually has something he can enjoy and can actually fly it in most average weather conditions for a decent amount of flight time.
I dont think any first time Droner would be disapointed with this product, well done Potensic you have made a young lad and old man very happy.
Easy to use, the controller holds your phone much better than any other that I have tried, and folds away really easily.
RTH works well too. I had a lot of fun with this for the short time I owned it and the Potensic seem to want to be challenging DJI for top dog position, so regularly release firmware updates for their products.
The carry case was also well made and roomy, with plenty of room for cards along with comfortably fitting the full kit in.
My only criticism (and its not a major one) is that the photograph quality, (although excellent for personal use with decently saturated colours and quite sharp too) was not quite as high as I need for my work.
Overall I was reluctant to return this drone as I felt it was a quality piece of kit, which missed out on being my favourite thing by a whisker.
I was very pleased with the much greater functionality and ease of use for these new drones. Unlike the old Hubsan this has a 4K camera with a tilt function, allowing for much greater flexibility and quality recording. There are plenty of videos online with demonstrate the excellent video quality of the Atom.
Flight time is excellent, depending on wind conditions and type of flying I can easily get about 25 minutes flying time from a single battery.
Flying range is good, capable of several km, which also means that at shorter range there’s much better connectivity than my old Hubsan, I don’t have to panic if goes out of sight.
This drone doesn’t have collision avoidance, that keeps the weight and cost down, and some drones that do have that feature default to it off as it’s a power drain. In most cases when I fly, collision avoidance is not needed.
After sales service is excellent, with easily available spare parts. I recently lost the drone carelessly when it hit a tree, collision avoidance might have helped there, I couldn’t find the drone and loss of the drone means a 400 investment was lost (extra battery and multiway charger). Ruby at Potensic support was incredibly helpful and quick to help, arranging for a replacement drone only, not free but at a very reasonable price.
Firmware updates are reasonably frequent with improved or new functionality, but this is a very reliable and trusty drone, the firmware is great and nothing like a ‘beta’ releases that we have with some drones where features are promised several months down the line.
My only real issue is the lack of multi-axis gimbal, that’s not a massive deal, especially given the price, and some post processing of video can help, but really my preference would be multi-axis gimbal. Maybe in a future Potensic model?
Manual and video instructions are on line, and they were a little difficult to access at first, but Potensic Customer Support was great and sorted this out very quickly – a special ‘shout out’ to Ruby. It did not take me long to “get airborne” and discover how surprisingly easy it is to fly – even indoors. The aircraft is very stable and does not drift, so steering it through doorways was a simple process, although I do confess to getting confused over the in-flight steering, which caused the drone to collide with the wall and damage a couple of the propellers. That was clearly due to my inexperience and over-confidence (it is that good) and not due to problems with the drone itself. So my advice is, reign in your enthusiasm and make sure you read the manual and operating instructions thoroughly. As a first test flight just get used to the control sticks and remember that, depending on the aspect and position of the drone (ie if it is facing you), turning the stick left may actually be wrong, as I found out!
I have flown it outside and am hugely impressed by the quality of the real time images displayed and the straightforward process to record and view the flight subsequently.
Even though weighing under 250 gms, as a drone with a camera it is necessary to register with the CAA as a drone operator, which I did as soon as I received my aircraft. It is inexpensive. As each day passes, I am becoming more adept at flying my Potensic ATOM SE drone and I am hoping to take it with me to fly when I go abroad on holiday. If you plan to do the same, check the regulations applicable in your destination. Within Europe, they are EASA Regs (also available on the internet).
In summary, this is a super little drone, flies incredibly well, is easy to manoeuvre, has 31 minutes flight time per battery, has a very good onboard gimble mounted camera with high resolution recordable images (still and video), a return home feature and is sold at an affordable price. Last, but not least, it comes with a first rate customer support service. So, if you are looking for a compact and reliable drone, this could be the one for you. It was for me.