All Things UAV & Drone Blog

This blog is dedicated to the review of various photographic products within the UAV market including on-board cameras with the various UAV products as well as third-party cameras that can be carried on any given UAV. In particular, with a glut of information out there on video-related reviews, I will be focusing on the still-photography related features 

Toy-Grade Fun

My modest neighborhood via JJRC H12 and its low-grade 5MP camera (edited in On 1 Photo 10 software).

My modest neighborhood via JJRC H12 and its low-grade 5MP camera (edited in On 1 Photo 10 software).

As nice as the high-end (and expensive), GPS quadcopters/drones can be, I have to confess here, I keep coming back to the toy-grade models. For me, they are just more fun because I don't have to worry about losing a flying piece of bling. And when I really stop to think about it, they really hold your attention rather than their GPS.

I came up with this image today during lunch when I stepped out on the back porch for a quick little peek over my neighborhood on a day that was way below freezing outside. As soon as the H12 took off, the lights started flashing with a low-battery power warning. Nevertheless, I had enough time to take it up 50 or 60 feet and capture my frozen neighborhood.

The low-grade cameras that come with such models are as fun to work with as the drones, and when used with a photo-editor like On1 Photo10, it's terribly liberating to toy with these toy images.

Along with my H12, I have a couple of H5Ps (another JJRC product) that provide the same results. Their extra large battery and flying time are a boon too. However, the first one came with a dysfunctional camera and I broke the second camera on a rough landing. It has been hell trying to find replacement cameras for these two low-fi drones. So, I'm reaching out to various drone groups on Facebook—hoping someone will shine a light for my downmarket drones. Let me know here if you know of a solution as well. Cheers.