The Snaptain SP 500 – price guide tip for beginners
The Snaptain SP500 is a foldable drone with Full HD camera that is best suited for beginners and novices. The drone has GPS, is easy to control and delivers first-class videos for this price range, which can also be streamed in real time to the display of your smartphone (FPV capable).
The price-performance ratio is right
The all-black Snaptain SP500 is an ideal entry-level drone with good features at a fair price. The highlights include two batteries, an excellent HD camera, FPV live image transmission and all kinds of intelligent recording modes, which are otherwise often only found in higher-priced camera drones.
With its compact dimensions and light weight of just 222 grams, the Snaptain SP500 is an extremely handy and compact drone with camera.
The two 7.4 V, 1000 mAh LiPo batteries of the Snaptain SP500 are sufficient for about 15 minutes of flight time each. So in total, you can fly and film with the drone for a full 30 minutes with the two batteries before the LiPos need to be recharged. This works conveniently via USB charging cable and takes about 2.5 hours.
Technical data of the Snaptain SP500
The Snaptain SP500 has a GPS module and can therefore precisely hold its position. Thanks to the satellite connection, the foldable drone not only always knows where it is, the GPS also enables various intelligent flight and recording modes such as Altitude Hold, Follow Me and Tap Fly, which are explained further down in the text.
The drone is controlled using the included remote control, to which you can easily attach your smartphone to view the drone’s live FPV image. The image transmission uses the 5 GHz frequency band and works up to a distance of about 77 yards (70 meters).
The control range of the Snaptain SP500 is a maximum of 240 yards (220 meters). The maximum ascent altitude is 395 feet (120 meters). Depending on experience, the drone can be flown in two different speed modes. In the slower mode, it reaches about 7.8 mph (12.6 km/h), while in the fast mode it reaches about 12.3 mph (19.8 km/h).
Due to the retractable arms, the Snaptain SP500 comes to dimensions of just 17.5 x 14 x 5.6 cm in transport mode. When folded out, the compact drone reaches 32.8 x 32.8 x 5.6 cm.
Safe and easy to use
The control of the Snaptain SP500 can be learned quickly even by absolute beginners. For the first flight attempts, simply look for an open field or another surface without obstacles. Thanks to GPS, the Snaptain SP500 independently holds its position when you release the control sticks of the controller. Even in light winds, the drone always tries to hold its position and immediately compensates for smaller gusts of wind to return to its original position.
A simple push of a button is all it takes to launch the drone, and the Snaptain SP500 can also land completely automatically if desired. This is ensured by the so-called Return-to-Home function, which allows the copter to return to the launch position on its own and land safely on a drone landing pad or on the ground if desired.
For safety reasons, the drone also starts the independent return flight if the battery level is too low or if the signal to the remote control is lost.
Speaking of safety – another interesting feature of the Snaptain SP500 is the ability to limit the maximum range of the drone in the app and draw a kind of electronic fence around it. This way, you can make your first flight attempts in a small and safe area without fear of losing sight of the drone.
Other features of the Snaptain SP500
Even though the Snaptain SP500 is designed for outdoor use, it can still be used indoors without any problems. However, since GPS reception cannot be established indoors, you will have to do without some features indoors, such as automatic position holding. Therefore, we only recommend experienced pilots to fly the drone without a GPS connection.
Just like the drone, the remote control has a rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB charging cable – extra batteries like in many cheap drones are therefore fortunately not required.
The controller is ergonomically designed and has a flip-up holder for attaching your smartphone, on which you can view the live image of the drone in real time. You can also make various settings via the clear interface of the Snaptain Nova app.
Camera and live image transmission
The Full HD camera of the Snaptain SP500 has an excellent image quality for this price range, especially in videos. The field of view of the 1080p camera is 110°, which makes it slightly wide-angled.
Although the drone does not have a gimbal for image stabilization, the camera can be tilted 40° in the vertical axis to film different perspectives. Unfortunately, changing the camera angle does not work during flight, but has to be set in advance.
For real-time FPV live image transmission to your smartphone, you first have to install the “Snaptain Nova” app before takeoff. This works via the Google Playstore or Apple App Store. Those who have a QR code scanner installed can also simply scan the QR code in the instruction manual to get to the app installation.
While the control range of the Snaptain SP500 is about 240 yards (220 meters), the live FPV image can only be received well at a distance of about 77 yards (70 meters). However, this range should be perfectly sufficient for most hobby pilots. By the way, if you have started a video recording and lose the signal of the FPV live image, the video will still be recorded without errors and can be viewed later.
Your photo and video recordings are stored on a microSD memory card of up to 128 GB, which has to be purchased separately.
By the way, those who do not own a smartphone or can do without the live image transmission can also operate the drone exclusively with the remote control. The Snaptain Nova app is therefore not absolutely necessary for operating the drone.
Intelligent flight and recording modes
Several intelligent flight and recording modes provide varied perspectives while filming. For example, in Follow Me mode, the Snaptain SP500 automatically follows you and records a video of you at the same time. Also in Circle Fly mode, the drone independently creates a video as it circles you.
In Tap Fly mode, you can set a flight route with different waypoints before takeoff. The drone then flies independently along the previously defined route, while you can concentrate on taking photos and videos.
For selfies without remote control in hand, the Snaptain SP500’s photo and video recording can also be triggered simply by gesture control. To take a photo, form the Victory sign with two fingers and hold your hand in front of the camera. You can start videos by forming a fist and then opening it in front of the camera.
Especially helpful for beginners is the so-called Headles Mode, in which the drone is even easier to control. If you activate this mode, the multicopter always flies in the direction in which you move the control sticks, no matter how the drone is currently oriented in the sky. So there is no need to rethink based on the current orientation.
Thanks to the Altitude Hold function, the drone can independently maintain its altitude and position, so you can fully concentrate on shooting.
Scope of delivery
- 1 x Snaptain SP500 drone
- 2 x 7.4 V, 1000 mAh LiPo
- 1 x remote control
- 1 x USB charging cable
- 1 x spare propeller
- 1 x instruction manual
Conclusion
The Snaptain SP500 is an excellent entry-level drone with a good Full HD camera and GPS module. The handy folding drone weighs less than 250 grams.
Since the scope of delivery includes two batteries at once, you can stay in the air for up to 30 minutes in total. The drone’s live image is transmitted to your smartphone in real time, so you can view and adjust your footage while still in flight.
Several intelligent flight and recording modes, such as Follow Me or Tap Fly, let you create impressive shots, and thanks to Headles Mode and Altitude Hold, even beginners will quickly achieve their first successes. We think the Snaptain SP500 is an ideal drone for beginners that convinces with good features at a fair price.