The NEW ProDrone - There is a new folding drone in town.

From 1080p edition $950 from CarolinaDronz.com/ProDrone  
BAM, out of the box here is a clinically clean folding quad that don't just look great, but also flies awesome,  and I mean in a big way.  but thats not it, this kit come in 4 versions, standard, premium, professional AND ready to fly FLIR equipment for SAR use.

Lots of copter makers want to get DJI's attention, and frankly other than YUNEEC, I don't think anyone have managed the last year.  at least not until the BYRD ProDrone.

Click through for the full story and VIDEO review of the new ProDrone.

Lets start at the start,  this is a folding quad with advanced flight controller, a clip on camera, and from day one the system include the option for 1080p, 4k, or FLIR system.  the quad folds flat and can easily be tossed on top of a backpack.   This is a new copter from a new company that is a direct play for a quality aerial video quad.  a quad to please advanced video users, photographers, hikers and generally users who are a bit put off by the size of the P3 but want similar ease of operation as we have come to expect from DJI and Yuneec this year.

 
*** you can also find all my videos on my YT channel at www.YouTube.com/bophoto

Lets start with the range, the ProDrone will be available in 4 versions almost from the very beginning, the starting position is the $949 STANDARD, which feature a 1080p camera,  the next click up is the $1059 ADVANCED with a GoPro camera option.   Next is the $1399 PREMIUM with a 4K camera system and finally the SAR PROFESSIONAL with a onboard IR camera, the THERMAL camera have a 320x160px resolution, so I'm guessing that unit will cost roughly $2500.

First flight:
 
BIG take-away from flying the ProDrone,  the ProDrone BYRD is a great flyer,  not particularly fast, but easy and predictable to fly.   downside, the camera is mounted pretty close to COG and when you speed up the props tend to get in the picture,  however I suspect this will be a small sacrifice for those looking for ultra-compact seriously large multicopter frames thats easy to travel with, because in that regard the ProDrone do things nobody else do at the moment.

CAMERA OPTIONS
ProDrone have made several very interesting choices in how they do this,  for starters the cameras are "click-on" units and literally click in place, meaning you can pop them off for easy transport.  But if you look a bit closer at the camera lineup picture I have put together for you, you will notice that in a lot of ways the IR unit is a "GoPro form-factor" camera, and looks like it fit directly on the GoPro gimbal.  Im guessing you can swap it out for your GoPro if you want to.  

We already know what to expect from a budget 1080p camera, its OK video but not impressive,  early indications suggest ProDrone have done a reasonable job on the gimbal, so with that we should expect stable easy to use gimbals delivering stable video images.  Basically the 1080p camera does the job, however if you are a aspiring filmmaker or prosumer, you want to get the GoPro gimbal edition so you can use a top of the line GoPro camera. (the 4K ProDrone is going to have higher resolution, but are unlikely to provide better resolution and dynamic range than you get form a GoPro 4black)

The quad in the picture here is the standard with the 1080p camera, notice the fairly hefty joints for the arms,  the arms snap in place fairly firmly.  again, remember the camera and landing gear snaps off very easily, the entire device is focused squarely at being incredible portable.

Here is a shot from below,   you can clearly see the camera bay,  and get a pretty good idea of the illuminated arms.  

To be fair, I find the folding props a "interesting choice"  as folding props can be a bit more challenging to balance, however, nothing you can't easily learn, and the upside is clearly huge in that you can fold the quad down to travel size without having to remove the props.  still I would not be surprised to see a number of users putting fixed CF props on there, not as a indication that folders are a bad thing, but simply that some people love fixies.

The quad arrives in a immaculate box, packaged like a new Apple product,  I'm afraid to say "iDrone" but let me tell you, its a very nice packaging job.

In the box the quad arrives with the folding props installed, all you really need to before the first flight is to install the camera, install a SD card, then charge the battery brick and the remote-controller. ready to fly

There is one more step,  download the iPad app,  strangely the app is not yet available for iPhones, however it seems to work on newer iPads running iOS 8+  
CLICK for the APP   ** This is not the final version of the app, and you should expect to see it changing until the units officially start shipping. 

 

 

 

Lets take a quick look at the handset, here you can easily see the similarity to the P3 handset, and the dual antennas also betray that we are looking at very similar technologies probably in the 2.4ghz range, with essentially a IP based streaming video download and control-by-IP control link to the copter.

Again you can use smartphones, android and iOS devices,  I have tested it with my iPad AIR2 and the iPad PRO, both worked.   interestingly, ProDrone have made the choice to make the smart-phone mount detachable,  in my opinion that is a great move, because I frequently fly line of sight or using FatSharks to see HDMI signal.  
On top of the controller there is a micro HDMI and a USB plug.
On the upside you notice the 3 buttons center, thats the power, on the left is the auto-take-off and auto-landing button and on the right is the RTH Return to home button. easy to reach without having to let go of the control sticks.

The other feature thats not that easy to see,  the ProDrone units feature a drift-camera and ultrasound altitude lock, meaning you can fly under trees or indoor without GPS signal, the camera will keep the ProDrone from drifting and keep it locked in position, the ultrasound system will keep the altitude correct.  this naturally also prevent bouncing when landing and provide nice smooth take-off's.
** the Drift camera feature is available on the Advanced and Premium edition of the ProDrone.

Maybe one more interesting feature to mention, the ProDrone come with a build in CARGO-DROP system,  you can program two buttons to be the release, you need to push BOTH to drop something and it can easily life 500+ gram payloads, I would not be surprised to see it haul 1kg. but I find it very interesting that the feature is build in, and can easily envision scenarios where this may become handy for so many types of missions. 

FOLDING is the number one feature of the ProDrone.

Here is the ProDrone standard wrapped up and tucked in a Nanuk case with the gimbal, controller, charger, extra props and the ProDrone itself.  literally EVERYTHING you need to fly and shoot a video,  the red case below is my Nanuk P3pro case.   while you think about it, its worth mentioning that unfolded the ProDrone is a huge 620 size quad.
*** PLEASE don't tuck your prodrone in this tightly, I would not recommend traveling with the kit without at least wrapping it in bubble wrap,   I just did this picture to illustrate how small this particular drone can pack.  

My recommendation for a ProDrone, get the GoPro edition, unfortunately the camera in the standard edition is fairly unimpressive.  Click to check out the GoPro edition here

Well this is a preview,   more to come, a couple quick conclusions here before signing off:
1.  The ProDrone BYRD is a strong flyer which is easy to operate and have lift power to spare.
2.  if you can fly a Phantom you can fly this
3. this is a full-line product, with units from entry level to pro-SAR level
4. the prices are aimed squarely at the Yuneec / DJI products ranges.
5. TOOL-FREE  this may not be a big deal, but ProDrone have managed to make a quad folding quad that can put together from traveling without tools at all.
6. On the downside, the large arms that provide so much stability tend to get in the picture.
     This is likely not a issue for the groups who are particularly interested in the folding design.
7. so far the flight-controller have worked EXACTLY as advertised,  if that is any indicator, I think we could be looking at a very serious new player in the top copter market.
Overall, we are looking at a very nicely designed folding quad with a feature set that put it squarely in the hottest drone segments.

 

Comments

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hey Roger, check out the ProDrone Facebook group, its now called GDU, look for Charles Wang, he will set you up
https://www.facebook.com/groups/gdubyrdgroup/

[Roger]

Hey how are you, your videos are great, just one question after I saw you video on the gdu Byrd I went and got the advanced version but I can not get wifi signal to my iPad, I saw you suggested to reconnect the gimbal but that didn't work any suggestions, any help is greatly appreciated, haven't had much success with gdu customer support

[Bo Lorentzen]

The ProDrone is probably still kinda large if traveling and living out of a backpack.

[Brandon Bridges]

I back back around so how safe would it be in my back pack? traveling from city to city?

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hey Greg, sorry for the slow reply. Mjah. +1 on the wobble, there actually is both, there is somme outright wobble and some jello. the gimbal and camera is kinda a afterthought and don't match how well the ProDrone works in general. the one Im personally interested in is the GoPro version (the advanced) because at least I can control the camera quality.. and I can replace the gimbal-controller with a proper one.

[Greg]

HI. I just came across this. Thank you - this is the most comprehensive look at the prodrone I have seen! One comment. The video seems to be VERY wobbly. Is that jello or just the wobbles - I'm not sure. This is how my Phantom footage would look on a VERY windy day, and even then only sometimes. Can you comment on this? I was about to order a premium, but the wobble is a deal breaker (for me). Whaddya think?

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hey Dwight, you can use android and iOS tablets, the video is being streamed over the 2.4ghz connection and then pushed to the WiFi.
The thermal camera is 320x160px so that edition should run about $2500, think $1000 aircraft + $1500 thermal camera.

[Dwight Dolliver]

Bo:

Hey what if you don't want to use your smart phone for a monitor?
Then you just use a tablet, I guess ? Will it also work with most 5.8GHz Monitors and the like ? How much is the IR version going to cost ??? So many Questions so little (smile) Digital Paper,Lol!.DD

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hey Mark, thats a really good question. Bottom line, its 3 gimbal options, the GoPro is one, the 1080p and the 4k are both slightly one piece designs.
Having played with the standard edition, Im probably going to order a GoPro version, its got the better range and let me use a GoPro4 camera, also come with down-camera and sonar altitude lock option, longer control range, AND the payload drop. for only $100 more.

[Mark Banas]

Hey Bo, I know you're working on the video (which I'm sure will have much more detail), but a quick question that ProDrone's site doesn't answer:

Is it a single gimbal for all types of cameras you can mount? From the photos, it looks like the same device. Thanks!

[Bo Lorentzen]

hey bufischer, thats to keep it better balanced with different loads, such as different cameras, since the thing literally click on and off, the gimbal travels in its own padded case. (pictures being uploaded later)

[bufischer]

I wonder why the gimbal (+ camera) is mounted underneath and not in front (like e.g. the Airdog has), to make the copter even more compact??