Being a camera enthusiast, I can’t believe didn’t have a drone for myself sooner. After a lot of research, I decided to buy the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE drone. It is developed by FIMI who follow the values and principles of the smartphone giant. Xiaomi now backs FIMI, and I can’t help but think the reason is the X8 SE. Check out our Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone Review for all the details.
Right from the attention and detail to the design and build quality to the performance of the drone itself, you can see that FIMI is a Xiaomi company at heart. This is one of the best drones if not the best drone you can buy right now at this price range. Read on to know why the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE is so good. Here’s our Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone Review.
After having reviewed the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone based on various factors like design, features, performance, function and much more; my team and I found that:
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone is one of the best in its price segment. At $339 it has the best value for money. It has long-range transmission of video for up to 4.9 miles away from the controller. Foldable design makes it portable and easy to carry by reducing up to 70 per cent size. It can also be controlled with a controller and use your smartphone or tablet as the screen.
Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone Review
Inside the Box
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE comes in a neat white box with a picture of the drone on the outside. Opening the box, you will find the drone itself with a controller for it. Along with them, you will get 6 Propellers, a 4500mAh Smart Li-Polymer battery.
There are 3 USB cables, a micro-USB and a Type-C cable for Android phones and an Apple Lightning cable for iPhones. There is also an AC cable and an AC adaptor/charger to charge the drone.
Finally, you will get a user manual too. Micro SD card is not included, which is a bummer but at this price, you can’t ask for more.
Design
Like most Xiaomi products the FIMI X8 SE follows a similar design language, it is simple, minimalistic and built to last. The white drone with its black detailing reminds me of Stormtroopers. Similarly, another thing that you will notice right as soon as you get the drone in your hands is its weight.
- It’s a chunky one weighing in at 765 grams. But surprisingly this doesn’t affect the flight time or flying performance. The weight can also help stability in strong winds.
- But I can’t help but wonder how much battery performance could improve if the drone was lighter. The weight also makes it a strong drone, it feels like it can take a beating, or at least it won’t break apart during untimely bad weather. The foldability of the drone also makes it great for portability.
- All these points to the immaculate attention and engineering have gone into the design and build of the drone itself. The drone also features three lights for navigation.
A red one on the left and a green one the right side both pointing towards the flight direction. There is a yellow one that is facing backwards against the flight direction. The lights also flash reminiscent to a real plane which is a cl feature and it helps you spot the drone from far away in the night.
Specs
The specs even though they don’t tell you the full story of any product is a good starting point to get to know a product. The Specs of the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE are:
Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE
Measurements: 204 x106 x72.6 mm / 8×4.2×2.8 inches
Weight: 765 g / 169 pounds
Flight speed: 40 mph
Ascend speed: 11 mph
Descend speed: 8.9 mph
Maximum height: 500 m / 0.31 miles
Maximum flight duration: 35 min (depending on flight conditions)
Wind resistance: 31 mph
Controller of X8 SE:
Maximum distance to drone: 8000 meter / 4.9 miles
Charge with: Micro USB 5V/2A
Camera of X8 SE:
Image Sensor: Sony IMX378 12 MP, 1/2.6” MOS Sensor size with 3.54 mm focal length.
Image format: JPEG
Video format: MP4
Storage: microSD with support up to 256GB
Key Features
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE has some really cool features, they are:
- Long-range transmission of video for up to 4.9 miles away from the controller.
- Foldable design makes it portable and easy to carry by reducing up to 70 per cent size.
- Can be controlled with a controller and use your smartphone or tablet as the screen.
- Three-Axis Gimbal for the smooth and stable camera performance.
- GPS, GLONASS and BEIDUO for precision positioning and stability.
- The FIMI X8 SE drone can recognize launch/landing pad and land automatically.
- Return to Home feature, the drone returns to the starting point in the event of range or signal loss.
- Various warning systems to protect the drone.
- Search-And-Rescue-Mode: Use the drone to find injured persons in the field.
Functions and Use
App
The FIMI X8 SE drone comes with a free app, it is the “FIMI Navi” app. The app acts as a display for the camera and it can you can control the drone with it.
This app also holds the key to unlocking the full potential of the FIMI X8 SE drone. The app is needed to set and tune all settings of the drone.
I would recommend to go through and check all features and settings once. For example, You can choose between the various flight and camera modes in the app.
Interestingly, you can use the app as a camera viewfinder or you can control the drone via the map view. You can plan flight routes with the app too which is a great feature.
Controller
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE can be controlled using two methods, either using the FIMI Navi App on your smartphone or tablet or using the included controller. If controlling the drone using your phone/tablet is not ergonomic or convenient, you can use the controller. The controller features no screen or display so you will need your phone again. You can insert your smartphone or tablet (iPad Mini fits) in the ergonomically shaped controller. You can connect your phone and the controller using the supplied USB cables or even any cable of your choice and you can now control the drone more precisely and easily. Your phone/tablet will act as a display or a viewfinder. The controller also acts as a battery bank for your phone so that you don’t have to worry about your phone running out of charge during flying
This controller comes with two analogue sticks to control the drone and the camera which can be unscrewed for safe transport. The controller also has two wheels behind, which you can use to control the exposure and gimbal. The controller also has a panic button, which you can use to perform the Return to Home function. This is useful if the drone is running out of charge or is too far and you just want the drone to return on its own.
Performance
I tested the drone against the specs and features provided by FIMI itself. The drone boasts of reaching up to 500 meters in altitude and it didn’t fail me when I tried it.
And it gave me around 25-30 minutes of flying time which is less than the manufacturer specified time of 35 mins, but I was not adhering to the flying conditions.
This is still more than a lot of other drones which is a huge advantage for the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE. I test the drone for up to a little more than 4 miles and it had no problems, there will be no problem pushing it all the way to 4.9 miles and if you lose range the drone does return back in one piece, just remember to set a good height for the Return to Home feature.
All in all, the drone performs as expected if not better in my opinion. I had no problems with the flying performance of the drone.
Camera
The Sony IMX378 sensor is the best in the price class and it shows as the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE does a great job at taking pics and videos. The features of FIMI X8 SE’s camera are simply amazing at this price class. And I was surprised at how good the picture and video quality of the drone was.
It didn’t struggle to shoot in any of the advertised features. From 720p to 2.7k to 4k RAW shooting, the drone performed really good. You can also shoot F-log or DNG raw images as well. The 3x zoom also works like a charm.
I have heard that the image/video quality of the DJI Mavic is slightly better but at the price and feature combination of the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE, you will be more than happy. The smart modes are also great for more professional-looking pictures and videos. The FIMI X8 can do the following:
- Cine Shot for smooth and steady cinema-like shots.
- Smart Tracking helps to automatically track moving targets and keep them in focus. With Lock and Trace modes that can either lock on to an object or follow them for flexibility.
- Flight planning to plan flight routes, which is a great mode for movie making.
- Panorama mode for large areas and needless to the say the images look stunning.
- The time-lapse mode works great in videos.
- Rocket: The drone flies up while the camera is filming towards the ground.
- Circle and Spiral, the drone either circles or spirals around an object.
- Dronie: The X8 SE flies backwards and upwards at the same time to keep a target in focus.
The camera is one of the highlights of the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE for me, I was blown away by the number of features and quality of the pictures and videos. You can totally use it for professional workloads, and you will be delighted with the capabilities and the result of the FIMI X8 SE.
Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone Review – Final Thoughts
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE drone is an absolute and I recommend it happily. Anyone looking for a drone with the best range and flight time in the price class and wants amazing camera capabilities, look no further.
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE offers the best flying experience and camera quality for its price. It is an excellent product from FIMI who are following Xiaomi’s values and principles and it shows in the X8 SE.
The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE is a great product and will make you feel good about the purchase and put a smile on your face for spending your money well.
Is the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone worth it?
Yes, the Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE is one of the best drones in its price segment and is more than worth it. It comes with amazing battery life and cool features. Most importantly, it has long-range transmission of video for up to 4.9 miles away from the controller. Foldable design makes it portable and easy to carry by reducing up to 70 per cent size. Can be controlled with a controller and use your smartphone or tablet as the screen. Check out our Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE Drone Review for all the details.
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