I also fell for the K8/X8/H8 con. My thought was that I’d buy a cheap drone to learn to fly on before taking the more expensive DJI route. This was a complete waste of time, and luckily not too much money, and luckily I managed not to crash it in a way that caused damage or injury to anyone (this is a valid point, a drone as uncontrollable as this is dangerous). It proved impossible to control even in a flat calm, and absolutely impossible to control in any, even the lightest, breeze. I learned nothing, and learned a huge amount within the first 10 seconds of flying my DJI drone, which is what I should have bought in the first place.
By impossible to control, I mean that it could not hover and hold station irrespective of how many times I ‘calibrated’ it, and would only go where I sent it in the most approximate way. The sticks are either on or off, there is no control of speed, it’s either flat out or nowt. I did manage to get video and photos off it, but only of the lowest quality. Well, what did I expect for £23…
I expected it to behave as it claimed in the blurb, and it didn’t. I learned nothing from it, and never managed to get it to hover or move slowly under control, which I regard as essential for good photography. In the end I bought a DJI Mini 2 SE and gave the wonderdrone (as in ‘I wonder if it’ll fly properly this time’) away to a neighbour, whose kids are happy enough zooming inaccurately around the park with it; it is only a matter of time before it crashes irrepairably or is a flyaway.
Bad enough that the thing is an outright scam but it is potentially dangerous; 236g hurtling around out of any meaningful control at 30mph is borderline lethal. The only good thing about it was the lights, which are reasonably bright and visible from a good distance; everything else is absolute rubbish. I doubt if Trading Standards would be able to get your money back (though Amazon can) because no doubt the sellers, assuming they could be found in the first place, will claim that it flies, which it does after a fashion, and is therefore as claimed.
If you are a newbie and reading this, save yourself the money and put it towards a proper drone. At the very minimum, go for one with GPS (and beware cheapo ripofffs that claim to have this but don’t), and RTH (beware ditto). GPS is neccessary for reliable hovering, and the benefit of RTH, which needs GPS to work. is obvious. Another minimum requirement is graduated speed control so that you can move the drone at a controlled slow speed if needed, not that this provision is easy to research! Most people here will suggest DJI, and I’d agree with this advice, but the entry-level Mini 2 SE will set you back £249, 10x the cost of an Amazon cheapo. It’s worth it, but not everyone can afford it.
I cannot overstress the importance of GPS. It enables properly precise control and positioning in wind up to the rated force of the drone, and allows RTH, compass, and live map features all of which will help you control and instantly locate your drone safely. It’ll also help you locate it if it goes down in the foliage. Steady positioning will assist the gimbal in holding the lens steady and guarantee good quality video and photos. GPS is the difference between a toy and a drone, and automated features like RTH or waypoint programming depend on it.