Anafi as a First Drone - Opinion Please

[Booey]

Hi All,

I hope you had a lovely festive period; for those that celebrate Christmas.

I purchased a Mambo Drone as a toe in the water if you will and it has a technical fault which has, ultimately, resulted in an annoying Xmas morning and some investigation on other options.

I really like the look of the Anafi, fortunately I'm in a position to afford the device, and whilst common sense tells me that the Mambo is a more suitable first option to learn, and crash, I can't help but feel that if I use the money saved from the return then that's 25% of my Anafi cost, given the current sale prices here in the UK.

So, can I get some opinion on getting the Anafi as a first time drone, is it over kill, or worth spending the extra cash on? Photography is something I've always enjoyed from early snap and go through to DLSR; now I'm gagging to get into flying these bad boys.

Additionally, could I get some thoughts on the value and practicality of the Base model vs. the Extended version with rationale?

Finally, are filters essential to the device and what class of SD card is recommended for 4k Video recording would a Samsung EVO Plus 100R/90W be appropriate?

Thanks in advance for your guidance and opinion.

Booey.

 

[d95gas]

Hi,

I wish when I put my "toe in the water" the Anafi had been around. I went straight for the Mavic Pro, which is a great machine, and did start me off in Drones.

Move on a year or so and the Anafi comes out. I immediately really liked the look of it, so purchased it straight away.

Boy do I regret buying the Mavic, its not been used at all since I purchased the Anafi.

The Anafi is a very flexible device, and no matter whether you have flown before or not, is a great machine to fly.

I took mine to work, and people who have never even seen a drone before, were flying within 5mins and loving the experience.

You can enable a safe area to fly, where the drone wont go beyond the parameters you set, more like a "Safe Mode", just to get you started.

I think you should forget the Mambo and go for the Anafi, you will love it.

As for SD Cards, if you take a look at the latest manual (attached), the recommendation by Parrot for SD Cards is in there, and on their site. The site has the latest versions, but generally I always stick to the Sandisk Ultra Extreme Plus cards, generally around 64Gb but have a few of them to swap out now and again.

The base model comes with a zipped case for the drone itself and one battery. The extended gives you additional batteries plus a nice case (a few of us trying to buy) which will take all your gear. The extended in my book is the better option as you will definitely need extra batteries anyway.

Filters ..... Unfortunately cannot help as I dont use them at all. My pics and videos are generally just for personal use, and I am really not into pro shooting.

I have looked at filters just to give me some improvement over picture quality, but as you I have not taken the jump, but I am sure someone like "Augustine" will be along and he will give you far better advice on those.

Go out and get yourself the Anafi, you will honestly love it.

Hope this helps

 

[slvervper99]

I second that.....have had the Autel XSP - 2 year old model. Ever since buying the Anafi, I have not flown the XSP. Don't get me wrong..the XSP is a great drone but nothing compares to the 180 degree camera (which why I bought the Anafi) which apparently can be found now with other much much more expensive drones. But on the flipside......you may see some owners with issues with the Anafi which I think is no different with any other drone manufacturer. Every drone have their issues. What can I say - they (all drones) are controlled by signals, GPS, and such. And signals can be interrupted which will cause the drone to fail.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

There is no list of compatible SD cards any more in the new manual v2.3 version.

 

[d95gas]

Dirk_Anafi is correct, they removed it in the latest manual, so please use the link I provided to the Parrot site where they list what is supported.

 

[SirPalomid]

I got Anafi as my first quad, but had RC helicopters in the past, and Anafi is much easier to control. Bought it as a"flying camera" and not for breaking distance or speed records.
Flew it first time today in the local park, and I'm more than happy with camera features, flight time is also good, albeit reduced in cold winter climate.
Only thing that I'm not happy with - stability of connection.
Got few "WiFi interference" warnings with slow video stream, but my phone wifi was off. But the worst thing I got was "connection lost" in few meters distance from me - drone decided to land, glad I was not over pond.
All my flights today were at max. 20 height and 30-40 meters away from me, not risking flying it further because of disconnection issue.

 

[SauderMultimedia]

Don't let the Mambo throw you off of looking at an ANAFI as a 'first' drone. They are two different animals. Here's a close (hopefully) analogy. The Mambo is a speed boat. It's twitchy and moves fast. The Anafi is more of a yacht. It feels slower because of it's relative larger size, but it's smoother and is actually a bit easier to fly. Stepping up into the more expensive and larger drones such as the Evo or the Mavic series gets you into more of a cruise ship where they are even more stable in the air (potentially). A lot of people purchase smaller drones to see if they will like it only to be scared away because the smaller drones can actually be harder to fly.

 

[mike_kelly]

For me that answer depends are where you want to end up. If photography is you goal then by all means get the anafi. It's stabilization is much better than lesser "toy" drones. It will actually be easier to fly and less frustrating. If you want to race mini drones then maybe a less stabilzed more manual or "acro" drone would be worth learning on because it challenges you to learn to be a good pilot. But with anafi you don't have to be a great pilot. If you launch and put the controller down, it will stay hovering. Not that I in any way recommend putting the controller down. Just the point that lesser toys have to be flown constantly. I have been building my own multirotors for years and the Anafi have more features, a better camera and good gimbal and a reasonable flight time.

It is so good that Parrot will be focusing on selling it to businesses that want to do mapping etc in 2019.

 

[Czolgy]

The Anafi is my first drone. I've never flown one before I purchased it. I'll admit I did extensive research before biting the bullet. One thing I've noticed online is that there's so many "horror stories" about failures/faults..............
I'm taking my time with my beloved Anafi. Baby steps all the way. Today I flew the furthest away that I've managed to build up to so far. I flew it out to 560 metres. I had no problems at all. I could have flown further but I'm slowly building up my confidence and experience and extending the range.
I want to enjoy my flying. I don't care if it can't make it all the way out to 2km, maybe one day I'll get there. But it's not essential at the moment. I want to become a proficient, methodical pilot. Plan the flight.... then fly the plan.
Cheaper drones will not have the advanced electronics and almost certainly will not be as versatile as the Anafi. I personally think that Parrot has hit the sweet spot ... a decent price, super quiet, very light, extremely portable and IMO very easy to fly drone. I've never had obstacle avoidance, so therefore I don't miss it, anyway I don't think it is essential because you can't 100% rely on it.
That's my 2 cents..

 

[Liger 1956]

It is good to hear from people who are very satisfied with their purchase. You are also being very sensible in taking things easy and learning all the time. I have flown radio controlled planes for many years, and quadcopters since the early days when they were all home built and some home soldered, and I still take care with any new model to learn how it flies and its foibles before taking it to the limit.

Good luck with your flying.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

I got Anafi as my first quad, but had RC helicopters in the past, and Anafi is much easier to control. Bought it as a"flying camera" and not for breaking distance or speed records.
Flew it first time today in the local park, and I'm more than happy with camera features, flight time is also good, albeit reduced in cold winter climate.
Only thing that I'm not happy with - stability of connection.
Got few "WiFi interference" warnings with slow video stream, but my phone wifi was off. But the worst thing I got was "connection lost" in few meters distance from me - drone decided to land, glad I was not over pond.
All my flights today were at max. 20 height and 30-40 meters away from me, not risking flying it further because of disconnection issue.

Pls. check your local park's Wifi "pollution" with a Wifi analyzer app. Change Wifi channel to a free one and/or change Wifi band.

 

[Booey]

Some really good points here, thank you everyone for your input.

The commentary on the Anafi being somewhat of a Yacht, as opposed to a Speedboat, love the analogy, has me more curious about it potentially being a better candidate to learn with. After returning my Mambo today; I received a replacement - which had camera issues - a black bar on either side of the display around where the propellers sit - so that's gone back as well. I have a third one to test tomorrow.

I would still really like the Mambo as a cheap FPV that I, and my boys, can have some fun with. But, following some further reading from the commentary above - I've ordered myself the Extended Anafi - £180 extra seemed expensive for the two batteries and a bag, but I believe this will give me everything I need to go forward with, I've also purchased a SanDisk 128GB Ultra SD card with PicStop's Boxing Day offer, so although the wallet has taken a pasting, I'm absolutely stoked to take delivery of this bad boy on Friday. I went with Amazon in the end, even though Currys was £10 cheaper, as Amazon's after sales is far superior, in my humble experience.

Does anyone else have a view on the Filters position, needed/avoidable/etc.?

The technical issues don't phase me, all technology has issues, as can be seen from my experience with the Mambo, but it would seem Parrot at least make best with the issues that are reported. I now just need to get my old iPhone unlocked so I can stick in a cheap SIM and use that as my glass for the new bird. As with Czolgy: it will be baby steps for me as well with the device until I feel confident enough to start widening the gap.

I did look at the Mavic Air, but for the equivelent expanded base pack it was £200 or so more, and I personally prefer the camera flexibility on the Anafi - although I hope the lack of obstacle sensors on the Anafi don't become an issue - but either way I feel happy with my decision and I thank you again for your input.

I look forward to chatting with you all going foward.

Best,

Paul/Booey.

 

[Drabbs]

I now just need to get my old iPhone unlocked so I can stick in a cheap SIM and use that as my glass for the new bird.

Not really a need to do this if you pre-plan where you are going to fly as you can download the map of the area beforehand.

 

[SirPalomid]

Pls. check your local park's Wifi "pollution" with a Wifi analyzer app. Change Wifi channel to a free one and/or change Wifi band.

Thank you, Dirk, I will check it out next time. Completely forgot about switching WiFi channel. Park is pretty small, and surrounded by buildings.

 

[Czolgy]

You'll be glad to know that I took my baby out to a little over 1km this morning. Save for a momentary signal wobble at around 550-600 meters it was smooth run.

 

[Booey]

So I received my ANAFI Extended recently, with no SD card in the package. Not sure if I can return based upon this given the stuff below:

I decided, in my inifinite wisdom, to test the drone in the front room, with a spare card i had around the house, and as I came down to land one of the propellers caught the foot rest and the device landed, but beeping and with apparent damage to one of the blades. It would appear the propeller was mis-aligned and it has hit the spindal it is attached to.

Is there anyway to tell if there is any damage to the drone rotar, some images are posted below, does the spindle look in the correct position? The legs are also a fraction out of symmentary is that normal?

I'd love some reassurance, as I'm completely distraught given the outlay, and the convincing it took the wife.

Any views?

 

[Landbo]

So I received my ANAFI Extended recently, with no SD card in the package. Not sure if I can return based upon this given the stuff below:

I decided, in my inifinite wisdom, to test the drone in the front room, with a spare card i had around the house, and as I came down to land one of the propellers caught the foot rest and the device landed, but beeping and with apparent damage to one of the blades. It would appear the propeller was mis-aligned and it has hit the spindal it is attached to.

Is there anyway to tell if there is any damage to the drone rotar, some images are posted below, does the spindle look in the correct position? The legs are also a fraction out of symmentary is that normal?

I'd love some reassurance, as I'm completely distraught given the outlay, and the convincing it took the wife.

Any views?

Contact the seller and inform about the missing SD card.

It is unfortunately a typical beginner's fault to fly indoors. The first 10 flights you should do on a field without nearby trees and houses.

Change the damaged leaf and be glad nothing more happened.

Anafi's legs and engines look quite normal.

Fly safely, greeting Leif.

 

[Seitenwerk]

I agree with @Landbo. Besides the damaged propeller blade, everything seems normal. Definitely change this one before flying again. An SD Card should be inside the Package (16GB). Parrot delivers them already installed in the Anafi and puts the micro to normal adapter and its case somewhere into the box.

As it is your first drone, flying indoors is a bad idea. You don’t know how it behaves yet and a single mistake can destroy your drone. Also when not connected with GPS drones don’t hover like normal as they cant detect their position (they use the downwards facing camera to try to keep their position but how good that works depends on the surface and lightning conditions) so they may start to drift somewhere, which can be a dangerous situation if you are not used to it.

So as @Landbo said, get used to flying in an open space. Try out both speed modes and flying options.

 

[slvervper99]

So I received my ANAFI Extended recently, with no SD card in the package. Not sure if I can return based upon this given the stuff below:

I decided, in my inifinite wisdom, to test the drone in the front room, with a spare card i had around the house, and as I came down to land one of the propellers caught the foot rest and the device landed, but beeping and with apparent damage to one of the blades. It would appear the propeller was mis-aligned and it has hit the spindal it is attached to.

Is there anyway to tell if there is any damage to the drone rotar, some images are posted below, does the spindle look in the correct position? The legs are also a fraction out of symmentary is that normal?

I'd love some reassurance, as I'm completely distraught given the outlay, and the convincing it took the wife.

Any views?

Yup, same thing happened to me with my very first drone (Yuneec Q500 4K) I was green in the drone world and didn't know any better. Flew it in my the family room thinking I have a high enough ceiling crash it and broke 2 propellers and the internal wiring from the camera gimbal to the drone (luckily Yuneec knows about the wiring gets easily damage that they supplied with an external wiring) this was all 10 mins after I got it home from Best Buy. As if I didn't learn my lesson...did exactly the same thing a week later with the same drone. Never flew any more drone inside the house after that. I know the Anafi is stable and all indoors and outdoors but I would never fly anything indoors again unless it is in a gym where the ceilings are about 40-50 feet.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Worse thing I ever did as a newbe was asking myself "What does this button do and just grabbed it before hitting the ceiling"
Lessons we learn along the way.