Review on Contixo F22 FPV Foldable Drone with 4K FHD Camera - Ideal for Adults, Kids, and Beginners - Gesture Control, GPS Auto Return, Follow Me - Includes Carrying Case by Melissa White

Now I only review products I really like or really hate. Luckily, this review focuses on what the F22 drone really likes. I bought it mainly because of the "follow me" function when mountain biking and also because of an interesting selfie camera. I wasn't expecting too much based on the price (which is about 1/3 the price of the closest competitor with the same features), but I figured if it did half of what it said I'd be happy. So far I've tested all the features except waypoint navigation and have been very impressed, here's the breakdown: GPS GUIDE: Connecting the drone to your phone via Wi-Fi and then connecting to the satellites is a little cumbersome, but after a few times it became quick and easy enough. It usually takes me about 2-3 minutes to connect my phone to Wi-Fi and then another minute to connect satellites. Once this is done (FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS) you are ready to fly. The drone will idle with its propellers spinning until you take off, then remain in a stable position until you tell it to do something else. ORBIT: I find this mode the most rewarding and fun. It takes about 5 seconds to set the distance and altitude, and the drone will fly in circles (no matter how big you set it), keeping the camera centered. Super cool for selfies or group photos and videos. FOLLOW ME: Mixed results. It will follow you, but as far as I can tell the drone needs to be high enough in the air and the wind will affect how well the camera stays pointed at you. I was hoping to keep the drone close to me (about 20ft and 10ft high), but it was difficult for it to follow me closely. I suspect that it's much easier to follow the object when it's higher because there's less flight correction. TRACKING: This is the second most useful mode. That works great. Once the drone is airborne, you can draw a square around the object you want to track and the drone will stay stationary while the camera stays on the object you drew the square around. Super cool and works great. HEADLESS: If you want to fly a drone and you're like me and have a nasty habit of crashing into things, you'll want to turn on headless mode with a tap. This will make the drone move in any direction, no matter what it's pointing at. It's the only way to fly and just have fun TAKEOFF/LANDING: This function works great, although landing takes quite a long time before the drone lands on the ground RETURN HOME: This allows the drone to automatically return to the place where it was taken was off. Works great for getting the drone back into the common area, but it takes forever to actually land. I usually hit the back button, let it zoom in, then manually lower it and levitate so I can grab it, then hit the emergency stop and all the props stop. CAMERA: I was impressed with the picture and video quality, maybe again. because I didn't expect much. This is a fisheye lens on a gimbal that can be remotely moved up and down. You also get a real-time image of what the drone is seeing on your phone, which is great for framing shots. WARNING: Do not land or take off on sand. Sand immediately penetrates the engines and destroys them. Also, be very careful not to crash the drone with its camera, which is very easy to scratch or break. Picture/Video: The video quality was very impressive, but then again I wasn't expecting much. It takes photos and videos straight to your phone, which is great. At the same time, the same pictures and videos are saved on the micro SD card. I have found that media written directly to an SD card is of much higher quality than the same media written to a phone. FOR TECHNICIANS ONLY: The images recorded on the phone and SD card are JPG files, and the SD card versions are about twice the size. like phone versions. However, the video is saved as an mp4 file on the phone and as an avi file on the SD card. Again, the files on the SD card are larger and of better quality. Verdict: This is a relatively inexpensive drone that has all the features of more expensive models and is a great way to learn how to photograph and fly a drone. Once you get used to it, it is quite easy to use and the advanced features of the drone are also easy to activate after playing with it for a while. This drone delivered on all of its promises and I am very happy with this purchase. UPDATE: I finally figured out how to enable "Follow Me" mode (or at least I think I did). You must first enable follow mode (which keeps the camera pointed at you) and THEN enable follow me mode. I assume both should be active so tracking is pointing at the camera and follow me mode is following the controller.