Parrot Bebop Drone Review

Parrot Bebop Drone Review and Analysis

Parrot, a France-based company, has been on a hit or miss run with the drones they released in the past years. The AR.Drone 2.0 and other previous models have had bugs and glitches the company had to iron out after their release. But how does Parrot’s most recent quadcopter fare?

The Pros

The main selling point of this new Parrot UAV is its amazing form factor. The dimensions – which are, at most, 33 x 38 x 3.6 cm – merit some points. Although this quad is lightweight, it is considerably stable even when the wind starts to pound.

Thanks to its tiny form, the drone is capable of flying indoors. With guidance from either the Freeflight 3 app (which works on iOS, Android, and Windows phones) or the add-on transmitter Skycontroller, it’s possible to fly the drone within a confined space. Freeflight 3 is perhaps one of the best aspects of this UAV. It has a simple interface with intuitive controls. With just a few tweaks here and there, you’ll find it easy to use. Plus, the interface can control the drone’s takeoff and landing, removing a common hassle for users.

Precision control is much easier on the Skycontroller, though. The Skycontroller features two navigational joysticks with a dock for tablets. It has a signal booster for Wi-Fi as well, so that the control range can go beyond what the tablet or phone alone could offer. This gadget has HDMI capability, making it capable of displaying the live feed on an FPV glass a la virtual reality headset.

The pricing is spot-on. You can buy the Parrot Bebop for around $500 for the drone alone, while the price is at less than $800 with the Skycontroller. 

The Cons

Unfortunately, the drone has its downsides. For one, Parrot still hasn’t completely fixed the issue with mediocre battery life. A battery for the Bebop has enough juice for 11 minutes of flight. This is below the 25-minute flight time of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ and the Walkera Scout X4, even if you factor in the second battery that comes with the box.

The flight app is user-friendly, but the drone itself isn’t. If you don’t calibrate it the right way (which is also difficult), you could end up losing your drone mid-flight. The user manual won’t help you much either, as it lacks vital information on how to use this camera-equipped UAV.

Parrot Bebop Drone Specifications

Design-wise, the drone raises a few safety concerns. Unless you have the hull on, the propellers could prove to be quite dangerous. The body also gets piping hot after use.

As for the glitches and bugs, Parrot hasn’t completely ironed out these yet. The video lags from time to time, plus there are some software glitches that disrupt video recordings. 

The Features

Other features of the Bebop are a mix of highs and lows. For one, the camera, by itself, is already good. The French company has stepped up its game and improved the camera from what it offered with the GPS-powered Parrot AR 2.0 back then. See Parrot’s official promotional video for the Bebop, shot with footage from this quadcopter.

This, however, doesn’t mean that the Bebop is the best drone to buy for aerial photography. When you compare its lens with what’s available in other DIY drones today, you’ll notice that the Bebop’s video clips aren’t that crisp. Its color is decent, but the clarity and depth of detail are not that impressive. Nevertheless, the camera is usable and good enough for those who want to do some FPV flying.

On the bright side, some of this quad’s features make up for what it lacks. There is the GPS/location setting that allows users to provide more accurate directions to the drone. It can also hover in place and return to its takeoff point once it loses touch with the user.

The Flight Plan feature is useful, too. This technology taps the GPS and GLONASS data to present a map for the user. With this, you can program the route of the quadcopter by plotting different waypoints.

The Verdict

So is the Parrot Bebop worth your money? If you’re a newbie in UAV flying, you’re better off checking other parrot bebop drone review. This quadcopter gets a little too technical for its own good to be usable to those with zero flying experience. The glitches don’t make it easier as well.