Fstoppers Reviews the Very Capable Typhoon H Drone by Yuneec

Do you own a drone? Have you thought about picking one up this holiday season? I can almost guarantee that you have been looking at something by the world leader in drone manufacturing DJI but what if I said you had options? Yuneec exploded on the scene as a real drone competitor with the debut of the Typhoon H with object avoidance which was a game changer for drones at the time. Today, the most popular drones are within the DJI family but Yuneec continues to innovate and build an incredible product easily rivaling that of the now famous Phantom line.  

We can't talk about drones without comparing them to DJI, so apologies if this sounds like a comparison review but in the end, they are the industry leader and standard. It is hard to get away from the overall presence they have so I might go into comparing these two brands a bit but for good reason. Look at it like Apple vs Samsung; DJI vs Yuneec. They are both outstanding brands and both make really well built and capable products. In my opinion, Yuneec makes a product that is just as good, if not better in some cases, especially with the Typhoon H. 

This is the first drone I have personally owned, but not the first I have flown. I have plenty of flight time on the DJI Phantom 2, 3, and 4 but having a drone full time for the last few months has been very exciting. This configuration, priced at $1,299, comes with a hard foam case, two batteries (flight time of ~25 min each), four additional props (six totally on the drone), the ST16 remote control with Android software, and of course the drone itself. Well worth the cost for the add-ons but is also available for sub $1,000 with simply the drone and the remote.

Design 

The look and build quality of the H is unique, no pun intended, but also very well thought out. A six propeller behemoth in all matte black the H has the look and the power to perform in all sorts of conditions. Not to mention the all-black design for one can easily be seen in the bright sky when in flight compared to DJI and their popular all-white look. Even if crashed and you damage a single propeller you are still able to fly with the remaining 4. A bonus is they offer 4 additional propellers with the $1,299 package. 

The six arms of the drone can easily be folded down into the body to compress the size and travel but not by much. The case provided is super tough and durable but it's giant, and I am not exaggerating, its freaking massive. I debated removing the built-in foam to buy and cut my own to help organize and fit the pieces within the bag better.

Another great couple features of the H are the fact the blades are incredibly easy to pop on and off, saving time and energy when wanting to get in the air quickly for a shot. Also, while in flight there is an option to flip up the landing gear legs so the drone's camera can without distraction see the legs in the shot and take a full 360 view of its surroundings. 

Flight Experience

This thing flew light a dream. The day I received it I ran out with roughly zero knowledge about how to fly it, found a large open field, and took it up in the air for testing. With a flight time of 25 minutes, it is very accurate and I even got a few extra minutes more in some cases. The wind seemed to be no issue for the H as I flew it for a handful of incoming summer storms here in Indianapolis. 

One issue I did find with the overall flight experience was simply getting it in and out of the bag itself. I want to be able to grab this thing out of my car and get it in the air to fly. Yes, this is a larger more pro-style drone but at the same time within that price point and as simple as the UI is I want it to perform at a base level of getting out and fly moments. In the end, this was only a couple occurrences that made me it had a slightly smaller form factor or maybe even a smaller bag for ease of in and out use. 

Camera and Image Quality

This might be the best thing going for Yuneec within their larger drones offerings. The camera is called the CGO3 4K and has a 3-axis gimbal. It is very sharp and super quick to react to commands. When editing, the 4k footage was very color accurate and super sharp. Comparing it to the DJI Mavic's 4K footage, I found the Mavic much softer and harder to differentiate the highs and lows. 

Some features I used briefly but haven't played with enough are the object avoidance, orbit me, point of interest, journey, and follow me. Though these features are very nice they usually drain the battery and take more time to figure out while on shoots. So, in my experience I avoid going too deep into them myself but if you have questions let me know in the comments below. 

For stills, where I used this drone the most, I found the images to be very good. The shooting modes to flip back and forth from video to photo were simple and allowed for me to pick modes such as raw plus jpg as well as some custom settings including night mode, sunset, or daylight. 

Should You Get It?

Yuneec has a great family of drones offered on their website but it comes down to what you prefer and what features you would like to have in a drone. Not to mention price, at a cost of the Yuneec lineup might be the best bang for your buck I have seen. Starting at $999 with the basic setup of the Typhoon H this is almost like a hybrid between a pro level drone and a beginners' drone. It has the simply flight experience many want so they can focus on the shot or you can dig into the many subfeatures for a more pro level experience. 

In my opinion, with drones at least, I can see myself picking up the Typhoon H with no doubts or regrets in not grabbing up the more popular DJI options. It has all that and more going for it as well as a great price tag to match. 

What I Liked

• Build quality
• Super simple to use straight out of the box, even though the remote looked incredibly intimidating 
• Image quality for stills and video
• Price for all you get within a package
• Flight time
• Compactable with retractable arms

What I Didn't Like

• That giant bag, not realistic for daily carry or travel
• Warning levels when the drone battery gets low. This became annoying as it warns at 50% and below repeatedly. A simple click away from the warning will allow you to keep flying
• One instance I had to calibrate the system which included a very simple phone call and one on one chat with support that figured it out within minutes. 

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a drone and you want something that isn't a super beginner level and not wildly over complex, I would check out the Typhoon H. For the price and the features it offers I truly can't see any reason this can't be bought in place of any of the wildly popular DJI options on the market.

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Do you own a drone? Have you had interest in the Yuneec drone family?