If you been looking for the perfect reason to purchase your first drone, the Hover Camera Passport from Zero Zero Robotics is a worthy choice. It’s small, portable, and requires no experience to fly. Furthermore, it’s available online via the Apple Store, and it’s real-world stores in the U.S.A, U.K. Canada, and China right now. But, before you head off to take a look, here’s what you need to know.
Hover Camera Passport Drone
Imagine having the perfect selfie stick, one that doesn’t require you to hold it! That’s essentially what this drone is; it will follow you taking pictures and video while you and your friends do what interests you. Now, if you’re looking for a one drone fits all type of product the Hover Camera Passport isn’t that. Instead, Zero Zero have created a drone that fits within a niche. One that’s specifically a selfie drone, and nothing more, no bells or whistles. Obviously, except for features such as body and face tracking, so that it doesn’t fly off never to be seen again.
Small and Lightweight
The most important thing for any drone is size and weight, and that’s something which Zero Zero have shown particular attention. Resulting in a drone which can be folded and placed into a bag for taking on trips. Its overall size while folded is 182 x 132 x 33mm meaning it’s small enough for almost any bag. As for weight, this too is impressive at 242grams which includes the battery, that’s 54grams heavier than an iPhone 7 plus. Any smaller and lighter and the Hover Camera Passport could have been placed into a trouser pocket.
Camera
So, it’s light and takes up little space, but what can this drone do other than follow you around?
How about shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second and capture 13MP photo’s in both bright and low light conditions. Video captured by the camera is apparently very detailed and offers color-rich results. However, it can also adjust for almost any condition meaning the quality of the output is far beyond what you would expect on a drone this small.
However, it’s not all good, compared to larger drones which mount their cameras on a gimbal. The Hover Camera Passport relies on electronic image stabilization, which is useful up to 1080p. Meaning 4K output can be a little shaky at best especially when it follows a users movements.
Software
Unlike many other drones, the Passport does not come with its own controller. For that, you can use either an Android or iOS smartphone, for which an App is available on the respective App Stores. This enables you to link to the drone and view the output of the camera directly on your handset’s display.
This too shows the controls onscreen; however, you have a choice of three types to choose from, the choice is yours.
Price
As you can probably imagine, a drone being sold on Apple’s online store is not going to be cheap. The fact, that it’s made from carbon fiber almost makes sure of that; however, Apple has it on sale as a bundle. One that is exclusive to that store and includes the Hover Camera Passport, two batteries, a battery charger, and an adapter. And then finally a bag to keep it all in for the total price of $499.
