I got a Hubsan H501S X4 for Christmas and I’ve been flying it everywhere I go. No joke, I love this thing.

As a first-time quadcopter pilot, I’ve never had an experience with any other kind of drone. This is the very FIRST time I’ve ever flown one.

If you’re new to this hobby, this review is for you! I’m going to bring you up to speed on the Hubsan H501S X4 and by the end of this review, you’ll be able to decide whether or not to get one for yourself.

You can see my very first test flight below.

Now, there were a few things that I knew I wanted when I asked for a quadcopter. I wanted one that:

• Had a high quality filming camera.
• Was reliable and not a toy.
• Relatively good remote analytics and GPS enabled.
• Long flight time.
• Looked cool.

I’m happy to say that the Hubsan H501S delivers on all of these fronts. It’s a step above toy and one step below professional.

I knew that before I got started using some of the pro drones like the DJI Phantom, I wanted to first improve my flying skills with a quality low cost quadcopter.

To give you an idea of what the camera looks like on the Hubsan H501S, I’ve included a YouTube video below that showcases my flying skills.

So what do you actually get in the box?

Now that you’re all impressed with my flying skills, let’s talk about what this quadcopter comes with:

• 1080 HD Camera
• FPV Transmitter (Remote Controller)
• 7.4V Lipo battery
• 18 – 20 minute flight time
• 5.8G wireless video transmission

More important than the specs is the functionality of the actual remote. What’s sooo cool about this one is that it has “follow me” mode, “headless” mode and an automatic return function, in case you get into a bit of trouble.

Actually, I DID end up getting into some trouble. I had to turn on the automatic return function at one point. It’s kind of embarrassing. You can watch the video below.

As you can see, this quadcopter is certainly NOT a toy. It has a lot of the higher up functionality without the steep price. In addition, it’s super light weight so you can easily carry it in a case.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t make much sense to stabilize the camera with gimbal support system, which would really give you a smooth image. In my opinion, at that price, you might as well just go with the DJI Phantom (though you could if you want). Still, you can take some really cool footage with the thing. If you fly it on a non-windy day, you’ll also get smooth images.

Support Community

In addition to purchasing a durable drone, I also wanted access to a thriving support community. I knew that I was going to have questions! I also wanted to be nerdy and chat about drone things. This drone has a thriving Facebook group with over 1,000 members, as you can see below.

I’ve had a few members of this community comment on my YouTube videos and offer flying advice. This is SUPER helpful. It’s like having an army of personal flying instructors, haha!

Who is this quadcopter for?

Overall, if you want something that works out of the box, I think that this is the drone for you. From what I understand, you can also modify the antenna and make some other modifications to make the thing fly better. That might appeal to some of the more technical folks out there.

As for me, I just wanted a quadcopter that I could easily fly and that I wouldn’t have to tinker with terribly much. I did enjoy the learning process of how to set it up and fly it, but I didn’t want to get out my soldering iron, haha!

I’m actually quite surprised at the performance for the price point. Given some of the other reviews online, I didn’t expect it to have as long of a flight time as it does. Additionally, I didn’t think the GPS remote would be so legit.

If you want to take film quality videos with a gimbal system or you want a flight time longer than 20 minutes, this isn’t the quadcopter for you. You’re gonna have to invest in one of the more premium products out there.

The only negative that I’ve experienced is that in cold weather, the battery indicator will sometimes fluctuate. I also won’t always have a 100% visual read on the remote if something is disrupting the antenna. From what I understand, that’s true of most quadcopters.

In the future, I’m going to buy another battery pack, so that I can fly it longer. I also have a case for the quadcopter. It makes it a lot easier to transport. I also don’t get weird looks from people when I carry it down the street.

Oh, and if you do get one of these, be sure to purchase extra propellers… just in case ;).