Sure, the DJI Mavic Air is a very popular foldable drone for beginners. However, if you’re looking for an affordable smart camera drone packed with incredible features without denting your bank. Meet the Parrot Anafi drone. This ultraportable and sleek designed quadcopter is chock-full of impressive aerial capabilities. Not to mention that it comes with several advanced flight functionalities that make the flying experience a breeze for beginners. Which is why we decide to write a Parrot Anafi drone review.
Since the release of Parrot Anafi, many claims that it’ll beat DJI Mavic Air. Hence, it has earned the nickname for being the next DJI Mavic Air killer. However, is it true? Which is why we decide to create a review covering this foldable drone. At the end of the review, you’ll find out if the Parrot Anafi is truly the next DJI Mavic Air killer.
In our in-depth Parrot Anafi review, we’re going to dive through the details. You’ll learn all the important facts such as performance, design quality, features, remote controller, and such. The purpose of our in-depth Parrot Anafi review is to help beginners like you decide whether it is worth having your hands on this ultraportable quadcopter. You should check out the best drones under $1,000 to see how well it compared to this drone.
What is Inside The Box
First and foremost, the most important part of this review, and especially all drone product reviews is getting to know what includes in the box. Some drones such as the HS150 Bolt Bee comes with an extra battery and Contixo F24 comes with a traveling case. Not all the drones come with these nice extra accessories to help you get started. However, the Parrot Anafi is a ready-to-fly model which means you can fly it right away upon opening the package.
Inside the package, you should get the following items:
- Parrot Anafi Drone
- The traveling case for Parrot Anafi Drone
- Remote Controller
- Extra set of propellers
- Micro SD Card
- USB Charger
- User Manual
Design & Build Quality
On the initial impression, I liked how the Parrot Anafi drone is designed. This smart foldable quadcopter features a much slimmer design than comfortable fits inside your travel backpack. Compared to the DJI Mavic series which are somewhat thicker and bricky, the Parrot Anafi focuses on the key factor: portability and ease of use.
Featuring foldable motor arms with both frontal legs extending forward. In addition to that, the Parrot Anafi encompasses aerofoil design technology. Which means the propellers are foldable to minimize the amount of space that it takes. Although the propellers are made of high-quality material, it has a slight tendency to break compared to the propellers that Mavic Pro uses. But with great care and attention not to accidentally crash the drone and you’ll be completely fine.
To power on this drone, all you need to do is simply press the power button. This is a nice design change from most drones under $100 which normally requires connecting the battery to activate the drone. Each battery on average provides the drone approximately 25 minutes of flight time. Alone, this beats the average flight time of DJI Mavic Air drone which features a maximum of 21 minutes.
One of the major design advantage that the Parrot Anafi drone brings to the table is flexibility. You don’t often see drones with this type of design trait because they usually are limited to what they can do. However, the Parrot Anafi changes that by including a forward camera which can point upward and downward as well sidewards. This allows you to capture a wide aerial perspective that is otherwise impossible with some of the popular DJI drones.
Flight Performance Analysis
How well a drone performs is almost on the shopper’s mind every time. As a drone pilot, you definitely will want to know how well the Parrot Anafi performs. Even though this quadcopter falls into the smart camera drones, it certainly competes with high-end models that perform slightly better. But that’s the price you’re paying for a brand new Parrot Anafi drone. In this section of the Parrot Anafi drone review, we’re going to talk about its flight performance.
As mentioned previously, the Parrot Anafi drone uses an intelligent flight battery which provides 25 minutes of flight time. For professional remote pilots, a single battery isn’t enough. If you’re looking to extend your flight sessions. I highly recommend purchasing at least three to four additional batteries to push your overall flight time to approximately two hours. Furthermore, this foldable quadcopter has a maximum flight speed of 35 miles per hour.
It’s slightly below the DJI Mavic Air’s maximum flight speed of 42.5 miles per hour. However, Parrot Anafi’s stellar design and heavy-duty material that provides an additional layer of wind resistance make it an excellent outdoor drone for aerial photography. One minor disadvantage that many of us hoped would be included is obstacle avoidance sensors. The Parrot Anafi drone, unfortunately, doesn’t have any obstacle avoidance sensors except for visual sensors underneath.
This means the flight performance is directly dependent on the remote pilot’s expertise. But that’s made up of a ton of intelligent flight capabilities that the drone brings to the table. Beginners and professionals will be able to fully enjoy the amazing features such as precise flight controls, stabilized footage, and flight modes that transform your aerial photography into professional-grade content for your audience to consume. Check out the Parrot Anafi drone’s full performance below:
Camera Specifications
The camera is the most anticipated specification that the majority of us are looking forward to. Having a great quality camera that does a good job at capturing details and delivering in a vibrant setting that wows your audience is a must-have feature. Not only that, it’s great for growing your drone business with an ever-growing collection of aerial photography. Because both the DJI Mavic Air and Parrot Anafi drones closely compete against each other, the camera is one of the important factors for experienced aerial photographers to decide.
The Parrot Anafi drone features a highly flexible camera mounted on a swiveling gimbal stabilizer. This means the camera can be remotely adjusted upward, downward, and even sidewards. This allows you to capture and produce aerial footage such as under the bridge or inside the buildings that are not possible with the DJI Mavic Air. In addition to that, the Parrot Anafi drone’s camera is outfitted with a mouthwatering 21MP 1/2.4-inch CMOS sensor that produces 4K stills and videos at 60 frames per second.
It truly packs the punch for a compact and portable camera drone. To sum this up, here are the takeaways of the camera specifications:
- 21 Megapixels / 1/2.4-inch CMOS Sensor
- f/2.4 23mm Lens (26mm Lens for Video)
- ISO Range 100 – 3200
- Shutter Speed Range 1 – 1/10,000 (Electronic)
- 4K Cinema video at 24 FPS / 4KUHD at 30 FPS / 1080FHD at 60 FPS
- Max Bitrate of 100Mbps
- Produces both DNG and JPEG production formats.
Remote Controller
The Parrot Anafi review isn’t completed without talking about the stylish remote controller it comes with. I have reviewed several countless drones and the Parrot Anafi has one of the best looking remote controllers, beating the HS700 Ophelia and Potensic T35. The remote controller is very simple and basic enough that beginners will have an easy time learning how to fly the drone. To activate the remote controller, all you need to do is unfold the mount holder for the phone and push the power button.
The remote control handle is designed to be like a game controller. So you’ll have an easy time handling the remote controller while being comfortable withholding it for an extended period. In addition to that, you can mount your smartphone such as iPhone 7 Plus. The only drawback is that you can’t use your favorite phone case with it. Which means you’ll have to remove it to mount the mobile device.
Since the remote controller operates on a rechargeable battery. It takes approximately three to four hours to fully recharge the remote controller. During the flight sessions, the remote controller can run for up to two to three hours on a single charge. Which is pretty good for giving you plenty of time to fly around. Especially when it comes to exploring around the world with one of these best travel drones.
Customer Experience
The Parrot Anafi drone has an average rating of 3.8 out of 5. Sixty-eight percent of this comes from four-star and five-star reviews. The users who are happy with this drone say that it’s fantastic as it is because of its portability and lightweight. They love the drone’s camera quality and impressive flight time. Others also think that this drone is very easy to fly and that it’s totally worth the price. If you’re looking for a perfect drone to start with, the Parrot Anafi is a viable choice.
Final Verdict
Now that we have reached the final verdict. We’re going to wrap up the Parrot Anafi review and share final remarks about this quadcopter. Honestly, if you’re looking to have your hands on one of these professional-grade camera drones. But you don’t want to spend too much money, then the Parrot Anafi drone is a good choice. Of course, this foldable drone doesn’t come with obstacle avoidance systems. But I can assure you that if you’re being smart and aware of the surrounding, you’ll have no problem taking great care of this quadcopter.
One perk about the package that this drone comes with a travel case. This is nice, but it isn’t designed to hold all of the accessories like a remote controller and additional batteries. If you want to maximize your gears setup. I recommend purchasing this travel case to go with the Parrot Anafi. Design-wise, this foldable drone beautifully captures the attention thanks to its aerodynamic appearance and style.
I can’t help stop thinking but just to say how awesome the remote controller is designed. It’s incredibly responsive and packed with a ton of amazing features. Not to mention that the Parrot Anafi drone can be flown up to 4.3 miles apart. Combined with its incredible battery capacity, beginners like you will be able to enjoy the stunning landscape and capture special moments with ease. Overall, the Parrot Anafi drone is a great choice for beginners and somewhat a DJI Mavic killer under $600.
Currently, you can order a basic package for $559. If you want to upgrade to a nice traveling case and grab an extra battery, you can get the extended package for $899. Be sure to check them out and see which package is the best fit for you.
| Price history for Parrot PF728000 Anafi Drone, Foldable Quadcopter Drone with 4K HDR Camera, Compact, Silent & Autonomous, Realize Your shots with A 180° Vertical Swivel Camera, Dark Grey | |
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