Snaptain S5C Drone Review [2023]

Oftentimes in the drone world, people associate low price with low quality. 

However, with the introduction of the Snaptain S5C FPV drone, people were challenged to rethink all they knew about cheap drones.

This drone costs less than $100 and has had great success with previous owners gushing about its incredible features and performance.

It is said to be one of the best cheap drones on the market with a camera. 

This quadcopter is beginner-friendly and is the perfect choice if you are looking for your first drone. 

In this Snaptain s5c drone review we will be taking a look at all that the drone has to offer and if it is still relevant today. 

Drone

Features

Price

  • Flight range: 80 meters
  • Flight time:10 minutes
  • Weight: 24.8 Ounces

 

Snaptian S5C in-depth review

  • Flight range: 80 meters
  • Flight time:10 minutes
  • Weight: 24.8 Ounces

 

The Snaptain S5C was designed for beginner and intermediate drone pilots.

The fixed arm design and materials used in construction make one robust and strong unit that can survive minor mishaps.

This unit comes with an onboard camera and advanced flying functions as well as VR technology.

The features are bound to impress and the flight performance is incredible.

Controlling the unit can be done using a phone or the remote controller as well as voice and gesture control.

For a drone at this price, you just can’t ask for more.

Best Features of the Snaptain S5C drone

Design

The Snaptain S5C drone has a stylish and sleek look that makes it look like something from the future.

It has a matte black color scheme and underlined with shades of blue for a classy and neutral aircraft aesthetic.

The appearance is one of its best selling points since it just looks so cool.

Other noteworthy design features include the fact that his drone is made from ABS plastic which is quite unusual in a drone in this price range.

Most toy-grade drones use cheaper plastic in their construction to reduce manufacturing expenses.

However, S5C uses lightweight ABS which makes it highly durable and portable.

Although the manufacturer stands behind their durable construction, they still included some accessories and replacement parts in the pack.

These include landing gears, propeller guards, spare propellers on an extra battery in the event of faulty parts or damages.

The last factor of the design that we’ll touch on is the blue padding that can be found all over the body of the drone.

The blue padding is the LED lights that give support to visually assist you with the orientation and direction of the drone.

Not only can it be helpful for inexperienced users to keep an eye on the drone but the unit looks awesome when flying at night.

This means that you do not have to stop flying your drone just because it’s dark outside.

Camera

snaptain s5c wifi fpv drone

This drone comes with a 720P camera which is not the best on the market for performance or quality but it is not all that bad considering the price.

The 720P camera captures stills and videos and provides live footage as well.

Although it has no gimbal stabilization system, it does have flight stabilization due to the gyroscope integrated into the unit on the inside.

This allows it to compensate for wind and keep it stable.,

The camera’s lens can capture wide-angle shots but the details you get are limited by the resolution of the 720 HD camera.

However, you still get decent quality stills and videos to share with family and friends.

The camera also gives you a first-person view that lets you keep a record of your environment as you move the drone around.

You can stream real-time video feed directly to your phone which gives you a birds-eye view of your surroundings.

You can also upload your videos and photos directly to your social media accounts and share them with friends and family if you are using the app and your phone to control the unit.

Flight range

The flight range of the Snaptain S5C will depend on whether you use the dedicated controller or your phone.

Using the dedicated controller gives you a control range of up to 80 meters.

On the other hand, using the app on your Android or Apple smartphone with a two-way direct Wi-Fi connection, the range will drop down to a mere 30 meters.

Flight Time

The Snaptain S5C Wi-Fi drone uses a 550 mAH Li-Po battery.

This battery offers a flight time of 10 minutes more or less which isn’t exactly impressive but it is a good time considering the price of the unit.

In the package, there is an extra battery supplied so battery life extends to 20 minutes.

These batteries take about 90 minutes to complete a full charge cycle before being ready to power your drone.

Although the flying time could have been better and much longer it is pretty decent when you compare it to a few others in this price range.

And as with every other drone, you should buy some spare batteries, keep them handy and charged up before flying.

Flight Performance

This is where most previous owners feel that the manufacturers really outdid themselves with this cheap drone.

Considering the price the designers went the extra mile to get this unit to perform well.

The modularised battery ensures that the majority of the motor strength is delivered effectively to increase the propulsion power for maximum speed.

The unit also offers extra stabilization and smooth flight controls, both of which are awesome for beginners.

This quad comes with 3-speed modes which include a low-speed trim setting, intermediate and Max speed.

You can start with the low-speed setting and then gradually move your way up to challenge your flying skills.

While the internal gyroscope does compensate for wind, this drone is fairly light so you may want to pay attention when flying it in breezy or high wind situations.

Moving on, you can find some pretty advanced features on this drone that you would probably find on drones in a higher price range.

These include:

One key landing takeoff and return 

These features allow you to just push the button in the remote controller to and or take off without manually doing it which can cause stress for beginners.

VR 

Flying with a smartphone or controller is simple enough.

However, some drone enthusiasts take advantage of the fact that the S5C is a VR-supported drone.

This means that it offers a more immersive flying experience that brings you from the ground to the flight cockpit to give you a more practical perspective of the flight path.

Gesture and voice mode 

You can control the drone using gestures or voice by simply using a smartphone application.

To control the drone with gestures or voice you will have to be anywhere between one to three meters from the flying machine.

The unit comes preset the gestures and the voice commands so simply follow those to control the drone.

Altitude hold 

Altitude hold allows the drone to hover in position and keep it steady while you take pictures and videos when the drone is in the air.

The six-axis gyro is what makes this function possible.

Headless mode 

Headless mode is yet another feature you do not expect in a cheap quadcopter like the S5C.

However, this mode is an excellent way to comfort any beginner pilot.

This is because they will not have to worry about the drone’s front-end orientation to control it since the headless mode takes care of that.

Gravity sensor 

The gravity sensor of the S5C helps you control it by moving your phone in certain directions.

This feature is actually fun to experiment with.

The shadow-mimic function allows you to try different moves away from the typical controller-based moves that you have grown accustomed to.

Trajectory feature 

The trajectory feature was another surprise since it is not something that you would expect to get from this affordable drone.

This feature allows you to draw a flight route in the smartphone app and then the drone simply follows it.

Wi-Fi warning system 

Sometimes your drone can go rogue and become lost.

This can be a headache, especially for first-time flyers.

The Wi-Fi warning system issues a warning once the signal strength drops to one bar.

360 degrees flip 

If you want to have a bit of fun and impress your friends then the 360-degree flip function will leave everyone surprised and impressed.

Controller

snaptain s5c drone

The controller of this drone looks a bit like a toy and features a simple black body and blue joysticks.

It’s nothing fancy and it appears like a gaming console controller.

This design of the controller is basically what you would expect from a general drone controller.

The only difference is that it has different dedicated buttons and dual joysticks

However, it makes controlling the drone less complicated as the buttons and joystick are very responsive.

The controller is economically designed and all the controls are easy to reach.

It also has a smartphone holder so that you can live stream footage to your smartphone.

The controller feels comfortable in the hand and is powered by 3 AAA batteries that you’ll need to purchase separately.

As mentioned before, the controller offers a control range of 80 meters which is farther than most drones in this price category offer.

If you do not want to use the controller then you can opt to control the unit via an app on your smartphone.


Pros: Snaptain S5C

  • Affordable
  • Awesome look
  • Durable and well constructed
  • Best cheap drone with camera
  • FPV
  • Voice and Gesture control
  • Altitude Hold
  • Include spare props and battery
  • Easy to fly
  • Perform flips 

Cons: Snaptain S5C

  • Cannot be flown in high winds
  • 720p camera quality is not the best

Alternatives to the Snaptain S5C wifi FPV drone

Let us now look at some of the alternatives to the Snaptain S5C wifi FPV drone.

  • Flight range: 15-30 meters
  • Flight time: 5-6 minutes
  • Weight: 1.76 Ounces

If having a camera isn’t important to you, the Eachine E010 mini quadcopter is the best choice for you.

This little drone is a great beginner unit to fly indoors.

New drone pilots will have lots of fun while trying to hone in on their piloting skills with this nano drone.

This drone does not come with many advanced features, however, it does include a few like the3 speed setting.

You can choose the slow and medium speeds when flying the unit indoors and wait for a calm day before taking it outside and switching the fast mode.

It also includes One Key Return that brings the unit right back to the controller’s location and Compass Mode that changes the flight direction of the drone according to the controller.

It is one of the most resilient drones for beginners, thanks to its hefty prop guards which offer collision protection.

These help to protect the drone in the event of a crash.

  • Flight range: 50 meters
  • Flight time: 5-7 minutes
  • Weight: 4.2 Ounces

The Cheerwing Syma X5SW-V3 is another ideal choice for beginners.

This quadcopter with a six-axis gyro and headless mode provides a stable and smooth flight.

It offers a flight range of up to 50 meters and a flight time of 5 to 7 minutes.

The Wifi Camera and built-in Wifi module, allow you to see what the drone sees through a live video feed on your smartphone.

You can watch as you fly and capture photos and videos exactly as you want them.

The six-axis gyro technology and 3D lock enable 360 flips with just the touch of a button.

What is most impressive is that you can perform 360-degree roles while streaming a first-person view to any smartphone.

The LED flashing lights makes the drone identifiable at all times and puts on quite a show when the device is performing tricks.

  • Flight range: 100 meters
  • Flight time: 13 minutes
  • Weight: 8.1 Ounces

The Tello drone was born from a collaboration of Ryze Robotics and famous drone manufacturers, DJI.

If you are looking for a unit that offers more, then the Tello quadcopter drone is the one for you.

It costs a bit more than the Snaptain S5C but not a whole lot as the Tello is under $100 as well.

This drone makes it easy for beginners to start flying and also has extra features which make it appealing to advanced pilots.

Despite its low price point, it offers a stable flight with a flight time of 30 minutes which is impressive compared to the limited flight time of the other drones mentioned in this article.

It also comes with an onboard nose-mounted camera that captures photos and streams live video.

This unit can autonomously take 5MP photos and 720p HD videos from the air.

It does have some of the features that are in line with those that you would normally find on the more expensive photography drones.

You will also find out the batteries and build quality of this unit is beyond anything else available at this price.

The build quality is fairly strong and the Tello can survive a few crashes without any damage.

Final thoughts: Snaptain S5C Drone 

At the end of this Snaptain S5C drone review, we found that this unit is worth considering if you are looking for a reliable beginner drone.

It is one of the best cheap drones with a camera on the market.

For its price, it does offer some pretty advanced features which came as quite a surprise.

Moreover, it includes extra accessories and an extra battery to ensure that your unit is always up and running.

So with that said, for the price, this drone is a steal.

So what are you waiting for?

If you need a sturdy, fun and reliable drone, be sure to grab the Snaptain S5C drone.

Check out the best drones under 100 and the best drones for kids.

Drone

Features

Price

  • Flight range: 80 meters
  • Flight time:10 minutes
  • Weight: 24.8 Ounces

 

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