Hello Tello Dear fellow dronists in this review I’m going to present you this little technological marvel called Tello produced by Ryze technology powered by DJI and a powerful 14 core Intel processor. My goal is to review the Tello in a way nobody did till now offering sample footage tips and personal opinions.
First of all thank you for DJI forum for offering me as a gift after being placed 3rd place in the "Cream of the crop competition". Even if it haven’t been won I would pay 100euros for it without hesitation. I’m that kind of person who directly refuses to buy or even try out things that do not work how they supposed to be. Till now this was the case with drones that are controlled via a mobile phone with on-screen controls. I found it really annoying/ uncomfortable /uncontrollable to use the touch screen in order to make smooth moves with drones. But boy, believe me Tello is the Lamborghini of “Toy” drones. Don’t get me wrong I still prefer sticks for the most precise movements, but for sure flying the Tello is insanely fun!
Note: You can connect bluetooth controller to control your Tello.
In the box:
The drone itself, users manual, battery, extra set of props, handle to remove the props. Note: Tello is charged with a micro usb cable not included in the box!
Build Quality:
Overall i’m very pleased with the build quality. The top cover is shiny and it reminds me of the Phantom 4 and Inspire 1 series. Tello weighs aproximatively 80grams with the battery,props, prop guards equipped. Lightweigt and durable plastic has been used to make it almost indestructible. Propeller guards are equipeed out of the box! I do not recommend getting them off since mainly it’ll be used indoors.
Connectivity:
Tello is controlled via your smartphone. The first step starts with downloading the Tello app from the App Store or Google Play depending on your device. To establish connection with the tiny drone is done by connecting to its WIFI. After the connection is done you enter the Tello app and just like in the DJI Go Apps you’ll be greeted with live feed straight out of tellos camera. You're going to get rock stable video feed during your flights! Operating distance limit is so little that yoy’ll never lose connection... did not happen to me. It’s fluid and stable!
Battery:
You simply push the battery inside of the drone, don’t waid for a clicking sound it’s not going to happen. I tried out Tello outside in a relatively open terrain quite windy 18km/h and managed to fly 9:27 minutes both slow and fast modes with 15% battery left.
Note: before recharging, the battery needs to cool down to room temperature to start the charging sequence.
It took me 1hour 1 minute to pump the juice into the 1100mah battery. Charging is done via usb cable on the side of the Tello. During charging blue led light is blinking, the light stops blinking when charging is ready.
First Flight:
First step is to fully charge your battery! After the established connection via WIFI you open up the Tello App, you're prompted to authorize and activate your Tello.
Camera:
Tello comes equipped with 5 megapixel camera and it's the size of a pinhead with onboard electronic stabilization. Since it has no phyiscal stabilization you have no control over the camera like on other drones, you have no option to tilt. Photos and Videos are stored on your phone which is great because you don’t need to worry about SD cards.
Photo:
Ryze app let’s you change the quality of the final pictures Normal and High these are the only available settings regarding photos.
I use the High setting, believe me there’s quite a difference. Note: Everytime you start the drone image quality/video settings disappear and need to be reselected. Maybe a future app update will resolve the issue. An edited selfie in Lightroom.
I also managed to make a panorama by stitching 5 pictures. at 15m height Tello is unable to stand in horizontal position when wind gusts blow.
Don't wait for miracles, although Tellos camera is pretty decent. I had to limit the file size to 2 mb in order to upload them.
Video: Tello is capable of 720p video recording with a maximum of 4mb bitrate. You have the option to manually set it form 1mb to 4mb. Please let me know if you're interested to see video sequence. So I can update the thread.
Flight Modes: Tello is powered by an Intel 14core processor this way Tello is capable to do some very awesome tricks. I found it very interesting that Tello users have to chance to try out some automated functions that are present in DJI's advanced flight systems. This way those who want to learn more about drone functions have the chance to learn and to accomodate.
Flight Distance: Oficially the maximum height you can reach with Tello is 10 meters height and vertical distance is 100m (it depends on the area) i managed to get like 50-60meters distance. I know 10m height might seem too little but Tello relies on its vision positiong system to stay stable and in one place so above 10m you'll need to rely on you skills. For those who want to experiment and are willing to take the risk there’s an unifficial way to get past the 10m limit. You can boost the height with an extra 20meters allowing to get to 30meters.
The app is called "TALS" - TelloAltLimitSetter.
Note: Use at your own risk! Do not recommend using it it windy conditions! Tello has no gps and no auto return to home function!
VR: You can use any kind of VR headset from Google Cardboard to more plastic ones, Overall its a nice feature to have! Note: To be able to use the VR feature you need to place your phone into your VR headset. To control your Tello you'll need to connect to a bluetooth controller. I recommend using a Gamevice device that can be found on DJI Store.
Just to make an idea about the size of Tello compared to DJI Spark and Mavic Air.
Who is it for? It's simply the best "Toy"-"Learning" Drone money can buy for all ages! To be honest I did not have any expectations from a Drone that is sold for 100euros/100 dollars. The best way to learn and accomodate to drones is by buying Tello. It has a lot of features that can be mastered with time becuase this tiny drone is on steroids.
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