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MJX Bugs 3 Review - Best Cheap GoPro Quadcopter in 2023

Updated in 2023 by Paul Posea

MJX Bugs 3 is the most surprising brushless drone I've flown in a while.

I'm talking about the fantastic quality and performance of the drone for the price.

A standout feature compared to other drones is its impressive power supply. It can stay in the sky for up to 19 minutes!

mjx bugs 3 review

NOTE: You can't find the MJX Bugs 3 or (Drocon Bugs 3) on Amazon anymore. The good news is that you can get the Force1 F100GP Drone, which is basically the same exact drone as the Bugs 3.

battery-icon-spec

Battery life

16 min

range-icon-spec

Range

100m

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Camera

Gopro

drone icon spec

Motors

Brushless

Not only that, but it's also a very capable GoPro drone, able to carry any GoPro-sized action camera as well.

I have also made a video review of it, but make sure you read the full article below to check out other important details as well: 

If you've already decided to buy this, don't hesitate to check the accessories you can buy for Force1 F100GP. As I mentioned, this drone is a perfect copy of Bugs 3. The only difference between these two is that Bugs 3 is out of the market scene, while Force 1 can still be purchased from Amazon.

best drones podium arm

MJX BUGS 3 SPECS AND PRICE

In this section we'll cover MJX Bugs 3 Specs and Price along with its competitor's features.

Again, regarding price, this drone is pretty much unbeatable! 

That's one of the reasons why I consider this one of the best drones ever. Of course, you can find better drones with GPS, for example, but they will be at least twice as expensive and probably not even have brushless motors. 

Specs:

  • Brushless motor
  • 2800mAh Li-ion battery
  • 2.4G two-way remote with weak signal/low battery alarm
  • 10m/s max speed 
  • Around 600m range
  • 20+ minutes of flight time

This is pretty beefy for a toy-like drone, isn't it? That's why everyone loves this cool quad. It's excellent for beginners who don't want to waste money on their first drone (assuming they own a GoPro or a cheaper action camera) but also great for people who want an affordable alternative to their expensive drones. You know, for those risky shots!

UNBOXING AND PRODUCT QUALITY

The high quality of this brushless quadcopter can be observed even before unpackaging it, as it comes in a sturdy box with well-placed styrofoam inside.

size comparison mjx bugs 3 with phone review

The box also shows you can buy many additional accessories to transform your drone into anything you want:  from FPV racer to a great camera drone!

These accessories include an excellent 360 panoramic camera, FPV monitors, and goggles.

The Bugs 3 is 31cm long from motor to motor (and over 40 cm from prop to prop), which makes it a medium-sized quadcopter. It also has a slot for an action camera that can fit GoPro hero 3 and Hero 4, but not the newer GoPro versions. Additionally, you can mount a Xiaomi Xiaoyi motion camera to it.

Don't worry, though, because there are many cheap 4K action camera alternatives if you want to be tight with the budget. 

If you want to see the full unboxing check out the video below:

As also mentioned in the video, I've been pretty impressed with the general build quality of the drone itself. The plastic used here feels very sturdy and durable, and it can handle damage pretty well, from my experience.​

Here's what's in the box:

  • the quadcopter
  • 2 sets of propellers
  • a 7.4V battery charger
  • 4 prop guards
  • 4 landing gear arms (installing them is only needed if you'll use the camera)
  • camera mount
  • screwdriver
  • a 7.4V 1800mAh battery

FLIGHT- HOW GOOD ARE BRUSHLESS MOTORS?

The main difference between brushed and brushless motors is that the ones the Bugs 3 has (Brushless) are up to 6 times more powerful.

Also, brushless motors have a WAY longer life span and are more durable overall. Only advantages here!

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1. A reliable cheap camera drone

By attaching the camera mount to the frame and putting the taller landing legs, you can turn it into a GoPro drone that handles wind very well. In addition, the footage is very stable, considering that the drone doesn't come with a gimbal. 

I used a Full HD camera bought from a Chinese site that works well, but you can quickly go for the best cheap 4k cameras from here, and the quality will be even better.

Here's some footage that I shot with the Bugs 3 and my full HD camera: 

2. A racing/FPV drone

By putting Brushless motors on this drone, MJX has made the most powerful drone this amount of money can buy.

This means more speed and quick turns thanks to the 1805 1800KV motors that do an outstanding job.

There are 2 main modes of flight you can use:

  • camera mode
  • racing mode

This changes the power and speed of the drone, making it go slower when a GoPro is mounted and way faster when you want to just have fun.

By removing the prop guards, the landing legs and the camera with camera mount, you considerably decrease the drone's weight, making it fly faster and longer.

Remove the prop guards, landing legs, and camera mount to get the most out of your drone. Doing this will make your drone much lighter and, therefore, faster!

Fortunately, MJX thought about everything and incorporated some little landing gear at the end of each drone arm, so the drone won't trip over.

This being said, the drone moves incredibly fast in sport mode and can do flips by pressing a button (it can even do flips with a Camera on).

It isn't yet at the level of professional racing drones, but it's perfect if you want to get into racing and want to have a feel for it first.

BATTERY AND FLIGHT TIME

This drone can hover in the air for up to 20 minutes if no accessories are mounted on it.

From my personal experience, I have flown it for 17 or so minutes with accessories on and 15 minutes if I go more hardcore.

The 7.4 V and 1800mAh Lipo battery that can do all of this has a semi-proprietary design. It comes with an XT30 connector and can be perfectly fit inside the special slot on the drone itself.

TRANSMITTER AND BUTTONS

The Force1 100GP Drone uses a very similar controller to the original MJX Bugs 3 came with. It's light, sturdy and it does its job very well.

Attach the thumb sticks with the two small screws in the pack and insert four AA batteries to make the controller operational.

Here are the buttons and the functions:

  • Top-left button - used to arm the motors and turn them off
  • button underneath it - changes between the two flying modes (camera and sport mode)
  • comes with trimming buttons next to the sticks (useful if the aircraft tends to go in a specific direction by itself)
  • button at top right = flip button/barrel roll (first press it once and then quickly move the left stick in a direction to do a flip)
  • button below it - camera on and off (only working with a camera accessory from MJX)

HOW DOES BUGS 3 COMPARE TO OTHER DRONES? 

We talked about how this drone competes with other similar devices, but what's the closest competitor to the MJX Bugs 3? The offers at this price range are very limited, but let's look at the most popular cheap GPS drones you can get.

MJX Bugs 3 vs MJX Bugs 3 Pro 

While the "Pro" model may be a step up in quality, it's definitely not worth the extra cost to upgrade from the Bugs 3. Sure, you get slightly better craftsmanship and a couple of bonus features, but there isn't enough difference to justify that $100. If I'm being totally honest, I'd put that money towards a really nice 1080p camera for my trusty old Bugs 3! 

MJX Bugs 3 vs Drocon Bugs 3 

Just like the Force1 F100 GP Drone, which is the only Bugs 3 "clone" that you can get right now, Drocon Bugs 3 is an exact copy of the MJX. There's no real difference between the two apart from the colors and the branding. 

MJX Bugs vs Force1 F100 GP

Force1 F100 GP is currently the only MJX Bugs "copycat" available on Amazon. There is no difference between these two drones and they come at around the same price.

author-paul-posea-picture
Hi, I'm Paul.
A big drone enthusiast, reviewing, comparing and writing about drones since 2015. I'm all about helping people enjoy and even monetize their hobby.

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paul posea
Paul Posea
Hi, I'm a long-time drone reviewer and I hope my articles and comparisons on this site as well as Dronesgator's youtube channel are of as much help as possible.
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