What you'll learn in this review

Just like me, you probably have been waiting for a real cheaper alternative to the Mavic Series from DJI.

Can't wait to tell you…

It's already here!

It's called Xiaomi Fimi X8 and in this ULTIMATE article review I'm going over most of the things I was interested before buying it:

How is it versus the Mavic Air?
What's the actual range on it (range test)
What's with the Black version?
What are the best accessories to buy
Footage comparison
Full Specs

And much… much… more

Stick around till the end to find out where to Get the black version (even cheaper than the original)

And with an included bag!

Xiaomi Fimi x8 Specs and Features (vs competition)

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Battery Life Test

As you can see in this live battery test, the specs are actually right!

The Xiaomi Fimi X8 has a battery life of up to 33min in perfect conditions.

I would consider it to be a maximum of 30 min, because you don't really want to land it with 1% battery every time.

This battery life competes with the likes of DJI Mavic 2, yet it's priced under the DJI Spark, which is quite amazing.

I think this might just be the best battery life to price ratio on the market right now.

Range (Flight Distance)

The Xiaomi Fimi X8 has a range of 5km.

I have tested that too, and it proved to be exactly like that when I left the stronger interference of the city and launched it on a mountain.

From my experience, the image tends to fragment a bit from time to time, once you get over 1 or 2 km away, but it's still really usable and with a signal booster you could probably do even a bit more.

How much does it weigh?(is it under 250g?)

The Fimi x8 weighs 790g, which is over the 250g maximum to fly in the US without a permit.

Getting a US flying permit is quite easy and cheap though, and because it's so tiny when it's folded down It really doesn't get in the way while transporting it.

How good is the GPS accuracy

Thanks to the GPS + GLONASS of this drone, it can hover really steady at any altitude, without any toilet bowl effect.

The return to home precision is under 2 meters, as I've tested it a few times.

Does it come back after losing signal?

Yes, the Fimi x8 does have the Return To Home feature when it loses signal.

I experienced that myself when testing the maximum range.

Lost the transmission at about 4 km or so and it started returning by itself. I could see that on my screen shortly after I got the signal back.

The drone gets up in the air 30m from the level it was launched at and comes straight back home. That is to avoid any obstacles on the way.

Does it return on low battery?

Yes, the drone does return to home on low battery and you can set that value in the app itself, depending on how sure you want to be.

I recommend setting the return to home battery at over 15% at least, if you fly no farther than 2km, and at over 25% if you fly at maximum distance.

What's the maximum height it reaches?

This quadcopter can fly up to 500m in height, but you can limit this setting from the app too.

There's also beginner mode that will limit both height and distance, in case you want to practice without making any mistakes.

Does it come with optical flow stabilization

The Fimi x8 does come with one optical flow stabilization camera underneath and even more…

It helps a lot with making it fly really steady when closer to the ground ( up to 10m height) and this means it can also be flow indoors.

Besides the camera for horizontal stabilization, it also has a sonar for height stabilization. This sends a signal to the ground and bounces it back to help detect how far it is.

Does it have a front facing sensor?

No, the Fimi X8 does come with front facing obstacle avoidance, although it might look like it.

What are the best alternatives for the fimi x8 (table comparison)

There are a few solid alternatives to the Xiaomi Fimi x8, but in my opinion it's pretty hard to beat it in this price category.

Especially since…

It actually competes in specs and image quality with the twice as expensive DJI Mavic Air.

I think it blows the Spark out of the water when it comes to most factors, besides weight.

One solid competitor however is the Parrot Anafi, which proves to be about as expensive, but with a few slight differences that I couldn't fit in this table.

Bellow the table you'll find the option to compare all of these between each-other with more detailed specs.

Add to compare

Bellow you can find a filtering system for the main competitor drones I reviewed and you can press the “Add to compare” button if you want to do so.

Fimi x8

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Parrot Anafi

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Mavic Air

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Dji Spark

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Fimi X8 Camera specs(3 axis stabilization)

The camera on the Fimi X8 is quite stunning for the price, and the fact that it comes with a creamy smooth 3 axis gimbal is simply amazing.

This might just be the best low budget competitor DJI has had in a while.

The XIaomi fimi x8 has a 4k camera that records 30p in 100MBPS and rocks the sony IMX378 image sensor.

The 1/2.3′ 12 MP sensor is one of the best of this size on the market, that's used by most high end camera drones.

It won't compare to the night time capabilities of the huge 1 inch sensor of the Mavic 2 Pro, but it's not so far that you can justify paying 3 times as more, unless you really need it.

How good is the footage and photos

During day time, it's really hard to tell the difference between this footage and any other high end drone.

You can even use ND filters for keeping a proper shutter speed, so it's quite well equipped for being a professional drones that can be used at weddings or events with total success.

Here's a video that shows sample footage and photos I took with the Fimi X8 so you can convince yourself about the ability of this quadcopter.

There was a problem initially with the footage having a slight blue tint, but I haven't seen it recently. It's probably gone since the last updated.

Also, you can just as well adjust it in post production.

Camera Settings

The ISO can manually go up to 3200 or you can let it set on auto.

You can fully control every standard camera setting like shutter speed, EV and more.

There's also white balance and color to play with.

Does it come with D-Log? (flat color profile)

There's an F-Log mode to record in if you want a flatter image that you can play around with more in post production.

Can you take DNG Raw Photos with the FImi X8?

Yes you can!

And while taking them it also takes a JPG version for easier processing

First of all, make sure to take photos in 4 by 3 format so it uses the whole 12 mp sensor.

What camera resolutions does the FImi x8 record in?

The FImi can record in

4k (3840×2160) in 30/25/24FPS
2k resolution ( 2560×1440) in 60/50/30/24FPS
1080p up to 100FPS
720p in 200FPS

Yes, you can actually film in slow motion with this drone if you so wanted.

Parts and Accessories

Best accessories for the Fimi x8

There are quite a few accessories online for the FImi x8, which means it can be used more professionally as a main drone and use it as an asset for your business.

I mentioned the ND filters earlier being some of the most important accessory that you actually need to record smooth footage during daytime.

Other than that, if your package doesn't come with a case, I strongly recommend getting one.

There are more accessories than usually including:

car battery charge (multi charger)
ND filters
antenna signal range boosters
floating kit
multi charger
gopro attachment
spare batteries
LED landing gear

Design and Unboxing

The drone comes both in white and recently there's a black vesion that's comming too, links at the end of the article.

The FImi X8 SE is only 73x106x204m.

It has been reduced by 42.8% and the storage space reduced by 70.2% compared to the older Xiaomi MI 4k drone.

Xiaomi never dissapoints when it comes to design, as it's sleek, made with high quality materials and a solid overall build.

It's definitely on par with DJI if not better.

Transmitter And Mobile App

The Xiaomi drones transmitters have always been really high quality, since the Xiaomi mi 4k, the Fimi a3 and now the X8, the same high quality design with hobby-grade sticks and an intuitive button scheme.

This time, the transmitter doesn't come with an included screen anymore, but it does connect to the phone though a cable.

It comes with the following button functions:

What phones work with the FImi X8? (how about tablets?)

The extendable phone holder can fit absolutely any phone size that you can find on the market!

There are also connection cables for any type of phone, including apple, micro usb, micro usb C.

What size of tablet can fit in the controller?

The controller can safely fit an Ipad mini at the maximum range, which is about 8 inches.

The Fimi Navi App

he drone app is quite similar to what you find on DJI Drones with a ton of settings and options to choose from.

You can obviously see things like:

distance
height
speed
number of satelites connected (btw, you need to have more than 7 if you want positioning to work)
micro SD storage space indicator

It is recommended first to do an RC stick and scroll wheel calibration so you make sure the drone flies straight where you point it at (I actually had an issue before doing that).

You can do the RC calibration from the “transmitter section in the menu by going to the RC Calibration tab.

How fast can it fly?

There's a flight speed limitation in the app main menu that will let you fly up to 16m/s or 57 km/h.

You can lower that value if you want smoother flight or if you're a beginner.

There's also height and flight distance limitations you can sett from the app, as well as the Height of RTH.

How fast is it in sport mode?

Xiaomi FImi x9 does actually come with a sport mode that you can enable from the menu and it can allow you to go to up to 65km/h, it can be very useful if you want to get to a location fast, but remember it consumes the battery much faster than normal.

So if you want to conserve your battery when returning to home, make sure not to do it in sport mode.

Calibration the 5D joystick button

The Five-Directional button can be customized from the app with a ton of different options.

I mainly use mine to reset the camera angle either facing down or forward

There's also the option to calibrate the gimbal and change the sensitivity settings by changing the pitch speed to lower so you get a more cinematic feel.

You can also change the low battery warning and set the RTH for when the battery is calculated to be enough only for Return to Home

What flight modes does it come with?

This drone definitely comes with a lot of flight modes, the only concern before I bought it is if they work properly and are actually helpful.

I'm going to present them bit by bit down bellow and my own experience on each of them.

Waypoints

This is a standard Waypoint flight mode where you put the waypoints on the map with your finger and the drone will fly to them one by one. Unlike DJI does most of the time, you dont' actually have to fly to each of those places beforehand, which is nice.

Smart Track

This is the mode that you'll probably use the most, as it can follow anything that you select with a box on your phone screen.

It does this very well, smooth and precise.

I tested this follow me mode by hopping on my Xiaomi Scooter, believe it or not and letting the drone follow me around.

And it worked amazing, until I tested it even farther and went underneath it and it didn't keep following me.

Later I found out that I didn't activate the “Fly backwards when in follow me” option so it stopped when going backwards.

Orbit

The orbit mode works just as it should, but it's a bit of a hassle to have to go above the object and then reposition the drone at the distance you want the radius to be at.

This time DJI has the upper hand, as they can orbit around an object you directly select on your screen.

Tap- FLy

This mode is just as you know it, you tap on your screen somewhere and the drone will fly in that direction.

Dronie

The classic dronie mode where the quadcopter flies up and away from you revealing the landscape in the meantime.

Spiral

The spiral si basically an orbit mode but variable, ending up by doing a spiral around the subject of interest.

Cinematic Mode

This is the standard Cinematic Mode where the drone controls will slow down, allowing you to fly smoother and turn the gimbal slower.

I prefer to change the gimbal speed from the settings directly though.

Tripod

A mode perfect if you want the drone to move REALLY slow or you want to give it to a beginner to test it (even kids).

Course Lock

This might actually be the most useful flight mode in my opinion, as it can allow cinematic composition like no other.

Course lock basically sets you up flying in a certain direction and whenever you press the forward stick, it will still fly in the initial direction, although you might have changed the drone orientation in the meantime.

This can give a glide cam effect that's very speciffic to movies and mixes the old boring camera shots a bit with some more directional complexity.

FIxed Wing

This might be the most fun mode out of them all, as you can actually fly like a plain and tilt the image to the sides.

It can be really fun especially if you fly it with some goggles on you.

SAR

The Search and Rescue Function is mainly used for zooming in up to 3 times yet id doesn't really lose that much of the quality, considering it goes for 4k to 1080p, which is still a good resolution to have.

Fimi X8 Price, Manual and Instructions

How to fly it

Before flying, make sure you have the Fimi Navi App installed, being available for both Android and Apple devices.

Start the drone and transmitter by pressing once and then quickly press again and hold until the drone turns on.
Connect your phone/tablet do the controller by the included cable and open the app.
The remote and drone have been connected already before shipping
I recommend also doing a compass calibration
1. select the compass calibration option from the menu on the top right
2. rotate the drone as per the instructions
Make sure to go though all the settings and set up things like
1. return to home height
2. gimbal sensitivity
3. auto RTH on low battery
Wait until you have at least 7 satellites connected (preferably over 10) and then press the launch button on the bottom right corner of the controller

Who should buy it (is it worth the price)?

I own this drone myself and am not going to sell it even if I have a Mavic 2 pro, so I hope this says something about the reliability of it.

I think this quadcopter can fit in a wide range of uses and some people that could benefit from having it are:

Where to buy it from?

There are a few places I recommend getting this drone from in this article and down bellow, they're all reliable, in my experience and I haven't had any issues with them so far.

The 3 most used ones by me personally are Amazon, Banggood and Geekbuying.

If you get it from Amazon it's going to be faster, but it's also usually more expensive. check the updated prices down bellow.

Xiaomi fimi black version - Where to get it? (Voyage version)

At the moment of writing this article, there is a black version of this drone coming soon.

On Geekbuying they call it the voyage version, as it also comes with an additional case and its' even cheaper than the standard one.

The same drone can be found on Banggood too.

Is there an official manual to download online?

If you want to download the official xiaomi fimi x8 manual click over here:

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