Syma X5C 4 Channel 2.4GHz RC Explorers Quad Copter w/ Camera

I've never seen a quadcopter let alone use one. I decided on this one since it was the least expensive model with an "HD" camera. The batteries and parts are cheap and accessible. Originally I put the UDI 818A in my cart but when I went to add extra props, nobody stocks these, Amazon or otherwise. The all get shipped out of China and since I saw my friend bust up a bunch I knew they had to be more accessible than 2-5 week shipping.Got the copter at 6:30p and was flying it by 7p in my living room. It was so darn easy and stable! Took it out on my SMALL front lawn at night and let it hover there as well. Even my wife took a turn and had no problem with it. This model has to be as easy as it comes when it comes to flying.The next morning I took in the middle of the street, got the camera to work and it was super easy to fly. Absolute joy.Took it out to a local football field the next day. A bit windy and it was tougher to control. Not sure what the breeze was but I'd have to guess it was a good 10mph+. So it had some issues as you've no doubt seen other reviews talk about. One it hit a certain point and altitude it kind of took off on its own and by the time realized it and I cut power, it was already almost 100 yards away. My depth perception obviously sucks as I thought it was much closer. Remember, I'm on a football field so it's already premeasured.Got it out this morning in calm air and what a joy to fly. Took it out of Low mode and put it in High mode and you could tell a nice difference. Very responsive, very quick. I measured the distance where I could have it take off from the ground. 65 yards. The joy of being on a football field! Once it's in the air I could probably give it some input another 10-20 yards before it was non responsive.Flight time on 650mAH batteries (it comes with a 500mAH), with the camera on was probably about 7-8 minutes. With the camera attached, but not on, plus the prop guards, I'd say that time might be about 10 minutes. So the camera didn't seem to bog it down much.Bottom line, if you're looking for an entry quadcopter, you shouldn't go wrong with this model.Syma X5C Explorers 2.4G 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter With HD Camera

After getting an X12 over Christmas, and having an absolute blast crashing into everything while learning to fly indoors, I decided it was time to see what it was like outside. Flying an X12 outside left something to be desired, so I began researching to figure out what might fit the bill. After reading MANY reviews and watching a ton of videos, I chose the X5c. It fit my budget, and I got the impression that it truly was a great quad to learn on.Well, after only a few short months of owning it I can say with certainty that the X5 has certainly held up its end of the bargain, and then some. I say "X5", and not X5"c", because the camera that comes with this thing is pretty lame. The angle (or field of vision, if you prefer) is very narrow. And I don't know if this is simply an issue with Macs, but I had to reformat the SD-card all the time- simply deleting files didn't work. Otherwise, the camera would believe that there wasn't enough space on the card and wouldn't record. So, this made it very easy for me to make the decision to jettison the camera all together, and just let this bird fly free. And I didn't stop there... the feet were no longer necessary either, so away they went too. The prop guards? Never even bothered attaching them to begin with. Flying this thing was kinda fun before getting rid of that stuff, but it became much more fun without the extra baggage.From the beginning, I chose to learn on "advanced mode", just because it was faster, more responsive, and more challenging. However, I was by no means "advanced" at flying these things. The first time I took it anyplace that wasn't my tiny front yard, I took it to a local park and flew it up kinda high. Well, then I experienced that common thing where you kinda get disoriented with where the quad is in relation to nearby trees, and somehow I flew it into some woods with it impacting the first few branches at around 50 feet. Somehow, by some miracle, the thing didn't get hung up in any of those branches- I'm attributing that to the fact that it was still winter time (not many leaves to help hold it there)... so, where does it ultimately land? Where else, than in a creek? Yup! Brand new lil quad... in the creek. I just took a big deep breath and hung my head when I realized this. Somehow the thing was still on when I fished it out (it never completely submerged- landed in shallow area). I immediately turned it off and removed the battery before shaking it out best I could. Then I brought it home, opened it up, and placed it on the floor about a foot away from a space heater to allow it to dry out for the rest of the day. The next morning, I put everything back together, popped the recharged battery back in, and everything worked perfectly. From then on, I became much more careful about flying at any sort of altitude that included potential trees... and creeks, for that matter. It also didn't take me long to see the need for more batteries. I bought one of the packages available here on Amazon, where it provides you with four batteries and a 4x1 charger to charge them all simultaneously. I also bought to extra batteries before getting the 4x1. So, now that I have 7 batteries, I find myself not only enjoying the thing more, personally, I also have found more time to teach others how to fly it.O, and before I forget... another sad, yet awesome, thing that happened: I was on my way to go begin my marathon of marathon study sessions for finals when I stopped by at a nearby church to catch about 10 minutes of flight time. I parked in a different area than usual so that I could see what range I could accomplish, and then flew it back with more altitude and speed than I'd intended.... well, I didn't turn fast enough and right behind me was a nice tree waiting to catch the quad. It got stuck at probably 40 feet up. I found various things laying around to throw at it, and even when I hit it with a lightweight block of wood, the thing still didn't budge. I climbed as high as I could, but the branches became too thin and there was no one around to spot me if I fell. Not worth it. So, I just had to let it be. I thought to myself... o well, you need to study anyway. This thing was obviously only meant to be an ill-fated distraction. So I went on my way and decided that I'd re-evaluate the situation only after I'd gotten through at least half of the material I needed to cover. So, a week and several thunderstorms later, I returned to the scene to find the quad stil sitting up in the tree looking all happy. I devised a telescoping "pushstick" made out of an 8' cardboard tube and some quarter round. I tied a rope to it, climbed the tree as high as I could, and then managed to push the quad out of the tree after extending the "pushstick" to a length of almost 20 feet. Took the quad home, opened it up, and it was bone dry and with no signs of rust of weathering. I put it all back together, and it worked. No problems at all. It's amazing.I've crashed this thing into everything except for myself or other people. I've let my dog chase it, and eventually she even got ahold of it. Still, the quad survives. It slammed into a road sign at full speed earlier today. It survives. I've put this thing through tons of punishment, and thus far, the only thing I've needed to replace is two of those tiny cogs/gears at the bottom of the motor (the ones that engage with the larger gears that actually spin the props). These smaller gears seem to have a tendency to slip over time, and then they fall off. I've gotten into the habit of performing a little flight check before each flight, and confirming that those are properly seated seems to have made a big difference. Still, I have extras now. In anticipation of eventually burning out a motor, I also went ahead and purchased an extra CW and CCW motor. The nice thing about the prospect of changing out the motors is that the new ones have a metal gear that seems like it won't slip like the little plastic ones do. I dunno; we'll see.I know I'll eventually destroy this thing, but OMG it blows my mind how much it's been through and is still going strong. I'd post a picture of how beat up it is, but I'm afraid it wouldn't really do it justice. It's scratched all over, one of the props was bent and then reshapaned before getting chewed on by my friend's cat. Still, the quad survives...Once I finally burn out a motor or somehow destroy this thing, I'll update my review to let you know how it goes. Overall, I'm getting a lot of good times out of it. Still learning new ways to enjoy it. Definitely the start of a new hobby.