Potensic D88 Review – Cool Foldable Drone With A 2K Camera

Hi and welcome to my review of the Potensic D88 HD camera drone.

Potensic are relative newcomers to the consumer drone market, but they have released some very good drones that have become very popular, one of these is the T25 which I have already reviewed here.

The Potensic D88 is their latest drone and it is a drone that has a foldable design ( my favourite type of drone).

If you are looking for a well-designed drone that has a premium look and feel, keep reading this review of the Potensic D88 drone because it ticks off those boxes.

Potensic D88 Review

One of the first things that will impress you about the drone is the packaging, like most other drones from Potensic, the D88 comes with an aluminium carry case, which will make it easier to carry around. Not that you need the case, the drone is very compact in its foldable form and can be tucked away pretty easily in a backpack.

However, the aluminium case does highlight the overall premium feel that Potensic are trying to portray for their drones.

The Potensic D88 is a medium-sized drone and measures 45*45*75 cm unfolded and weighs just under 700g, so a pretty lightweight drone which makes it great for travelling. On a side note, if you are a frequent traveller and looking for a drone to capture all your adventures, I really do believe that foldable drones like the Potensic D88 are your best options.

The overall build of the Potensic D88 is very good, it aesthetically very pleasing to the eyes, the material looks like its metal, but it is not, its high-quality plastic with a metallic grey finish.

It really is one of the best-looking drones I have reviewed and as you will find out in this review, it has some very advanced features.

The drone rotors are powered by four brushless motors, brushless motors are more efficient, require less maintenance and they last far longer than brushed motors. They are also one of the reasons the drone has a maximum speed of 40 km/h which is pretty fast for a drone that is not built for racing.

It has some cool LED lights underneath each rotor, which are useful if you want to fly during the night, the LED lights also help to indicate when the drone compass is fully calibrated. The lights also serve to indicate if there any problems with the drones internal mechanisms so you know what is wrong if the drone does not work properly.

The drone is powered by a 3400 mAh lipo battery, this is one the modern modular batteries that can keep their charge for longer which is why the drone has a flight time of around 20 minutes. Now, 20 minutes for a drone that costs less than $300 is pretty decent, however, since the battery takes a few hours to charge up, it can be a long wait before you get to fly the drone again.

This is why I always advise people to purchase extra batteries, now, unfortunately, Potensic does not give you the option to purchase a drone package with extra batteries so you will have to buy them separately. They are a little expensive but if you want to fly the drone for longer than 20 minutes and do want to wait around a few hours for your battery to charge up to fly again, purchasing an extra battery or two is the only option.

The drone comes with a cool looking battery charging station, it can charge up to two batteries at once and has green LED lights to indicate when they are fully charged. One piece of advice, never leave batteries on charge for longer than they should, doing this regularly can shorten a batteries overall life span.

Before I get to the main feature of the drone, which is its HD camera, I want to mention something about the remote controller.

The Potensic D88 controller actually looks a lot like the JJRCX11 controller, maybe it’s the same but rebranded under the Potensic name. Anyway its small controller that has a minimalistic design, it’s powered by 2AA batteries which are not included, so remember to purchase some if you buy this drone.

It has two fake antennas that are just there for aesthetic reasons and nothing else and a smartphone holder that pulls out from the back. The holder is large enough to hold a big smartphone but it is not suitable for tablets.

The controller has a cool LCD display in the middle which highlights telemetry data about the drone. With a quick glance you can see how many satellites that drone has locked onto, battery level, the drone height and distance.

It feels comfortable in your hands and all the controls are easy to identify, one thing I don’t like is the two grippers on the bottom, it doesn’t make it easier to hold the drone and actually impedes your ability to control the drone properly.

It has a control distance of around 1500 meters but this under very good conditions, so I would keep the drone well within this distance.

You can also control the drone via its app, which is compatible with both Android and iOS devices, most of the features are accessible if you fly with just the app but the control distance is reduced to around 500-800 meters ( depending on weather conditions). It’s a decent app, slightly buggy at times but is updated regularly.

Potensic D88 Camera

If you are a regular reader of my blog and reviews, you will know that one of the things I like most about drones is that they let you see the world from above. It really is exhilarating when flying a drone over an area that you would never have seen from above and you can take some truly awesome aerial photography with a decent camera drone.

The Potensic D88 comes with a 2K camera that can be classed as a little bit better than decent. The drone has a 110° wide-angle lens that will allow you to capture more details in one shot and it comes with 1/3” CMOS sensor that has 2MP.

It’s supported by a 1 axis gimbal which will help eliminate any kind of distortion and jello effect from your images and videos. You can also pitch the gimbal 90° up or down via the dial on the remote control and get a better viewing angle for your pictures and video footage.

It’s a 2K camera drone but if you want to live stream video footage to your smartphone this will be only done in 720p/20fps, which is still pretty decent but not quite on the level of the likes of DJI Spark or the Autel Evo.

Overall it’s a good camera with which you can take some really good aerial images and video footage, live streaming is okay, there is some lag issues if you go out too far, so its best to stay well within the FPV distance.

Intelligent Flight Modes

Every drone seems to come with a few intelligent flights modes nowadays, these flight modes require hardly any input from the pilot and the drone fly’s automatically when an intelligent mode is activated. These intelligent flight modes are fun to use, and they make it easier to take better aerial photography.

The Potensic D88 has three intelligent flight modes, they are;

Follow Me – In this mode, the drone will follow your movement, a good way to record yourself when taking a long walk or riding a bike.

Orbit – You can select a point of interest on the mobile app and the drone will orbit that positon a full 360°.

WayPoint – This mode allows you to map a route on the app and the drone will automatically follow that route and come back home.

The drone also has an automatic return to home function, you can activate this feature via the remote control and the drone will return home. This feature is also activated if you lose connection with the drone or when the battery gets low on charge. This is a very useful feature and will help minimise the risk of losing your drone during flight.

Other Features

Headless Mode – This is the default flight mode and is the one beginner pilots should fly with.

Dual GPS – The drone can lock on to both GPS and GLONASS satellites, this results in better coverage and more hovering, positioning and makes flying the drone much easier.

Optical Flow and Ultrasonic Positioning – Underneath the belly of the drone near the rear end, there is an optical flow and ultrasonic sensor. These sensors will allow you to fly the drone in the event that you cannot lock onto any drones or if you decide to fly indoors.

Flight Performance

Overall the Potensic D88 fly’s well, its hovers accurately, but slight wind can move it around, so I wouldn’t advise anyone who is a beginner to fly in windy conditions. The intelligent flight modes work as they should but there have been reports that the follow me mode sometimes doesn’t work properly.

Final Thoughts

This is an overall decent drone with a good camera and some advanced features, its suitable for everyone, even for beginners. The camera is the best part of the Potensic D88, you can take some quality images and videos, however, there are better options for you, click on the green button below to find out more.