Eachine EX5 Review – Cheap DJI Mavic Mini Clone

Hi and welcome to my review of the Eachine EX5, this one of the latest cheap GPS drones from Eachine that comes with some decent features and costs around $100.

Eachine are very well-known for their low-cost drones, if you have ever searched for cheap drones that are suitable for beginners, you will have come across many of their drones.

The Eachine EX5 is one of their newer models and like many of their other drones, it looks very similar to a DJI drone, in this case, the EX5 looks a lot like the Mavic Mini.

Something I want to mention is that although this drone comes with a 4k camera, the resolution isn’t true 4k, its fake or interpolated and this is very noticeable when you see any recorded video footage. Interpolated 4k resolution is quite common with cheap camera drones, hence the reason they are very cheap and not suitable for professional photography. So, don’t believe its product page where it claims this drone cam record in true 4K video footage.

However, despite its exaggerated claims, this is a good drone for its price and as you shall see from this review, it does come with some advanced features.

Eachine EX5 Review

So, if you are a drone enthusiast, one of the first things you will notice is that the design of the Eachine EX5 is very similar to that of the DJI Mavic Mini.

It is a beautiful looking drone that has a premium feel and look and comes with a compact foldable design that makes it easy to carry around and great for travelling with.

This is a very lightweight drone, it weighs around 229g including the battery, this means that you will not need to register the drone if you live in the UK, Canada or the USA. Most other countries do not require you to register a drone if you are just going to be flying for fun, however, I would still advise you to check what the rules and regulations are wherever you live just to make sure that you are complying with the law.

One of the advanced features this drone comes with is brushless motors, most drones around this price range are installed with inferior brushed motors. Brushless motors are powerful and more efficient than brushed motors and this allows the drone to fly more smoothly and hover without drifting away too much, even if there is a slight wind.

The drone comes with dual GPS systems that will allow you to track the drone accurately on the app and also allows the drone to fly autonomously.

There is also an optical flow sensor on the bottom that will allow you to fly the drone in areas where there is no GPS signal, which means you can fly this drone indoors if you want to, although I would only recommend this in a large spacious room.

One of the main selling points of this drone is it’s 30 minutes of flight time, now for a drone that costs just a little over $100, 30 minutes is unheard of in this price range. However, drone companies usually overstate how long drones can fly, so I would expect something more in the range of 20 minutes, which is still particularly good.

One reason for the drone’s long flight time is that it is powered by an advanced lithium polymer battery that maintains its charge for longer. This is a 7.4v 2200 mAh battery that fits in the back of the drone and you get the option to purchase 2 or 3 extra batteries that will allow you to extend the flight time.

The drone comes with a pair of blue LED lights on the front that look like headlights and if you fly this drone in the dark, it does make for a really nice spectacle.

The remote controller is also very similar to that of the Mavic Mini controller, it has a minimalistic design and is powered by 4 1.5v AAA batteries which unfortunately are not included with the drone package.

The stated control range is around 1km but usually its slightly less, so expect something in the range of around 800 meters before you start to lose connection. This is still a good range, especially for a drone that costs around $100.

You can also control the drone via its official app which is called the Eachine Pro, this available on both Android and iOS devices. This is a relatively new app, it has a nice and easy to use interface and all of the controls and features are easily identified.

Something you have to consider if you decide to purchase this drone is that you will need a smartphone that supports 5G WiFi, otherwise, you will not be able to fly the drone with any other type of smartphone.

Eachine EX5 Camera

There is no doubt that one of the main reason’s drones have become so popular over the past few years is because a majority of them now come with decent cameras.

Now, just to make something very clear, the Eachine EX5 does not come with a professional camera despite what you may read on its product page.

It also does not come with a true 4K camera and this is very noticeable when you see the actual video footage.

However, you must remember that this drone costs just a tad over $100, so you get what you pay for and for its price, the camera is good enough. It has a 150° field of view and the camera can be adjusted via the remote controller to get better viewing angles.

It has an electronic image stabilisation feature, however, you will still notice a lot of shakiness and jello effect, especially when you fly outdoors. However, the video quality is much better indoors, this is most likely because there is less interference and the drone is in very close range.

There is no micro SD card slot, so you will need t store your videos and photos on your smartphone, so make sure that you have enough memory to store your files.

You can live stream videos in 1080p, the streaming is of decent quality but it does get more grainy the further you fly out, so try and keep it well within the video transmission range. I should also add that the camera has a zooming function, but it’s not very good as the quality diminishes every time you zoom in to your subject matter.

Overall, it’s a decent camera and for the price, I reckon it is worth it, however, if you want a drone that sells at a similar price point but comes with a superior quality camera, check out the DJI Tello, which I believe is the best drone for under $200.

Eachine EX5 – Other Features

As I mentioned, the drone comes with a few advanced features and one of these are its autonomous flight modes thanks to the drones dual GPS system.

These flight modes allow you to fly the drone hands-free and give you more time to concentrate on taking better videos and photos.

The Eachine EX5 comes with the following autonomous flight modes:

Waypoint – In this flight mode you will be able to draw a flight path on the drone app and the drone will fly along that route automatically.

Orbit – This flight mode allows you to lock the drone on a point of interest and the drone will orbit that position.

Follow me – Pretty self-explanatory, the drone will lock onto your smartphone and follow you from behind.

Something you must be aware of regarding these autonomous flight modes and that is that they do not always work, especially if the GPS signal is weak. The app may also cause some problems as many of apps from smaller drone companies are not always updated on a regular basis.

The drone also comes with a gesture control mode, this will allow you to take short videos and photos through your hand gesture. This could be fun to use if you are in a group and want to take some quick selfies with your friends.

As far as I am aware, this drone does not come with an automatic return home feature, which is surprising since it is a GPS drone and most other Eachine drones with a GPS system come with this safety feature.

Flight Performance

Like most other Eachine drones, the EX5 does fly well, it’s easy to control and hovers pretty accurately without too much drift. It is a fun drone to fly and most of the features work as they should. The drones default flight mode is the headless mode, which is great for beginners and the smart flight modes are always fun to use.

Final Thoughts

This is a great cheap drone that is suitable for everyone, it comes with some good features and has a decent camera. If you want to find out more about the Eachine EX5 drone and check out its current price, click on the button below.

However, I do personally think the best drone at a similar price point is the DJI Tello, it comes with similar features, the camera produces better quality videos and photos and has a superior app, the only thing is that the Tello is not a GPS drone so does not come with all the benefits a GPS system provides. However, I still prefer it over most other drones in the $100 price range category, find out more about the Tello drone here.