Hubsan Ace Pro Review – A Great Entry-Level Drone For Photography

Hubsan Ace Pro Review Summary

The Hubsan Ace Pro is a high-end drone designed for both amateur and professional use. Its standout features include a 35-minute flight time, top speed of 35mph, and the ability to withstand Level 8 winds. Utilizing Hubsan’s SyncLeas 3.0 technology, it offers a video transmission range of up to 10km and connects to GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou for precise navigation. Equipped with numerous intelligent flight modes and a 4K camera, it’s an exceptional drone that is easy to operate. In North America, it’s sold as the Blackhawk 2 Pro under the Exo Drones brand due to a strategic partnership between Hubsan and Exo Drones.

For more details, read my full review of Exo Drones here.

Key Features

• 1/1.3-inch sensor with fixed f/1.84 aperture & 84°FOV
• 48MP images
• 3-axis gimbal stabilisation
• Records videos in 4k at 30fps, 2.7k at 30fps
• 200Mbps Video bitrate
• Intelligent flight modes include advanced visual tracking using AI
• Creative video mode for one-touch short video creation
• GPS-assisted Automatic return to home
• 35 minutes of flight time
• 10km image transmission range

So, you’re interested in the Hubsan Ace Pro drone. Well, you’re in luck. I’ve spent some time flying this drone around, and this is the best drone from Hubsan so far. The Hubsan Ace Pro is the successor to the Hubsan Mini Zino Pro; the Ace Pro comes with many exceptional upgrades and is a serious alternative to DJI’s entry-level mini drones. In this Hubsan Ace Pro review, we’ll be unpacking all the features the drone has to offer and how it compares with its competitors. We’ll delve deep into what makes this drone work and share with you our thoughts on its performance, functionality, and value for money. So stay tuned as we unravel the intricacies of the Hubsan Ace Pro drone. This is a review you don’t want to miss!

Who Are Hubsan?

Hubsan is a China-based manufacturer known for producing affordable, high-quality drones, often used by hobbyists and semi-professionals. The company’s popular models include the Hubsan Zino and Ace series, noted for their compact size, ease of use, and camera capabilities.

Besides the Autel Robotics Evo Nano series, Hubsan is the only other company that offers a good alternative to DJI’s entry-level drones.

What’s in The Box?

The package comes complete with everything you need to commence your flying adventures. Inside the box, you’ll find the drone itself, a battery, a charger, spare propellers, a screw, charging cables, and a manual. As an added bonus, the set includes a stylish shoulder bag, a handy feature that I wish DJI incorporated into their standard drone offerings.

Hubsan Ace Pro Review – Design

The Hubsan Ace Pro is an attractively designed drone boasting a robust and foldable structure, which makes it convenient for storage and travel. It’s not a large drone with dimensions of 18.2×17.65×7.3cm in its flight-ready state and weighing under 600 grams. However, registration may still be required depending on your location due to its weight.

Equipped with powerful brushless motors, the drone provides impressive flight stability and is rated to resist wind levels up to 8. Although I don’t personally fly in windy conditions, the motors’ power is evident, indicating that the drone could likely handle such situations.

The drone also features a pair of obstacle avoidance sensors on the front and back, complemented by several infrared sensors and an optical flow sensor located on the bottom. An LED light is situated on the drone’s underside for safer landing operations in the dark.

In addition, the front arms serve a dual purpose as landing legs and antennas, while a micro SD card slot on the side accepts memory cards up to 128GB. The remote controller shares the same aesthetic as the drone and includes a smartphone holder that extends from the bottom.

Powered by an internal battery, the controller is equipped with buttons for take-off, landing, automatic return to home, video recording, photo taking, and gimbal control. Its LCD screen displays flight data and uses Hubsan’s latest transmission technology, SyncLeas 3.0, which boasts an impressive image transmission range of 10km.

It’s important to note that in many countries, regulations require that drones be kept within the operator’s line of sight. While the extended transmission range may not always be necessary given these restrictions, it certainly adds an element of bragging rights to this exceptional drone.

Hubsan Ace Pro – Camera Quality

The Ace Pro drone boasts an impressive camera as one of its standout features.; it’s comparable to the DJI Mini 2 and maybe even the DJI Mini 2 Pro, although the Mini 3 Pro camera is far superior.

The camera features a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, the biggest image sensor on any Hubsan drone; although the Ace 2 has a 1-inch sensor, it is yet to be released.

Large image sensors on cameras offer multiple benefits. Most significantly, they enhance image quality by capturing more light, which proves particularly beneficial in low-light situations, resulting in clearer, more detailed images.

The camera can capture 48MP images in both RAW and JPEG formats and records 4K videos at 30fps, 2.7K at 30fps and FHD at 60fps. The drone has an internal memory capacity of 64GB, so there is enough memory to record a few hours of HD videos. However, you should purchase a U3 memory card if you are going to record drone videos regularly.

The drone camera has a maximum recording speed of 200Mbps, which significantly improves video quality but does use up more memory; usually, recording at 100Mbps is more than enough.

The camera is stabilised by a 3-axis gimbal, providing smooth and stable footage, even in challenging flight conditions. This stabilisation helps eliminate any shaky or blurry footage from sudden movements or wind gusts, resulting in high-quality videos and crystal-clear aerial photography.

The camera boasts a large aperture and an expansive ISO range, features that are especially advantageous for capturing videos or photos in low-light or nighttime conditions. Furthermore, the camera settings include a dedicated night mode, which automatically optimises the camera’s performance for superior nighttime photography.

Overall, the camera quality is impressive, as can be seen from the video below.

Flight Features

The Hubsan Ace Pro boasts an impressive range of flight capabilities. One of the standout features is its extended flight time, capable of remaining airborne for up to 35 minutes on a single charge, providing ample time for capturing those perfect shots or exploring from a bird’s eye view.

With its impressive flight time, this drone stands out as one of the top options in its price range.It’s also engineered with excellent wind resistance, maintaining stability even in Level 8 winds, which ensures reliable performance in challenging conditions. Although I never fly in windy conditions, this wind resistance will be useful if you are an experienced pilot.

Moreover, the Ace Pro takes advantage of Hubsan’s SyncLeas 3.0 technology to achieve a remarkable 10km video transmission range. This long-distance connectivity enhances the drone’s versatility; however, as most countries restrict how far you can fly your drone, the transmission range should be a factor in your decision on whether to purchase a drone or not.

In terms of speed, the Ace Pro is no slouch, either. It can reach a top speed of 35mph in its sport mode, making it a good choice for fast-paced action shots or for covering larger landscapes quickly.

The drone also comes equipped with a multi-GNSS system, allowing it to connect to GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou satellites. This ensures highly accurate positioning and improved navigation accuracy, reducing the risk of losing the drone in mid-flight.

Lastly, the Ace Pro’s optical flow sensor enables safe and stable indoor flights. This sensor uses patterns on the ground to maintain steady hovering and smooth navigation, making it easier to fly in confined spaces.

Hubsan Ace Pro Intelligent Features

As you would expect from a Hubsan drone, the Ace Pro comes with several intelligent features that enhance flight performance and significantly improve the user’s experience.

Key among these is the advanced 3-way obstacle avoidance system, which employs a combination of optical sensors to provide easy navigation in dense environments. This is a smart system that not only detects obstacles but can also navigate around them.

This makes the Hubsan Ace Pro one of the cheapest drones with an obstacle avoidance system.

The Hubsan Ace Pro is equipped with a range of intelligent flight modes, one of which is the third-generation active track feature, also known as ATVT 3.0. This advanced mode benefits from enhanced visual tracking capabilities powered by sophisticated AI algorithms. With this feature, users can effortlessly track any subject, whether from behind or alongside, facilitating the creation of dynamic, professional-quality videos with ease.

The Ace Pro also features a circle-tracking mode that allows the drone to orbit around a selected subject. This provides unique and dynamic perspectives, ideal for creating compelling video content, whether it be for cinematic footage or capturing memorable moments.

The Hubsan Ace Pro comes with a waypoint mode, which allows users to map out specific flight paths for the drone. By setting multiple GPS points, the drone can autonomously navigate the predetermined route, enabling users to focus on capturing stunning visuals without having to worry about the complexities of flight control.

The Hubsan Ace Pro brings its unique take on DJIs Quickshot intelligent video recording mode with a feature aptly named “Creative Videos.” This feature includes pre-programmed modes like Rocket, Drone, 360, and Comet.

Each of these offers a different style of aerial shot: ‘Rocket’ shoots straight up into the air with the camera pointing downward, ‘Drone’ flies backwards and upward with the camera locked on a subject, ‘360’ captures a circular panoramic video, and ‘Comet’ simulates a swooping, comet-like movement.

These modes, specifically designed for easy operation and spectacular results, allow both novices and professionals to create compelling, short cinematic footage effortlessly.

Another intelligent feature that the Hubsan Ace Pro boasts is the Hyperlapse mode. This feature, divided into two flight modes – ‘Free’ and ‘Circle’, enables users to craft mesmerising time-lapse videos. With the ‘Free’ mode, users can navigate the drone freely during the hyperlapse, while the ‘Circle’ mode allows the drone to orbit a selected point of interest, creating dynamic and captivating visuals over a period of time.

The drone is also equipped with an Automatic Return-to-Home function, a safety feature that ensures the drone navigates back to its take-off point whenever the battery gets low, the signal is lost, or it can be activated via the remote controller or app.

Is The Hubsan Ace Pro Suitable For Beginners?

Absolutely, the Hubsan Ace Pro is suitable for beginners; however, it might not be the best choice for absolute novices due to its high-end specifications and associated cost. The drone is packed with professional-grade features primarily intended for videography and photography, making it a considerable investment.

For those just starting their journey in drone piloting, something more affordable and user-friendly, like the Ryze Tech Tello drone, could be a more appropriate choice. This model offers the fundamental features of a drone without being overwhelming for beginners and at a more manageable price point.

That being said, if you’re a beginner with a passion for photography and you have the budget for it, the Hubsan Ace Pro could certainly be worth considering.

Availability

If you are a resident of the USA or Canada and are interested in the Hubsan Ace Pro, it’s important to note that this particular model, as well as most of Hubsan’s top-tier drones, are not directly available in these regions under the Hubsan brand. This is due to a strategic partnership between Hubsan and Exo Drones, a drone company based in Utah, USA.

Under this exclusive agreement, Exo Drones has the rights to market and sell Hubsan’s premium drones under its own brand within North America. As such, the Hubsan Ace Pro is sold under the Exo Drones brand as the Blackhawk 2 Pro. So, while you may not find the Hubsan Ace Pro by name in North America, rest assured that its equivalent, the Blackhawk 2 Pro, offers the same features and performance under the Exo Drones branding.

Final Thoughts

The Hubsan Ace Pro is undeniably a recommended choice for drone enthusiasts. Its advanced features, impressive flight performance, and high-quality camera capabilities make it stand out from the competition. While minor issues have been reported, the overall user experience and value for money make the Hubsan Ace Pro a reliable and exciting option for both beginners and experienced pilots. Elevate your aerial photography and exploration with the Hubsan Ace Pro drone.