MJX B12 Review – A Cheap 4K Drone With Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS)

Hi and welcome to my review of the new MJX B12 EIS drone, a drone that comes with some awesome features including an actual 4K camera and a GPS module, all for under $200.

MJX are one of the best low-cost drone brands, they have a number of very popular consumer drones in their product. Some of my personal favourite’s drones include the MJX B20 and the MJX B7, both of which also come cameras that can record in actual 4K.

However, these are classed as toy drones and are not meant for professional photography despite what you may read on its product page.

Also, this drone comes with features that will require you to have a smartphone that comes with 5G technology. 5G smartphones are quite expensive and so if you don’t have one, you will not be able to access some of the features of this drone.

MJX B12 Review

The MJX B12 EIS is a medium-sized foldable drone, its body is quite bulky, which is my only major gripe with its overall design. Foldable drones are probably the most popular type of consumer drones because they are compact in their folded form and this makes them easy to carry around.

Foldable drones like the MJX B12 are also great for travelling with because they will not take up too much space in your luggage. If you are planning on purchasing this or any drone for travelling please make yourself acquainted with the rules and regulations of wherever you are travelling to.

Speaking of rules, this drone weighs just over 500g, this means you will need to register the drone if you live in the USA, Canada or the USA. If you live anywhere else, please check what the rules and regulations are and make sure to comply with them.

Apart from its bulky body, I do like its overall look, it has a solid structure and because of its size and weight, it can be flown in windy conditions.

Most MJX drones come with powerful brushless motors and the B12 is no different. These motors are more efficient and last longer than brushed motors and also do not require as much maintenance.

Brushless motors also allow drones hover better and fly faster, however, the downside is that drones with brushless motors are usually a little bit more expensive.

The drone has a memory card slot near the bottom and the maximum capacity it can hold is 128GB. As this drone can record in 4K, its recommended you get a fast recoding memory card, preferably one that is class 10 or above.

Like most modern consumer drones, the MJX B12 has bright LED lights on the end of each rotor arm, these make for a nice spectacle if you fly the drone at night. However, I would advise you to only fly at night if you are experienced and the local drone rules allow you to.

The drone comes with a flight time of around 22 minutes, which is pretty good for a drone that costs under $200 and you have the option to purchase two or three extra batteries which I highly recommend. This way you can extend the flight time without having to wait for the battery to fully recharge before being able to fly the drone again.

Its is a GPS enabled camera and so comes with the benefits such a system brings such as being able to track the drone accurately and flying the drone autonomously via its intelligent flight modes.

It also has an optical flow sensor that will allow you to fly the drone in areas where the GPS signal may not be so strong.

The remote controller is the same as many of the other drones that belong to the MJX brand. It’s small, has a minimalist design and has a range of around 600 meters on a good day. There is a smartphone holder that pulls out from the top and it is powered by 2 AA batteries which unfortunately are not included with the drone package. So, if you do decide to purchase this drone, remember to get some batteries for the controller.

A cool feature of the controller that I like is its LCD screen which will display data such as the drones height, distance, battery level and GPS strength.

To use the drones FPV feature and smart flight modes, you will need to download the M RC Pro app which is available for both Android and iOS devices. I do believe this is one of the better drone apps from a low-cost drone brand.

I just want to mention again that to use these features from the app, you will need to have a smartphone that comes with 5G technology, otherwise, you will not be able to use the FPV feature or the autonomous flight modes.

MJX B12 EIS Camera

So, one of my favourite features of a drone is its camera, they allow you to view the world from above, which is always a nice visual experience.

The MJX B12 EIS comes with a very good camera, especially for its price, however, it is not a camera that is suitable for professional photography, if you want a cheap drone for photography, you are looking at something like the DJI Mavic Mini or the Hubsan Zino Pro, both of which cost under $400.

The drone has a fixed camera that can be automatically adjusted up or down to get better viewing angles. It has a 130° wide-angle lens and comes with 1/3 CMOS sensor that can capture still images in 8MP. It has no gimbal for stabilisation but does come with an electronic image (EIS) stabilisation feature.

Videos can be recorded in 4k at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps, those are some pretty good frame rates for a cheap drone and the 4K quality does not look interpolated as is the case with a lot of cheap drones that claim their cameras can record in true 4K.

You still notice some shakiness and jello effect but the EIS does a good job of minimising these effects. As I stated earlier, you will need to a fast recording memory to store these high-resolution video files on, otherwise, the quality will not be as good.

Overall, it’s a good camera and probably one of the best at its price range, however, if you do want more options then check out my article for the best drones under $200.

Intelligent Flight Modes

Drones coming with autonomous flight modes are not as unique as they used to be, most drones that cost over $100 now come with intelligent flight modes and MJX B12 is no different.

Flying a drone hands-free will allow you to concentrate on capturing better videos and photos and they are also fun to operate in this way.

The MJX B12 comes with the following intelligent flight modes:

Follow me – The drone will lock on to your smartphone and follow you from behind.

Point of interest – Lock the drone on to any subject matter and it will orbit that position, you can set the height and distance from within the app.

Tap fly – Allows you to tap anywhere on the app and the drone will go to that position automatically, you can also draw a flight path and the drone will fly along it and come back home.

In addition to the above flight features, the MJX B12 also comes with an automatic return to home feature. This feature is activated automatically if you lose connection with the drone or if the drone battery gets low on charge. You can also manually activate this feature via the return to home button on the app or controller.

Flight Performance

MJX make good drones and the B12 is no exception, it has a good flight performance, it hovers well because of its GPS and optical flow sensor and flying motion is smooth. The drone even holds up well in mildly windy conditions. It has several speed modes and the autonomous flight modes are fun to use. The FPV feed is transmitted in 720p and as long as it is a clear day, the feed will have little interference. Like I stated earlier, to use features the app provides, you will need to 5G enabled smartphone, otherwise, you will only be able to fly with the controller.

Final Thoughts

This is a good drone, the body is kind of bulky but it has a foldable design which makes it easier to carry around. The best feature is definitely, its 4K camera and it comes with a decent flight time if you would like more details about this drone, click on the button below.