Potensic ATOM 3-Axis Gimbal 4K GPS Drone, Under 249g, 32 Mins Flight, 6KM Long Range Transmission, Visual Tracking, 4K/30FPS QuickShots, 12MP Photo, Lightweight and Foldable for Adults Beginners

Bought the Atom over a year and a half ago. I flew it maybe 3-4 times in the first month since it was winter time and super cold out. Then life got busy, and I forgot I even had this thing until this past weekend, I finally broke it out of the box again. Man is thing is impressive. Especially for the price point. Best value for your dollar out there. It’s super easy to fly, even for someone with little to no experience with flying quadcopters/drones. My 6 year old figured it out in about 3 mins. Camera and video quality are fantastic. Takes great photos. I keep pushing it farther each time a take it out to the field nearby. So far I’ve flown it 2,600 ft or so away from my and the streaming feed stays strong, but only if you’re in an open field with a good line of sight to the drone itself, otherwise it gets a bit laggy. It can take quite a beating too. I’ve crashed it 3 times into trees now. Only once did it need a blade/prop replacement since one got cracked. Otherwise it gets right back up, dusts itself off, laughs, then it keeps flying like nothing ever happened. The camera modes are fun, been playing with those too. For this price point you even get a “follow target” mode. So I had my kiddo be the target and run around the field. It tracks him pretty well, as long as he doesn’t do a 180 on a dime and run the other direction and it can’t keep him in frame fast enough so it loses track…which is to be expected from any drone really. The speed is amazing. It’s slow enough in beginner mode where you never feel like it will get away from you. Normal mode kicks it up quite a few notches to where flying it around is quick and fun, then you get to play with all of the distance and height limiters. Now sport mode is ridiculously fast. 35mph out of this little thing is nuts. Battery life is drained on sport mode, respectfully so. Batteries seem to last between 20-25 mins depending on use. Which is surprisingly quite longer than you’d think, especially if you’re used to $50-100 drones. Night and day difference. My only gripe with it is that it could use some quieter propellers. It’s significantly louder than my neighbor’s DJI Mini 3. Speaking of, these are two very similar and comparable drones. Practically all the same features, but the DJI has a slightly better camera and controller. This one has some features that the DJI doesn’t have, and the DJI has features that the Potensic doesn’t have. However, for the price, I can nearly buy two of these at the discounted rate for the price of one DJI…and my neighbor even tells me every time we fly together that he is super impressed with this Potensic and that he nearly bought this one too before he got the DJI. Overall, if you want the best entry drone out there with some of the best features for the best price. Look no further.

Purchased the Atom 3 axis gimble fly more kit in February 2024. I have only put maybe 2 hours of flight time on this Drone as I have been busy with outdoor projects. Today I had some free time and thought I would get some Drone time in. When I powered on the Drone and entered the Potensic app, there was a Firmware update notice to version 3.4.5. I decided to go ahead with the update since I had a fully charged Batteries and Controller. After the update I noticed my Gimble would not stay in the neutral position and would drift all the way up on its own. So I powered everything off, exited the App and tried again with same issue. I tried calibrating the Gimble but it did not fix the issue. Tried calibrating the remote control and was not able to complete the process because the Gimble control did not respond correctly. Powered off everything again, this time I could complete the remote control calibration but the Gimble still would pan up all the way and would not hold the position set. Ok, I give up and try contacting Potensic support, we will see how good the Customer service is at Potensic. Everything else works like it should, just the Gimble issue. This a deal breaker for me because I bought this for the great reviews and image quality at the price I really hope Potensic will stand behind their product. I will update this review when/if I get a response from Potensic. After working with Potensic I decided this drone may be defective and returned it for a refund and went back to the drawing board to research another sub 249g Drone to purchase. UPDATE - Potensic reached out to me and offered to send me a new drone Kit with single battery to give the Potensic another try. Sure glad theyHorizoe received the new drone today 7/24/2024 and immediately started charging the Battery and Remote control. After a full charge I went thru and loaded the Potensic app, calibrated everything and went out to do some test flying. WOW! The Camera Gimble worked flawlessly, it did not move up or down by itself and the Horizon was dead flat. The video looked great, smooth and seemless. Battery life is very good and charges quickly. I went thru all the preconfigured quick shots, tried the GPS mapping, RTH feature, shot video at 4K 30fps, took pictures and I have to say this Drone really performs extremely well for the price paid. I am extremely glad Potensic reached out to me and asked me to give them another chance. So in conclusion, I would like to give a much deserved shout out to Potensic customer service for making EVERY EFFORT to add another happy customer to the ever expanding number of people who are flying Potensic Atom Drones, and thank you for not giving up on me! I would recommend this Atom Drone to family and friends and to anyone who is looking for a really fun quality Drone to fly!

The Potensic Atom is simple to setup and get flying. It is very easy to control. The video was better than I expected. The Fly More package with the triple battery charger and case was a worthwhile option to buy. The nicely padded case that comes with the Fly More option fits everything safe and snug. Nicely done. The attached image to this review is a screen capture from the drone of the first video I took within 5 minutes of first flying the Atom. The drone was about 15 feet away from the wife and dog and it didn't bother either of them at all, even though she was blowing the drone a raspberry. The drone is very quiet. The video is unretouched and straight from the memory card of the drone. Very nice image quality, in my humble opinion. The video output is an MP4 file format in 4K at 3480x2160 pixels and 30fps. The remote control uses two control sticks that are screwed onto the remote when in use and unscrewed and stored on the remote control when not in use. Nice setup, but I will lose a few, I know me. So, I bought a few. They are $9 for 2 sticks. I also bought extra propeller blades at about $14 for a complete set of 8 blades (2 blades per each of 4 motors). Again, I know me, so I bought 5 extra sets. Both the controller sticks and the propeller blades are from Potensic on Amazon. The drone also has a non-GPS flight mode using what is oddly called the Time of Flight sensor(ToF). It has a ground observing capability to fly without GPS if within 25 feet or so of the ground. This is primarily for indoor use and it works great! Scared the dog, but the drone was easily controllable indoors. From the manual: "The ATOM is equipped with a downward vision system, it is located beneath the drone. The Downward Vision System consists of a monocular camera and a TOF module. The TOF module includes a transmitter tube and a receiver tub, it can precisely calculate the fly height above the ground by calculating the infrared signals transmission and receiving time. In combination with the monocular camera, the system can help achieve high-precision positioning at low altitudes." People ask about drones, "Is this drone for beginners?" The Potensic Atom is suitable for beginners due to its ease of control, and I expect other than for commercial users, the Atom will do great for most other people. The features of this drone compare favorably to any other drone I researched before I bought the Atom. The remote controller needs a cell phone for display. I am using a 2021 Motorola g-power I had sitting in a drawer. No need to have an activated cell phone, just a phone to use as a display. A current phone that is activated works just fine too. The controller adjusts to your phone size. I did notice that Potensic seems to only offer Android and Apple iOS software for the controller. The phone must be able to connect to the Internet (I used WiFi) and download the Potensic controller app. The drone package came with USB-C and Apple Lightning connectors cables to connect the phone to the remote control. The Potesnic Pro app loaded onto the Motorola Android phone without any issues. Also, the remote controller communicates with the drone, so the phone only needs to be able to run the controller software. Meaning, the phone doesn't need to be anything special. I am initially impressed with the drone's packaging, storage case, quality, ease of setup and use, and the quality of the video. I haven't even started to look into the various advanced capabilities of this drone, but I am looking forward to doing so. Enjoy!

So, the camera isn't great for low light, but shoots beautiful and smooth 4k videos and stills with decent daylight. The creative modes for orbits, spirals are nice and work well. The follow me feature works great too, but the minimum gimbal and height restrictions required for that mode are a bit too restrictive to be 100% awesome. That issue bugs me a lot. I'd love a follow me feature that allows me to decide whatever gimbal angle and height I want to use. It's reliable, fun to fly, pretty easy to learn with, and returns home when the battery is kaput or when it loses signal with the controller. It's also fairly durable. I've crashed several times and all I've had to do is dust it off and maybe replace some propeller blades, which I've had to do multiple times. Officially, my rating would be 3-1/2 stars, but half ratings aren't a thing on amazon. The main reason for this lower-than-should-be rating is range. Their quoted range is way overly optimistic for what you reliably get. I'm happy if I get 7000 or 8000 feet away, before I encounter signal problems and video breakup. If you buy this drone, pay attention to whatever the kp index is for the day, because it seriously affects a drone's reliability and GPS lock. The one time I've had a fly-away rogue drone was because the kp index that day was like a 7. With 3 or less you'll really never have any problems. A 5 or above will be risky with this drone. Happily, I was able to regain control and get it back on track on that day, but there are many stories of drones that just fly off into the abyss. Kp index often has something to do with that, along with other electronic interference. For the price, it's hard to be for getting started with drones and drone photography. You'll get results you'll feel really great about. I've attached a couple of pics. The video is actually better than the stills!

If you're looking for your first camera drone, or just an affordable drone in general I can't think of another drone off the top of my head I'd recommend. Camera quality is excellent for the price. You get a solid 4k with good color grading. For the full quality, be sure to extract from SD card vs. downloading to mobile device. The gimbal keeps the video very steady with very little shake in the footage. I've tried the 1080/60 as well but honestly i dont think the downgrade in fidelity is worth the added fluidity for video. Pictures look good, however, dont be surprised if it takes a few snaps before you get max clarity. Also, if you are looking to fly at night this camera is not the best for low light with quite a bit of noise in the photos and videos. If your main focus is daytime flying i think this drone does more than enough to get the job done at this price range. Camera aside, lets talk about the flight itself. Calibration is easy, and quick and once launched there is very little if any sway in hover. In sport mode, you are capable of pretty sharp turns and i was able to reach around 40mph in flight. In my testing, i was able to get as high as 700ft and as far out as around 2 miles out before the signal started to weaken. This is in Jacksonville FL with plenty of trees and buildings around. Fair warning, if you are in an area with plenty of 2.4ghz interference this is affect these ranges. Also, when flying in mild winds i found the video feed kept going out making it harder to see from FPV. If you are flying in windy conditions or over water be sure to keep line of sight to ensure no accidents. All in all, if you are looking for a good DJI competitor at a good price that can compete in quality this drone may be for you.

The video is of my second day flying the drone (and I only used two batteries to film that) in Korea. I had never flown a drone before, not even a toy drone, so I was quite nervous despite having watched some youtube tutorials. Wow, it is SO EASY to fly!! Even on my first flight, after about 20 minutes I felt confident using it. Also, I was surprised by how tiny it is, haha. It's literally about the size of my hand. The plus side is it's lightweight and compact enough to carry around anywhere, but it's hard to keep an eye on it in the sky, especially at a distance. On my first day, I spotted some deer running in a field. It was late afternoon and I was so thrilled to get footage of deer prancing along. Luckily I stopped and hovered for a second, moved the camera angle up, and saw I was just feet away from a smashing into bridge! Please check your surroundings!! It has so many perks. The customer service team is very responsive and helpful. The quality of the footage is fantastic at the price point. Quickshots and tracking are great, especially for a beginner like myself. The "fly more" package you get around 90 minutes of flight time, and can charge the other batteries via USB C while you're flying. Again, it's really easy to use... the controls are sensitive enough that you can pan/turn/lift, etc. as slowly or quickly as you'd like. The only negative is it doesn't have obstacle avoidance. Of course, that would make it more expensive, but just be careful of all the surrounding and play it safe. If you can't see the drone yourself, then please use caution and plan the route carefully. It can be hard to judge how close things are. I'm glad the company regularly takes feedback from customers and makes updates. I'm particularly happy about the option to cancel the automatic return to home and do it manually. I would highly recommend this for anyone wanting to get into drone photography or video, if you have no experience, and are on a budget. This is the one for you! Do not hesitate, just get it!!

Potensic went above and beyond to resolve an issue I was having with my drone. They sent a new drone in less than 24 hours after diagnosing the issue and provided prepaid postage for me to return the malfunctioning drone. This was even after the 30 days return window. This company will have your back and cares about the customer experience. In terms of the product itself, I thought it was pretty good even when malfunctioning but having a fully functioning, unit I’m blown away with the performance. I can attest it can reach and sustain 36mph in sports mode which is on par if not better than most drones in this class. The camera quality is good and 3X zoom is achieved by lowering the resolution to 2.7K, which is almost telephoto. As mentioned before by others, it also charges the batteries in parallel, so you could in theory just continuously fly the drone with the three-pack combo, only stopping to swap batteries. It's an excellent starter drone. If you are considering this as your first drone, or haven't flown drones in years, line of sight is crucial for a reliable connection and to stay legal. It's an excellent flyer. If I wanted any more out of this drone it would be the option to have a larger capacity battery with a built-in remote id module and maybe beacon lights for night flying to stay compliant. The standard kit is a steal, but I guarantee you’ll be wishing you had the extra batteries in the combo package. If you have a protective case on your phone place the phone higher on the controller so the plug is protruding and not inserted into the tuck-away, or just stick something in the tuck-away area like a piece of paper. The additional thickness of a case can cause the end that plugs into the phone to be stressed at a slight angle.

I am absolutely blown away by this thing. First off, the packaging and the overall look and feel of the drone itself are excellent. It does not look or feel like a cheap toy in any way. The controller is comfortable and easy to use. The drone itself is easy to set up. The PotensicPro app, which is used to control to the drone through the controller, is fantastic and easy to use. It has video tutorials and guides you through initial setup and calibration. This drone is insanely stable and easy to fly. Takeoff and landing are a breeze. I get great range and pretty decent battery life. Photos are sharp and high quality. I like that you can shoot RAW+JPEG. Videos are also super sharp and perfectly stable thanks to the gimbal. Shooting in 4k 30fps looks amazing. The drone gives you full control over the camera settings, so you can fine-tune the exposure and white balance if you know how manual settings work. My only complaint with video is that the Atom does not let you shoot video in any type of RAW/Log format. For that, you need to look at the new Atom 2 drone, but most people won't need that feature. This is only my first full day with it and I'm just so impressed. The quick shots and follow-me modes work great. No airspace restrictions that prevent you from taking off (though you still need to understand the local laws/regulations and the airspace you're flying in). This is a way better value than anything from DJI. I expect this drone to last a long time, and I can't wait to bring it with me on hikes and other adventures. I've included a couple of sample photos (unedited) and a short video clip that demonstrates the camera quality.