The Freefly Alta Line comes with a whopping eight propellers, and a filming and landing failsafe to be sure it doesn’t break before its time. It’s the best professional drone in every sense of the phrase. It may not come with a camera, but cameras used for movies are always better than what drones are accustomed to. So you’ll have to buy your own or get a top-rated drone that comes with one.
Why We Like It – Freefly Alta 8
The Freefly Alta 8 is the premier drone, or Freefly is at least the premier drone company, for movie-makers. The 35 MPH top speed is sufficient for the drone to get from one side of the set to another, and the 20-pound max payload means hooking any size camera to it should be easy enough. Just be sure it’s the right camera to get the shot you need!
- 8 Propellers
- Filming and Landing Failsafes
- Great For Movie-Style Shooting
- Too Much Variance in Battery Life
- Doesn’t Come With a Camera
Speed/Power
The Alta Drone Freefly FPV System boasts an impressive max speed of about 35 miles per hour, which is nearly 11 miles faster than the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 Elite Edition. While this may not be the highest we’ve seen, like the Flyability Elios, it’s still impressive and notable. Check out the DJI Inspire 2 for similar speed specs. The Alta propeller system is also exceptional. Containing a whopping eight propellers, it will remain stable no matter what it’s like outside.
Range
Battery life is probably one of the weaker aspects of the Freefly Alta 8. Depending on the load you place on the drone, it can get anywhere between 8-34 minutes of battery life. This is far too much of a divergence between times to be considered a positive. If you’d like something more stable, and longer, when it comes to flight time, try the DJI Phantom 4 Pro.
Durability
The Alta 8 is a durable machine. The maximum payload possible is an impressive 20 pounds. This is even seven pounds more than the 13 pounds empty weight of the machine. The quick-release top handle inverted landing gear not only makes landing much safer (and believe me, you’ll want to take every precaution with this drone) but also makes shooting video that much quicker too.
Related: Be sure to check out our JJRC H37 Pocket Drone review for another compact drone.
Camera Features
It’s hard to speak about camera features because the drone doesn’t come with a built-in camera, similar to the Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk. However, this is unlike the Parrot Bebop 2, which records in FHD 1080p. But this also means you don’t have to contend with a camera you don’t like and can use a camera you prefer. But if you do want a built-in camera, check out the DJI Mavic 2 Pro 4K Drone. And with a maximum payload of 20 pounds, you can equip a movie-worthy camera to the machine to film production-value movie scenes. You can see similar features with the Ruko F11 Pro drone.
Value
The Alta 8 supports Futaba radio controllers that can be programmed to control RC aircraft. The Synapse flight controller takes readings from accelerometers, barometers, and GPS and merges them to create a high-bandwidth height control flight mode. Although not available on Amazon, the drone is expensive at $17,000.00 on average and thus is only available via special order. Of course, considering the drone is used primarily for movies, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Take a look at our KMOON F949 review if you are looking for a cheaper drone.
Freefly Alta 8 Wrap Up
It’s hard to see anyone buying the Freefly Alta 8 for fun considering it’s price-tag and explicit use for movie shooting. But I guess anything is possible. But if you are shooting a movie, and have come across some cash to spare, the Freefly Alta 8 is a drone you should look into.
