My Spry+ waterproof drone/camera arrived today. I purchased it from Fishing Drones Australia and it arrived by free Australia Post in two days! Here’s the manufacturer’s promotional video to introduce you to this drone.
“The aircraft and remote controller of Spry+ are totally waterproof and corrosion-resistant, so that you can bring the drone with you when surfing or in any weathers. Even when you throw the drone and the controller into the water, they can safely float. Landing and taking off from the water with 100% peace of mind, dunking under the water for a quick adventure, Spry+ opens your sight to the limit.”
Needing a drone to record my sailing adventures made finding a completely waterproof drone imperative. Waterproof drones tend to be expensive and the range is small but the price tag for this unit of $1,380 beat both the Spry Store and Harvey Norman by $200.
Before buying any technology I always research the $#@t of it first and I quickly discovered the Spry+ has been very widely, favourably received – such as in this video review from Captain Drone.
I found the set-up and calibration straightforward and it was ready to fly after less than an hour. It doesn’t come with a microSD card so I picked one suitable for large 4K video files from JB Hifi on the way to the park for my first flight.
It flew perfectly and operation was simple and intuitive. Unfortunately none of the batteries or the remote had much charge so I couldn’t fly for very long. Each battery provides 15-20 minutes of flying time so I bought an extra two to stretch my time to 45-60 minutes before recharging.
The video quality is excellent and the 4K Sony camera provides high resolution and fantastic colour saturation. Here is a video of my first test flight. Unfortunately, I cracked the protective plastic camera dome by incorrectly securing the drone in the travel case so you will see an imperfection later in the flight. It’s not expensive to replace and I have ordered a replacement.
The replacement arrived after 2 days by express post – great service again from Fishing Drones Australia. The dome was easy to replace and here is my first test flight over water with some iPhone footage edited in for good measure,
Video Tutorials (7 in this playlist)