Welcome to my review of the Eachine EX3 HD camera drone.

This is one of the latest models from Eachine who have released some fantastic beginner-friendly drones with advanced features at affordable prices. I have already reviewed some of their impressive range of drones like the E58 and E520S.

In a world where DJI completely dominate the higher-end of the consumer drone market, there are a number of samller drone companies looking to establish themselves in the budget-friendly drone bracket.

Eachine is one of these companies and their drones are proving to be very popular, this is because of two reasons, the drones are relatively cheap when compared to the likes of DJI and most of them come with good cameras.

As regular readers of this blog will know, cameras are one of the main reasons I enjoy flying drones, they let you witness the world from above and explore places you may not have otherwise without a drone.

The Eachine EX3 not only comes with a terrific 2K HD camera but as you will find out from this review, it also has many advanced features that will make flying this drone easy and enjoyable.

Eachine EX3 Review

Out of the box, one of the first things you will notice is that the Eachine EX3 is a well designed foldable drone. Foldable drones have become very popular since DJI first launched the Mavic Pro, they are compact and not very heavy, although the Eachine EX3 is heavier than most foldable drones I have reviewed weighing in at just over 600g.

Still, it is not that heavy and the drone is very compact when folded up which makes it a great choice for a travel drone as it is easy to carry around.

The drone has a solid build and doesn’t feel cheap, it’s made from durable plastic and can withstand the occasional crashes without any serious damage.

It measures 45*45*75 cm unfolded which is actually quite large for that has a foldable design. There are LED lights of different colours on each rotor, this makes the drone suitable for night time flying, the lights also help to indicate when the drone is fully calibrated.

The Eachine EX3 has 4 brushless motors, these motors are more efficient than your standard brushed motors and they also provide more thrust to the drone and helps them go faster. Talking of drone speed, this drone is pretty fast, it comes with a top speed 40 km/h and even on its lowest speed it zips around pretty fast. Although this drone is suitable for beginners, I would highly advise people not to fly with the fast mode if you are new to flying drones.

The drone takes a 2300 mAh lithium polymer battery, these are the new modular batteries that keep the charge for longer and thus provide more flight time. In the case of the Eachine EX3, you can a maximum of 20 minutes flight time, however, expect something in the range of 15-18 minutes as drone companies often do overstate flight times. Still, 20 minutes is in the upper limits for a drone that costs less than $300. You get a cool looking battery charger than can charge two batteries at once and has LED lights that will indicate when your batteries are fully charged.

In my opinion, 20 minutes will not be enough time for you to fully enjoy flying this drone, its why I always advise people to purchase extra batteries. If you purchase from Banggood, you do get the option to purchase a package with extra batteries which I highly recommend, however, if you purchase through anywhere else, you will need to purchase batteries separately.

One other thing I want to mention before I get to the main features of this drone is regarding the Eachine EX3 remote controller.

Sometimes drone manufacturers do not put a lot of thought into the design of the remote controller and what you get isn’t aesthetically appealing.

However, the Eachine EX3 controller is well-designed, it looks similar to the Mavic controller, it’s just about the right size, has smooth rounded edges and feels comfortable in your hands.

There are two grips that fold out from the bottom, I really don’t see any use for them, I actually think it may hinder you if you fly while holding these grips, its best to keep them in place. A really cool feature is the small LCD screen in the middle of the controller, it provides you with necessary data about the drone, like how many satellites it has locked onto, its height, how far away it is and battery level.

There is a smartphone attachment that pulls out from the top and it can hold a large phone but not a tablet. The controls are all within easy reach, there is a gimbal dial on the top and some fake antennas, the controller takes 2 AA batteries which are not included with the drone package.

Transmission range is just over 1500 meters, however, if you use FPV, the range is reduced to 400 meters, this will be reduced further if weather conditions are not good.

You can also control the drone via the X-Drone app which is compatible with both android and iOS.

Eachine EX3 Camera

Now to the main feature of this drone which is its 2K HD camera.

This really is a fantastic camera which will allow you to take some stunning aerial images and videos, it comes with 110° wide angles lens that will retain more image details and a 1/3 CMOS sensor. It’s supported by a single axis gimbal which will eliminate any kind of distortion from your videos and images and the camera can be pitched 90° to give you more viewing angles.

Shutter speed can be set between 1/30s – 1/1000s which will allow you to take great images in low light and freeze fast-moving objects. ISO for both videos and images can be set automatically between 100-1600 and aperture is set to f/2.4.

The quality of the FPV is very good and there is little lag if you stay within range, if you are a frequent traveller, this drone will be perfect to take along with you and capture stunning aerial videos from around the world.

Intelligent Flight Modes

Like all high-end modern drones, the Eachine EX3 comes with several intelligent flight modes that will make flying this drone much easier. These intelligent flight modes will also let you take better images and videos as you will not have to concentrate too much on flying the drone.

The Eachine EX3 has three intelligent flight modes, they are;

Orbit Mode – The drone will orbit a point of your choosing, this could be a building, person or something else. The drone will rotate around your point of interest at a height and radius that you can set via the app.

Active Track – In this mode, the drone will automatically follow the person holding the remote controller. The person has to stay within a certain distance of the drone for this mode to work properly.

Tap Fly – This mode will allow you to draw a flight path on the app and the drone will follow that route and comes back to where it originally started from.

Low Battery Home Return – When the battery charge gets too low, the return home feature will be activated automatically, and the drone will come back to where it originally flew from. This will minimise the risk of losing the drone.

Other Features

Optical Flow Sensor – Situated on the belly of the drone, the optical flow sensor will help the drone maintain a steady altitude when hovering.

Headless Mode – This is mainly for beginner drone flyers, in this mode the drone is easier to fly as you will not need to be aware of where the drones head to tail is, this is especially helpful if the drone is very far away.

One Button Take-off and Landing – Launch the drone and bring it back home at the push of a button.

Flight Performance

The drone fly’s very well as you would expect a drone from Eachine, it’s steady, maintains a good attitude and holds up well in windy conditions. The Eachine EX3 is fairly easy to fly it’s a fast drone so if you are an absolute beginner, be aware of that. The main features of the drone work as expected, check out how it fly’s in the video below.

Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a high-quality HD camera drone with some advanced features, the Eachine EX3 is a great choice. The 2K camera is fantastic and along with features like intelligent flight modes, optical flow sensor and automatic return home, this is a drone that will give you a lot of joy to fly.