If you haven’t heard of Exo Drones yet, expect to see them start to pop up everywhere. They’re one of the fastest growing drone companies in the world and one of the top 150 fastest growing companies in the US.
In this Exo Drones review I’ll compare their two most popular models on the market at the moment, the Exo X7 Ranger and the EXO Mini range with similar DJI drones.
Some of the other EXO Drone models you may have heard of are Cinemaster, Scout and Recon.
DJI vs Exo Drones
DJI owns 75% of the market share when it comes to UAVs but Exo drones aims to fill the gap in the market between cheap models and DJI’s collection.
There’s been a lot of criticism toward DJI after they were added to the US Entity List by the Industry and Security Bureau in 2020. This was because of concerns on data privacy from Chinese Government funding.
Exo Drones is directly using this claim of not “selling your data” in their marketing and was established around the same time as DJI being added to the Entity List by the Security Buraeu.
Despite Exo placing themselves to take on the likes of DJI they are a relatively small and new company.
About Exo Drones
Exo Drones has Charlie Canon at the helm as CEO. Canon started the company after becoming frustrated at repeatedly buying expensive drones from DJI for film making, only to have continuous issues with loosing connection, the drone flying off and having to replace them. This experience was expensive but also really frustrating, dealing with the lack of customer support when reporting an issue with the drones.
The mission that drives Exo Drones is to provide affordable, high quality drones. They’re aiming to fill the gap in the drone market between cheap, toy like UAVs and the more expensive end of the market dominated by DJI.
This frustration is driving Exo drones’ passion for customer service. The customer support for Exo drones is based in the US. This passion for great customer service led to Hubsan approaching Exo Drones for a partnership.
Exo Drones Partnership with Hubsan
Hubsan has been manufacturing quality drones for years, while the hardware component is a strength they recognized their software and customer support needed improvement, especially in the US.
The two companies together have a combined strength that has drone pilots excited to see what they develop over the coming years in comparison to DJI.
Exo Drones are exclusively taking over Hubsan’s North American business as they had very limited market in the US.
Hubsan drones are great to fly but they had struggled with quality control and Exo Drones are great on the consumer end and could provide Hubsan with US backing.
Exo Drones was later acquired by OpenStore in August 2022.
EXO Drones Mini Pro Review
The Exo Mini Pro is similar to DJI’s Mini 3 Pro which is DJI’s endeavor to pack professional level features into a UAV under the 250g registration limit.
The Exo Drones version is a couple of hundred bucks less than the DJI Mini 3 Pro in the smart controller kit. There is also the basic level Exo Mini drone which is slightly cheaper but you’re getting a lower quality camera. The basic Exo Mini drone has a 12MP camera with a 1/2.6′ sensor compared to the 24MP, 1/1.26′ lens on the pro version.
The Exo Mini Pro drone has obstacle avoidance at the front and back unlike DJI’s Mini SE and Mini 2.
The 1/1.26” sensor is also an improvement on the Mini SE and Mini 2. The Exo Mini Pro is priced between the Mini 2 and Mini 3 Pro but the Mini 2 has been around for a while so has more refined technology. The Exo Mini Pro was released in 2022.
Get the overview on what you need to know on the comparison of the DJI Mini SE, 2 and 3 here.
PROS
- 1/1.26″ Sensor : Good for low light photography
- Adjustable aperture: This helps take better quality drone photos by stopping bright areas in the photo becoming blown out and preventing shadows from blacking out.
- Max flight time is really good for a mini drone (40 mins)
CONS
- Range is shorter than similar models (5km)
One of the features that is actually better on the Exo Mini Pro is the adjustable aperture. This is a feature that is usually only included in professional photography drones.
Having an adjustable aperture helps stop bright areas in a photo from getting blown out (more on that in Drone Photography).
Unlike DJI drones, the Exo Mini connects via usb rather than over wifi which makes this drone quicker to get up and running with, avoiding some of the issues what can occur with wireless technology.
Also, the Exo Mini Pro can set way-points with it’s native app (which the DJI Fly app doesn’t do).
Exo Mini Pro vs DJI Mini 3 Pro
vs Mini 2
The Exo Drones Mini Pro packs some quality features for a mini drone but how does it compare to the market leader, DJI?
One of the features that is actually better on the Exo Mini Pro is the adjustable aperture. This is a feature that is usually only included in professional photography drones.
Having an adjustable aperture helps stop bright areas in a photo from getting blown out (more on that in Drone Photography).
| Range | |||
| Camera Stills Resolution | |||
| Video | |||
| Battery / Max Flight Time | |||
| Obstacle Avoidance | |||
| Sensor Size | |||
| Aperture |
If you choose to spend the extra money and go with the DJI Mini 3 Pro, the main benefits are:
- Better controller: The smart controller by DJI has a built in screen so you don’t need to use your mobile. The screen is optimized for a bright clear display even when the sun would normally caused your phone display to dim.
- Longer range; The DJI Mini 3 Pro has a range of 12km. Even the DJI Mini 2, which is cheaper than the Exo Mini Pro, has double the range. Thinking about this practically though, 5km as A LOT when flying drones so this might be worth sticking with the Exo Mini Pro to save some cash.
- Vertical video: This has been in demand for sharing videos via social media for viewing video on mobile screens. However, the adjustable aperture on the Exo Mini Pro is a strong contender in terms of which mini drone has better camera features.
For more on the comparison of DJI’s Mini range, including the cheaper Mini SE, checkout DJI Mini SE vs Mini 2 vs Mini 3 Pro: What you need to know.
The Exo Ranger Drone
The Exo X7 Ranger Plus sits around the affordable $300 price bracket drones. It’s comparable to the HS720E, Ruko F11 Pro and the DJI Mini SE. Most of these have 4k resolution and similar flight times.
Exo Ranger Drone Pros
The stand out feature of the Exo Ranger drone is the 3 axial gimbal, which is rare at this price point. The only other drone I know of with this level of image stability is the DJI Mini SE which has lower resolution video and photography. The other drones with 4k capabilities at this price only have 2-axis gimbals or electronic image stabilisation which means poorer quality photos.
Cons
- 804m Range: The range of the Exo Ranger is far exceeded by the DJI Mini SE which is a similar price and can fly 10km. Similar 4K drones such as the Holy Stone HS720E and Roku F11 Pro also exceed the range of the Ranger Plus with maximum ranges of 1000m and 1200m.
- Weight: At 3 pounds or 1.36kg, this is a heavy drone. However the 25 minute flight time
Exo X7 Ranger Pro vs Holy Stone, DJI and Roku
| Exo X7 Ranger Plus | Holy Stone HS720E | Roku F11 Pro | DJI Mini SE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camera Quality | 4K Photography 2K Video | 4K | 4K | 2.7K Video 12MP Photography |
| Flight Time Per Battery | 25 mins | 23 mins | 30 mins | 31 mins |
| Range | 804m | 1000m | 1200m | 10km |
| Gimbal | 3 axis | No | No | 3 axis |
| Weight | 3 Pounds / 48oz / 1360g | 460g | 520g | 249g |
Exo Blackhawk 2 Drone
Blackhawk 2 looks very similar in design to the original DJI Mavic Air which was released in 2018 but with far better specs.
Key standout features for a drone in this price bracket are 8km range, 4k video and 35 minutes flight time per battery.
PROS
- Cheaper than the Mavic Air 2
- 4k video
- Digital zoom
- Has 64GB of onboard memory in case the memory card fails or you forget to pack it.
- Part 107 license course included (worth about $150)
- Range of intelligent flight modes
- 35 mins max flight time per battery
CONS
- Gimbal needs improvement for horizon tilt issues
- No obstacle avoidance (unlike the Blackhawk Pro)
- Needs to be registered (over 250g)
The Blackhawk 2 packs some really good features like the range of intelligent flight modes.
However, a few UAV enthusiasts have reported issues with the gimbal, which why EXO drones seems to have started including a gimbal leveling function to correct for this. As a result, the Blackhawk 2 isn’t great for hyper lapse. A good hyper lapse shot requires great stability so the images come out shaky.
The GPS system is not as robust as DJI yet. This can be seen when setting the drone to hover in place, it tends to drift in position.
One of the differences that is an improvement on the Blackhawk 2, is that the camera has upwards rotation. This is generally only seen in newer model like the DJI Mini 3 Pro. Upwards rotation cameras are starting to be included in more commercial drones that are used for inspection. This is so the camera can image ceilings and objects above them when drone is flown indoors.
EXO Blackhawk 2 v DJI Mavic Air v Hubsan Zino
Since Exo Drones partnered with Hubson there is speculation that the Blackhawk is just the Hubsan Zero with a DJI Air type design… and Exo Drones branding slapped on it.
Here is the comparison of the Exo Blackhawk 2, DJI Mavic Air and the Hubsan Zino 2.
| Weight | |||
| Camera Stills Resolution | (Pro version has an improved 48MP camera) | ||
| Video | |||
| Battery | |||
| Range |
Hubsan Zino 2 v Exo Blackhawk 2
The Hubsan Zino 2 is significantly cheaper than the Blackhawk 2 when comparing the single battery included model so if they are so similar, where does the difference in price come from?
The Zino is capable of taking 4K stills unlike the Blackhawk despite having the same sensor size. We assume that Hubsan is doing this by pixel splitting so the difference in image quality is only going to be marginal.
Blackhawk 2 has more intelligent flight modes than the Hubsan Zino. Blackhawk has follow me, quickshots and waypoints, Zino is more limited. It has orbit mode and return home.
Blackhawk 2 also comes with a Part 107 Course worth around $150.
Exo Blackhawk 2 v DJI Mavic Air
The DJI Mavic Air has a slightly larger sensor and can take 48MP photos which is better than Blackhawk 2’s 12MP capability however, EXO have improved this with the Blackhawk 2 Pro with has a 48MP camera.
The range is also greater on the Mavic Air 2 with the transmission supported by DJI’s Occusync technology which has had time to mature and improve over the past few versions.
The newer version of the Mavic Air (v2) is a lot more advanced than the original version. Blackhawk 2 is around $100 cheaper than the Mavic Air 2 when compared to the DJI Fly more kit.
Exo Drones Review Wrap Up
Overall I’m really excited to see what Exo Drones releases in the next couple of years. They’ve copped a lot of criticism as a ‘cheaper’ drone manufacturer and then been criticized for having drones that are a similar price to DJI when they add similar features!
I can’t blame anyone for investing in DJI because they have made the drone market what it is today but rather than stick with a faceless major player that dominates the market, I’ll be looking to test new models as they are released from Exo Drones. They’ve come leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and it’s about time they had some competition.
Looking for a cheaper alternative to DJI? Check out what Holy Stone drones have to offer.
