Potensic ATOM: A sub250g, subtle 4K drone

When Potensic launched the Atom drone in September 2023, I used to be excited that one more firm realized how necessary the sub-250g market phase is for hobbyists and informal customers to get pleasure from drone flying with out bureaucratic hurdles. In lots of international locations, drones that weigh underneath 250 grams (0.55lb) are exempted from plane registration and the necessity for a pilot license.

On this Potensic ATOM evaluate, I’ll deal with what makes this drone so user-friendly and excellent for newbies and intermediate pilots on a price range. Within the final two weeks, I’ve had over twenty flights to check its flight efficiency in numerous situations. Wind resistance Stage 5 (as much as 24 mph) is as marketed, and the Potensic ATOM can fly in these situations with no downside. In fact, it drifts lots, and controls develop into much less responsive because the drone fights towards robust wind gusts.

The Potensic ATOM consists of an ultra-stable three-axis gimbal outfitted with a 1/3-inch SONY CMOS digital camera. Contemplating its pleasant worth, I used to be stunned it has handbook digital camera settings and RAW capabilities.

Potensic ATOM evaluate

Disclosure: I acquired this 250g class drone for a product evaluate collaboration with Potensic. Though the components have been provided without spending a dime, all opinions on this article stay my very own, and the sponsor by no means influenced me. They’d a couple of particular necessities to make sure that my evaluate would mirror the precise capabilities of their drone, similar to:

1. The flight take a look at will likely be taken on a sunny day with a blue sky and no wind (as I fly solely on the weekends, this was essentially the most difficult half)
2. We wish devoted movies, so no comparability sections or movies with different model
3. If doable, we hope you possibly can assist run a spread take a look at in an open area
4. Please inform us forward of time in case you expertise points throughout the flight slightly than submit the article/video out (I preferred that throughout the evaluate course of, I used to be contacted twice by them to ask if every part was okay or if I had any questions/issues with which they might assist.)

Potensic despatched me the Fly Extra combo version with two further batteries, a charging hub, and different goodies, together with a purse to retailer and carry the drone with all its equipment. The bag has velcro dividers inside and a big zipped pocket exterior. Tons of spare propellers with mounting screws are additionally offered. I hope l won’t ever have to make use of them. An elastic velcro band holds propellers collectively when saved within the bag.

From a bodily viewpoint, the Potensic Atom is similar to different drones in its weight class. With folded arms, it measures simply 88x143x58 mm (3.5×5.6×2.3 in) and weighs 241 grams, together with a battery and micro SD card. It has 4 super-bright charging degree indicators, two TOF distance sensors, and one optical movement sensor on the stomach. The micro SD slot is situated on the again, proper underneath the battery. It has a security lock that ensures by chance ejecting the battery mid-flight.

The F2.2 4K digital camera is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal stabilizer hid beneath a plastic lens protector, which have to be eliminated earlier than flighting. A black bar within the entrance (nostril) might be confused with a frontal impediment avoidance system. Sadly, it’s simply a part of the design with none performance.

Pricing, availability, and bundle choices

The Atom drone is accessible at Potensic’s on-line retailer in two bundle choices:

• The Customary equipment prices $299 and consists of the drone, a distant controller, one flight battery, 4 pairs of spare propellers, eight spare screws, a screwdriver, a gimbal cowl, a USB-C charging cable, and three RC-Cellphone cables (micro USB, USB-C, and a Lightning connector).
• The Fly Extra Combo equipment proven on this evaluate prices $399 and consists of two extra batteries, a fast-charging hub with an AC/DC adaptor, much more spare props, a sensible shoulder bag, and a 64MB micro SD card (Restricted-time bonus).

The Atom and Atom SE drones are additionally accessible on Potensic’s official Amazon retailer.

I counsel individuals dealing with this alternative to contemplate how lengthy they’ll probably be flying. For 100 bucks, the fly extra combo triples the flight time. In fact, you possibly can improve later, however it’s going to value you far more, as simply the charging hub with two batteries prices $134.99.

How good is the Potensic Atom digital camera?

The Atom’s digital camera includes a 12MP 1/3-inch Sony CMOS sensor and a hard and fast f/2.2 aperture lens that gives a 78-degree area of view (FOV). The digital camera is put in on a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, delivering superior picture stabilization in comparison with the Atom SE’s digital picture stabilization (EIS).

The Potensic Atom has no inside storage however depends on an SD card, which is extra handy as it’s detachable and upgradable (as much as 128GB is supported / UHS-3 score required). Video will be captured in 4K (3840×2160) as much as 30fps, 2.7K as much as 30fps, and 1080p as much as 60fps within the H.264 codec (MPEG-4 AVC – 50mbps). It may possibly take 12MP (4608×2952) nonetheless photographs in JPG (compressed) or RAW (DNG) + JPG codecs.

For drone photographers who wish to tweak digital camera settings in an effort to make the right shot, the Potensic Atom permits ISO, Shutter Velocity, and White Steadiness handbook settings. In fact, in case you are lazy like me, you possibly can go away every part on auto and let the drone do all of the work.

The low angle of the winter solar amplifies the publicity management issues and lack of HDR options. It could be finest to prioritize the sky or floor view by altering the gimbal’s tilt angle. I didn’t concurrently get a good view (correct publicity) of each. In case you have a tilted horizon downside, you possibly can re-calibrate the gimbal.

Potensic Atom: Distant controller and vary

The Atom is filled with a compact distant controller (mannequin DSRC02A) that has foldable antennas and detachable stick ends (saved on the backside of the RC). The handgrips at every finish prolong outwards to accommodate a smartphone. The info cable between the radio and telephone is properly routed by a ditch in the appropriate deal with. Potensic consists of Micro USB, Kind-C, and Lightning cables protecting Android and iOS gadgets.

The facility button and 4 charging degree indicator LEDs are on the left handler, and the RTH/Pause button is on the appropriate. Along with the 2 shoulder buttons (Video and Photograph), it has a gimbal management dial. The controller will be held comfortably and is fairly easy to make use of. Its built-in 3000mAh battery lasts about 120 minutes (4 flights). Oddly, telephones draw a cost from the controller, affecting general battery life.

Potensic’s third-generation PixSync transmission expertise guarantees a most video transmission of as much as 6km (3.7 miles). In lots of international locations, you possibly can fly solely within the line of sight mode (LoS – plane inside visible distance), so this vary is greater than you may want for.

I made the flight vary take a look at for each drone I reviewed in the identical place -an unpopulated open area, removed from any airport, with out obstacles and an excessive amount of RF noise. The management distance varies extensively relying on the flight altitude. At 70 meters, I flew 2722 meters removed from me when fail-safe RTH was triggered. The primary “Poor sign, please fly rigorously” warning message appeared on the display at 2580 distance -from this level, the FPV sign additionally grew to become intermittent (laggy/uneven). Through the take a look at, my telephone was set to “Airplane mode“.

The video above was captured with Mobizen from my telephone’s display and reveals the journey of my vary take a look at.

Potensic Atom: Battery, Charging choices, and Flight time

The Potensic ATOM is powered by a 2230mAh rechargeable LiPo battery (DSBT02B) with a 7.7V nominal voltage. The battery pack weighs 84 grams and has Kind-C energy for direct charging. The Fly Extra combo equipment consists of three flight batteries and a parallel charging hub, permitting simultaneous refueling of as much as three batteries. Every battery has its personal set of charging indicator LEDs, so that you all the time know which one is able to use.

Potensic advertises the ATOM drone as having a flight time of 32 minutes per cost. In real-world flying situations, you possibly can anticipate a battery lifetime of 25-28 minutes, which continues to be spectacular for such a small drone. Throughout my hovering battery life take a look at, the drone stayed within the air for 26 minutes. When the drone made a pressured touchdown because of low battery, it nonetheless had 15% vitality left, which might offer you 4 extra minutes of flight. I don’t advocate pushing the batteries to their limits; over-discharging can dramatically scale back their lifespan.

Is the Potensic Atom straightforward to fly?

The quick reply is Sure! The Potensic Atom flies superbly steady out of the field. Earlier than the primary flight, you should carry out compass calibration (rotating the drone on its vertical and horizontal axis). It’s endorsed to repeat this step when flying at a location farther than 50km (31 miles) from the world the place the drone was final flown.

By default, the drone begins in newbie mode, wherein flight velocity is restricted to 6m/s and a geofence is activated (flight distancealtitude restrict). For newbies, working towards a few flights on this mode is beneficial. It’s all the time necessary to look at the climate forecast when flying a drone, particularly sub250-class ones just like the Atom. Nevertheless, it does a surprisingly nice job of preserving the digital camera regular in windy situations.

Its built-in GPS module (important for steady flying and correct RTH) is quick and exact. It requires not less than seven satellites to take off safely. I used to be stunned to see it discovered 23 sats in only a few seconds.

The ATOM has three flight velocity modes to select from:

• Video: 2m/s, descent velocity: 2m/s, flight velocity: 6m/s
• Regular: 4m/s, descent velocity: 3m/s, flight velocity: 10m/s
• Sport: 5m/s, descent velocity: 4m/s, flight velocity: 16m/s

Being speedy and too agile, Sport mode is beneficial solely if you wish to fly quick from one level to a different. For aerial filming, I recommend utilizing Video mode. To make gimbal actions extra cinematic, I slowed down the “Pitch velocity” to 10°/s.

The Atom drone has a number of automated flight modes that enable cinematic photographs proficiency with a single click on. From the cellular App, you possibly can entry the next QuickShot modes: Pull-Away, Rocket, Circle, Spiral, and Boomerang. The video above reveals precisely what every mode does.

Through the flight, you’re accompanied by the PotensicPro APP that reveals telemetry knowledge similar to plane orientation, present airspeed, drone altitude, remaining battery life, and sign energy. Switching from FPV to map view helps you to show the drone’s location relative to roads and landmarks.

Touchdown the Potensic Atom drone is straightforward -you simply have to carry the descent lever (left stick in mode 2) down or press the land digital button on the display. I examined the return-to-home (RTH), and even in breezy climate, the plane returned inside two meters of the take-off level and started to land.

Firmware improve

On my second weekend with the Atom drone, the APP prompted {that a} new firmware was launched. The up to date course of was easy; it’s made on autopilot after you settle for every part. Flight controller, Gimbal, Distant controller, Digital camera, and Video transmissions are up to date individually.

The newest Potesic Atom firmware brings the next enhancements and bug fixes:

• Flight Management:
  • Optimized the management technique for operations close to the bottom.
  • Improved the assisted touchdown expertise.
• Digital camera:
  • Optimized the blue tint challenge attributable to the auto white stability in some scenes.
  • Improved colour high quality of the digital camera.
  • Optimized video readability.
• Transmission:
  • Optimized the anti-interference efficiency for video transmission in some scenes.
• Battery:
  • Optimized the low-temperature safety logic.
• Gimbal:
  • Optimized the steadiness of yaw adjustment.
  • Optimized the smoothness of the gimbal when braking.
  • Optimized different identified points.

Atom vs Atom SE comparability desk

The Atom has been considerably improved from the Atom SE. It has an extended vary (6K vs 4K), one minute longer flight time, and the newer 3-axis stabilized digital camera. The Atom additionally options extra autonomous flight modes (together with visible monitoring) than its “SE” brother.