Eachine H8 Mini: A Cheap And Fun Mini Quad

Eachine is a Chinese company that offers top quality products at prices that each person can afford, such as micro quadcopters, racing drones, and FPV (first-person view) equipment.

Out of the plethora of products, today we’ll talk about the Eachine H8 Mini. This is a very small quadcopter that will offer you a lot of fun times and several great experiences. The quad is perfect for beginners because it’s very cheap and easy to fly and if something goes bad, like suffering a really bad crush, you will not be crying after a vehicle that cost you hundreds of dollars. Also, if you want to get more familiar with drones for newbies, you can check out our article about beginner quadcopters and see which models are most suitable to start with.

Product specifications:

Buy Eachine H8 Mini on Amazon

I said that this drone is perfect for beginners not only because of the price, but also because it is an RTF (ready to fly) model. This means that once you receive the package you can fly it right away.

Build specifications

Packaging

This little toy has a weight of 20g and measures 13.5×13.5×2.8 cm.

As mentioned, this is a ready to fly quad, and all you need to do is to put the batteries into the remote controller and connect the Li-Po battery on the drone to the main board.

The package includes:

• 1 x H8 Mini quadcopter
• 1 x Transmitter
• 1 x 3.7 V 150 MAH battery
• 1 x USB cable for battery charging
• 2 pcs x spare propellers (A and B)
• 4 pcs x soft adhesive pads that will be used as landing skids
• 1 x screwdriver
• 1 x instruction manual

Because they have the same color, the propellers are marked with “A” and “B” in order to be easier to replace. I recommend reading the manual carefully before your first flight.

The transmitter is using 3 AAA batteries, but they are not included in the package. So when you buy this quad be careful to buy some batteries too. It will not cost you very much.

Design & durability

If you think that this drone was equipped with very cheap plastic you are wrong. Well I’m not saying that this is the best frame/body ever created for a mini quad, but the quality of the plastic is very good.

The propeller guards, on the other hand, might be a little tricky because they bend easily so when the blades rub against the guards you will have to do some unbending from time to time. Considering that you are a beginner and you want to fly this drone for more than one month and then put it in the attic, you will need to buy some extra props.

The H8’s mini size is ideal for traveling and is perfect for flying indoors and outdoors as well. When it comes to design, this quad is available in black and white colors. The black one has green painting on top and white propellers and the white one has red painting on top and also white propellers.

Here you have a video with the drone’s flight at night:

The H8 Mini also comes with 4 LED lights allowing you to fly it very easy at night.

Camera

The Eachine H8 Mini model doesn’t have a camera and it can’t support one because it is a very small drone and it can’t lift too much. On the contrary, if you are going to stress the drone with this, the engines will burnout.

If you really want a camera, check out the Eachine H8C Mini model which has a 2MP built-in camera but also has a higher price.

But hey, just because this model comes short of this feature, doesn’t mean that this drone is no good.

Battery & flight time

The transmitter uses 3 AAA batteries that are not included in the package and the drone uses a 3.7 V 150 mAh battery (included in package). This drone is providing you with a flight time duration between 5 and 7 minutes and it takes 45 minutes to charge the battery with the USB charger that you will find in the package.

Although all the people hate to wait for the batteries to charge, you can’t avoid this step.

It is very important that you use normal AAA batteries because if you use more powerful ones, it is possible that the transmitter will overheat.

Controller

The remote controller is small but you can easily access all the buttons. Even if it is pretty small for most hands you can change the stick tops with something tall and pointy so people with big hands don’t have to worry about it.

The space for the batteries is pretty tight so at first you might think that the batteries don’t match but it’s not the case.

Let’s see what this controller has to offer:

• One key for auto-return – it can easily find its way back to the controller
• One button which helps you do amazing flips
• One power indicator
• One button for power switch
• The left and right control levers
• The left, right, forward and backward fine-tuning
• A yaw trimming button that is used to select one of the two speed modes. It will beep once or twice according to the speed mode.

Flight performance

The reasons that the Eachine H8 Mini is being praised so much are the fast and stable flight and the flips and tricks that this drone can do. For its size, this quad will give an amazing flying experience.

The flight speed can be changed between 40% and 100% with the help of a button which you can find under the left stick. For beginners I recommend the 40% speed ratio because it is very easy to control. If you switch it to 100% it will fly really fast kind of like a race drone and you will not have the control you need, especially indoors.

Some say that it is impossible to turn and to do tricks at a 100 % speed which is why the 40% step is more convenient.

Here is a video where you can see the amazing speed of this little quad:

This little toy has a 6-axis gyro that helps you have a more stable flight and has 4 channels that will make your drone to descend, or ascend, go forward or backward, fly left sideward or right sideward and roll at 360 degrees.

To perform a flip with the H8 Mini you will have to press the right stick until it clicks and then push the right stick in one of the four directions – the drone will make a flip in the direction you chose.

The quad can make a flip without having to go very high but when the battery is low, the H8 Mini starts to be a little “lazy” and it is harder to recover from a flip. In that case, you will need to make the flips higher in the air so you don’t smash the drone on the ground.

The flying distance is about 30 meters and has been confirmed that if you fly it out of the transmitter’s range the motors will stop immediately so you will find it very easy. This is good because other drones that go out of the range keep going forward and you can consider them lost for good.

Value for money and guarantee

Like we said before, this drone is very cheap. It costs about $21 or less and you can buy it from stores like Amazon. Don’t forget that you have to buy 3 batteries for the transmitter too. So, considering the experience and the fun times it will offer you, it’s a very small price to pay.

As for the guarantee, there aren’t a lot of information but usually, it depends on the provider you are using.

Unique features

This quad may be small but it does pack quite a punch so don’t go away thinking there’s nothing special about it. Here are just a few features worth mentioning:

Headless flight mode

This mode is perfect for beginners because it makes flying easier and you will not have to worry about the drone’s orientation anymore. This means that you will know where the front and the back of the drone are.

Before entering the mode is important that the drone faces away from you before takeoff and that it is attached to the controller. Then you have to press the left stick till it clicks and then push the right stick, up or down. The H8 Mini controls this mode pretty well and it will help you on those high yaw rates that I was talking about.

Unfortunately, if you hit the quad on something, the orientation will be disturbed so it’s better to use the headless mode in an empty space or outside.

If you want to calibrate the gyroscope you will have to push both sticks in the bottom left after you attach the controller to the drone, and if you want to reset the orientation (after bumping the drone for example) you will have to push the sticks towards the bottom right after you make the connection.

One key return home

This feature makes it easy for the drone to return home, or at least that’s what the manufacturer is saying. But why then, some people find it completely useless? Let’s see…

The auto-return function works in open space but in a crowded space, for example in a city, it loses all “hope”. The answer lies in radio frequency power which this little quad is based on.

To put it simpler, the quad is trying to sense the power of your controller, but in a crowded place the radio frequency hits a lot of objects and the drone will end up being pretty confused about what it has to do. This happens because the drone doesn’t have a GPS.

Other features include:

• 6-axis gyro that will give you a more stable flight and will help you control the drone easier
• Impressive 360 degrees flips
• Two flight speeds (40% – low and 100% – high )
• 4 LED lights for better orientation in the dark
• Lightweight – only 20g including the 150 mAh battery

Similar models or main competitors

As a beginner is best to look for a cheap mini drone that will help you get the hang of it. So, besides the Eachine H8 Mini, which models should you also consider?

Cheerson CX-10 Mini

The Cheerson CX-10 Mini is stable and very good for flying indoors. If you want to fly it outdoors it will not be too exciting because the flying distance is just about 20 meters. In comparison, the Eachine H8 Mini is best suitable for outdoors because of that crazy speed it has.

The CX-10 is a cute little quad with a size of 4x4x2.2 cm and it has 4 colors available: pink, orange, green and blue. It has a flight time of 4 minutes and the charging time is 30 minutes with the USB charging cable that you will find in the package. The quad uses 3.7 V 100 mAh batteries and the transmitter uses 2 x AAA batteries that, just like at the H8 Mini, are not included.

When the battery is low the drone begins to flicker and, from that moment on, you have about 20 seconds to land it safely. So, I guess it’s nice they installed a warning system for a low battery level, but the 20 seconds time is rather short to land, especially if you’re a beginner.

It also has LED lights for an easy flight at night, a 6-axis gyro and can do 360 degrees and 3D flips. Just like the H8 doesn’t have a camera, for that you will have to look at other models. This little guy costs only $13 dollars but, just like with the H8 Mini, there are things you’ll have to buy separately like AAA batteries and propeller protectors.

Besides the price, the flying time, and the flying distance there is not much of a difference between these two mini quads. So you decide which is better. And, if you want to make a more objective decision by getting more familiar with this model, we suggest that you also check out our review of the Cheerson CX-10 mini-drone.

If you like this product you can find and check its price on Amazon.

Eachine H8C Mini

Maybe you were disappointed that the H8 Mini didn’t come with a camera, so I thought talking about Eachine H8C Mini might cheer you up. This model has a built-in camera without deviating too much from the low-price theme.

The price is $34 and it comes with a very cool design available in two colors: black and white. It is perfect for beginners because is ready to fly from the box. You just need to put 4 x AA batteries in the controller which, again, are not included in the package.

The interesting part is the control distance which is about 100 meters. The charging time is 40 minutes and the flight time is between 6 and 8 minutes long. The quadcopter’s size is 18x18x5.5 cm and it uses 3.7 V 250 mAh batteries that are included in the package.

It’s very easy to control and it is pretty stable as it has a 6-axis system that allows you to launch the quad from your hand. Just like the H8 Mini, the H8C has headless flight mode and one key return to home features.

The built-in camera is located in the front of the quad but unfortunately, the photos and videos have very poor quality and, on top of that, the camera faces down, offering a weird point of view. The other problem is that you will need an SD memory card because this one is not included.

If you think that this product could be useful for you, then you can buy it from Amazon.

Hubsan Q4 H111 Nano drone

With $20 you can get this little guy which is another perfect model for beginners. It has a size of 4.5×4.5×2.5 cm and it can do amazing tricks and flips. The flight time is about 4 to 6 minutes and the charging time is about 30 minutes. The remote control range is about 50 meters and it is available in 5 colors: white, green, black, yellow and red.

The body is made from good-quality plastic and it has LED lights that indicate the front and the back helping users fly the quad in low light.

It is equipped with a 6-axis gyro system and can do 360 degrees flips.

When comparing the two models, most of the features are the same with what Eachine H8 Mini offers. Even the price is the same. However, you may be more attracted to the Hubsan Q4 quad due to its large variety of colors. You can actually find out much more about this model in our Hubsan Q4 review.

Just like with any other models, the decision is yours and yours alone.

Like this amazing product? Then you can buy it on Amazon.

Overview

After listing its main characteristics now, let’s see some pros and cons.

Pros:

• It has an amazing yaw rate
• It can do some nice pirouettes
• Is a fun flyer
• It has LED lights for night flight
• The headless mode

Cons:

• It also has a crazy yaw rate
• Props can touch the guard
• Doesn’t have a high flight duration
• The motors can overheat

This little quad will surprise you. Even if it’s cheap it is worth every penny and is suited for beginners and for those who don’t necessarily need a camera. It’s able to sustain crashes and can be flown in your house or in your backyard.

If you’re looking for a cheap great drone, you can’t go wrong with this one.