This a great quad.. Very easy to fly. I have flown in all kinds of wind conditions and the quad handles very well.Takes good video and the pics are great... Buy extra battery's because you wont want to put this thing down..

THIS is the best flying toy in my collection so far ( a bunch of expensive heli's and a couple of quads )

( This from an AARP carded adult who enjoy hobbies like this and is allowed to fly "real" airplanes for fun, too. )

The ** at the end has some stuff from the FAA that even toy drone flyers should know.

But before you buy a "drone" for yourself or especially as a gift - be sure that parts are available. SYMA PARTS fairly easy to get. I bought "something else" and the inevitable happened. Too bad, So sad. Do an Amazon search for the usual replacements ( props, motors, batteries, plastic stuff ) before your potential purchase.

With the introduction of fantastic thousand-dollar drones like the DJI drone, GoPro's karma, and the Mavic Pro, why start with the Syma X5C that only flys for seven minutes and takes only moderately good pictures ? For under fifty bucks, this Syma X5C is a wonderful flying toy that takes pictures good enough to show off to your friends or help sell your house. It is easy to fly, incredibly durable, helps develop pilot skills, and won't make you hate your kids if something goes wrong.

As a step up: consider a Syma X8C Venture with 2MP Wide Angle Camera for about 70 bucks. Much more 'copter in every way. Might be back-ordered by some sellers for the holidays and twice the price of the X5SC / twice as sad if it flies away and is lost !

Also SYMA RELEASED a quad with headless mode and additional features - check it out: "Syma X5SC Explorers 2 - 2.4G 4 Channel 6-Axis Gyro RC Headless Quadcopter With HD Camera " before you order the X5C ! Different price, different design, might be easier to fly The AMAZON reviews for the X5SC include: " This does not come close to being as good as the Syma X5C-1"

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCED - you will be OK without the blade guards ( which are a nuisance and add weight ). Blade guards might make a flying toy more child-friendly. Otherwise learn with incremental progress - and no regrets.

A tip: put a strip of brightly colored tape or paper on the back of the body of the quad so you can see the orientation from a distance. It gets very small very fast when it is high and the wind is taking it away. Knowing how it is pointed may be the last chance to bring it back " ;-( " [ and add a name tag or address / phone in magic marker ]

The Camera - came with 2GB Micro-SD with proof-pictures from the factory in China. Way Cool !

The camera is made to still frame / video using the UP-DOWN TRIM control on the LEFT SIDE of the controller. There ! .. .. .. I just saved you the pain of sending back a "broken" camera ! After the controller is linked - look at the light on the bottom of the camera. Green is "ready". Push the trim UP to take one frame ( one RED blink ) Push the trim DOWN to start video ( periodic, continuing RED blinking ) Push a second time to stop video and save file ! ( stop + save the video - don't just kill the power ! otherwise you get a " 0 " byte file size. )

If the time-stamp on your files is not set correctly, you might try this: - here's the secret. You probably won't find this anywhere else - so be generous with your thanks !
Use notepad or other text editor. create a file on the micro-SD card named "time.txt" with the content ( on one line ) and WITHOUT the quotes ! "yyyy/mm/dd hh.mm.ss" example: "2014/10/23 21.10.00" and one carriage return
then save the file. This file will set the camera's clock - for as long as the X5C is powered ON.

So maybe it's a little under-powered and we'd like more flight time. This little ( TOY ) quad is a fantastic value, fun to fly, takes ( FUN ) pictures that you'll love better than your buddy's GoPro and $ 800 quad. Because it's not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean that matters.

BUT - Since this little beast LOOKS LIKE A DRONE - and folks can't tell that it's just a little flying toy - you might want to be careful where you fly it. Like not over your neighbor's swimming pool or outside their second - story window. On the plus side - it is small enough to hide under your shirt when the cops come.

This is an established release from SYMA and often imitated. AMAZON sellers are the most reliable and least likely to disappoint. Folks who worry a lot should look for a USA shipper ( if possible ) and many well-rated transactions.

Ya' know - I almost wish I bought two of these things. I coulda made a friend very happy.

( note added 11/2014 - i did buy a second SYMA X-5C - after I learned the hard way about wind and needing the colored tape )

( tip - 3-9-2015 Dirt, bits of leaves, spider webs, etc. in the gears can make the props turn hard. If the props don't coast to a stop at about the same rate at power-off, probably there is something in the gears that must be carefully brushed out or blown out with an air jet. Jammed gears will overload a motor, fly badly, make an unpleasant sound, cause a failure. This has happened to me a couple of times with various dirt-landings. The spider web was the worst ! bad for the spider, too )

** Some issues with the FAA and drones ( UAV's )

( 10-6-2016 ) FYI re: Hurricane Matthew from the FAA
"Unauthorized UAS or drone operations may prevent other aircraft from performing life-saving missions and increase the risk of mid-air collision. Anyone, including hobbyist or recreational fliers, who interferes with disaster response efforts is subject to civil penalties of up to $32,140 per violation and possible criminal prosecution."

(6-21-2016) The FAA announced rules for non-hobbyist drone fliers of drones over 250 grams but under 55 pounds. Does not apply to "toy" drones like this SYMA - - BUT establishes a Pilot's LICENSE requirement for some fliers. please see: [search online] BTW, they say it includes training, a test, and a TSA background check.

( 12-14-2015 ) The federal government ( The FAA ) issued a requirement to register drones weighing more than 250 grams ( which the X5C does NOT ). The requirement is backed up by threats of fines and prosecution. On the other hand, the FAA issues one registration to you for use on all your drones - which would help with lost drone recovery. Please read the official FAA info / registration page: [search online] ["Penalties for failing to register could reach $27,500 in civil fines and $250,000 and three years in prison for criminal penalties."]

AGAIN * NOT * required of SYMA X5C or X8C series - but what the heck, the don't say you can't !

Plz comment my review if i saved you some grief !

I am a long time RC Hobbyist (35+ years) and I can honestly say - this is the most fun I have had with any of my RC Vehicles - no matter the cost. It hovers easily, takes crashes well and responds wonderfully. I have flown many quads and my first impression was that the controls were very soft, but once you put it in advanced mode (top left corner button on controller (beeps twice)) it is a complete blast to fly. It is capable of smooth, fast flying with banking turns. I even have a blast flying it at night in a open field - reminiscence of Star Wars chase scenes. This is the best $65.00 I have spent on the RC hobby - period!
The camera feature - This feature is nice but not the reason why I bought the quad. The video is shaky during movements, but you can get some smooth video on calm days. I mainly record video, then freeze it during a good scene to get a snapshot. Quality is great for the price.
Just click "Add to cart" - you wont regret it!

This is my very first drone purchase and it has been a good experience! I bought this drone to practice with before I got a more expensive one. This drone is very durable, easy to sync up and easy to fly. People are complaining about the video and picture quality but you have to remember this is a $60 drone with a camera, you probably wouldn't be happy with a $60 camera that doesn't fly(video and pictures are actually pretty decent) For the price you pay for this it is definitely worth it! Flight times range probably anywhere from 6-10minutes with the stock battery, and that all depends on do you have it in High or Low mode, do you have the prop guards and camera installed, are you doing a lot of flips? ect..It takes a little over an hour to fully charge the battery so I would also recommend buying extra batteries and charger. There is a 4 pack of batteries and a charger that will charge all 4 at the same time for about $28. But you need to order it way ahead of time because it is coming over on that slow boat from China so the shipping takes about a full 30days. I have never even touched a drone before and it took me about 5-6 flies (about 30-40minutes) of flying to almost have it mastered. This thing is awesome and for the price you cannot beat it! Only con is if you plan on flying it outside it doesn't not handle the wind very well, it is very light.

I've only flown it four times, but so far it has performed beautifully! Lasts for about 10 minutes of flying time, the camera is much better than I expected, the controls are simple and intuitive, and after smashing it into my walls, floor, ceiling, and several trees, it still flies like new. Only takes 1.25 hours to recharge. The 2GB memory card is more than enough to hold an entire flight's worth of video.

Included is a selfie I was able to take with it, so you will be able to see the image quality.

Video quality is about the same.

I've read some reviews saying it dies after a few flights, so we'll see... but so far so good!