Lishitoys L6039 quadcopter review

The L6039 is a surprisingly cheap drone considering it comes with a 2Mp camera. Just be sure to order the correct model, as there’s a cheaper one which comes without the camera. Also, our review model came from Geekbuying, but other sites offer a similar model whose remote control lacks the LCD display which ours has. See also: the pros and cons of importing tech from overseas

Looking for a drone with a stabilised camera? See our  DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ review

It’s bigger than you might imagine at 300x300x65mm, and this helps it to be a little more stable in the air.

Video recording is at 640×480, and photos are shot at 1280×960 pixels. We found that a loose cable between the quadcopter and camera prevented the ‘record’ signal being sent, but once each cable was pushed home it worked correctly.

There’s no smartphone integration, nor any facility for seeing live video from the camera. To record video, you push the button on the remote, and press it again to stop. Pressing the camera button takes a photo, but doesn’t work while you’re recording video.

You get four rotor protectors in the box, which must be screwed into place, so aren’t quick-release. There are also removable stands (“skid landing pads”) and a set of replacement rotors. You can add an extra set of blades to your order for just £1, and extra batteries cost about £4.50. 

Given that each battery lasts around 8-10 minutes, it’s well worth having a spare.

The controller has micro-adjustment for front, back, left and right, but our review model didn’t need any adjustment at all: it flew reliably out of the box.

Another button swaps the functions of the left and right sticks, but unlike the WLToys V666 remote, it doesn’t swap over the spring mechanism which means it springs to 50 percent throttle when you let go: not ideal.

We had a few successful flights in a local park using the low-speed mode. There’s also a high-speed mode you can toggle via the remote, but before we had a chance to test that and get some more footage, the L6039 appeared to lose connection with the controller and flew off. And that was the last we saw of it. Most likely it was due to the transmitter batteries running flat, desite the LCD panel showing a ‘full battery’ icon. 

Overall, aside from the flyaway incident, the L6039 is a good-value starter quadcopter, and also one of the cheapest with an on-board camera. Video quality is understandably mediocre, but you have to pay a lot more to get good HD footage.