REVIEW – I’ve flown drones since the earliest days of cheap(ish) consumer drones, including the DJI Spark in 2017. Since then, I’ve used quite a few DJI drones, ranging from Mini’s and Air’s up to various Mavics (which are bigger and heavier than the sub-250g compact drone type). I’ve also used other brands like the BWINE F7GB2 as well as a previous version of the Potensic Atom (the SE version in 2023). So far, no other brand has met the benchmark set by DJI for me in terms of ease of use and video/photo quality. I’ve been hearing great things about Potensic’s new ATOM 2 drone though, so I was excited when the opportunity to review it fell in my lap.
︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $349.99/479.99 (Standard/Fly More Combo)
Where to buy: Potensic
What is it?
The Potensic ATOM 2 drone is a hobby drone capable of 4k video and 8k stills with a 3-axis gimbal. It weighs just under 250 grams at takeoff weight so it is exempt from registration requirements (at least it is at the time of writing here in the United States, be sure to check your local laws and regulations before flying). It’s controlled by a remote control that utilizes your mobile device (Android or iOS) as a viewfinder and information screen.
What’s included?
- Potensic ATOM 2 Drone
- Remote Controller
- 3x Batteries
- Fast Charging Hub (3-bay)
- AC 120V wall adapter for charging hub
- Soft shoulder bag
- 16x spare propellers
- 16x spare screws
- Gimbal Protector
- Screwdriver
- USB-C charging cable
- Lightning cable
- USB-C cable
- Propeller Strap
Tech specs
Takeoff Weight: <249 g including battery, propellers, and standard MicroSD card
Folded size: 88 x 143 x 58 mm
Unfolded size including propeller blades: 300 x 242 x 58 mm
Max speed (sport mode): 5 m/s Ascent, 4 m/s Descent, 16 m/s Horizontal (~35 mph)
Max Wind Resistance: 38 km/h (Level 5)
Max Flight Altitude: 120 m (subject to local regulations)
Max Takeoff Altitude: 4000 m (4 km)
GNSS: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou
Operating Temperature: 32 – 104 degrees F
Hovering Accuracy Vertical: +/- 0.1 m (Vision Positioning), +/- 0.5 m (GNSS positioning)
Hovering Accuracy Horizontal: +/- 0.3 m (Vision Positioning), +/- 1.5 m (GNSS positioning)
Max flight time (per battery): 32 mins (low speed in windless conditions)
Camera Lens tilt range: -90 to 20 degrees
Image sensor: 1/2″ CMOS
Effective Pixel: 48 MP
ISO range: Normal video 100-6400, AI Night: 100-25600
Shutter speed: 1/6400 – 8s
FOV: 79.4 degrees
Aperture: F1.8
Focus: 4m – ~
Photo resolution: 8000 x 6000
Image format: JPG or JPG+RAW (DNG)
Video resolution: up to 4K (3840 x 2160 @ 24/25/30 FPS), FHD @ up to 60 FPS, MP4 (H264/265)
Max Video Bitrate: 80 Mbps
Still photography modes: Single, Bracketing 3/5 frames, Burst shooting up to 7 frames, Interval timer shooting 2-30s, Panorama (Wide, 180, Vertical)
HDR: Supported
Digital zoom: 4K 1-2x, FHD 1-4X
Intelligent Flight AI Quick Shots: Pull away, Spiral, Circle, Boomerang, Dolly Zoom
Intelligent Flight AI Tracking: Spotlight, Follow, Parallel
Video transmission: 1080P@30FPS, up to 10 km
Smart Fast Download: Up to 25 MB/s
Controller charging: up to 18W PD fast charging USB-C
Supported mobile device size: 170 x 100 x 12.5 mm
Supported mobile device interface: Lightning, USB-C (Micro-USB supported with optional extra adapter)
Controller max operating time: Up to 4 hours
Smart Flight Battery charging: Parallel charging hub or individual USB-C charging (up to 18 watts on hub or 15 watts standalone), as fast as 1.3 hours from empty.
Design and features
The Potensic ATOM 2 drone is a surprisingly compact and light drone when you first handle it. The exterior is plastic but seems high quality enough to hold up to light bumps and crashes. It also has a nice textured feel that helps provide grip while handling the drone as well.
The drone is roughly the size of a can of soda when folded up, allowing it to be transported in a small bag or even in a pocket (which I love to do while hiking rather than lugging a separate drone gear bag).
On the front of the drone, we have the camera protected by the gimbal cover and some sensors above the camera.
Around back is the USB-C port for charging. This charging port can be used while the battery is on or off the drone (so if you get the Fly More combo with 3 batteries, you could charge one or all of them individually via USB-C if needed).
On the bottom is a power button and some information LED lights (charge level, power on/off animations). Below that you can see ventilation holes, then optical sensors. These sensors provide visual stabilization to the drone if satellite positioning isn’t working.
The drone looks a bit larger unfolded, and sits on legs to keep the propellers and camera clear of ground obstacles while taking off and landing.
The camera is a 1/2″ CMOS sensor on a true gimbal, which should stabilize the footage nicely in all but extreme weather conditions (the drone is rated to fly in up to 23.5 mph winds). It can also tilt upwards from horizontal 20 degrees without propellers being visible in the video (but I did notice that moving the drone forward horizontally while at maximum upwards gimbal tilt would drop that tilt down a bit).
The micro-SD card can be accessed below the battery tab. Luckily I had a U30 rated card lying around to use with the drone, you’ll definitely want to pick one up for any video recording.
The remote controller is a bit wider than most of the other ones I’ve used, and amazingly holds my Pixel Pro Fold in the unfolded position, providing a nice big screen for flying. The two hand grips can be pulled out to slip your phone in, then clamp onto it with rubberized grooves.
Around back you can see the C1 and C2 buttons (which can be mapped to some handy functions in the app). There’s also two slots to store the thumbsticks for transport on the back.
The antennae are contained in the rectangular black fold up part in the middle and should be pointed towards the drone while in flight.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
After unboxing the Potensic ATOM 2 drone, I plugged the charging hub into a wall socket and was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the batteries were charging simultaneously. Several previous DJI drones I’ve used over the years would only charge one battery at a time, resulting in a long recharge period if multiple batteries were used up. However, those DJI charging hubs were USB-C powered, which made for easy recharging on the go – with the Potensic charging hub, you’ll need a wall outlet and the included wall charger cable, or else you’ll need to charge each battery independently via the USB-C ports on each.
Next, I installed the Potensic app (QR code on the box and in the manual) and signed into my previously created account. Several firmware updates were needed, but went off smoothly and I was ready to fly in no time.
There’s a new user tutorial in the app, as well as a “beginner mode” enabled by default that limits your speed and distance while you learn to fly a drone. The software is very similar to the DJI software I’m used to so I turned off beginner mode, poked around at the settings a bit, then went for a flight!
Performance
The Potensic ATOM 2 drone flew like a dream from the start. It’s stable and holds position well when you’re giving it no input. I tested the return-to-home functionality and it came back and began to land about 5 feet away from the landing pad I was using (which is pretty standard for most of these drones – they get close to their starting point but if you’re using a small landing area you might need to take over right at the end for more precision. Here are a couple of stills and app-created panoramas:
Video and photos were a big upgrade from the previously reviewed ATOM SE that I tried out in 2023. The full gimbal does a great job stabilizing things, resulting in smooth and cinematic videos unless I pull wild maneuvers while recording. The included quick shot modes are also useful for a variety of scenarios, but what will really be a huge help for me is the active tracking modes. I tested these out with bikes and just running (running included in the sample video above), and the ATOM 2 did a great job of tracking me in various environments like parking lots and hiking trails. If you see nice stable tracking shots in my future reviews, it’ll likely be due to the Potensic ATOM 2 drone, since it’s so compact and easy to grab when I go out to test a bike or scooter.
Final thoughts
The Potensic ATOM 2 drone met and exceeded all of my expectations for a drone of this size and price. I was able to easily get great 4K video footage, and the small size will make for a great grab-and-go drone for future adventures. My previous daily driver drone was a DJI Mavic Air 3s, which costs 3-4x as much and is much less portable. While it has fancy obstacle avoidance and better cameras and flight time, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gathers dust and gets sold in the next few months simply due to the convenience factor of the ATOM 2!
What I like about the Potensic Atom 2 drone
- Great photos and videos
- Drone and app are intuitive and easy to use
- Remote can handle larger (and folding) phones
- Quiet propellers
What needs to be improved?
- Wish the Fast Charging Hub accepted USB-C PD instead of the DC input
- Controller is wider and larger than competitors ‘
- No collision detection
Price: $359/$479 (Standard/Fly More Combo)
Where to buy: Potensic
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Potensic. Potensic did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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