Article from the Mundo Drone archive, published 27 March 2020 and updated 13 May 2020. Text merged on 28 October 2026 from all its 2020 versions; specifications, availability and regulations may have changed since.
Is the Hover Camera Passport actually a drone, or a toaster? It's probably the first thing many think about when this little drone came out in 2017. However, one could say that he was one of the pioneer drones in what is now called "selfies drones", and his portability and design well deserve a round of applause.
Analysis and features of the Hover Camera Passport
The Hover Camera Passport is a small, portable drone designed to take selfie photos and videos. It is real easy to fly, has face and body tracking technology and folds up to the size of a small book. While a selfie stick can also take photos, you can use it to capture yourself from strategic points that you would never reach if everything you had was a long pole. Still, the small size of the drone has some limitations.
Design
About the size of a large pocket book, the Passport folds up to 18 x 13 x 3.3 centimeters, making this drone very compact.
Four rotors (two on each side) are locked in a protective cage and fold. If you opened a book in the middle and left it flat on a table, with the lid up, you would have an approximation of how the Hover looks when it opens.
The central section of the Hover, the spine if desired, is composed largely of a removable battery and a camera, which leans upwards and downwards at one end.
There is only one button on the Hover drone: press it to turn on the drone, wait about a minute, keep the drone in the air and press the button again: the Hover will move right where you left it. To turn off the drone, just grab it and bend it on both sides.
Even with its battery, the drone, which is built mainly in carbon fiber, is very light, with just 241 grams. This means that it is below the limit of 250g imposed by most countries in the world such as Spain as a limit so that it can fly recreationally. The drone has less than half the weight and size of the 4K Yuneec Breeze and the 2 Bebop Parrot.
App
The Hover Camera Passport does not have its own physical controller; rather, you must use the drone app on your iOS or Android device, which links the Hover via Wi-Fi. Although it is intended for extreme portability, it would be desirable if there were to be an optional possibility to use it with a physical controller, as does the Parrot Bebop 2 .
After starting the application, a live transmission of the Hover camera occupies the main section of the screen. Overlays in the lower third are controls to blow the drone. It's okay for Hover to let you choose between three types of controls. You can also adjust the angle of the drone camera, but how to do it is not so obvious; you have to drag your finger up and down in the middle of your phone screen. In that sense, it is quite reminiscent of the way to move the gimbal from the camera of DJI Mavic 2.
On the left side of the screen there is a battery life indicator, along with setting a timer and flash, as well as a mode that will take a panoramic video. Also here is the Orbit mode, which will cause the Hover camera to orbit around a subject, tracking the individual while moving. Note that the Hover has no sensors to avoid objects on its sides, so you want to use the Orbit function in an open space.
The Owner mode in the Hover app allows you to register your face, so that the drone automatically tracks you once you start it. There are also gesture controls, such as raising your hand to take a picture and making a OK sign to land the drone. Both features work well. It is also very good that the photo feature offers a 5-second countdown. However, the Passport sometimes follows you very close in Owner mode, almost colliding with the subject on some occasions.
Face and body tracking
Do you want the Hover Passport to follow you automatically? Like the Parrot Bebop 2, you can track someone's face or body as the person walks, which is a great functionality.
The two features work quite well, especially when used in open spaces free of obstacles. However, if you turn your head completely or move too fast, the drone will lose its lock and stop moving. When this happens, the Passport also sends an alert to your phone.
The drone tries to keep the same distance from you at all times. Then, if you're walking and suddenly stop, the Hover will stop in the air and then slowly retreat back to the original distance. It also needs a lot of space for this function; Hover recommends about 8 meters distance between the subject and the drone.
The Hover is not a particularly fast drone, as its speed reaches 27 km/h. So, if you go riding a bike, you will have difficulty following you. Hover also discourages the use of the drone during skiing, as the sonar and camera facing down the device (used to find reach) will have difficulties with the angle of a mountain, as well as with white snow.
Video
The 13MP camera in the Passport records video at 4K and 30 frames per second; that's better than the Bebop 2, whose resolution exceeds 1080p. The video recorded from the Passport is well detailed and rich in colors. The camera also fits well for bright conditions.
Unlike the larger, higher-tier camera drones, such as DJI Mavic Pro, which have their cameras mounted on a gimbal, the Passport must rely on the electronic stabilization of the image. This is something effective, but, as in the Yuneec Breeze, it only works on videos up to 1080p resolution. As a result, it is normal that video shots, especially if they are in motion, are not as stable as those that can be taken by a mechanical gimbal drone. The Bebop 2 also lacks a gimbal, but does a much better job stabilizing the video using a wide-angle lens and some software tricks.
There are not many improvements in stability when you decrease the resolution to 1080p in the Passport. It is also annoying that, to change the resolution, you have to go back to the application's home screen, which means exiting the screen that has the drone controls. Not only is it an inconvenience, but it is also potentially dangerous, as you must trust that the drone will remain in place while you leave the controls.
For the most part, the drone itself remains fairly stable. However, the light weight of the Passport makes it quite susceptible to gusts of wind.
The Passport has 32 GB of internal storage, more than double the Yuneec Breeze, which, unfortunately, cannot be removed or replaced. You can wirelessly transfer images and videos from the camera to your smartphone or via a USB port on the side of the Passport.
Flight autonomy
According to the company, Hover Camera Passport battery will last about 10 minutes. In practice, this is quite realistic. It is short time, but on the other hand it was to be expected due to the small size of the batteries.
The Passport comes with two batteries, which take between 40 and 60 minutes to charge.
The Passport includes two batteries, a charger, four propellers and a screwdriver. A padded transport cover can accommodate the drone and its batteries. As rotors are protected by a cage, it is quite difficult to break them, unless something enters the mesh cage. If that happens, cages can be unscrew so you can reach the rotors.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a highly compact drone that takes excellent photos and videos, then you should consider the Hover Camera Passport. However, in the same class, the Parrot Bebop 2 offers double flight time, a more stable (but less resolution) image and the ability to use not only a physical controller, but also FPV glasses. Still, one cannot forget the extreme portability of the Hover drone, which is in itself its greatest handicap.
Specifications
Technical specifications Sensor: 1/3.06 inch 13 megapixel CMOS Image resolution: 4.208 x 3,120 pixels Opening: F: 2 Focal range: 28mm to 78.4o Video: 4K resolution at 30 frames per second Focus depth: 1.2 – 6.7m Photo/video format: JPEG / MP4 Weight: 242 grams Battery: range for approximately 10 minutes (1,360mAh) Storage capacity: 32 GB Maximum speed: 8 meters per second Other features: WIFI connection
Pros and cons of this Drone
- Extremely portable and lightweight
- Quality materials in its construction, in which the carbon fiber stands out
- The autonomous flight modes work quite well
- A slightly higher tier than its rivals
- Low flight autonomy
Conclusions
Today there are drones that already have the features offered by the Hover Camera Passport, in simpler ranges, although this drone is still very interesting for its quality and extreme portability. Another factor that we would like to highlight is that because its helixes are protected by a mesh, they make it a much safer drone than others for both adults and children. Don't discard this shopping option because it's a quality drone that does what it promises and you can take it everywhere with you.