X8-M

Operation Manual

Thank you for purchasing an X8-M! This manual contains important information about your aerial 

mapping platform. Please read these instructions before your first flight. 

1 Plan 1

2 Fly 19

3 Process 30

Appendix 34

Online information portal: 3DR.com/X8-M

3DR support: help@3DR.com

Terms and conditions: 3DR.com/terms

Pix4D instructions: support.Pix4D.com
1 Plan

Parts 2

Flight Battery 3

Charging 3

Safety 3

Powering the X8 4

Camera Setup 5

3DR EAI 5

Charging 5

Starting a Mission 5

Mounting 6

Ground Station Setup 7

Download Software 7

Connect to Radio 7

Mission Planning 8

Operating Parameters 8

Load Maps 9

Draw Polygon 10

Configure Survey 11

Save and Write Mission 18
Parts

RC controller and 

accessories

batteries (2)

X8

FPV/OSD System 

If you selected to receive a FPV/OSD system, those components 

will be included with the X8’s accessories. See page 27 for parts 

and instructions.

registration card and 

Pix4D license key
1 

Connect the charger to the power adapter cable 

and a wall outlet. Connect the red cable to the + 

port and the black cable to the - port.

+

–

2 

Set the charger to LiPo and 3A.

LiPo 3A

3 

Connect the white connector to the 4S port, and 

join the two yellow connectors together. 

4S

4 

Secure the battery inside the guard bag, 

and charge until the status indicator 

displays green.

Charging

Complete

The X8 is powered by a rechargeable lithium polymer (LiPo) battery. 

Charge the battery before your first flight.

!

Flying with a low battery is a sa

battery permanently unusable. 

battery. 

Charge the battery using a des

only. Always monitor the batter

battery from extreme heat, extr

flammable surfaces. Always tra

battery in the guard bag.

Inspect the battery for damage

observe any swelling of the pa

to function, do not use the bat

recycling center, and dispose o

Canada, visit call2recycle.org t

dispose of the battery in the tr

Flight Battery

Charging Safety

Charger with power cable and 

split-wire charging cable

Charger settings

Flight battery charging wiring Charging in process
2

Attach the battery to the underside of the 

copter using the velcro straps, and join the 

yellow connectors.

Powering the X8

!

It is important to establish c

before powering on the X8.

on the controller before con

battery. When powering off 

disconnect the battery befo

the controller.

1

Turn on the controller. To avoid triggering 

the controller’s startup alarm, ensure that 

all switches are set back (away from you) 

and the throttle stick is set fully down.

RC controller

Throttle stick

Switches
Camera Setup

The X8 includes a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS running the 3DR EAI script.

SD card locked

Load 3DR EAI

» Fly a mapping mission

SD card unlocked

Load default Canon software

» View images on camera

» Save images to ground station

» Update script

3DR EAI (Exposure-Aperture-ISO)

3DR EAI runs on the Canon Hacker Development Kit (CHDK), a powerful opensource tool that expands the functionality of Canon point-and-shoot cameras. 3DR 

EAI optimizes image exposure and integrates with the Pixhawk autopilot to enable 

distance-based imaging.

This software is designed to load off the camera’s SD card, leaving the original Canon 

programming intact. The yellow switch on the side of the SD card allows you to lock 

or unlock the card. Lock the SD card to run 3DR EAI; unlock the SD card to save 

images to your ground station or to boot the camera with its original programming.

For more information about 3DR EAI, see page 36.

Charging

Charge the camera battery before your first flight

fully charged, insert the battery into the camera.

status indicator

Starting a Mission

To prepare the camera to fly a mapping mission, 

that the mode dial is set to P (program) mode. Pow

camera using the silver button on the top. 3DR EA

automatically, and you will see the script message

camera display. Check to see that the last line of t

reads waiting on USB signal. The camera is now read

Camera ready to map: waiting on USB signal

Canon battery charger

Power off the camera before removing the SD card. !

Camera running 3DR EAI Camera running Canon software
mounting plate

latch

When the camera is ready to start the mission, open the latch, and insert the 

camera into the mount. Close the latch, and rotate the mount so the camera 

faces down. Connect the mini-USB cable to the camera.

Mounting

The camera mount includes a cap to protect the UV filter d

fly, remove the cap, and check that the filter contains no d

that could affect image quality. If you notice any damage to

image quality, screw off the filter and replace with the extra

Connect mini-USB cable 

here.

Camera (side)

Camera enclosure with cap Camera encl

mini-USB cable
Mission Planner

Your license key for Pix4Dmapper can be found on the registration card 

inside the documents package. 

Visit mapper.pix4d.com/license-redeem to create an account and redeem 

your license key; then visit pix4d.com/download to download Pix4Dmapper 

Discovery. Pix4D will automatically upgrade from the Discovery edition to 

the LT 3DR Edition (or Pro Edition if you selected to upgrade) when you 

log in to the program with your Pix4D account information.

Mission Planner is a full-featured ground station application for planning 

missions and monitoring the X8 in flight. Download Mission Planner 

from 3DR.com/download_software.

If you already have Mission Planner installed, make sure you’re running 

the most recent version: Select the Help tab and Check for Updates.

Mission Planner: Help tab

Ground Station Setup

Pix4Dmapper LT 3DR Edition

To connect the X8 to Mission Planner, connect the groun

the laptop, and power the X8.

1 

Connect the ground station radio to your 

laptop using the micro-USB cable. Open 

Mission Planner.

3 

Select Flight Data to view live data from the X8.

2 

Select 5

(When 

micro-U

Download Software Connect to Radio

Mission Planner allows you to turn a Windows laptop into a full-featured 

ground station for configuring and monitoring autonomous missions. You will 

need to take this laptop into the field when you fly the mission. As part of the 

mission procedure, you will use the Pix4D Rapid Check to verify the quality of 

the image set before leaving the field.

Ground station laptop with radio connected

Mis

Mission P
Operating Parameters

Camera Canon SX2

Camera Orientation Landscape 

Operating Altitude 50-120 m

Default Altitude 60 m

Low-Wind Conditions 0-6 m/s

High-Wind Conditions 7-10 m/s 

Maximum Wind Conditions 10 m/s

Operating Speed 1-17 m/s

Default Speed 5 m/s

Estimated Maximum Flight Time 14 min

Estimated Ground Resolution 2 cm/pixel

Estimated Maximum Survey Area .1 km2

Minimum Photo Interval 2 seconds

The X8 is a complete solution for creating high-resolution 

visual-spectrum aerial maps. 

Pixhawk 

autopilot 

system

Pix4Dmapper 

LT 3DR Edition

Canon SX260

3DR EAI

To create a map, the X8 flies an autonomous mission over 

the survey site, using the integration between the Pixhawk 

autopilot and custom-programmed camera to capture 

images at a consistent distance interval. Pix4Dmapper 

then stitches these images together into a georeferenced, 

orthorectified mosaic.

The accuracy of the map depends on the configuration of 

the mission. Planning a mission that captures high-quality 

images requires balancing the X8’s operating parameters 

with the environmental factors at the survey site.

Mission Planning

Operating Parameters
1

Open Mission Planner, select Flight Plan, and 

zoom to your flying location. 

2

Right-click on the map, select Map Tool and 

Prefetch, and accept the defaults prompts. 

Mission Planner will download the maps 

for the selected location to your computer. 

3

Mission Planner will attempt to load the map data from the current level of zoom down to the 

closest level of zoom available. However, it can take hours to pre-fetch every level of zoom, 

and it is unlikely that the closer levels will be useful in planning the mission. To shortcut this 

process, check the slider on the right side of the map. The levels of zoom are represented by 

this slider from 0 (bottom) to 25 (top). Press the ESC key to skip levels of zoom at a greater 

detail than you need for mission planning.

Load Maps

Mission Planner allows you to plan the mission away from the mapping location; 

however, it is important to assess the environmental conditions on site at the time 

of the mission and adjust the flight plan if necessary. Alternatively, you can plan 

the entire mission at the mapping location. To create or alter the mission, Mission 

Planner requires an Internet connection to access the maps. If you’re unable to 

access the Internet on site, follow the instructions below to pre-fetch the maps 

within Mission Planner while you have Internet access.

Mission Planner Flight Plan tab: zoom to mapping location Mission Planner Flight Plan tab: Select Prefetch
2

Right click on the map. Select Draw Polygon and 

Add Polygon Point. Click and drag to add points 

around the area you want to map. 

3

Right click on the polygon. Sele

Survey (Grid) to open the Survey T

Units

The Survey Tool uses metric units. If your Mission Planner is 

set to imperial units, please change the settings to use metric 

to plan the mission. Support for imperial units in Mission 

Planner is coming soon; check 3DR.com/X8-M for updates.

Draw Polygon

To begin planning the mapping mission, select the area you want to map using 

the Polygon tool. You’ll be able to adjust the size and shape of the polygon later in 

the mission configuration process.

1

Select Flight Plan, and zoom to your 

mapping location.

Mission Planner Flight Plan tab: zoom to mapping location

Mission Planner Flight Plan tab: draw polygon

!
Configure Survey: Set Default Parameters 

Set Camera

Canon SX260-SX280

Set Camera Orientation

Check the option for Camera top 

facing forward.

Set Default Speed

5 m/s 

Apply Survey Speed

Check the option for Use speed for t

If unchecked, the mission will use t

default speed of 5 m/s regardless 

selected in the Survey Tool.

Mission Planner: Survey Tool

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Set Angle

Wind Direction

In environments with winds of less 

that the X8 flies into the wind. In wi

the flight path to travel perpendicul

cross-wind.

No. of Strips 

Adjust the angle so that the X8 mak

complete its course. The No. of Strip

passes the X8 will make as you adj

Review Wind Conditions On-Site

Always assess the wind conditions

of the mission and adjust the missio

Adjust Polygon

Click and drag the red polygon points to adjust the size and 

shape of the polygon from the Survey Tool. 

Configure Survey: Set Angle 

wind

Angl

Angl

!

Use caution when flying in w

may degrade as a result of i

appropriate groundspeed.

wind

wind

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Set Altitude

Recommended altitude: 60 m

Operating altitude: 50-100 m

Increasing altitude decreases fligh

cover more area per minute. Decr

ground resolution. Set the altitude

resolution while keeping the flight 

the altitude under 120 m.

Keep altitude below 120 m, and e

appropriate for your flying area an

!

Check Flight Time

Flight Time estimates the duration 

estimated flight time must be und

charged X8 battery. To decrease 

altitude or speed.

High winds, humidity, high altitude

affect power consumption and re

the environmental factors at your 

flight time.

In this example, we increased spe

flight time below 14 min while allo

conditions. When increasing spee

increased power required to trave

time.

Check Ground Resolution

Ground Resolution is the centimeters per pixel that 

you will have in the map and corresponds to the 

amount of detail that you will see.

To improve ground resolution by decreasing the 

number of centimeters per pixel, decrease altitude.

Configure Survey: Set Altitude 

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Check Photo Interval

Photo Every must be longer than 2 seconds

camera.

Altitude

Increasing altitude increases photo interva

Keep altitude below 120 m, and ensure th

appropriate for your flying area and local re

!

Speed

Decreasing speed increases photo interva

Ensure that the Use speed for this mission opt

!

Configure Survey: Check Photo Interval 

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Takeoff and Land WP’s

For automatic takeoff and landing

Check the Add Takeoff and Land WP’s o

Check the Use RTL option. 

After initiating the mission, the X8 w

the survey altitude, and begin the m

the X8 will automatically return to the

For manual takeoff and automatic

Uncheck the Add Takeoff and Land WP’

Check the Use RTL option. 

Take off manually, and initiate the mi

mission, the X8 will land automatica

Configure Survey: Set Takeoff and Landing 

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Check Advanced Options

to view the Survey Tool’s advanced configuration options.

Adjust Overlap and Sidelap

Overlap and sidelap are set to 50% and 60%, respectively, 

by default. See page 35 for an in-depth discussion of these 

parameters.

Adjust StartFrom

During the mission, you will maintain contact with the X8 through 

the RC controller and ground station signals. If these signals are 

lost during flight, the X8 will respond with the assigned failsafe 

behaviors. See page 29. If your mission is likely to experience a 

loss of signal, it is best practice to start from the corner of the 

mission farthest from the launch point.

Configure Survey: Advanced Options 

Camera Config

The options under the Camera Config tab 

allow you to configure a camera other than 

the SX260 and won’t be used for operating 

the X8.

Survey Tool: Grid Options (Advanced) Select Grid Options

Mission Planner: Survey Tool
Before accepting the survey, check that the mission complies with the X8’s operating parameters. Once you 

accept the survey, you will not be able to edit it directly by re-opening the Survey Tool. If you need to adjust the 

survey, clear the mission (right click, select Clear Mission), and repeat the survey configuration process.

Camera

Canon SX260-SX280

Altitude

50-100 m

Camera top facing forward

checked

Flying speed

1-17 m/s

Use speed for this mission

checked (optional if speed set to default

Photo Every

greater than 2 s

Flight time

under 14 min depending on environmen

! Do not accept the mission if a

exceed the X8’s operating limit

Operating Parameters

Configure Survey: Accept Survey 

Accept

Select Accept to save the mission.

If Mission Planner prompts you for a hom

altitude that you specified in the Survey 
Select Write WPs

to save the mission to the X8.

Select Save WP File

to save the mission file to your compu

repeat this mapping mission, load the

WP file from your computer.

On the Flight Plan screen, save the waypoint file to your computer and write the mission to the X8.

Save and Write Mission
2 Fly

Safety 20

Aircraft Operation 21

Components 21

Assembly 22

Controls 23

Modes 24

Preflight Checks 25

LED Indicators and Tones 25

GPS Lock 25

Arming and Disarming 26

FPV System Operation 27

Flying Mapping Missions 28

Takeoff Checklist 28

Initiating 28

Monitoring 28

Failsafes 29
To ensure safe and successful flying, familiarize yourself with the safety information 

on this page. Always fly in accordance with your location regulations and these 

best operating practices.

100 ft (30 m)

Always fly at least 100 feet (30 m) away from 

people, vehicles, and buildings. Make the 

safety of people and property your first priority!

Always fly below 400 ft (120 m) and within your 

visual line of sight. Don’t let the X8 get too far 

away from you; make sure you can always see 

its orientation. Don’t fly in low light, heavy wind, 

rain, or other conditions that might impede 

visibility.

Always fly at least 5 miles (8 km) away from 

airports and other areas where pilots operate 

5 miles (8 km) manned aircraft.

400 ft

(120 m)

Before you fly, determine the boundaries of your safe flying area. If the X8 moves 

outside the designated area or exhibits instability in flight, switch to altitude hold 

mode and land the copter manually.

The X8 will not avoid obstacles on its own, including during missions. As the 

operator, it’s your job to recognize and avoid obstructions while flying. Always be 

ready to regain manual control of the copter in the event of an unsafe situation. 

Spinning propelle

safety button ind

help you prevent 

high-speed prope

• When the X8

 button will b

 motors are in

 safe to hand

• When you’re

safety button

 indicates tha

 propellers ca

 propellers sa

 hold the safe

! You can find more safe

instructions where you 

visual line 

of sight

Location

Propeller

Safety 
Aircraft Operation

Components

safety button

camera integration 

cable

status LED

Pixhawk autopilot

front arms

rear arms

camera mount
Propellers

Remove the nuts and washers from the motors. Add SFP propellers and SF 

propellers as marked below with the writing on the propellers facing towards 

the sky. This will be a tight fit; apply pressure and twist the propeller onto the 

shaft.

Place the washer over the propeller, and sec

nut tightly on top using the propeller wrench.

Arms

Remove the bolt and nut outside each arm. Rotate the arm into position, insert the 

bolt through the plates and the arm, and secure the arm in place with the nut.

The X8 arrives in travel configuration. Complete these steps to prepare the copter for flight.

travel position

remove

secure with 

bolt

flight position

slide each arm 

into position

Ensure writing on all propellers faces the sky. !

Assembly

Top motor: SF

Bottom motor: SFP

Bottom motor: SF

Top motor: SF Top motor: SFP

Bottom motor: SFP

Bottom motor: SF

Top motor: SFP
throttle up

Increase speed and 

altitude.

throttle down

Decrease speed and 

altitude.

throttle fully down

Land.

yaw left

yaw right

Fly the X8 manually using the RC controller.

yaw

throttle

Throttle: Move the left stick forward and backward to control altitude and 

 acceleration.

Yaw: Move the left stick horizontally to rotate and control orientation. 

 Navigate by orienting the X8 with the blue arms facing forward.

Pitch: Move the right stick vertically to fly forward and backward.

Roll: Move the right stick horizontally to fly to the left and to the right.

Controls 

roll

pitch

roll and pitch center

roll left

roll right

pitch up

pitch down