Holy Stone HS700D FPV Drone with 4K FHD Camera

Reviews

1. Rated 1 out of 5

   Mike Mathias – February 19, 2018

   HS700 failed out of the box. Followed the instructions carefully and even found a video online of the calibration process. This drone will not calibrate. Called, and e-mailed Holystone about the issue and received no support. They had me make a video of myself performing the calibration process. Terrible!
2. Rated 4 out of 5

   Kenneth A. Smith – February 19, 2018

    So I have been flying this drone for a while and I think I can offer an honest review. This is one of many drones I fly, several other Holy Stone products, a tiny little S9 from BROADREAM (great fun for about $20-30 on Amazon), an Autel Xstar Premium , and a Mavic pro. So here are my opinions about the Holy Stone HS700.First of all, the aircraft itself is excellent! Very responsive and the GPS works great. Return to home put the drone within a few feet of the takeoff point-impressive for a drone in this price range. Handles wind very well-if you look at the way the tree branches are moving in the video I posted you will see what I mean. The controller is also very good, giving some flight info, satellite connections, etc. The app for your phone/tablet is also very goodSo why not 5 stars? Two reason-camera and battery. The camera itself is ok-not great, but as you can see by the photos I posted not bad at all. The problems are several. I knew the camera was not gimbal mounted, but I certainly expected that camera pitch would be adjustable in flight like the HS100 but it’s not. The camera also does not have electronic image stabilization so making smooth videos is nearly impossible. On the plus side, the camera mount will work with other cameras that have EIS and/or 4k video, but unless you already have one the cost of such a camera puts the total cost of the HS700 and camera upgrade into the range of a DJI Phnatom 3 which has a 3 axis gimbal and 2.7k video camera. The other issue I have with the HS700 is the battery charge time. Although flight time is fairly good (I have averaged about 17 minutes flight time) the time to recharge is terrible-5+hours! My Autel and DJI Mavic batteries are much larger and charge in about an hour.So, bottom line, Holy Stone has an absolutely excellent aircraft in the HS700. Too bad they dropped the ball with the camera and battery

   

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   pdxspp – February 25, 2018

   I’ve been flying the HS100 for a while and decided to upgrade to the Ophelia. Holystone didn’t disappoint. First things first… I am blown away at how quiet the brushless motors are! Not to mention the overall speed. The overall body is a bit smaller so i’t more manageable to stash in a back pack.Do yourself a favor and get at least a spare battery if not a few. They can take hours to charge, so having only one would be a drag.PROS – Fast & quiet. Super easy to pilot, especially in GPS mode. It’s very well designed from an aesthetic aspect mass well. . The flight time and the flight distance are both outstanding. Last but certainly not least… The smart return to home function is legit. I can’t say enough good things about the return to home feature.CONS – The app isn’t as polished as some others, but I’ve had no issues with the Android or iOS version. The body is pretty light (which allows more speed and efficiency) so flying when it’s windy might end up in choppy footage. Lastly, The beeping (just like the HS100) isn’t subtle and can get a bit annoying. IOverall I’m really happy with thie product and have 0 regrets.
4. Rated 5 out of 5

   amac – February 25, 2018

   This is probably my 4th or 5th drone and it’s by far the best one I’ve owned. It’s very easy to set up and fly. The GPS feature keeps the drone stable and it captures really high quality video. I would highly recommend this to beginners and experienced flyers. It takes a while to charge but that is my only negative thing to sa at about it.

   

5. Rated 1 out of 5

   just being Frank – November 6, 2018

   After weeks of attempts, including recruiting experienced techies, was unable to get the hand controller to issue the required WiFi signal so that the drone could be guided by vision via a smart-phone app vs. the operators own eyes. Anything beyond 50 feet given the size of any drone makes this wishful. No WiFi also means no camera recording, no “Follow Me” capability and a host of features standard on most any drone these days.As for their controlling app, Ophelia, it has a rating of 3.9 with more 1-stars than all other ratings combined. It failed to load on a half-dozen droid phones we tried, all meeting the requirements given in the instructions. “Sorry, program is abnormal, shutting down now” was the repeated result. 100% failures.
6. Rated 5 out of 5

   Jim A. Sparks – November 15, 2018

    The Holy Stone HS700 is my fourth and now favorite drone. The GPS capability makes this drone so easy to fly that anyone beginners or experienced pilots will truly enjoy it! The “Return to Home” button really makes flying a drone more carefree, because you basically have a “get out of jail free” card. The first time you push it may scare you a bit because the drone will shoot straight up to 98 feet then move horizontally to hover over the home point where initial compass calibration took place. It will then slowly descend and remarkably land within 3 feet of the home point.The 1080p onboard camera is incredible and shoots great high definition pictures and video. I thought initially that there was a video problem when I saw black lines in some of my videos, but soon realized that this was caused by facing the camera lens directly toward the sun and the black lines were caused by the propellers shadows. The included 8Gb micro SD card can store a great deal of images. Make sure you have at least one good index finger fingernail to push down on the SD card to eject it. You can use the same “fingernail” method to reinsert the card, but beware that the card may launch out of the camera if you don’t get it fully depressed and would be extremely hard to find in the grass.If you enjoy this drone as much as I do it would be wise to invest in a second battery to extend your flying sessions. The included battery performs very well and gives 20 minutes of flight, but the recharging process is safe & slow as to not overheat the battery. Holy Stone even included a protective container to place the battery in during charging and storage in case of a battery malfunction.The follow me function that is available only on the free “Ophelia” app is fun, but keep a close eye on your drone. It does not have obstacle avoidance built in and will fly into a tree or other obstacle as it follows you, so please watch your step!I cannot recommend the Holy Stone HS700 drone more highly. Most drones with similar features cost much more. Holy Stone put a great deal of thought into this drone’s design. It is their first high performance brushless motor model and the phone app is really incredible with all the added features such as “follow a sketched path”, “point of interest”, “built in live map”, “drone altitude”, “drone distance from home” besides the camera control and “tap fly” capability. I have not been brave enough to put on my VR goggles and try the 3D split screen while flying the drone, but I greatly anticipate the day I have the nerve to try it!

   

7. Rated 4 out of 5

   Mitchell – December 12, 2018

   The good: – Brushless motors – GPS – “Follow me” mode – “Waypoint” mission plotting – “Return To Home” – “Point of Interest” (orbit) mode – Well constructed and durable – Easy to fly – Excellent stability – Low latency FPV – Good range and duration – World class customer support. The best in the business. Most drone manufacturers (Toy, hobby and professional) could take lessons from Holy Stone. They are responsive and thorough.The Bad: – Battery charging takes forever. 6-7 hours to fully charge. – Proprietary battery in short supply and ridiculously expensive (@$53.) – Ophelia app needs more improvements (latest update has Google satellite map view working)The ugly: – Camera is not a good performer. Photos are good but for 1080P video resolution, recorded video has consistent “skip” every few seconds.Experience:This drone was easy to assemble and setup. It took 7 hours for the initial battery charge. The Ophelia app connected right away and found 12 satellites. Flying was easy and drone was remarkably stable. GPS hold was tight. I had a very difficult time getting Google maps to display with Ophelia. This could have been due to remote area I was flying in with spotty data connection to phone. FPV worked well with only a slight lag in display. I was able to achieve 500 meter range with no problem and I was able to fly for about 17 minutes before low battery warning. I’m not happy with Ophelia app as it apparently does not cache maps (which it could easily do) so flying in area with no data connection means no map displayed. Further, the app does not yet support satellite view maps which can clearly show buildings, structures, treelines and vegetation. This view is important in rural flying when plotting waypoint missions and these things are not displayed in a Google street map. (edit: this now exists and works in latest Ophelia release 3/6/19)Summary:With a better camera and battery charger, this would of been a home run for Holy Stone. The Ophelia app is kind of clunky but I see improvements being made in semi-regular updates. I hope they will address the map issues. All in all, the HS700 is a great flying drone that solidly puts Holy Stone in hobby class drone market. Of the many drones I own and fly, this is still one of my favorites for demonstrating how good a hobby class drone can be over a toy class drone. Anyone can fly it and look good at it. The camera, high battery replacement cost and slow battery charging is only thing keeping this review from being 5 stars.Lastly:I was able to construct an adapter that lets me charge the HS700 battery pack with a commercial LiPo balance charger. It was cheap and easy to construct (see image) and allows me to fully charge battery in about an hour. This probably voids the warranty but with HS700 batteries in short supply and charging times of 6+ hours, I just had to do it. You can also purchase an adapter here on Amazon that will work (search: B00NBAO3R2).

   

8. Rated 1 out of 5

   J Wong – January 1, 2019

   The drone was easy to fly with lots of nice features comparable to more expensive drones. However, on the second day after taking off, it started to fly higher and further away. It would not respond to the RTH command, would not respond to the takeoff/landing key or the joy stick. It was completely unresponsive to the remote control. There was no way to bring it back. The out of range or signal lost auto return did not work neither. I just lost $330 on an unreliable drone. Buyer needs to be aware of this defect and the potential of losing the drone.
9. Rated 2 out of 5

   WRS – January 2, 2019

   Nice drone. Flies beautifully.Returned because the only way to use the camera, and all the features associated with it, is to have a device that can pick up the 5g Wi-Fi signal generated by the drone.Neither I, nor anyone I know had a device that could find the Wi-Fi signal.After calling the company 3x I watold that I would have to buy a new cell phone. I was given 2 phone recommendations by a supervisor, (not a standard operator, who gave me basically no help). Both were over 100 dollars. The one I tried still didn’t see the Wi-Fi signal.Refund was issued quickly and without hassle. That was a plus.Overall, for me, this was a waste of time.
10. Rated 5 out of 5

    Donovan Colbert – January 7, 2019

     The Holy Stone HS700 features mid-range, semi-pro features at the price point of a high-end toy drone. It has many features that Drones costing hundreds or even a thousand dollars more feature, but is also lacking some key features that make those high end drones very attractive.After 4 days with the Holy Stone HS700, I think I’ve finally figured out a few of the things that are not very well described in the spare documentation included, but some mysteries still persist.I’ve had a Hubsan X4 drone, a quality starter drone with replaceable parts and great durability for several years now. It is an acrobatic drone with trick maneuvers and a very poor “webcam” quality camera. It has no stabilization, drift must be manually trimmed, and flight time is short, usually around 5 minutes per battery.Since a trip to San Diego where I saw a drone flying out over the bay, gaining altitude and descending, traveling smoothly from point to point, and then returning to its home position – I’ve wanted to upgrade. But the idea of spending $700-$1500 on something that might just end up crashing into a lake, ocean or forest never to be seen again has held me back.When I saw the Holy Stone HS700 on Amazon for well under $400, I was tempted but hesitant.I hemmed and hawed, going back and forth between Amazon’s HS700 page and the drone page from the local big-box retailer known for its blue-shirts. At one point, I had made up my mind to pull the trigger on one of the much more expensive drones designed for “pro-amateur” users, but then I had a moment of clarity. I read the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the HS700, thought about what I’d do with the $450 I would save by not buying from the Blue-Shirts, and checked out on Amazon instead.My hesitation was based on several factors. While the reviews were positive, I felt like they were mostly by casual users who didn’t really have the option of purchasing a more expensive drone. The video quality posted with reviews was low quality and it wasn’t clear if that was an issue with the drone or with compression when uploaded to Amazon. To cut to the chase there, the videos actually look great, but Amazon is compressing them. One thing I found attractive was the option to mount a GoPro but the included camera does a great job with trivial amounts of video artifacts or lens distortion. With the integration of the camera via WiFi to your phone using the Holy Stone “Ophelia” app, I think the features of the included camera probably make it a better option than an after-market sport cam. The fact that the mounting gimble is not auto-leveling or self-adjusting means a high-end sport-camera is probably overkill for this drone, anyhow.I’ve taken the drone out 4 days in a row now, and each day my experience has been more rewarding. The included documentation is sparse. The English in the manual is not perfect, but it is far from the worst Chinese-to-English manual I’ve ever seen. Pairing, Initialization, Gyro and Compass calibration, connection to the Ophelia app and initiating a one-touch takeoff all basically follow the order of the manual – but some steps seem to not work, or work inconsistently, and it isn’t clear to me if it matters or not, if you get the major pairing and calibration steps right.Day 1 was in a flat expense of barren desert behind an outlet mall. The sun was beating down on me, there was a mild breeze blowing the pages of the manual, security showed up and I had to talk to them. Ultimately I didn’t get much flight time before the battery ran out and I didn’t feel very confident in my ability to pilot the drone. I was very nervous about the Return to Home feature. This was because I didn’t get the gyro and/or compass calibration done right, so the drone was drifting severely in the breeze. If I had let the drone climb to the 100 feet it requires to perform a Return To Home maneuver – I think it would have sailed off into the desert.Day 2, I took the drone into a suburban greenbelt with a large open field. I figured out how to record video and take pictures using the Ophelia app, but was again unable to get the drone to calibrate completely and I was experiencing heavy drift. I spent this day mostly familiarizing myself with the app and trying to get some experiencing free-flying the drone. It is less twitchy and acrobatic than the Hubsan X4. The HS700 is designed to be a video-drone, not a racing or trick drone. The controls are more precise for rotating and the drone maintains altitude without a lot of attitude correction, unlike the Hubsan. While this might make it easier for 1st time fliers, I found I had to unlearn habits I picked up on my previous drone. In particular, the HS700 is designed to hover. On the Hubsan, I must keep the props at speed to maintain altitude. If I release the throttle, the drone will drop like a rock. The HS700 is designed to maintain altitude. You have to throttle down to descend, and the drone resists it. With my previous experience, this hesitation to descend rapidly feels uncomfortable. But for a first-time drone flyer, it means it is far more difficult to crash your quadcopter into the ground.At the end of this session, I finally completed a full calibration. Until that point I had been getting an error message,“Drone not in hover mode or not enough GPS satellites,” Whenever I tried to go into “Follow-Me Mode,” in Ophelia.Once calibrated, the One-Touch takeoff went into a very stable hover and I was able to enter the “Follow Me” mode. The drone battery ran out almost immediately though, and I had to land and call it a day before testing.One of the problems is that the manual doesn’t align well with the actual experience of calibrating and pairing the drone. The steps in order are to hold the lock button and turn on the transmitter, then install the battery in the drone while it is on a level surface facing forward. There are a series of beeps when this is done, but the manual does not describe what they mean. The manual describes LED patterns, but those don’t always match what happens on the drone. After a few seconds and some beeps, the lights will turn yellow and flash alternately from front to back. The documentation then says, in step 9.6, to calibrate the gyro by holding both sticks down to the bottom left. I am not sure this consistently works or is necessary. There is no real audible or visual key to tell if this is taking place. The manual claims the LEDS will flash green, then turn yellow and flash alternately from front to back.The next step, 9.7, is the compass calibration. This is important – and I have had inconsistent results. Step 1 is to hold the drone horizontally and rotate it about 3 times until the LEDs turn blinking green. This consistently works for me. Step 2 is to hold the drone vertically and rotate it around its axis 3 times until the front LEDs turn red and the rear turn yellow. Step 1 is always successful, and step 2 frequently turns the front LEDs red, but the back ones remain green. Occasionally I’ve gotten the back LEDs to turn yellow as described – but it doesn’t seem to matter. I thought this might be what was causing my problems with stability and drifting while hovering – but now I think the most important factor is that the calibration in the first two steps happen on a very level surface. With the back LEDs green instead of yellow as described in the manual, I have twice been able to pair and calibrate and successfully have the drone hover and enter “follow-me” mode.Follow me mode is really what this drone is about. In Follow Me Mode you get a more level and even flight than a human pilot would be able to replicate. In the attached video I’ve included 4 different video captures. The first section is the drone in Follow Me mode. The second is an example of hovering at about 45 feet and rotating to capture a panorama of the horizon. Third is an example of flying manually in “headless” mode and crashing hard into a tree and then a rocky garden bed. This impact did not damage the drone and caused on some minor deformation on the edge of one of the props. It was not significant enough to cause drift or vibration during subsequent flights. The final portion of the video is manually flying with “headless” mode turned off.A note about “headless” mode. It isn’t very well explained in the manual. As far as I can tell, “headless” mode makes the remote a “relative” control scheme, while turning headless mode off makes the stick directions absolute. To try and explain – if you push the direction stick forward and fly 30 feet out and rotate the drone 90 degrees to the right, to then fly forward you will actually press the direction joystick to the RIGHT. Turn the drone another 90 degrees to the right, and now to move forward you would press the direction stick BACK. The direction you press the joystick matches the direction the drone’s head is oriented towards. It is possible I have this backwards.Disabling headless mode makes the direction stick absolute. No matter what orientation the drone is facing, pushing forward on the control stick moves the drone forward in the direction the head is facing, pulling back makes it go backwards, left to go left, and right to go right.I find the second method far easier to fly in, and it is the mode my Hubsan supports. I was in the first (relative) mode when I crashed into the tree.I have yet to test “Custom Flight Path,” mode – but this is another photographic mode where you can enter a map in the Ophelia app and draw out a flight path you want the drone to complete. If this works as reliably as the follow-me mode, it is a high-end feature that adds value to the drone.I saw other Amazon drones about $80-$100 more with two-axis gimbles. These drones had fewer reviews and more reports of lost drones failing to return to home, and none had video samples or allowed the use of GoPro and other sport cameras as replacement for the included camera. Holy Stone could make the HS700 a killer package by keeping the price within $50 and adding an automatic 1 or 2 axis gimble to the camera. It is the one major shortcoming I see for this drone. Otherwise, as my confidence grows with operating this drone, it seems to be a very good balance of features and cost for the amateur drone enthusiast who wants some high-end features without breaking the bank.

    

11. Rated 1 out of 5

    T – January 7, 2019

    Easy to assemble but….. Don’t get fooled…battery takes 7 hours to be fully charged and 10 minutes to fly!!!? Absolutely a deal breaker and I wish I had returned it. And buying a new battery is expensive $50+. This product line should come with at least 6 brand new battery to make up for the short lifetime while charged (10 – 13 minutes), again it’s absurd to charge a battery 7+hours to get to use it for 10 minutes!Phone app is terrible, and should be improved and sometimes doesn’t work!Camera is mediocre at best, and doesn’t record any sounds.
12. Rated 1 out of 5

    lefty313 – January 13, 2019

    after about 10 flights (0 crashes), the follow me function no longer works, the unlock button and hover button on the controller stopped working, and my battery wont charge.This drone did everything that they claim, If everything still worked properly I would rate this drone higher.
13. Rated 1 out of 5

    Jean – March 3, 2019

    I bought this for my husband as a Christmas present. He waited a couple of days because it was rainy and windy. On the day it clears, he finally goes to test it out and it didn’t return home! He didn’t even have it long enough to enjoy it. He followed the GPS and still couldn’t find it. Smh! Money down the drain
14. Rated 3 out of 5

    Austin S – March 3, 2019

     Was less than 75 yards out and up as the crow flies and it just plummeted on a fresh battery without warning while doing a shoot with the video. Video attached showing this. Was flying fine for about 30 minutes prior.Updated: After fighting myself and getting a replacement, the new unit does perform more as should expected. No drops, no random bounces, etc. I will note, however, that neither Return Home mode nor Follow Me modes work at all in any way. The Return Home (despite waiting to unlock the propellers until a total of 15 GPS satellites were connected) just makes the drone go up to about 100 feet and go another direction opposite of where it started. The Follow Me just wanders away from me in the same manner. Neither of these are deal breakers, but good to know that the QA/QC process is consistent.Update 20190721:Back to one star. The drone is still hit or miss when it wants to work and fly right. While turning and using the throttle, it will sometimes plummet without warning and usually slam into the ground. My 50 dollar Syma has NEVER crashed without my input causing it; this drone is up to 3 times now between old and current unit. Save your money, but something real and not a knock off with a poorly written manual, 6 hour battery charges and a company that signs you up for spam emails and calls constantly to get poor reviews removed.I’ve filed a complaint with amazon because of both of these. Unfortunately, the drone has several signs of light wear/damage now and definitely would not be taken as a return. One additional detail: The landing feature is great, but if there is the slightest amount of wind, get ready for the blades to impact the ground and not stop until you gauge your finger trying to stop it from flipping over and not being able to stop it quick enoughUpdate 1 year out:I still use this drone sometimes, I’ve just gotten accustomed to no GPS or expensive features on it and it’s taken a few hits but still goes.Holy Stone can’t be judged for their customer service. They reached out and offered to send a brand new drone out which they have done. This is a newer model (700D vs the 700 I got previously). It still uses the same batteries which is great since I still use the former drone sometimes and saves a lot of money in this regard.Now, the good with the updated model: It’s more sensitive to input, it feels more nimble and less sluggish; The range on the camera is better, I can push around 150 yards now easily without losing connection. Camera seems a little better but still very cheap overall.Cons: Still cannot land to save its life. If there is even a hint of a breeze, the one touch landing will land then flip and chew up the blades until you use the panic stop; Having said that, I just tried the panic lock and one motor kept spun up at full speed until I pulled the battery, being careful not to lose a finger in the process. The best way to land is get about a foot off the ground then lock the blades to safely crash land.I haven’t tried the GPS modes as of yet due to the wind picking back up but I’ll be doing more testing once I find a large enough open area to do some testing. This drone does seem better overall but still has some of the basics missed; Even my little Parrot Mambo I got for 50 bucks can easily land without incident. I see the price on this drone has come down from ~280 to 200 which is a lot more in the price range it should be. Personally, I think it should be closer to 150. Sorry for the essay but I want people to have a full review with as much detail as possible when spending this much. Cheers!
15. Rated 3 out of 5

    Jason – March 16, 2019

    Full disclosure: HolyStone reimbursed my purchase of the HS700 in exchange for an honest review. I already own an HS100, so mostly what I’ll be doing is comparing the two.First the pros: The HS700 was MUCH easier to assemble out of the box. There are no tiny, tiny screws to lose, and I was up and running in about 10 minutes. It will also be easier to remove the blades for travel. Ther brushless motors make it quieter than the HS100, so it doesn’t bother my dogs as much. The camera that comes with it is interchangeable with GoPro cameras, so if you already have one you might be interested in using this drone. And the battery does give a longer flight time, which is what we’re all looking for, right?Here are the cons: That battery takes a REALLY long time to recharge, so definitely invest in at least one extra battery. I use drones mostly for aerial photography, and I was really disappointed in the camera setup on the HS700. The HS100 allows me to adjust the camera angle inflight, but I can’t do that with this drone. If I want to aim the camera straight down, I have to land the drone, move it with my hand, and relaunch. And unless I’m doing something wrong, the pictures I took with the HS700 don’t automatically download to my phone and iPad like the HS100 — I have to land the drone, physically remove the SD card, and insert it in my computer’s card reader.I found the transmitter to be awkward to hold because the phone holder doesn’t sit at the right angle. And, compared to the HS100, the GPS mode did not work as well and the drone wouldn’t hold steady in even a slight breeze.Two more observations: I don’t think this is a drone for beginners. There are no blade guards, so try not to crash it, and there’s no beginner mode, so it’s easy to fly it very high and very far right out of the box. If you’re an experienced flyer, there’s nothing to worry about. It comes with two pads for mounting the camera but no explanation in the instructions — use the thick one. I’m not sure what the thin one is for.In summary, some people will prefer the HS700 because of the longer flight time and the brushless motors. I’m going to keep my HS100 because the camera (which I upgraded to a 1080p) works so much better.
16. Rated 1 out of 5

    Amazon Customer – April 1, 2019

    I was excited to see the box arrive only to see it had already been opened and energizer batteries were in the remote control. I have never used one so not having instructions with a used unit when I had paid for a new one, really hurt. I have finally figured out how to charge the battery and the camera but idk anything about the camera as if it uses a SD card or internal memory or what. I am really dissatisfied with what I have seen so far with it. If I can figure out how to fly it and get it back I may change the review.
17. Rated 5 out of 5

    John – April 4, 2019

    I’ve never before had a drone, so this was my first. I didn’t want to get a cheap mini drone, only to outgrow it in weeks. So I decided to get a quality drone without spending big bucks.The HS700 Ophelia delivered.Opening the box revealed quality and good engineering. Setup and assembly was easy, straightforward, well documented and quick.Flying it was easy once I concentrated on the detailed instructions. The auto liftoff was flawless, and hovering near me was accurate despite gusty breezes.Video quality was good and easily downloadable to my iPhone using the Ophelia App.Overall I am quite pleased. This is a bargain with unexpected high quality. If you want a drone with more than basic features and high quality, I highly recommend the HS700 Ophelia.Update. As I learned how to fly this drone, I crashed it a few times. I guess this is expected. The camera, while it takes good videos and still images, wouldn’t seat the microSD card. After contacting support, they sent me a new camera without a hassle and even though I admitted to crashing a few times.All I can say is they have outstanding customer support. I’d like to give a shoutout to Crystal, who was exceptional.By all means, consider Holy Stone for a drone!

    

18. Rated 3 out of 5

    Alamo Sam – May 5, 2019

    This drone is my first- but was extremely easy to set up, initialize, and fly manually in a calm setting. While not cheap, there was no way I was 1) going to purchase a toy drone or 2) spend 1000 on a pro-drone I might destroy on day 1.This drone is the best value in this price range- Long range (0.5 miles+), battery life (20 min), solid construction, good camera (1080p). Reliable operation. I lost control a few times… when battery began to exhaust it returned home. Investment saved!I did make some compromises with this model. On the downside, you do have to read the instructions closely as some basic operations (e.g., start the props) require a combination of button presses on the controller. So you need to be able to read at a minimum.Sadly I subtract two reviewer points for the comical battery charging system. From a USB wall charger (not supplied) use the typical USB 2 cable- BUT that connects into a black box with charging lights. Amazingly, the output cable from the black box is proprietary and connects (yes, in a proprietary way) to the battery. Add the long 4hr required charging time and your nice drone battery is best used as a stationary nude art subject. 2 cables needed – really???Not sure how such a nice drone was saddled with such a poor charging system. Not good business sense.
19. Rated 5 out of 5

    Dane Hewitt – May 13, 2019

    I’ve had this drone for about a month now, and it’s taken me a while to figure it out. It has a couple of drawbacks, so lets go over those first. The drone has no on/off button, so the only way to turn off power is to remove the battery. The auto-land feature has never worked for me, and the plane always tips over on it’s props when it lands. Every time you start the plane, yo have to calibrate the compass/gyro. The batteries take a very long time to charge.. Like more than 6 hours.All of that being said, here are the counter-points. The battereies last an honest 20+ minutes. Very nice. The propellors are extremely tough. With all of the failed auto-landing, and various crashing into trees, I haven’t replaced a single propellor. The whole thing is double-tough. The startup calibration, even though it is a pain, is very quick to do, once you get used to it. Same thing with the lack of on/off button. Not really a big factor, once you get used to it. I was a little frustrated with this drone when I first got it, but got with Sera from Holy Stone, and she walked me through a lot of it.Now for the good part. The plane is fast. Faster than the hs100, which I love. It’s quieter, due to the brushless motors, It’s also very stable, once you flip the GPS switch on. It tracks like a dream. It’s very manuveurable, and very easy to fly. Headless mode works great, as does follow me mode. It takes a few flights to get used to flying it, but then it becomes a blast. Very fast, and very responsive. Very much worth the money…
20. Rated 4 out of 5

    Frest0n – May 19, 2019

    I don’t buy toys. I’ve never used a “drone” and do not know anyone with a drone. Decided I need to get a toy. Wanted something that was between novice and master. At about $300 this drone seems to meet the need. There are already several online reviews with videos that include all the basics. Here is what they don’t cover. The instructions that come with the drone are simple and a little screwy (“data” is spelled “date”, subject/verb errors, etc.) which confirms it was built in China. Online videos can clarify most of the screwy instructions. The camera is removable and you can replace with your go-pro’ish cameras. Unfortunately, a different camera will not sync with the drone so, you’ll need the App for whatever camera you are using. The included camera does not have a battery. The drones battery powers the included camera. The camera comes with the tiny removable SD card. Recommend you get the little plastic SD card adapter for your laptop because if you plug this camera into your Windows 10 machine it will not recognize the camera (can’t find drivers online). The camera doesn’t have any buttons (or power) so you can’t use it for other things. The only way to operate this camera is to connect to the drone and use the “Ophelia” app on your phone (Android). The Ophelia app has several cool features like “follow-me”, orbit and/or return-to-home. It gives battery strength, GPS satellite sync status and a “3D” view option (for VR sets?). Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much as far as configuring the camera (no shutter, resolution and/or customizable settings). This camera has basically one purpose, connect it using the proprietary mini dvi connector (cable is only a couple inches long and the port on your go-pro’ish camera is on the wrong side for the included cable to reach the drone) to the HS700 and use it to record video and guide the drone. The gimble/support for the camera is cheesy and plastic and does not do a good job of stabilizing when in flight. The camera also lags while it’s recording video. Attaching your “go-pro’ish” cameras give a much better and stable image but, if you fly this drone a far distance you’ll lose signal from your go-pro camera and/or the wireless signal for the go-pro camera conflicts with the manual-handheld transmitter. Straight line, no wind, clear day no obstructions and this drone will go almost a half a mile away. On the first day of playing with this drone I was afraid that it might just fly away so I tried my first “take-off’s” in the house. This resulted in a few crashes at low speed and although the drone was scratched, none of the propellers broke. I’ve since crashed it a few times at low speeds into plastic chairs and the ground and still no broken parts, just scratches. I put a small sticker on the drone to label it with my phone number in case it gets away from me. I wiped the area on the drone with alcohol before applying the sticker but, the alcohol smeared the clearcoat and it looks like something spilled on the drone (don’t wipe the drone with alcohol). The living room is typically too confined to try and fly this drone indoors as it is big enough that when it starts moving it’s momentum makes it difficult to turn in tight places. It’s also quite loud and causes a small tornado of wind current from the spinning propellers. This drone has nice and bright red and green lights under each propeller and a semi-dull-bright light on the nose/face. Picture/video taking at night does not work with these lights (not bright enough unless it’s hovering still and videoing short distance). Interestingly, if you let this drone sit, powered on for exactly 10 minutes untouched it will start beeping in sequence with each propeller (even wiggles/shakes the propeller at each beep). I assume this feature is so you can find it if it crashes/gets away from you (can’t find the “reason” it does this in the manual). If you are looking for a drone that has a little bit of all the features of an expensive drone, durable, sleek and camera-versatile (you can use your own go-pro), than this is probably your new toy friend.
21. Rated 1 out of 5

    Kelley – June 1, 2019

    I took excellent care of my drone. Flew right maybe 7 times. 8th time it was flying fine until it got low battery and entered return to home mode. At which point it elevated as normal, but then became COMPLETELY NONRESPONSIVE. It drifted for about 5 minutes before dying and falling into a lake. BUYER BEWARE. CHINESE JUNK YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
22. Rated 5 out of 5

    TRGIII – June 6, 2019

    Ok, so I’ll have to admit – I had to refer to a couple of youtube videos to get this one off the ground. I’m still a relative newbie having only really flown drones for less than a year. That being said, in that year I’ve learned alot, including bad drones vs. good drones vs. REALLY good drones. For the price point, this drone is EXTREMELY impressive. Its loaded with features that I’m still getting accustomed to but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’,m certainly not. i DO, however, wish you could control the tilt and pan of the camera with your phone app, but you cant. You’ll need to set the how you want the camera to tilt BEFORE takeoff. Still though, thats a small price to pay for the amount of fun you’ll have with this drone. I recommend it for the novice-intermediate drone flyer.
23. Rated 5 out of 5

    Don G. – June 22, 2019

    Drones are getting better and better. And the technologies in more expensive drones are being incorporated in less expensive drones. But, I have learned the hard way (having lost two drones recently), you have to know a number of things before you fly; otherwise, it is really easy to lose the drone in less than five minutes. First of all, no drone, including this one, has great instructions; it is unfortunate but it is what it is. You need to watch some Youtube videos before your first flight. Second, don’t fly in an area with lots of trees and power lines (maybe, I say maybe, when you become a more experienced pilot). On this drone, make sure the GPS switch on the remote control is in the “on” position; if you it isn’t, it is really easy to lose the drone. Read every single word of the instructions before you fly. If you prepare and do things right, this is a wonderful and really fun drone to fly, especially at this price.
24. Rated 5 out of 5

    Cody Watson – June 22, 2019

    As much as I love everyone of Holy Stone’s drones, this is what I have been waiting for! Their first brushless drone! That means everything good about their products, but now they last longer! The brushless motors make it stronger and faster and glass much longer than regular brushed motors! It also May lifetime a lot longer! I got 20 minutes out of my first flight and I was able to try out all the features!Out of all the GPS drones I have, this one is definitely the most steady while hovering. Set up is really easy and can be done within a minute before you’re ready to fly!

    The 5G Wi-Fi for the camera connection to the app is awesome! The picture is really really good and you have so many options on the app to play around with. Like follow me mode and route planning, they are all really fun to play with! And so far they have work flawlessly! Even though the battery is really good and lasts longer than any of their other drones, I am about to order a couple more because 20 minutes can go by pretty fast with all the options you have. I haven’t pushed this drone to the Limit yet as far as range… But it supposedly goes very far and I can’t wait to try it out… Today was only my first day with it and I’m waiting on my battery to charge back up. But more feedback to follow up coming very soon