The Quadcopter GoPro Karma Review
3 km Control Range
1 hour Recharge
18 min Flight Time
No Camera
As one of the most capable, packable, and easy to fly quadcopters, GoPro karma is a very unique and fantastic drone. Available as a complete package or as constituent elements, this drone consists of a charger, rechargeable battery, a remote control, hero 5 black camera, karma grip gimbal mount. It is a solid buy for those who already have a Hero 5 black camera. It will only take you a few seconds to unpack it and fly it. The good thing is that you can use your camera in the drone comfortably. As compared to others, it’s perhaps the most satisfying drone currently in the market. Here is the GoPro Karma review
Drone Design
It features a folding design and nose mounted gimbal. Measuring only 4.6 by 16.2 by 12.0 inches, it’s been designed so well that you will instantly fall in love with it. Although it’s not the smallest drone in the market, you can easily stack it into a regular back pack without any problem. This is due to the fact that it has a folding design that enables both sets of its arms to flip forward.
As compared to other drones, its stabilizing gimbal and the camera are not permanently attached to it. After giving the front collar a quick twist you can easily pull out both the gimbal and the camera. The included controller also makes it stand out. It also comes with an integrated 5-inch touch screen and usual flight controls that easily folds up just like the drone.
Availability
Although drones are not cheap, this drone is reasonably priced given its abilities. Coming with removable GoPro hero 5 camera, it offers more versatility hence you can either use the camera separately or attach it to the handheld gimbal. It also provides you with several options to buy only what you want. For instance, you can purchase the camera, karma grip or even the camera on its own. Apart from the US, you can also get it from Australia and UK.
GoPro Karma Review
Pros and Cons
Super Portable Design
The Karma is designed to fold up and take with you.
Flight Stabilization
The advaned sensors and guicance control ensures stable flight.
Easy Setup
Take the Karma out of the box, charge the battery and fly.
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Short Flight Time
The flight time could be better, but the battery does its job.
No Obstacle Avoidance
Don’t go biking into a tree and you’ll be fine. This feature would be nice though.
Low Control Range
This is meant to follow you around, so who cares about range.
Before You Fly
If you are flying it for the first time there are some things that you need to do. First, you need to create a GoPro account. You can easily do this from the comfort of your home by using remote control. Once you have connected to the network you simply need to follow the steps. It will then prompt you to fly some routes in a virtual environment. The flight simulator will direct you through its basic operation.
This is a big plus for those who are flying it for the first time as it will let them know how the control works. However, if you are not new you can skip the tutorial. If you are going to fly in an area you need to download the maps, complete with satellite imagery and road names. What makes it unique is its simplicity. You can take out and fly it within few seconds.
While flying, you will realize that it’s not only smooth but predictable as well. Once you let go of the controls, it will hover in place. It tops off at 35mph which is much faster than other drones. When it comes to this drone, the range is not a problem. It has a maximum flight distance of 3 km which is far enough for you to lose sight of the drone. It comes with the best controller hence both the novice and experienced users will appreciate its ergonomics, inbuilt screen, and ease of use.
Flight Performance
As a perfectly capable drone, it locks on to GPS signal and is very much stable in air. In a rural setting, the operating range is much better. You will also have no issue with taking it high up, but be sure to stay within the 400 feet regulations.
Compared to other models, its battery life is a bit poor. When you take off it only gives you a 17 minute performance time. This is with minimal altitude changes and maneuvering. In real life, you will manage about 15 minutes flying time. Thankfully, you can always buy an additional battery.
GoPro Karma Review Video
GoPro Karma Camera
It uses a GoPro camera to capture both videos and images. The camera is fixed in an enclosure to ensure that it remains steady. Known as the gimbal, this 3 axis stabilizer also ensures that the camera is properly aligned during the flight. Even when its diving and dipping it will remain in virtual level with the ground. To make sure that the camera remains steady the drone uses gimbals.
However, on the GoPro karma, the camera and the gimbal are installed in the front. Having the camera in the front comes with several advantages. For instance, this makes the drone thinner and ensures that the landing gear never gets within the camera shot. Since it uses a standard camera it records the sound during the flight. When it’s cruising at an altitude it records the props and the wind. However, when it’s flown by the people it has a unique ability to capture the sound.
Karma Grip
Unlike others, it comes with a handheld device that allows you to take the camera and the gimbal off and mount it on this handle. You can then hold the camera and record the video free of vibration and shaking. If you stick it out the window of the car you will be able to capture very smooth videos. Its grip also ensures that the camera is kept in place while moving.
GoPro Karma Review Summary
If you are buying it as a complete package you will realize that it’s one of the best drones. Every constituent part works together in harmony making it quite a joy to fly around. It has handheld stabilization set up, all in one airborne and build that can easily fit in a slim lightweight backpack. More so, it’s a tough drone.
Since it will give you a video stabilization on the ground and in the air, it is more than a drone. However, its only downside is short battery life and lack of collision detection. Overall, it’s worth trying out.
GoPro Karma Drone
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GoPro Karma Review
Summary
GoPro karma is a very unique and fantastic drone. Available as a complete package or as constituent elements, this drone consists of a charger, rechargeable battery, a remote control, hero 5 black camera, karma grip gimbal mount. As compared to others, it’s perhaps the most satisfying drone currently in the market.
