Holy Stone GPS Drone with 4K Camera for Adults - HS175D RC Quadcopter with Auto Return, Follow Me, Brushless Motor, Circle Fly, Waypoint Fly, Altitude Hold, Headless Mode, 46 Mins Long Flight

I was very excited to receive this drone. It had an above average number of positive reviews and there are several in depth videos on you tube showcasing it's features. I was looking forward to using it as both a backyard flyer to film family events and the occasional fishing kayak companion. Sadly this was not to be. The drone I received was packaged in the factory box shrink wrapped with plastic although once I opened it several of the items inside were contained in sealed bags that had been opened previously. Not a good sign for a "new" item. On functionality the drone failed on 4 critical fronts: 1. The remote would frequently disconnect from the drone even at close range. I took the drone to an isolated field fearing background wifi interference was messing with it but it would still disconnect randomly without warning and would not respond to any commands. 2. When the connection between the drone and remote was functional it was frequently plagued by input lag. When this happened commanding the drone to go up, down, left or right and would take upwards of 4 or 5 seconds for it to react. Avoiding obstacles or the ground becomes pretty tough when the drone won't respond instantly. Some lag I could understand if you were pushing max range but at 20 or 30 feet with both a fully charged drone and remote battery it should not be happening. 3. Without the GPS activated and set to manual flight mode the drone would constantly pull to the left. Despite trying to correct this with trim control adjustments this leftward pull was always present. The GPS stabilization when active would correct it but at the cost of constant motor revving lowering battery life and when the GPS signal faded due to cloud cover or trees the drone would zoom off to the left leaving me scrambling to compensate manually. (Tough to do if you are lagging or disconnected at the time) May be a rotor alignment or blade wear issue I do not know but on a new drone it should not be. 4. One of the two included battery packs would occasionally trigger a low battery alert even with a full charge. The only way to correct this was to land, remove the battery, re-calibrate and start the flight over. On one occasion the battery alert popped up on the screen and within 3 seconds the drone just shut off completely. Fortunately I was able to catch it. Given all of these issues there is no way I could trust this drone to safely fly around my yard for fear it would crash into the neighbors place and absolutely I could not trust it out over open water for photo stills. The drone's instability and unreliable function would make the dreaded splash and sink scenario only a matter of time. There were some positives. I loved the size of the drone and the carry case was really great. The noise from the brushless motors was tolerable and the included dual chargers and battery packs were a nice bonus. If it had delivered on it's promised specs I would have been happy to keep it. I believe this is hit or miss prospect. Some of these drones do seem to work as they are designed to and some do not as there are other reviewers reporting the same issues I encountered. I suspect my drone was not new but packaged to appear that way as in my RC experience these types of problems are often seen in used / refurbished quads. No accusations here just an observation on my part. Either way I have had to return it. At this price point it's not a pro model but it is also not a disposable toy and should work correctly.

The media could not be loaded. This is by far my favorite drone. I own a few other drones and this is my second Holy Stone brand quadcopter and based on my first impressions, it won’t be the last. Once I downloaded the app, paired the copter to my smartphone, calibrated the transmitter, and topped off the charge on the two included batteries it was ready for flight. I’m a beginner/intermediate drone operator and flying this drone makes me feel like a professional because it’s so easy to fly. However, this drone doesn’t use guards on the blades so it would be less forgiving for new users who may bump up against objects while learning the controls. You can order additional blades on Amazon using B091Y832SW in the search. The altitude lock feature works fantastically, upon taking my fingers off the transmitter controls, the drone remains stationary and there wasn’t any drift. I raised it up 300’+ and lowered and it down and it came down within about 5’ from where it lifted off. I was quickly able to gain confidence behind the controls as I didn’t need to oversteer to control against drift. These are a few things I especially liked about the new drone: • Adjustable camera (adjust up or down in flight). My last drone I had to land the drone to reposition the camera and on this drone I just tap a couple buttons on the controller to raise and lower the camera angle to capture your intended target. • The 4K Video and Photo quality is amazing, let alone for a drone at this price level. • The free app for my smartphone increases some user controls and built in features such as follow me, circles, and indicate a low battery signal. The app can also organize photos and videos, in addition to calibrating the various sensors on the drone. • The GPS auto return feature, for me, adds a lot of value to this drone. If I were to accidentally exceed the distance limits or if the battery is weak, the embedded GPS will take over and return the drone to the last recorded take-off point. • The batteries last a very long time, at least the indicated 23 minutes of flight time per battery. • The compact fold away design of the drone and the included storage/travel carrying case; I don’t worry that the drone will be damaged when traveling with it. If you are on the fence about purchasing this drone like I was, I’m very happy with the HS-175D at this point. This weekend I plan to test out the Follow Me feature in addition to a few others which I’m excited to explore. This drone is worth every penny, Holy Stone packed lots of new technology in this model. Update 6/13/2021: We tested the 'Follow Me' (GPS) and it works great. My daughter carried my smartphone on her bicycle and it followed her around as she rode in a nearby field. We also tested the 'Return Home' feature. This is absolutely amazing, I purposely flew the drone 100+ yards away, pressed the related button on the transmitter. The drone raised up to approximately 60' and flew fast backed to the last place where it lifted off the ground. Furthermore, the video quality of my video shown here on Amazon is about 25% of the actual quality you get when you save to the onboard micro SD card (not included). The drone captures a very clear picture, unlike what is shown.