Holy Stone HS360E GPS EIS Drones with Camera for Adults 4K, 249g FAA Compliant Lightweight Foldable FPV RC Quadcopter Drone with 1200W Sensor, 20000ft Range, Auto Return, Follow Me, Upgraded HS360SGlobal Recycled StandardGlobal Recycled StandardGlobal Recycled StandardClimatePartner certified

I researched and compared and just could not decide which drone to get. As you can imagine, I wanted perfect ultra-high quality pictures and video, amazing intelligent flight features, amazing flying time and built-in artificial intelligence so I only had to think and the drone would just do.Then I saw the prices of those ultra high-res, super-smart, really nice drones and decided I had to be more practical. I finally decided on this drone.DeliveryI was able to fly the moment it arrived. Though the battery was not fully changed, it came with about 40% charge which allowed me to play with it for ~10 minutes as soon as I got it. This is important to determine if there are any issues.PackagingMy drone arrived meticulously packed. Sure ... the usual Amazon bubble packing was there. I am talking about the drone items. Came in a beautiful box. May not mean much to others but this tells me the manufacturer pays attention to detail. But that attention to detail did not stop there. Opening the box, the entire contents were perfectly nestled in a form-fitted special cutout styro-foam. This protected all the contents very nicely. The props, camera gimbals, transmitter, smart device holder, landing gear assembly, drone battery and especially the drone where nicely protected. Furthermore, everything within packaging was wrapped in protective plastic covers (imagine a zip-lock with sticky tape instead of the zip). Included in the package is also a USB adapter cable that connects to the battery charger. The charger has the ability to charge two batteries (NOTE: Only one battery comes with the drone).Minor Assembly RequiredSome assembly is required but not much. You will need to mount the props. This is quite easy to do since they are threaded to the motor axle. To facilitate the assembly, a spanner is included that holds the motor axle while the props are rotated (i..e. screwed) on. Pay attention to the labels on the props to match-up A and B props. The quick guide that is included has just the right information to get started. The manual clearly shows pictures and also provides easy to understand written instructions. The smart-device holder (I use an iPhone) snaps to the extension pole and does require a little bit of muscle to get it into place. I like this because one snapped together, it is very sturdy and holds my iPhone exactly as I set it. The springs for the holder are nice and firm. There is absolutely no fear of your device accidentally falling out.Pre-FlightSo ... as soon as I assembled everything (adding the props, installing the iPhone holder, installing the batteries, adding the landing gear and the prop-protectors) I was ready to power-up.Once the drone is turned on, quickly turn-on the transmitter (be sure to hold-down the lock button while turning on) and the transmitter and drone will immediately 'sync' together. The LCD display on the transmitter will show signal strength, battery status of both the transmitter and the drone and most importantly, will show the number of satellites the drone was able to recognize. Acquiring satellites can take some time depending on where you are located and your surroundings. Be patient. Once you can get 7 - 9 satellites, you can be confident the GPS features will work well. I had watched enough you-tube videos to know how to get the drone ready for flight (rotating 3 or more times horizontally and then 3 or more times vertically to allow satellite acquisition). This is done after both the drone and the transmitter are on. I have not tried doing the satellite acquisition step before turning on the transmitter so not sure if that sequence works.You will need to download the app (use the QR code in the manual - makes it super-easy to ensure you get the right app). Next, go to your device wi-fi settings and you should see the wi-fi of the drone listed. This is just like connecting to any wi-fi hotspot and the connection was quick. Next, open the app. You will have to click past a screen that looks like the drone screen but it is in reality, somewhat like a screenshot showing the app controls. Consider it a pre-flight console layout reminder. Click past that and, assuming your wi-fi selection was correct, you will be connected to the drone. The first thing I saw was the full-screen image of whatever the camera was viewing. The image was great! I was surprised that the colors were so vivid.The last step in preparation for flight is pressing and holding the Unlock / Emergency Stop button for a couple of seconds. This unlocks the drone and the props spin-up with low revs to show it is ready to go.First FlightThe you-tube videos and the manual show there is an easy to get the drone into the air: the One Key Takeoff / Landing button. I did not use this feature. I simply 'pushed-up' gently on the left joystick which really spun-up the props and lifted the drone off the ground.OK ... some words of caution: THIS DRONE IS VERY POWERFUL !!! You do not realize it until you throttle-up! For those that may not be experienced with flying RC devices, please make sure you are away from any buildings, trees or any other type of obstacles! It is especially important to keep it away from kids and I suggest you do not try to pick-up the drone while it is in 'flight-ready' status. You will need to room to learn how to move the right joystick to navigate away from hitting anything ... so a nice open area away from things and people give you the perfect conditions.LET ME REPEAT THIS: THIS DRONE IS VERY POWERFUL !!! This can be a dangerous toy! Not just for kids to use, but also for adults. DO NOT fly this drone near people. The build-in GPS functionality will try to keep the drone where it is supposed to be and will really apply immense power to the props to keep it going. I suggest you do not try to fly this indoors especially if you have ceiling fans which can create air currents that push the drone around. These props can do SERIOUS damage. If you are responsible, you do not have to worry.Once I got over the sudden realization of how dangerous the drone could be, I was ready to take it for a real spin. Did I say this drone was powerful? WOW! This baby can MOVE! In less than two seconds I was at least 150 ft above my house and skipping over the trees around my neighborhood. The signal was good and my iPhone was showing exactly what was right in front of the drone.I really fell in love with this drone. The image quality is better than I expected and the ability to use a SD card to record on-to is really great.After a few more flights and getting more practice, I decided my iPhone was just not ideal for some situations. If you want to move around, then a smaller device like an iPhone is ideal and the attached iPhone holder is the way to go. If you are able to be stationary, then a larger device gives you more viewing real-estate. I used my iPad Pro and really liked that. The display shows lots of buttons that you can use to get quick access to features (they can be hidden) but I like having a display with everything right at my fingertips and yet a real large clear view of what the camera is seeing.I liked this drone so much, I have already ordered a second battery. I freaked my wife out as she was leaving the house. She pulled out of the driveway and began to drive away. I zipped the drone past her car, spun it around (the camera is now facing her windshield and the drone is flying backwards - she is driving forwards). Needless to say, she did not expect that and I heard about it for sure! Ha ha ha!Happy flying! Be careful especially around people and kids!

This is my first drone and it was so easy to use out of the box. It's a fun little drone that takes great photos and video. I can't wait to get really good at flying this. The carrying case was perfect for all the items. I can only think of two things that the manufacturer can do to improve on this. One is that the camera holder should open up a little more. I had to remove my phone from its case in order for it to fit in the controller. The other thing is to include a second battery.

Still getting use to flying the drone. It is a great price and very user friendly. Only problem I have is that it loses connection to my phone, but it could be my phone and not the drone.

Great drone for the value, good control and durable. Video quality is decent for the price

Very fun to fly!!

Excellent drone. Easy to fly. Great camera. Great range. Modern app and controller. Highly recommend!

A couple months ago I purchased one of these drones. I've had drones before so when I first opened this one I was kind of impressed with the quality of the build itself. I charged the drone and got it all ready to fly. I did everything that you're supposed to do as far as calibrating the gps and I took to the skies. It seemed to fly okay for a little bit.I got kind of far away but within my line of sight so I can see it. I was flying over a buddy of mine's house.Total flight time was about ten minutes and it decided to return home because the battery was low, (even though it advertised thirty plus minutes of flight time). In the return home mode the drone drop to an altitude below my line of sight and I never saw it again. It never returned home, and I went to the area where it said that it had landed and it was nowhere to be seen. I.Contacted holy Stone and explained what had happened and the representative was really nice. She told me that they could replace the device. All I needed do was follow a link that she emailed to me and send the flight logs from this drone and they would send me a new one. I sent the flight logs and that was three months ago. I attempted twice to follow up and was put on hold forever. I never received a replacement drone. I only flew it once. And never saw it again. I feel like i've been ripped off by Holy Stone. A friend of mine gave me a drone by Uranhub. It's almost identical to the holy Stone that I lost and I love it. I've been flying it for the last 2 months and I haven't had any problems whatsoever. I will never buy another Holy Stone product. It would only let me put a one star rating, but in reality I give it a minus two.

The video quality is okay a dji drone has better. Performance was better the stability of the drone when in air wasn’t as good as dji either it would move around when ur not controlling it. The controls overall are pretty easy to use just takes a little practice. The size of the drone was as expected to be. Overall if you like good quality cameras and like stability longer transmission I would probably spend a little more on a dji drone