My original motivation was to have a drone with a camera so that I can take some aerial shots up the UP this fall Then I discovered that it was fun to fly! This definitely brings out the child in me Not to difficult for a first timer but does take some patience and practice I find it most challenging to keep focused on orientation of the drone As it gets farther away it's hard to tell left from right forward and backward So I've been doing some flying where the drone is directly in front of me and I rotate it so I can get more comfortable fun stuff! Six weeks into owning the drone one of the motors burned out very disappointing Holy Stone was very responsive to my issue and sent me a new motor quickly However I wasn't prepared to take it apart warrantee issue so I ... MoreMy original motivation was to have a drone with a camera so that I can take some aerial shots up the UP this fall Then I discovered that it was fun to fly! This definitely brings out the child in me Not to difficult for a first timer but does take some patience and practice I find it most challenging to keep focused on orientation of the drone As it gets farther away it's hard to tell left from right forward and backward So I've been doing some flying where the drone is directly in front of me and I rotate it so I can get more comfortable fun stuff! Six weeks into owning the drone one of the motors burned out very disappointing Holy Stone was very responsive to my issue and sent me a new motor quickly However I wasn't prepared to take it apart warrantee issue so I communicated this to Holy Stone and they sent me a new drone no questions asked! Excellent customer service! My next drone the big boy version will likely be another Holy Stone! Thank you for the fun!! GW

I got this for my son as he loves anything remote controlled We brought it over to my parents' house and my father who is closing in on 70 was even able to fly this thing! We had a bit of trouble with the initial setup but for this I can only blame myself for not reading the instructions carefully enough We couldn't get the propellers to unlock for takeoff but it turns out we had not followed the instructions for the calibration procedure fully Once we resolved this issue we were off to the skies! Overall I am very satisfied with the app as it is intuitive and easy to use The drone itself is stable and works well even with a slight breeze It's got the power to fly against the wind within reason It's responsive and hovers steadily As far as the camera is concerned ... MoreI got this for my son as he loves anything remote controlled We brought it over to my parents' house and my father who is closing in on 70 was even able to fly this thing! We had a bit of trouble with the initial setup but for this I can only blame myself for not reading the instructions carefully enough We couldn't get the propellers to unlock for takeoff but it turns out we had not followed the instructions for the calibration procedure fully Once we resolved this issue we were off to the skies! Overall I am very satisfied with the app as it is intuitive and easy to use The drone itself is stable and works well even with a slight breeze It's got the power to fly against the wind within reason It's responsive and hovers steadily As far as the camera is concerned don't expect to have professional drone footage I've seen worse but it's pretty shaky and a bit glitchy However given the price point it's what I expected It's fun to see your neighborhood from a different perspective! Overall as a first drone for a budding enthusiast this is a great place to start instead of dropping double or triple the money for something that will likely be crashed by an inexperienced pilot Speaking of crashes this one has taken a couple tumbles but aside from some light scratches it's still in good shape I'd definitely recommend it!

This was my first "real" drone with camera and auto features Learning to fly was very easy with clear instructions and smart functions It was fun learning to avoid obstacles and maintaining position as it soared way up into the sky This is when I learned stability in wind is soso due largely to the light weight This is the trade off for pretty good battery life and being so easy to carry around with me Once I gained some prowess with operation and found a wide open space to fly around in the fun ratcheted up several notches in "high speed" mode as the unit seems very fast and quick to maneuver It's pretty exhilarating to run it at full throttle back toward my position and then crank a 180 right in front of me! From up high in the sky where we can see the overview ... MoreThis was my first "real" drone with camera and auto features Learning to fly was very easy with clear instructions and smart functions It was fun learning to avoid obstacles and maintaining position as it soared way up into the sky This is when I learned stability in wind is soso due largely to the light weight This is the trade off for pretty good battery life and being so easy to carry around with me Once I gained some prowess with operation and found a wide open space to fly around in the fun ratcheted up several notches in "high speed" mode as the unit seems very fast and quick to maneuver It's pretty exhilarating to run it at full throttle back toward my position and then crank a 180 right in front of me! From up high in the sky where we can see the overview that makes drone photography so special the clarity and sharpness of pictures is decent/poor depending on the wind speed I think if it was able to stay still better when up in the breeze photos would be better but as it is they are not Getty worthy to say the least Another trade off This thing was only $70 after all! I bought in early December then kept it in the box until after Christmas About 3 months after starting to fly it one of the motors has weakened and it will not take off any more Holy Stone is sending me a replacement arm! I expect that to restore it to likenew condition we will see Thanks very much to Holy Stone for prompt service and generous policy given that I believe the warranty is expired All in all a fun drone for learning to fly that does not break the bank! Now that I know a thing or two about drone operation I'll get one with more stability/GPS features and a higher resolution camera

Hi here is my review of the Holy Stone HS440 foldable drone with GPS and an HD camera. Holy Stone are known for their low to mid-tier drone range and offer some of the best low-cost drones on the market. It’s a great drone that is suitable for kids and beginners. As this drone weighs less than 250 grams, you will not need to register it if you live in the USA. The HS440 has a foldable design, making it compact and easy to carry around and weighs around 166 grams. The drone is powered by a modular lithium polymer battery, you should get around 15 minutes. You do get an extra battery with the drone package, which will allow you to extend the flight time without having to wait for one battery to fully recharge before being able to fly again. The remote controller ... MoreHi here is my review of the Holy Stone HS440 foldable drone with GPS and an HD camera. Holy Stone are known for their low to mid-tier drone range and offer some of the best low-cost drones on the market. It’s a great drone that is suitable for kids and beginners. As this drone weighs less than 250 grams, you will not need to register it if you live in the USA. The HS440 has a foldable design, making it compact and easy to carry around and weighs around 166 grams. The drone is powered by a modular lithium polymer battery, you should get around 15 minutes. You do get an extra battery with the drone package, which will allow you to extend the flight time without having to wait for one battery to fully recharge before being able to fly again. The remote controller requires 3 triple A batteries, however, you will need to purchase these separately as they are not provided with the drone. The controller has a smartphone attachment on the top and small LED lights that indicate things like calibration and flight modes. You will need to download the Holy Stone FPV app to use the drones other features like FPV, gesture control and gravity sensor control.The drone comes with a HD camera, there is no micro SD card slot, so you will have to record your video and photos over Wi-Fi, which isn’t ideal, but the quality is ok as long as you fly in good weather. The camera can be remotely tilted 90° downwards to get better viewing angles and the live video feed is ok for this drone.The drone has a control range of around 80 meters (250 ft.) in good weather and comes with an emergency landing button should you lose control or sight of the drone. It has two-speed modes, which can be accessed via the remote controller and has a one-button take-off and landing feature. You can access a feature called gesture control that will allow you to capture photos through the gesture of your hand. The drone also has a hands-free flight mode called tap-fly, this is also accessed via the app and allows you to fly the drone by tapping anywhere on the app. There is also a circle fly mode that will make the drone orbit your position when it is activated, you can adjust the radius and height via the app. As for the drone’s flight performance, overall, as you may expect from a Holy Stone drone, it does fly well. It has altitude hold mode which allows it hovers steadily in one place and headless mode which is good for beginner drone pilots.The FPV quality is good if you fly in good weather and the camera allows you to capture some good videos and photos. You should get around 15 minutes per battery and there are 2 batteries, so that is a bonus.

I expected more from Holy Stone As the owner of many small drones one of them another from this company I expected more I saw Holy Stone as perhaps a step above many of their competing Chinese drone makers The quality does seem to still be there in this one However it only came with ONE 1100mAh battery that only lasts about 15 minutes! OK it WILL last sometimes 20 minutes but I tend to be pretty cautious when it comes to drones telling me I have only minutes left I almost never push it till it's about to run out of juice while still up in the air somewhere So you get a good 15 minutes of fly time and then it's time to wait 45 minutes to an hour while that one battery is charging Again I happen to have another Holy Stone drone that does take the same battery So if I ... MoreI expected more from Holy Stone As the owner of many small drones one of them another from this company I expected more I saw Holy Stone as perhaps a step above many of their competing Chinese drone makers The quality does seem to still be there in this one However it only came with ONE 1100mAh battery that only lasts about 15 minutes! OK it WILL last sometimes 20 minutes but I tend to be pretty cautious when it comes to drones telling me I have only minutes left I almost never push it till it's about to run out of juice while still up in the air somewhere So you get a good 15 minutes of fly time and then it's time to wait 45 minutes to an hour while that one battery is charging Again I happen to have another Holy Stone drone that does take the same battery So if I "rob Peter to pay Paul" by using that other Holy Stone drones battery I can keep flying However only sending one single 15 minute battery with a drone costing the better part of $200? C'mon Holy Stone That alone is enough to tell folks to skip this one and look elsewhere Whose marketing decision was that? On the plus side it's a nice well built drone It flies well easy to control once you get past the initial learning curve It has GPS so it always knows where it is and comes home to roost nicely However with only one 15 minute battery I can't recommend update Holy Stone reached out to me apologized and send me a second battery for my HS440D This shows that they do read reviews and respond to customers Something many other drone companies do NOT Thank you Holy Stone I updated this review to reflect that and now give it five stars as it IS an excellent drone a bit upscale than a $50 entry level drone

Excellent beginner drone and a quality product

Easy to connect to phone and remote control to drone.Phone connects via drone WiFi HotspotRemote didn't alwavs connect automatically for me. When this happens I just press left joystick up then down to connect. Red blinking light goes solid afterwards.After remote is connected to drone, calibrate the gyros. Do thus by setting the drone on a flat surface, then press both joysticks down and right near 4 o'clock. Red lights will blink momentarily.Afterwards, start the motor by moving joysticks down and towards each other (left near 4 o'clock and right near 8 o'clock). The motors will start spinning.Setting the trim was the trickiest part for me. I recommend doing this outside. Trust me, I first tried indoors and crashed it a few times :(To set the trim, place the drone ... MoreEasy to connect to phone and remote control to drone.Phone connects via drone WiFi HotspotRemote didn't alwavs connect automatically for me. When this happens I just press left joystick up then down to connect. Red blinking light goes solid afterwards.After remote is connected to drone, calibrate the gyros. Do thus by setting the drone on a flat surface, then press both joysticks down and right near 4 o'clock. Red lights will blink momentarily.Afterwards, start the motor by moving joysticks down and towards each other (left near 4 o'clock and right near 8 o'clock). The motors will start spinning.Setting the trim was the trickiest part for me. I recommend doing this outside. Trust me, I first tried indoors and crashed it a few times :(To set the trim, place the drone on the ground with the camera facing away from you. Then short press the trim button (bottom right hand button with up and down arrows) to hover the drone in the air. Then long press the trim button. Using the right joystick, move in the opposite direction as the bias, working one direction at a time (ie forward/back, then left/right). Repeat steps until its flying steady.For example, if the drone is moving forward on its own, then press down on the right joystick.Also the documentation that comes with the drone is helpful. I recommend reading through it all before attempting to fly the drone

Good starter drone, basic features, great price

The drone came in a very nice case and included (2) batteries. The startup manual was easy to read and the instructions were very clear to understand. I would consider this model to be a beginner's drone with basic features, but definitely good enough for the experienced pilot as well. The camera had decent pic and video capability for my needs. The controller buttons were easy to manage, however, I had to take my case off my iPhone in order for it to fit in the holder. The USB-included battery charges held on to the batteries quite well and did not slip out while charging. However, you will need your own USB cube to plug into the wall outlet or a USB charging station. I tested flying the drone during a 10- to 15 MPH wind and it was uncontrollable. Therefore, I had ... MoreThe drone came in a very nice case and included (2) batteries. The startup manual was easy to read and the instructions were very clear to understand. I would consider this model to be a beginner's drone with basic features, but definitely good enough for the experienced pilot as well. The camera had decent pic and video capability for my needs. The controller buttons were easy to manage, however, I had to take my case off my iPhone in order for it to fit in the holder. The USB-included battery charges held on to the batteries quite well and did not slip out while charging. However, you will need your own USB cube to plug into the wall outlet or a USB charging station. I tested flying the drone during a 10- to 15 MPH wind and it was uncontrollable. Therefore, I had to shut it down. Overall in normal wind conditions - it held up pretty good. Also, in the pairing and calibrating phases, the instructions say to place the drone on a flat level area when doing so. I was not able to see the status LED because it was underneath the drone. However, the controller does make some beeping noises to notify you when completed. So, for under $100, you can have some fun and experience with this drone. This drone will allow you to prepare for a more serious adventure when you purchase a higher-end or pricier drone.

Great to Learn How to Fly A Drone for Under $100

For a beginner drone that costs under $100, I like it a lot! It comes. with a nice case that holds the drone, controller and two batteries in their compartments as well as a zippered area to place the included charging cables, extra propellers and instruction manual.The drone itself is a little bigger than the microdrones that are meant to fly indoors. This one is big and heavy enough to fly outdoors as long as it is a calm day or if there is very light winds. It has two speeds so I recommend going to the higher speed when flying outdoors. Do not attempt to fly outdoors on a windy day until you feel comfortable with the controls. Once you get better, flying this drone outdoors will be a blast and dealing with the conditions will make you a better pilot as the ... MoreFor a beginner drone that costs under $100, I like it a lot! It comes. with a nice case that holds the drone, controller and two batteries in their compartments as well as a zippered area to place the included charging cables, extra propellers and instruction manual.The drone itself is a little bigger than the microdrones that are meant to fly indoors. This one is big and heavy enough to fly outdoors as long as it is a calm day or if there is very light winds. It has two speeds so I recommend going to the higher speed when flying outdoors. Do not attempt to fly outdoors on a windy day until you feel comfortable with the controls. Once you get better, flying this drone outdoors will be a blast and dealing with the conditions will make you a better pilot as the controls are very responsive (no lag).Besides the nice controls, it comes with a very nice camera for the price. It takes great pictures and decent video (on a calm day; otherwise there will be a lot of shakiness). Another cool thing about the HS440 is that you can adjust the angle of the camera from the remote controller. Very cool! Finally, the battery life is very good! I was able to fly for almost 20 minutes before I got a low battery warning. And it comes with two!This is a nice beginner drone to use and practice on to see if you are interested enough in the hobby to invest in a more expensive drone that has more bells and whistles.

Uncontrollable non-beginners' drone

DISCLAIMER: There may have been a technical problem with this drone that I wasn't aware of. That said, this sure isn't a "Beginner" drone. First of all, it doesn't have propeller guards and during one of its random flights (more on that) it drew blood when it whacked into my hand. I absolutely could not control this drone, and I'm a 5 decade adult. Before I brought it outside, I tested it in our over-sized 2-car garage. This drone doesn't have a compass setting, return to home, or GPS so you're at the mercy of how it performs on its own. It paired fine, but when I did a one-button lift off 4 out of 5 times it would take off at an angle and whack into the wall and crash. I tried resetting the trim a hundred times and that seemed to have little effect. I learned the ... MoreDISCLAIMER: There may have been a technical problem with this drone that I wasn't aware of. That said, this sure isn't a "Beginner" drone. First of all, it doesn't have propeller guards and during one of its random flights (more on that) it drew blood when it whacked into my hand. I absolutely could not control this drone, and I'm a 5 decade adult. Before I brought it outside, I tested it in our over-sized 2-car garage. This drone doesn't have a compass setting, return to home, or GPS so you're at the mercy of how it performs on its own. It paired fine, but when I did a one-button lift off 4 out of 5 times it would take off at an angle and whack into the wall and crash. I tried resetting the trim a hundred times and that seemed to have little effect. I learned the hard way to recalibrate the gyro after every crash, but only succeeded twice in getting it to take off and hover in one spot. As I'm sure others have noted, this is NOT a 4K video drone -- the video quality is nowhere near 4K. When I finally did take it outside, once again it would take off at an angle (with no breeze present) and either crash after 5 seconds or would look like it was about to escape, forcing me to press the buttons for an emergency stop, and, of course, it would crash. After two frustrating and disappointing days of trying to get this to work, I returned it and instead bought a Holy Stone 175 GPS for only $15 more than I paid for the 440. The difference was amazing. It would take off, hover, and I finally felt like I was in total control. After an hour of garage testing I was ready to take it outside and was able to completely control it, thanks to the compass and GPS features. Additionally the mobile app was heads and shoulders above the one for the 440. Once it gets nicer outside again I'll take it for more flights. But the 440? I bought it for $150 and it's now on sale for under $100...and still not worth it. Good riddance.

Very good Drone for its price !

This Drone is designed for beginners as well as experienced drone pilots. With its compact design and lightweight it is ideal for beginners who is looking for a drone that is easy to fly and maneuver. 1080P HD camera mounted on the front of the drone is one of the great features of the HS440. Camera captures high-quality images and videos from the air with smooth footage. Flight time is good about 35 min with fully charged battery. It took about 3 hours to fully charge. Easy to control with remote control and phone. Linking the drone to your phone is quick and easy; however, it does not always connect automatically for me but pressing left joystick up and down will pair easily with the remote, blinking light goes solid afterwards.I gave this to my 12-year-old son ... MoreThis Drone is designed for beginners as well as experienced drone pilots. With its compact design and lightweight it is ideal for beginners who is looking for a drone that is easy to fly and maneuver. 1080P HD camera mounted on the front of the drone is one of the great features of the HS440. Camera captures high-quality images and videos from the air with smooth footage. Flight time is good about 35 min with fully charged battery. It took about 3 hours to fully charge. Easy to control with remote control and phone. Linking the drone to your phone is quick and easy; however, it does not always connect automatically for me but pressing left joystick up and down will pair easily with the remote, blinking light goes solid afterwards.I gave this to my 12-year-old son for his birthday. He was super excited to have it and learned quickly to fly; however, be careful with the high wind. The battery life is very good. I was very happy with my purchase. The circle function is pretty effective; definitely recommend. The drone came in a nice hard box, with extra parts and tools. I have purchased other drones from Holy Stone in the past and the customer service have been great thus far.