Photography Herman Yung Photography Herman Yung

GoPro Karma drones are literally just falling out of the sky

I've been doing a lot of drone research and obviously the two drones that keep popping up on YouTube are the GoPro Karma and the DJI Mavic Pro.

Lately, there's been a number of videos of people flying the GoPro Karma who just have had (and recorded!) terrible experiences with it. The fact that it doesn't hover is one thing but now there seems to be a growing number of users who have experienced the Karma drone literally just losing connection and falling out of the sky. Here are a few videos.

In a few of these cases, GoPro has been contacted and they've set in motion a replacement device but still, these issues seem basic enough that they shouldn't be happening and yet they are. Doesn't bode well for GoPro's future at all...

UPDATE: Whoa. GoPro announced today that they are recalling the Karma drone.

And one added bonus: Here is iJustine assuming the Karma drone would hover in place (like it should) but instead it goes straight into her house wall and crashes and breaks. GoPro, you've got a dud on your hands.

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Photography Herman Yung Photography Herman Yung

Man, the GoPro Karma is a really terrible drone

If you want to watch one video that tells you how terrible the GoPro Karma drone is -- make it this one from iPhonedo. Not only does this comparison video of the Karma and the DJI Mavic Pro show that the Karma is severely lacking in features, but it also shows how dumbed-down the controller is and how frustrating the remote control is to set up and use compared to the Mavic Pro's.

Here are a list of really bad things that I've learned about the GoPro Karma from this one video:

  • The gimbal has a whiny noise that can be heard in recordings when used in standalone mode.
  • The software is super buggy (the timestamp bug is a major oversight on GoPro's part).
  • The remote is garbage. Just...garbage.
  • The battery life on the Karma drone is not good. Not good at all.
  • The gimbal has a calibration issue where the horizon is sometimes not level.
  • The battery life on the gimbal is a joke.

More than ever, it seems GoPro needs a hero.

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Photography, New York City Herman Yung Photography, New York City Herman Yung

GoPro Karma is the drone I want now

This is the new GoPro Karma drone. This gadget isn't merely just a drone though. It's a stabilization system that mounts on and off the drone itself. If you don't need the flying capabilities, you can detach the stabilization system at the front of the drone and mount it on a stick or backpack and keep that camera stabilizer in use.

From what I've read so far, this drone really is the most versatile drone you can buy. The gimbal is detachable!

And while Casey does a pretty good early review of it below I am still going to wait for more reviews of it to come out. I'm curious about battery life on the drone, the handheld gimbal, and the remote control.

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