Holy Stone GPS Drone with 1080P HD Camera FPV Live Video for Adults and Kids, Quadcopter HS110G Upgraded Version, 2 Batteries, Altitude Hold,…

Third update: +3 stars
Update 3: despite being a little frustrated with my experience, customer service came through again! I still have the first drone that flies just fine, gps works, just doesnt have a camera for more than a minute. Its enough to fly around though. Still waiting on the new camera, but if that works i will be thrilled. Also received a replacement for the second one that drifted off. My only advice to be cognizant of where you fly it and keeping real line of sight. All in all, still a good deal
Update 2: customer service went above and beyond, I received a replacement drone and then they also sent me a new camera. but the camera is going to take a few weeks. enjoyed flying the new drone, logged a couple flights, but then when coming home to land it and replace the battery for another flight, it started to drift off, then disconnected and flew away. have not since found the drone. So not I am out a working drone, propeller guards and an SD card (purchased separately). while the first time they did go above and beyond for customer service, this time they are asking me to wait on the camera to see if it fixes the first one. while it isnt an unreasonable request, the return window is closing pretty quick. I do like the drone, but I am now at two separate issues and with no working drones. going to give it a week to see if the camera arrives and if that fixes it. otherwise, I may return it. Frankly, if they werent so helpful the first time I would have returned it by now.

update 1: Drone lost connectivity to the camera. Not sure if it was from a crash, but just started disconnecting. Drone still flys and gps functions work still. All the positive comments about the awesome customer service are true. Holystone is taking care of me!

Day 2 initial review!!
I have played with mini drones and super cheap drones, and thought it might be time to go a little better and more capable in a drone. I agonized for a couple days, going back and forth on higher end drones and even less capable drones. Not sure if i wanted or needed certain features or to spend the money on a drone I might very well crash or lose due to inexperience. I looked at the higher end holy stones. As well as other brands. and finally found the HS110G model on sale during prime day. Was a step or so above the beginner drones, has some features (GPS follow, maps etc) I had never used for a price that was great.

So far

Pro:
-Comes with great little carrying case.
-2 batteries (I didnt find the second battery until day 2)
-Comes with spare blades.
-Descent flight time per battery
-App is cool and easy to use
-Easy to fly and stable in both modes.
-Durable (so far)
-Good quality in the camera (way better than i expected)
-handled some wind better than expected.
-great deal for price.

Neutral (to be fully transparent) I havent had enough time to fully push the envelope or try all features in earnest due to winds picking up and gusting.
-Havent figured out the map thing yet to fly a route (wind is preventing me)
– havent figured out the wave feature to make it take pictures (also havent really tried either)
-havent had the auto return featute kick in.
-follow me worked but the camera orientation stayed the same so i was off camera immediately. Not sure if I am doing it wrong or its a super basic type follow function.

Cons.
-I would say this may not be good for true beginners. It is considered “advance”. Would consider the mini or the hs 200 for kids or people really new to drones until they learn the characteristics. Although it is easy to fly, there is more to screw up.
– set up is little more involved (instructions are great though) and take a few minutes eact time you fly.
-it is a light, small drone, although it handled some wind better than I expected. Wind will be an issue for operators.
-have to charge the batteries through the drone itself. (Seperate chargers are available)
-charge time took awhile.
-doesnt come with propeller gaurds.
-camera is fixed, so during flight the view can be jerky. But, I knew that was going to be the case from reading reviews.
-no collision avoidance, which i also knew, but being i generally suck at flying these. Would be nice to have

Couple of lessons learned.
-Follow the directions closely.. like really closely
-read tons of reviews talked about these things developing a mind of their own (all sorts of different models and brands, but less with this one?) Well my first couple attempts at flight with the cell phone yielded the same results for me. But i was doing it in the house so i wouldnt lose a drone in case i did something dumb…which i did.
1. When connecting to the drone wifi. Turn OFF autoconnect to other wifi sources. My phone disconnected and recconected to my original wifi. Causing the drone to not respond and do its own thing..i did this twice. Its how i can say it is durable so far.
2. Make sure you have the right model selected in the app.
3. Make sure during set up you have the drone oriented in the direction you will be flying.

All in all I really happy with it so far. But I do see this as a gateway drug to bigger more advanced drones!!

Jury is still out on the quality and longevity of the product. I just got it yesterday and set it up. I’m brand new to drones and relied on the information provided. It claims to have 2 batteries that gives you “26 min” of flight time. Unless I’m missing something, 1 battery goes in the controller which leaves only 1 battery for the drone (13 min of flight time advertised). It also only comes with 1 charging cord and the adapter is sold separately. You can only charge the battery in the controller OR the one in the drone at a time. Basically left me with 5 hours of charging time since I had to do one and then the other. Assuming the drone works as described, I’m sure I’ll end up buying additional batteries and a battery charger to increase my usage time.

Update: No battery in remote…my error. 2 batteries is sufficient for now. Tested with and without GPS. With GPS, it is very easy to use and the return function works flawlessly. Drifts when GPS is off, but still easily managed. It is plastic, but has survived a wall, a camper and a Rhododendron so far. Order the spare parts kit. I’ve had a couple of minor connectivity issues, but probably self induced. I would recommend this to anyone thinking about playing with a drone.