The Holy Stone HS700 is suited for both beginners and intermediate drone pilots who are looking for an affordable drone that packs advanced features that can only be seen on a high-end drone.
It doesn’t come with a 3-axis gimbal camera that is capable of shooting stable 4K footage. If you are not looking for high-end aerial photography but an easy to fly a drone that can bring you more fun of flying. You may think it’s a fit for you.
Pros
- Very responsive
- Long flight time (About 17 mins)
- Easy to set up and fly
- Well constructed and durable
- Good control range and duration
- Low latency FPV
- Responsive customer support.
- Reliable Return to Home and GPS works great
- Good visibility with nice and bright red and green lights under each propeller
- Brushless motors, no need to cool down between flights
Cons
- Charging takes too long, more than 5 hours
- No stabilization system. The Camera not gimbal mounted.
- The recorded video has drop-frame issues.
- Not much configuration about the camera via App (no shutter, resolution and/or customizable settings)
- Doesn’t allow you to adjust the camera angle inflight
- Flying in an area with no data connection means no map displayed
- Photos and videos don’t automatically download to your phone and iPad. You’ve to land the drone, remove the SD card, and insert it in your computer’s card reader
Things you need to consider before buying
Before buying a drone, there are actually a lot of aspects you need to consider. Luckily, we have compiled a list here. If you have no idea what you should focus on, just check it out!
- Usage. What you gonna use the drone for? Aerial photography, commercial shooting, practicing, or just for the fun of flying?
- Your Budget. The price tag ranges from only $20 to a few thousand dollars. Having your budget in mind when searching for a drone will facilitate the whole process.
- Camera and Stabilization. For some people, the camera is all about what they are looking for in a drone. Do you expect stable photos and videos from the drone, or it’s not that important to you?
- Flight Performance. This mainly talks about flight time, control range, and flight speed. Normally, a good drone should sustain more than 10 minutes, and allows you to fly a long distance with fast speed.
- Transmission. A drone with a reliable transmission system can offer you better FPV flying experience and gives you more confidence especially when you want to fly a long range.
- Durability. No matter you are a novice or an expert, there is a chance you may crash your drone. Drones with good durability can save you from unnecessary worries and money.
- Easy of use. Although most of the drones are now ready to fly, there is still some assembly work to do like mounting batteries and propellers, calibration.
- Do you need to register? If you want to fly a drone that weights more than xx g, you will need to get a license from FAA. (If you are outside the US, there might be similar regulations.)
- Customer Service. If you get a defective drone, can you get your replacement quickly? If you run into some problems before flying, are there any channels you can reach to get you out responsively?
The Holy Stone HS700 Review
Key Features & Benefits
- The High-capacity 2800mAh Lipo battery enables you to fly up to 20 minutes with one charge.
- The 1080P HD camera allows you to capture high definition aerial photos and videos.
- Reliable transmission system gives you solid real-time FPV flying experience.
- The drone can take off and land easily with the push of a button.
- Return to Home (RTH) automatically when the battery is running low or the signal is lost allows you to control the drone with ease.
- Altitude Hold enables the drone to hover stably and precisely in the air for you.
- Headless Mode ensures you to focus on your flight without losing the direction. The drone will always go forward when you push the left stick up no matter which direction is facing.
- Follow Me Mode makes the drone to follow you automatically or fly in a circle along the path you set.
- Support both remote and phone/tablet control, the dedicated App Ophelia allows you to easily control the drone and customize the settings.
- Low-battery alert helps you to land your drone timely before it runs out of battery. The LED lights ensure high visibility especially flying in a low light environment.
This model features a 1080P HD camera that allows you to take quality images and videos. As there is no gimbal and EIS (electronic image stabilization) system, it’s unlikely you can shoot steady videos especially fly in strong wind. If you think the image and video quality is the most important thing to you when buying a drone, you will really need to take this into account.
Transmission: 4/5
The Holy Stone HS700 allows you to control with both remote and your phone. When flying with a remote controller, the 2.4 GHz frequency the max distance of the live video transmission is 1000 m (0.6 miles), it reaches 400 m when using your phone to control. Most users commented that the video transmission quality is pretty stable, they almost had no laggy during their flight.
Flight Performance: 4/5
Many people are impressed with its flight time. Most of them can get a 16-17 mins flight per battery when fully charged. This is excellent for many drones in the market can’t reach this figure. The flight speed and control range is also pretty good for a drone of its price.
Durability: 4.5/5
The construction of the Holy Stone HS700 is pretty solid. Some beginner users said that they crashed their drone a few times at low speeds into plastic chairs and the ground during first “take-off’s”, and still no broken parts or propellers, just a few scratches.
Easy of use: 4/5
Easy to set up and control is one of the few things that people liked about this drone. The quick release propellers can be mounted very easily without using any screws. You can launch and land it by pressing one key. RTH (Return to home) The drone can hover stably in the air after taking off. Intelligent flight modes like Headless Mode and follow me not only make the control simple but bring more joy to the flight.
Portability: 3.5/5
Although it’s much smaller than a quadcopter like a DJI Phantom, the Holy Stone HS700 is still a little bit too big for your pocket. It doesn’t use the popular foldable design which means you may need a dedicated bag or suitcase to hold it every time you take it out for traveling or hiking.
To wrap up, the Holy Stone HS700 is a drone that stands out for both its pros and cons.
Alternatives you can consider
Hubsan X4 H501S Pro
The Hubsan X4 H501S Pro is a budget choice which also packs a 1080p HD camera. It’s smaller and offers nearly 20 mins of flight time. The max control range is only 300 m, but the charging time is much shorter only 2.5 hours. Apart from this, everything else is pretty much the same.What people commented most is quality control, quite a few users claimed that they got a defective one after purchase.
DJI Spark
The DJI Spark is DJI’s first palm drone. Although it’s now much more affordable since it was released, it costs much more than a Holy Stone HS700. If you have a flexible budget and wants a drone with a better camera and flight performance, then this one might be a better choice for you.
Thanks to the 2-Axis stabilized gimbal camera, you will be able to take steady 12MP stills and 1080/30fps videos. It’s smaller, more compact and portable. The max flying speed can go up to 50 km/h (31 mph). The transmission system allows you to enjoy exciting FPV flying experience from up to 2 km (1.2 miles).
In terms of easy to use, the DJI Spark allows you to control with your palm. It features a lot of intelligent flight modes like QuickShot and TapFly help you create cinematic aerial videos with just a few taps.
Some users said that the compatibility of the app used to control the drone is not that good for Android phones, and customer service was not satisfactory.
Potensic D85 RC Quadcopter
The Potensic D85 is quite similar to the Holy Stone HS700 in terms of design, features, and price. It packs a 1080P camera with a wider angle lens which allows you to get a wider area of scenery for your photos and videos. It also supports mounting your own action camera.
Compared to the Holy Stone HS700, it has the same max flight time of 20 mins, but longer control range of up to 1500 m (0.9 miles). When it comes to the max speed, the Potensic can reach up to 50 km/h (31 mph) which is twice as that of the Holy Stone HS700, and will be more exciting to fly. Another thing that makes this drone stand out is the dual GPS it uses which means more satellites are available, and the drone’s positioning and tracking will be more accurate.
The other features are pretty much the same. As there aren’t too many user reviews about this product, we can’t say this model is definitely better than the HS700. According to all the information we have now, it should be a good alternative.
Must-have Accessories
If you will go with the Holy Stone HS700, you should also consider buying some must-have accessories together with the drone. The carrying case and extra battery are the most recommended.
Extra Battery
Although it offers a flight time of around 15 – 20 mins, the charging time is too long, if you only got one battery, you will have to wait for 7 hours until you can get it up in the air again.
Hermitshell Hard Travel Case
For those who often fly outdoor or travel around with your drone, then a carrying case that can hold the aircraft and all the other parts will make things so much easier. The drone will be well protected, and you don’t need to worry about losing any spare part.
Frequently asked questions
1. What can I find the Holy Stone HS700 manual?
Click here to download the manual.
2. What is Holy Stone HS700 Calibration like?
Check the video below to learn how to assemble and start quickly.
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Replacement blades are next to impossible to find.
No, they don’t fit.
Looks like I’ve just wasted another 200 quid on shit drones by the sound of this the one I got now has stopped working least it was half the price tho. Camera shake on hs700 then like de 25.
I’m putting this together for my dads birthday. Can this be paired with two phones so I can test it first? Please reply
Hi Christine, do you mean you want to test it with your phone, and then pair it with your dads’device? If so, then it should be no problem.