There are rarely few seasoned drone reviewers who are able to look beyond the paper specs and ask ourselves the real reasons of getting a drone. Drone racing, commercial crops spraying...you and i most likely are getting one to take aerial perspectives of our life experiences and encounters to share with friends. We all agreed GoPro videos on youtube are sticky and addictive and we all aspire to create such content. If you look closer, such great story-telling videos usually consist of footages taken from different perspectives with a simple storyboard. This is when you could see the light of why GoPro Karma is such a clever design with that intention in mind; a detachment gimbal and camera to capture different perspectives from the sky, on the ground and in the sea. We would then see the real benefits of the four pre-programme flight paths capturing cinematic aerial moments. The last thing we wish to do with the drone is to fly them aimlessly in the sky like a kite. Do we really need a drone to fly 7km away at breakneck speed? On a side note, what about the all important "collision avoidance" and "follow-me" features EVEN THOUGH like all greedy consumers i might not really need them? But i want them! So it great to hear that Karma already have all the hardware necessary for future firmware upgrades to allow "collision avoidance" and "follow-me" features. i read that in the reddit/Engadget interviews with Mr Woodman and Pablo Lema respectively. But GoPro did not end just there because we know all too well what happened to our wonderful footages. They are most likely buried in the SD card or backup hard drive waiting for that glory day to tell our stories if and only if we could finally managed to overcome the steep learning curve of video editing software. This is when GoPro Quik Desktop comes in handy. Now, It is really easy to stitch together those recordings into a wonderful story backed by a massive royalty-free but always-seems-appropriate music library. Have a try. It is really an Apple-like video editing software sans the frustration. Finally, the GoPro plus provide a nice finish with a convenient cloud-based repository of our ever-increasing collections of videos within Internet-reach. So in my opinion, GoPro is no longer an action camera or drone company we are familiar in the past. It has finally evolved into one that has delivered the promise for an end-to-end, Apple-like ecosystem consisting of Hero 5/Karma/Gimbal Grip/Quik desktop/GoPro Plus allowing us to tell and share our stories effortlessly to everyone! DJI is merely another drone company.
One of the better pre-release reviews I have seen on the Karma showing more of the controller features than on other channels. You did a good job for where you were at the time, don't worry about some of the hater comments.
Hi All! A lot of you have asked about DJI Mavic Pro. I'll have something up shortly on that (and yes, even including flying). Note that if some have seen other peoples videos where the Mavic video appeared 'soft', it's simply because they were doing it wrong. On the Mavic you have to set a focus point, which many RU-vidrs didn't do correctly. Anyway, hang tight!
yeah lots of drone footage we've seen tons of videos of how they look, the footage is what people are craving and drooling for especially a video comparison side by side video shots.
I disagree. I prefer seeing real peoples footage, rather than some marketing stuff that's been triple-processed and every last perfection nailed on it. That's not realistic, and we don't even know how much processing has been applied. Anyone with FCP or Premier can make crap drone footage look great. I wanna see drone footage out of the box.
Out of the box is quite meaningful to the vast majority of consumers. If out of the box footage is useless (i.e. from Lily drone), then no amount of post-prod can save it. So to say that you shoudn't just untouched footage is about at meaningless as saying you shouldn't just camera imagery prior to photoshop/lightroom/etc...
Yes, the Karma has been recalled, but I had finished my review at about the exact same that notice went out. Eventually, it'll start shipping again, and thus will let you know whether it's worth waiting for. My full in-depth review here: In-Depth Review: www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/11/gopro-karma-drone-review.html
I actually purchased this drone from BestBuy about a month ago. First, let me say that this is the first drone I have purchased or flown, but according to GoPro this drone was made for folks like me. I am new to drones, new to GoPro and they claim I am their target audience. So I bought in and ponied up $1200 (kit plus a battery). I was enjoying using the Karma but on three separate occasions while trying to land the Karma it would take off just a few feet from the ground while landing. It shot straight up in the air, I let go of the joysticks (manual and videos says it sould stop and hover) and it rose like a bullet and flew straight off. I had GPS and the battery was about 3-4 minutes left and was landing per the controller instructions. THe first time I was able to get the Karma to respond and land safely, the second time it took off and almost flew into electrical wires. I was also able to finally (and just before it almost hit the wires) get Karma to come back down and land. Again, GPS was on and trying to land before the battery low warning came on. And now the third and sadly final time it took off on its own. I was again trying to land Karma and it shot straight up in the air and took off forward lodging itself 60 feet in the air in a top branch of a tree. A few moments later the battery fell out of the Karma. And there it sits in a tree until I can A) pay a tree guy/gal to go up and retrieve it or B) try and shoot it down which will probably end up destroying the drone, camera and gimble. Since, I spent all of my money on the drone and extra batteries and props I cannot afford to pay someone to retrieve it. If you are thinking about buying this, DON'T. Wait until GoPro can get this thing fixed properly. Otherwise, be prepared to have $1200 stuck in a tree mocking you all while you fight the urge to throw up. I am gutted that I foolishly spent this money and stupid enough to believe the hype.
I really like the build quality of the entire package. Everything seems very solid and not cheap. Both Yuneec and DJI (Yuneec more so) feel cheep and toy like. For the money the Karma package seems very well suited. There's a lot of Karma bashing already mostly because of lack of features but to be honest, for the money the Karma is a perfect fit for the GoPro ecosystem. After all, the GoPro is meant to be a versatile action sports camera that can be mounted everywhere. The Karma is just another mount, in this case an airborne one. I love the modularity of the gimbal. That is really cool. One thing you didn't confirm is whether or not the hand held grip can be mounted to the backpack. I have seen other video where that is shown. Yes the features and even the software are a bit on the low end but for the money I think it is a good buy. I like the dynamic "home" feature. I'm a little perplexed as to why they don't have a "Follow Me" feature. That's a bit odd considering one of the main things people do in action sports is film themselves in action! So the fact that it doest have a traking feature is very odd. Overall I think this is a good value based package. One thing you should clarify is whether or not the GoPro is included. You make it sound like EVERYTHING you see in the case is included... but I don't think the camera is included. Thank you for the overview.
because it is black it doesn't feel cheap? the vid quality seems to be quite average for the limited amt of videos I have seen thur far, due to the gopro reps co trolling the situation presumably
At the moment you won't see much flight footage on the net until the Gopro 5 is released. Was considering the Phantom for aerial photography because it's the best on the market and it can shoot RAW which is something I really need. One thing I don't like about the phantoms is the price of the batteries, frigging too expensive for what they are. But this all changed when I learned about the release of the Karma Drone and the GoPro Hero 5 :-) the package is cheap for what is on offer, the batteries are cheap compared to DJI lipos, the controller includes a decent screen in a nice package. One other thing I was worried about was the fisheye effect of the Gopro's apparently when the GoPro 5 is attached to the drone it has a linear mode that flattens the horizon, it also now shoots RAW and HDR photos. But I will still wait till it's released to see more in depth hands on reviews before I buy it but I think this will defiantly be my next purchase :-)
Great review man, thanks! I think I will hold off on getting the Karma until they add more features to the design. I saw the DJI ad and the features on that one look awesome, specially the object avoidance and tracking. DJI will avoid running into objects automatically. I think that's an important feature to have. So I will wait a while before getting the Karma. Again, thanks for the review!
Excellent video 👍 I just love the controller, but no additional stabilization or obstacle avoidance in this day and age, is a major thumbs down for me. How curious, the price difference against the dji mavric, is the same as gopro's camera lol
Karma has a practical size and flight time that's practical for adventures. I'm still looking for a viable means of safely transporting my Typhoon H. Karma will be great for getting in fast, getting the shot and moving on to the next location for a shoot.
As you probably know by now you missing the ring that holds the gimbal in the grip, you forgot to pull that out which was under the remote compartment👍🏼😊
So will it "allow you to take off. On the DGI is useless around airport, even in sometimes legal areas. Can you disable the restricted settings on this. There are approved uses that an override needs to be made available for.
Wait so drones won't even work when you want them to? And how bad is it on the Karma? Obviously I don't wanna break any rules, but if it's not going to work when it needs to...
3km for Karma. Mavic doesn't come with controller and you have to use your phone/tablet to view. Mavic comes with camera stuck to drone. Karma has removable camera and stabilizer.
This is a lot more information than in other videos. One thing I would like to have clarified. The little wheel on the remote can only make the camera point forward or down. No angles in between?
Yes. In general, the Mavic looks like a more capable drone than Karma, but there are certainly aspects of Karma that may make it more appealing. Numerous folks have commented that the Mavic struggles a bit in higher winds, which Karma doesn't seem to (for example, the Kamra launch event was held on a very windy day). The gimbal detachment piece may be appealing to folks as well, which Mavic lacks. That said, for most folks, I suspect Mavic will easily 'win'.
DC Rainmaker you are absolutely right the accessories on the karma great selling points and may help someone choose which way to go. On the other hand for novice drone flyer the Mavic has cameras to help with accident avoidance which will help with in door operations. I'm looking to purchase my first drone and they're not making it easy for me. Thank you for a great tutorial!
Be careful on looking at a number of the Mavic footage bits out there (like Casey's initial one and others), because many people weren't told they had to tap the screen to have it refocus (at infinity). I can't blame them, it's stupid the app/cam doesn't do that by default. But there are some pieces where people have done this and it's as we'd expect from the P4-type sensor.
DC Rainmaker I hate to admit but I'm a lil lost with taping the app? I just saw casey's latest video (released today) on the Mavic n P4. Are you saying that you have to tape the screen to re-focus the Mavic?
What about calibrating the GoPro karma, how would that be done? I am so excited to get this drone. The handheld gimbal sold it for me and the passenger app, my dad will like controlling the gimbal while I fly.
I feel like the Karma is the jack of all trades master of none. The gimbal + grip lacks features like controlling the camera angles and the drone lacks features as well. But with all the stuff you get in the Karma, I guess it's not that bad. If I was a potential new drone shopper and I already have a Hero4 Silver, I would totally go with the the $799 Karma package. Or I would get the package that includes the Session. I wouldn't want the Mavic because I would like to capture more than just aerial shots.
Do you need to have the controller on to have the karma on fully? The reason being is because I'm trying to figure out what isn't working correctly. It's either the drone or the controller. My stabilizer will not prop itself up once turning on the karma. Customer service thinks it's the controller but I don't think that's the problem. I also know the stabilizer works fine because it works with my grip without any error.
I wonder if you are locked into using the transmitter monitor, or can you use FPV goggles/glasses? I use the Epson Moverio glasses with my DJI Phantom, and wouldn't switch to the GoPro if it didn't have that capability.
There is no physical cable link between the GoPro camera and the drone body. It means they use the wireless video communication from camera to the drone and then to the remote controller. This design may bring more time delay of the video downlink. Could you check it?
+youyi li Nope, that's incorrect. It uses the physical USB-C port for power/control, and the HDMI port for video output, which is then relayed to the controller wirelessly. You can see these ports more clearly in the Karma Grip video I put together linked in the video.
DC Rainmaker Thanks a lot for the information. I get wrong. But it will be still sweet if you could do some comparison of the video / control delay of Karma vs. Phantom 4.
I could care less about obstacle avoidance. And who's to say they can't add tracking in future firmware updates? You showed that you can hit the go home button and it asks you either home to launch point or home to your location, this has to mean there's gps in the controller? Here's a question I've had since they launched the drone and camera. The hero 5 has GPS. So does the karma have GPS or is it using the GPS of the camera?
+airrodgers well I wouldn't be dumb enough to hit return to home I know how to fly a drone, especially on that I can look down at a screen and see which way it's facing. and GoPro has the GoPro cares insurance,so if I crash my karma it gets fixed. the only things I see the phantom having that karma doesn't is range, battery life ( 8 more minutes..) and active tracking, non of which I believe are worth another $500. plus I get a removable camera, and a handheld gimbal. so that's like getting a phantom and a Dji osmo for at least $500 less
So there's no way to take off if you're within range of an airport? If seems crazy that even if you got clearance from air traffic control, the Karma wouldn't let you override that lockout control. :(
Wow virtually no info on actually flying the Karma, how does it fly compared to other drones like the 3DR Solo and Phantom? How long does it take to aquire GPS signal before flight? How complicated is it to setup an orbit compared to the competition? or any other shot for that matter? Was the flight distance as advertised more or less? I love my 3DR solo but hate its footprint, might actually go for this just from the portability perspective.
Can you take the gopro 5 off of the gimbal itself so lets say you wanted to get some underwater shots, can you take it off the gimbal so you can make that happen? Thanks.
I believe, yes, as that's 'regular ' GoPro you put into gimbal. But to 'just take out from gimbal and dive' you will have to have newest 5th edition as this is one waterproof out of the bag, without casing :)
Na man, the GoPro doesn't come with the Karma. If you want there is an option. Hero 4/3 support but you need to buy a separate housing. GoPro that comes with Karma is the Hero 5.
Do you know if the drone and controller will be sold by itself, aside from the package deal? Planning to get the Karma grip at release but don't need the Karma right now because I have a Phantom. If some point down the road I decide to switch out my Phantom for the Karma, If I buy the package deal that would give me 2 grips and I don't need that. Also the tracking feature, avoidance, etc.....do you think those will get added on to the 1st gen Karma or possibly a 2nd gen?
Came to see the thing fly and I sat through ten minutes of talking until I started fast forwarding it only to see that he never flies the thing, what a tease
What is the weight of the entire backpack? (with drone, charger, battery, GoPro Hero 5, Karma grip, gimbal, controller etc. I.e all the things shown in the first part of your review).
DC Rainmaker where in the pack does it fit exactly? And do you put the drone in with or without the case? I'm just wondering because I want to know how well protected it would be in the Seeker.
You say you can use a Hero 3+ in the gimbal but then you say the holder for the camera has a HDMI connector and a USB-C connector. My Hero 3+ does not have a USB C connector just one of the older large USB connectors. Could you clarify which is correct, as it would appear that you cannot use a Hero 3+ in the Karma. Thanks.
You'll need a $20 adapter from GoPro. It pops out the screws in the connector (see the Karma Grip/Gimbal Video linked above to see those screws). Note that Karma can't control the Hero3 though, only the Hero4/5.
It doesn't have any of the easy "following" modes?, I like how other drones you can press a mode and it will follow, or record in front of you vice versa. Does it have these modes or not??
Hmmm, thanks for the reply. Big selling points for me are: • wrist watch for one hand control • those pre-set modes for automation Can you suggest any drones that offer that now?
