by 210 reviews.
Holy Stone HS900 249g Lightweight GPS Drone with Camera for Adults 4K: A Comprehensive Review
The Holy Stone HS900 is a lightweight, feature-packed drone designed for adults who want to capture stunning aerial footage without the hassle of FAA registration. Weighing just 249 grams, this drone is equipped with a 4K camera, a 3-axis brushless gimbal, and a range of advanced features like visual tracking, GPS auto-return, and a 20,000-foot transmission range. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details based on real customer experiences.
Pros and Cons: What Customers Are Saying
Quality and Durability
One of the standout features of the Holy Stone HS900 is its build quality. Many users have praised its durability, with one reviewer mentioning that it survived crashes into a brick wall twice without needing propeller replacements. The 3-axis brushless gimbal also ensures smooth and stable footage, even in windy conditions. One customer even tested its wind resistance with a leaf blower, noting that it held its ground despite the extreme conditions.
However, some users have reported issues with the battery and charging system. One reviewer experienced a dangerous situation where a battery melted in the docking station, causing smoke and damage. While Holy Stone offered to replace the damaged items, this incident raises concerns about the safety of the charging process.
Usability and Features
The Holy Stone HS900 is designed to be user-friendly, making it a great option for beginners. The controls are intuitive, and the GPS system ensures stable hovering, which is perfect for capturing steady shots. The Quick Shots feature, available through the Holy Stone Sirius App, allows users to create professional-level videos with minimal effort.
That said, some users have noted that the app can occasionally freeze, which can be frustrating during flight. Additionally, the lack of obstacle avoidance has been a point of criticism. One user mentioned crashing into tree branches, which caused minor damage to the propellers. While the drone is durable, this feature would have been a welcome addition.
Performance and Battery Life
The drone’s performance has received mixed reviews. On the positive side, it offers impressive speed and range, with one user achieving a 10,000-foot transmission range before encountering interference. The 4K camera delivers high-quality footage, and the visual tracking feature works well for capturing dynamic shots.
However, the battery life has been a significant drawback for some users. One reviewer reported that the drone entered low battery mode after just 15 minutes of flight, leading to an uncontrolled descent from 120 feet. This is far from the advertised flight time and raises questions about the reliability of the battery system. Another user mentioned that the batteries can only be charged one at a time when installed in the drone, which is inconvenient for extended flying sessions.
Value for Money
The Holy Stone HS900 is priced as a mid-range drone, and opinions on its value are divided. Some users feel that it’s overpriced, especially given the battery issues and lack of obstacle avoidance. However, others appreciate the advanced features and durability, considering it a worthwhile investment for hobbyists and aspiring aerial photographers.
Final Thoughts: Is the Holy Stone HS900 Worth It?
The Holy Stone HS900 is a versatile and capable drone that offers a lot of value for its price. Its lightweight design, 4K camera, and advanced features make it a great choice for beginners and intermediate users alike. The durability and wind resistance are particularly impressive, ensuring that the drone can handle challenging conditions.
However, the battery life and charging system are significant drawbacks that potential buyers should consider. The lack of obstacle avoidance and occasional app freezes are also minor inconveniences that could be improved in future models.
Conclusion
In summary, the Holy Stone HS900 is a solid drone with impressive features and performance, but it’s not without its flaws. If you’re looking for a lightweight, easy-to-use drone with excellent camera capabilities, this could be a great option—especially if you can find it on sale. However, if battery life and safety are top priorities, you may want to explore other options or wait for improvements in future iterations.
Would I recommend it? For casual users and beginners, yes. But for professionals or those who need longer flight times and obstacle avoidance, you might want to look elsewhere.
Specification Holy Stone HS900 249g Lightweight GPS Drones with Camera for Adults 4K; 3 Axis Brushless Gimbal Drone with 4K/30FPS Video, 48MP Photo, 20000Ft Transmission, Visual Tracking Follow Me, Smart Return:
Comments from Amazon:
This is a fun and productive drone at a great price! The video quality is fantastic! I have had a blast flying around and making videos! Super lightweight and no FAA registration required! The GPS helps keep the drone perfectly stable when hovering! The controls are easy to learn! Great beginner drone for anyone!! Only one thing that I would have loved to have additional on this drone - obstacle avoidance! I have “crashed” my drone twice (twigs on trees) and it has survived with only slight damage to the props. Good thing that it came with extra!
The flight range and battery life are nothing compared to what’s advertised. Once the battery entered into low battery mode during the flight (15 minutes after a full charge) it flew itself straight up and died, free falling approximately 120 feet. This is unacceptable. Do not buy this drone. Value: Poor Weight: about the only thing positive about it is it is light. Performance: not as advertised. Ease of use: it is easy to control, but when it dies after 15 minutes of use mid flight, that doesn’t matter much. I would share a video, but I couldn’t make it past a 15 minute test flight.
Love the drone! Easy to fly once I figured out how to turn off the beginner mode flies smoothly and overall good quality will buy another HS drone if I find myself getting a second one
The drone and camera are pretty cool. I have a lot of fun flying it around in sports mode, weaving, sharp turns, quick ascension, etc. and it has good range and feels stable. The camera can sometimes have a tilt to it on the horizon, sometimes I can correct this by rotating the drone, but not always. Occasionally the app will freeze up, hopefully this gets fixed with an update soon. I initially had an issue with the batteries not charging, but found out I wasn’t using the right kind of charger block. I reached out to customer service and they were very helpful, said I needed either a 5v 3a or 9v 2a block. My thoughts are for the price it should include the charger block, especially if the batteries are finicky. Overall a very good drone, I look forward to flying it more
This is a preliminary review in order to share what I feel is important information for anyone considering the Holy Stone HS900. The controller and the craft operate very well. The controller functions are easily manipulated and the craft is very stable. The menu is also easy to use and the features are fun to use as well. Now for the real information, the battery can only be charged when installed in the craft and this means one at a time, Holy Stone does offer a docking station charger that holds three batteries, however the docking station only charges one battery at a time. I purchased the docking station charger at the time I purchased the drone as well as two additional batteries. The beginning of my review was short as a result of the following, after the initial charge was done on the batteries the night before my done was taken for its maiden voyage, when I was ready for the first flight the batteries were no longer at full charge. Rather than charging the batteries back to full capacity I proceeded to fly the craft as long as the three batteries would allow which was approx. 35 minutes. I was a great experience even though short what features I was able to use worked well. The next part of the story is the most concerning, after placing the discharged batteries in the docking station for charge I performed some tasks around the house and returned to find the first battery fully charged so I removed the charged battery and left the other two in the docking station to charge. I left to run some errands and came back two hours later to check the status of the charging batteries. I have always been apprehensive when it comes to charging lithium batteries so I never charge them in my home and rather set them up in my work shop that is detached from the house and garage. When I opened the door to the shop I was overcome with smoke that billowed out of the door, no actual fire but electrical fire smoke that was thick and nasty. I found the middle docking port with a melted down battery and the battery to the outside of that one was not able to be removed due the melt down of the docking station around the battery. The power adapter and the wall socket as well as the cable were not hot and not damaged. Thankfully there was no fire or my losses would have been rather sizable considering the size of my work shop and what I have inside of it. I contacted Holy Stone and explained the circumstances and sent them pictures. They offered to replace the damaged charger and two batteries but I will be waiting for up to three weeks for the replacement items to arrive. I will follow up this review once I have another opportunity to fly the craft again and try ALL of the features and functions, in the meantime I offer this information for anyone considering this model for themselves.
This was my first drone. I can’t say enough about it. I was a bit apprehensive at first. But I quickly found that to be unnecessary. This drone is supper easy to fly. I kept it in beginner lo mode for the first few flights. I feel that helped give me the confidence to step out of beginner mode and gain new heights. And I wasn’t disappointed. This is a great drone with a great camera and supper easy to fly. You won’t regret buying this.
Flies great, wind resistance is amazing, very stable (I tested it with a leaf blower, it definitely struggled, but the leaf blower was way more than 24 mph and it still held its ground). I also did a range test, I got 10000 feet away until a building was giving me interference. The gimbal being brushless is nice too, most DJI's, even the Mavic and Inspire series' still use mechanical gimbals. It is also very durable, I have crashed into a brick wall twice, never even had to replace the propellers. It's also very fast. I do feel like it is a bit overpriced, but it goes on discount all the time.