Holy Stone HS175D Foldable Drone with 4K Camera for Adults, RC Quadcopter with GPS Auto Return, Follow Me, Brushless Motor, Circle Fly, Waypoint Fly, Altitude Hold, Headless Mode, 46 Mins Long Flight

The media could not be loaded. The HS175D is a drone packed with technology and affordable for those who want to take a step up in drone ownership.First of all, it comes in at under 250g which means you only need an operators id (as it has a camera) to fly which will cost you £9 per year - although it's worth getting your flyers id too as it doesn't cost any more.As I own the 700E and 720E I thought that I'd be straight up flying. However, the 175D uses a different app (HS GPS V5), and the start-up routine is significantly different than the top end models (more so the controller buttons and process is not similar). Despite this, the controls are simple to understand and follow, and easily committed to memory. Make sure you follow closely the process to calibrate compass and gyro before each flight.Max distance stated is 500m which, for a drone of its size and cost, is great. In the UK, drones need to be visible to the naked eye (or with glasses/contact lenses), so it's more than enough distance. I've been out to 250m with no loss of video connection to the app.The drone is packed with features. GPS enables the drone to return home if you lose signal, the battery gets low, or you decide you can't be bothered to fly it back manually! It'll land within a couple of feet of take-off position. Follow me mode works as advertised - the drone needs to be 5m above ground level for it to engage, and the app is helpful in that it gives warnings before asking you to confirm, reducing the risk of user error when initiating follow me or 360 mode.It comes with 2 speed modes which I would describe as 'fast' and 'very fast'. The low speed is not the same as 'Tripod Mode' which is a feature on other models. It descends at a decent pace too, so no waiting around for ages until it lands.Image quality is excellent. Vide quality is good as well, although without any stabilisation, it is less likely to be used for creating content for others.In comparison to Holy Stone's higher end models, the 175D is firmly in the 'toy' camp, yet has all the same features.I'd recommend the drone for those on a budget who want a decent product that will give them some great pictures from a birds-eye view.

Did quite a bit of research before choosing this particular drone as there is alot of choice out there. I was looking for something that had a decent flying time, good quality pictures and video and easy to control, I definitely struck gold with this one!! Simple to set up and use straight out of the box (slight issue with the app software but that was quickly and efficiently sorted by their Customer Service team, more on that later). Not only is it easy to use with awesome quality footage, due to its weight (coming in at under 250 grams) you don't have to worry about going through the hassle of taking the test for a Flyer ID and paying £9 a year for a license, just register for an Operator ID for free and you are legally covered. Anything over 250g (most other drones with this amount of superb functionality) requires a Flying ID as well, otherwise confiscation and hefty fines are coming your way. You can also use this drone in a residential area with no issues, not true of most other drones in this category. I cannot stress strongly enough how brilliant this drone is for the price paid.As for the customer service - second to none! I had a bit of an issue getting the app to work correctly as it wasn't recording properly (user error in the end) but the customer service team were 1st class. They responded to my request for help quickly and were hell bent in making sure I was completely satisfied and that everything was working correctly before signing off as problem solved. They were unfailingly polite and enthusiastic and all correspondence was professional at all times. They can come and train some of my staff any time they want!!Quite simply, if you are not sure which drone to choose for a beginner then you would be a fool to buy anything else. This is probably the best thing I have bought this year and once I have had more practice flying it I will be buying one of their top tier drones and starting a collection of them.

This was bought by my teenage son.It is easy to control, very stable.It has the ability to set distance boundaries so it can't go too far whilst you are learning to use it, or if letting someone else have control.The controller connects with a smart phone, although it's not compatible with all models. For example it isn't compatible with my son's Motorola e20 but is compatible with my Motorola 30. This could have been a showstopper, so worth checking before purchase.The camera and video quality are excellent, and work most of the time, although very occasionally we lose the video connection and need to restart the app. The drone controller has an excellent "Return to Home" feature that stops that being too much of an issue on the rare occasions it happens.We have had one problem where we lost the link and live video feed on the phone app, and the drone failed to come home. We have no idea what happened. It look 2 hours to locate the drone in a bush, not far from it's last known gps coordinates. (It sends back tracking information to the phone, so you can see it on a map in the app). Once back, it is all working fine but my son is now nervous about it happening again.Overall, a great buy, excellent value for money, but one or two concerning glitches that could have been very costly.