Holy Stone HS600 2-Axis Gimbal Drones with Camera for Adults 4K EIS, Integrated Remote ID, 20000 FT Range Transmission, GPS Drone with Brushless Motors, 4K/30FPS, Follow Me, Level 6 Wind Resistance

I am not new to drones. I have been flying for almost two years. I have 14 drones in my collection so I feel confident that I can leave a good review based on experience. When I had learned that several friends of mine had purchased the HS600D, and enjoyed it, I decided to pull the trigger and buy one too. I am so glad I did!First off. This drone is HEAVY. It weighs in at 603g compared to the 249g's of my Autel and Potensic. But don't think that means it’s sluggish. What it means is that not only does it handle better but it can also withstand stronger breezes. While the 249g drones can handle a beaufort rating up to 5, I am confident in saying the 600D could handle a beaufort rating of 6. Though it’s always best to fly any drone in little to no wind for longer battery life and better performance.NOTE: The FAA rules state that you can fly a drone of any weight providing that you are flying recreationally only. All you need is a TRUST certificate which is very easy to obtain online. DO keep in mind that if you plan to make money with your drone you WILL need a Part 107. More information about this can be found on the FAA website.PROS:#1 This is a fixed prop drone as opposed to a foldable prop commonly found on other drones. In my honest opinion this creates a more stable and stronger lift.#2 The information such as GPS, battery life and other important readouts while flying is on a separate screen on the controller (as well as on the app screen on your phone). I like this because it’s large and easy to read rather than looking up in the corners of the app on your phone for those tiny icons.#3 The controller is well balanced in your hands and when you add your phone it is still well balance in your hands.#4 This drone has built in lights for low light or night flying. I like this because all my other drones I have had to buy lights for.#5 The color is easy to see in the air. This is a boom for me because I only have one eye. My white drones have to have strobes on them for me to see them any time they are in the air.#6 While it is always a smart idea to calibrate your GPS on your drone any time you fly it, this drone REQUIRES you to before it will let you fly. Calibrating any drone only takes a few seconds and it GREATLY reduces, or completely eliminates, fly aways from happening.#7 The zoom for the gimbal is a wheel on the controller rather than having to touch the phone screen to zoon in as is done with the Potensic and Autel drones.CONS:#1 There is a countdown to the drone taking a photo. It is not instant like the other drones. But that is a minor detail as it’s only about 3 seconds.#2 I did notice a slight delay in videos through the gimbal but again a very minor detail.TIP: Power up the drone and the controller BEFORE opening the app on your phone. Otherwise it will not recognize the app.To wrap it up. If you want a drone that performs like a $1500 to $2000 drone. You cannot go wrong with the HS600D. It is an investment I did not regret doing.

A great deal on the upgrade and better features than my 2019 drone. I had thought the pictures from the old drone looked good and this is nearly four times the image resolution with multiple stabilizations, the pictures look great so far. It's got a narrower field of view than the old drone but it probably doesn't matter, for one thing it will automatically take a 360 degree view without the obvious barrel distorton I got from the old drone anyway, plus it has a zoom that reduces the field of view anyway. First flight was a little difficult but probably because it starts in "beginner" mode and has restricted range, including height plus it seemed to be experiencing a little drift from wind force. Even so, on first flight a friend and I were considering his rooftop ham radio antennas when we are both not practically able to stand on the roof, friends had helped get the antennas there. So, he and I had this drone fly up to a rooftop standing position while we stayed on the ground, viewed live and took pictures, confirming the antenna with the most wind force applied is solidly mounted from his personal "viewpoint". We got good results as well as recognized I had a lot to learn flying a new aircraft and have a new set of controls in what's a new app to me. Second flight was much better, about an hour before a nice sunset. I disabled "beginner" mode making it possible to get higher than nearby obstacles and feel better about flying in any direction less evidence of wind drift so spent more time flying and felt in more control. Photos are from second flight. Camera images have better detail in medium field objects (ike the rooftop solar panel pictures, some were taken while using the orbit a location feature, i.e. 16 foot orbit near my home taking a shot whenever I liked the view and at varying height and zoom levels). Short field (selfie) has more blur, probably because shake has a broader effect on the close object and perhaps from zoom level. Far field shots seemed a bit blurry (blurry when looking into sun isn't a fair criticism and looking away from sunset is better detailed but both views are still nice pictures from a great alternative persective from ground shots). In fairness about which field has best shots, it is documented that the lens is fixed focus and I'm not surprised it favors medium field shots since a drone is kind of handy to go look at objects more than to look at scenes. The GPS follow-me mode could be a bit of fun. I have enjoyed photography for decades and when I first flew a drone of my own I was really thrilled by the alternative viewpoint from taking pictures only where I can reach on foot. Looking at the image from the drone camera (even stills after use) it feels like being in-position on the drone to me. Back n 2020 using my 2019 drone doing my own home roof review after installing solar was a good feeling and I didn't need to use a ladder. Well this drone has about four times the picture resolution of that 2019 drone fun, image stabiization and many more options. One of the most basic but best personal reasons for the new purchase was that my giant screen cellphone now fits in the grip on the remote flight controlller but was too wide for the grip on the controller of my 2019 drone. I'm already dreaming compositions including more of the local mountains from the air rather than the ground, the forest view in fall from the air will be nice. I didn't get bad shots from a handheld camera on the ground but a drone adds an extra perspective for photography composition that I've really found worth having. It's more than just flying for me.