Holy Stone HS700D – Cheap GPS Drone with 2K Camera
The Holy Stone HS700D is a low-cost GPS drone with 2K camera, FPV live image transmission and 22 minutes flight time. The official successor of the Holy Stone HS700 is capable of intelligent flight and recording modes such as Follow Me or TapFly and offers a range of up to 0.62 miles (1 km). Find out what else the Holy Stone HS700D has to offer in our detailed review.
Design and weight
With its dimensions of 22 x 22 x 15.5 cm, the Holy Stone HS700D is relatively compact and can be transported in a space-saving manner thanks to removable landing skids. The all-black drone with camera has four brushless motors, which, in contrast to brushed motors, provide a more pleasant sound and a significantly longer service life.
Below the motors are four multicolored LEDs, which are mainly used when calibrating the drone. Optional propeller guards can be attached to the four rotors to protect the propellers as well as bystanders.
Together with the battery, the drone has a total take-off weight of 608 grams.
Flight time and range
The Holy Stone HS700D has a 7.4 V, 2800 mAh LiPo (lithium polymer) battery that allows up to 22 minutes of flight time. The battery is charged using the included dual charger (balance charger), which can hold up to two batteries at a time. So if you get a second battery, you can not only fly longer, but also charge both LiPos at the same time.
According to the manufacturer, the control works at a distance of up to 0.62 miles (1000 meters). Depending on the environmental conditions (Wi-Fi networks, obstacles, etc.), this value will usually be somewhat lower in practice, but the range is still more than sufficient for flights within visual range.
Unlike many inexpensive drones, the Holy Stone HS700D uses the 5 GHz frequency band instead of the 2.4 GHz band. Here, more overlap-free channels and a higher transmission power are available, which enables the transmission of the FPV live image at a distance of up to 437 yards (400 meters).
In terms of speed, the drone does not come close to current top drones such as the DJI Mavic Air 2, but with its approx. 15.5 mph (25 km/h), it is not exactly slow either.
Gyro, compass and Return-to-Home
Before you take off with the Holy Stone HS700D, you first need to calibrate both the internal gyro and the compass of the drone. Thanks to the included instruction manual, this is done in just a few steps and nothing stands in the way of the launch afterwards.
Since the Return-to-Home function also relies on a GPS signal, this feature only works reliably if the calibration is successful and allows the multicopter to return to the launch position at the push of a button and land safely on the ground or on an existing landing pad for the drone.
The drone will also fly home automatically if the battery level is too low or if the signal to the remote control is lost. These safety features are designed to ensure that you do not lose the drone even in exceptional situations and also do not endanger other people.
By the way, you can also find the detailed instruction manual of the Holy Stone HS700D on the manufacturer’s website for free download.
The camera of the Holy Stone HS700D
The biggest innovation of the Holy Stone HS700D compared to the previous version is certainly the 2K camera that can be swiveled vertically by 90° with a resolution of 2480 x 1152 pixels. It is very pleasing that the camera angle can also be adjusted during flight – with many drones in this price range, this is only possible before takeoff.
Although the drone does not have a gimbal to compensate for the drone’s vibrations, there are small rubber dampers on the camera to absorb and compensate for the vibrations. Completely smooth videos, as known from high-quality camera drones such as the DJI Mavic 2, are therefore not possible with the Holy Stone HS700D, but the recordings are still very decent for this price range.
Your recordings are stored on a microUSB memory card of up to 32 GB, which has to be purchased separately, though.
Intelligent flight and recording modes
The Holy Stone HS700D masters a total of three different intelligent flight and recording modes that support you in creating exciting video sequences. For beginners, the so-called headless mode is also available.
If you activate Headless Mode, it doesn’t matter how the drone is instantly oriented in the sky when you give control commands. This means, for example, that the drone will always fly to the left when you move the control stick in that direction – regardless of whether the front or rear of the drone is currently facing you. For direction changes to the right, front and rear it behaves the same way, of course. This simplified control is especially useful for first flight attempts, although we recommend that you get to grips with the “real” control as soon as possible.
In Follow Me mode, also known from many other drones, the Holy Stone HS700D automatically follows the GPS signal of the remote control and records a video of the pilot while he can move freely.
The Point of Interest mode allows the drone to independently circle an object or person and record a video at the same time.
In TapFly mode, you can set the desired flight route on a map in the “Ophelia“ app before the flight. The Holy Stone HS700D then flies the route automatically.
Remote control and app
The remote control of the Holy Stone HS700D is ergonomic and clearly arranged. In addition to the two obligatory control sticks, there are several buttons and sliders on the controller to access functions like one-key take-off, photo and video recording or Return-to-Home.
A small LCD display is also present, on which various telemetry information can be read. This way, you always get information about the number of connected GPS satellites, the current altitude and distance of the drone, as well as the current battery status of the copter and controller.
To attach your smartphone to the remote controller, simply attach the included smartphone holder to the top of the remote controller between the two antennas. The flexible mount allows you to attach mobile devices of various sizes – however, a tablet is too large and would need to be used separately.
A separate button is available for taking photos and videos respectively. The tilt of the camera can be adjusted on the fly via a small wheel on the top of the controller.
The “Ophelia“ app of the Holy Stone HS700D is available for Android and iOS and can be downloaded for free from the respective app store.
Since the controller unfortunately does not have a built-in rechargeable battery, you still need four AA batteries or rechargeable batteries for operation.
Scope of delivery
- 1 x Holy Stone HS700D drone
- 1 x remote control
- 1 x 7.4 V, 2800 mAh battery pack
- 1 x USB charging cable (USB-C)
- 1 x Dual Charger (Balance Charger)
- 8 x propellers
- Propeller protector
- 2 x landing gear
- 1 x Screwdriver
Conclusion
The Holy Stone HS700D is an affordable drone with a 2K camera and long flight time. The 608-gram drone stays in the air for up to 22 minutes and can be controlled at distances of up to 0.62 miles (1 kilometer). These are very decent values for this price range and make the compact quadcopter an affordable alternative to some higher-priced drones.
The live FPV transmission via 5 GHz frequency lets you view your camera footage in real time on your smartphone, and the intelligent flight and recording modes help you create exciting video sequences.
Even though the Holy Stone HS700D doesn’t have a gimbal, the 2K footage is quite decent for a drone in this price range. Overall, in our opinion, Holy Stone delivers an excellent quadcopter for beginners with the HS700D, which promises a lot of fun at a fair price.