- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
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Anyone out there purchased the latest version of the Karma now that it is back?
https://shop.gopro.com/karmabundle
https://shop.gopro.com/karmabundle
Nope. Too many other better options out there. I think GoPro is dying a slow death. Too late in the game.
Waiting on the large price drop. I have a GP5 that I can't use on the Solo so I'm doing the waiting game or I'll just get a Mavic, never been a DJI fan
I bought one about six weeks ago. My first drone and first GoPro. It’s been fun so far.
I went to the site to buy a GoPro and didn’t know much about drones. I did some research, weighed the options of buying a Mavic with a built in camera vs. the Karma Grip / drone and the detachable GoPro and decided to go with the Karma.
I went to the site to buy a GoPro and didn’t know much about drones. I did some research, weighed the options of buying a Mavic with a built in camera vs. the Karma Grip / drone and the detachable GoPro and decided to go with the Karma.
Could you share some details on things like (a) Karma's shortcomings, (b) strengths of the Karma drone package, and (c) videos you took using the drone / grip? I'm waiting on more reviews before making the purchase decision, so inputs from actual buyers like you would help a lot.
Thank you.
I've had mine since early February. Loving it so far! Like mentioned above, I decided on Karma mostly for the versatility of camera use, and the fact that I hated needing to use my phone with the DJI..
Has anyone with a Karma drone done any customization to theirs? I just slapped some fresh paint on the top cover of mine:
Wonny, if you click around on my channel I have a review video and some drone footage posted recently. Also there's tons more videos on YouTube
Has anyone with a Karma drone done any customization to theirs? I just slapped some fresh paint on the top cover of mine:
Wonny, if you click around on my channel I have a review video and some drone footage posted recently. Also there's tons more videos on YouTube
I have only flown a couple of times but i'm actually very impressed, i own a Autel x star premium and i really like tje karma
I'm thinking about getting either the Mavic, Karma, or Autel X-star Premium. Out of the karma and x-star that you have, which do you like more?
It all depends what you are looking for, i think the Karma is the complete package, love the hero 5 black and the gopro stick, the drone is very responsive and love the controller and the fact that everything is there no need for a phone or tablet, the autel is great, controller can get top heavy with a tablet but not a big issue, i have flown it up yo a mile away and everytime it disconnects from the control it comes home, build quallity i can say yhat they're both there but love the portability of the karma both of them come with the hard cases but the autel case is more of a briefcase and the carma can be use as a briefcase but also a backpack, both are great i just been using the karma more asni just got it a couple of days ago
Have had my Karma for about a month now. Have owned several DJI Phantoms and the 3DR Solo. Got into drones for the video and photography. I like things that are simple and work every time. Not really concerned about being able to fly several miles away from my location, or top speed, or obstacle avoidance. Mainly I want high quality video and pictures. I prefer the gopro cameras to the dji. I've seen online comparisons and they are all useless. Too many variables in how you set up the cameras and how you process the images in post. Not to mention how everything online is going to be compressed and individual monitor differences. Very difficult to compare. I've seen them both on my monitor and I prefer the gopro images. Personal preference. Now that hero 5 has the linear mode its even better. One other thing on the new gopro. Voice control. I thought I would never use it but now its one of my favorite new features.
I really like not having to connect to my iPhone/iPad to the drone/controller. This is huge for me. Always thought this process was clunky and not user friendly on any of the platforms. Honestly didn't think this was the thing I would like the most but it is so nice keeping my phone in my pocket the whole time.
It locks on to GPS very fast. Similar to DJI and much better than the Solo until I did some mods on it, but out of the box the Karma is on par with the DJI products.
Having the Karma Grip is nice also. I have used several different handheld gimbals for the gopro and the Grip is definitely the best one. Having this included in the package was great. One less charger and gimbal to carry around. I've seen people complain about not being able to see the screen while recording but hasn't been a problem for me. It's not a perfect view but you can see plenty enough to frame your shot.
All the different Auto Shot Paths and Follow Me are similar to what Solo and DJI have and work fine. My only complaint is there are only two points for the cable cam. Needs to have several at least. Also, the camera angle doesn't change automatically from point a to point b in the cable cam shots. Minor issues that hopefully will be addressed in software updates.
It flies very nicely and held up in strong winds. Gimbal is rock solid. Honestly though, all the drones out there fly well and have good gimbals. The technology is so good now this is rarely a deciding factor for me when buying a drone.
Like others have said, which drone to buy depends on what you are looking for. I think the Karma is for people that are interested in getting great video and stills with minimal fuss. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it does what you need very well for a good price. Also an excellent choice for people just getting into drones that want a simple all in one solution.
I like it a lot so far. I’ve flown it several times and haven’t crashed yet (knocking on wood).
As I said before, this is the first drone I’ve ever flown. They do make it easy to learn. There are videos and a built-in flight simulator on the controller. I sat in my living room and practiced quite a bit before actually taking it out and flying it.
Finding places to fly has been a challenge. You can’t fly over people or houses, or within 5 miles of an airport, so you need to have some open space nearby. It’s also noisy. It sounds like a swarm of bees and I’m trying not to piss off anyone, so I try to stay away from people altogether.
The flight time is only about 15-18 minutes on a charge and because I play it safe, I pretty much stop flying when it gets into the yellow range. I think it takes about 90 minutes to charge the battery, but I haven’t watched it too close. I suspect I’ll be buying a couple more batteries in the near future.
I think the furthest distance I’ve flown away from me was around 1200 feet from where I was standing. I don’t know if it’s a law or just something I read, but you are supposed to keep it within visual range at all times. It’s pretty difficult to see when it gets about 1000 feet away.
The quality of the pictures and videos on the Hero 5 is outstanding and I’m slowly learning the editing software (Quik). It makes clips from the original video pretty fast.
I have used the Grip controller a few times and like it, too. I do 3-gun competitions and I used it to record some of the matches (this is actually why I started looking at GoPro in the first place). I plan to take the drone to some of those matches and do some recording eventually.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 22
- Age
- 52
I bought the KARMA on Saturday. I've done several hours of research to determine which drone was the best for me. I've never had one before. My main purpose for wanting one is to capture great footage, not to simply enjoy flying.
It came down to, if I'm going to spend $1,100 on something to capture video, which product will provide the best videos.
I think KARMA wins that over the Mavic, really hands down. I haven't been convinced that Mavic's aerial footage will surpass KARMA's aerial, terrestrial and under water footage.
Mavic seems to be KARMA's drone hands down as well. But I just don't want aerial footage.
Also, my cousin rammed my KARMA into a tree at top speed and it held up really well. Just broke the propellers, everything else is really not even scratched.
Have had it up it high winds and flew beautifully. Also, it started snowing pretty heavily in the air and it handled that well as well.
It came down to, if I'm going to spend $1,100 on something to capture video, which product will provide the best videos.
I think KARMA wins that over the Mavic, really hands down. I haven't been convinced that Mavic's aerial footage will surpass KARMA's aerial, terrestrial and under water footage.
Mavic seems to be KARMA's drone hands down as well. But I just don't want aerial footage.
Also, my cousin rammed my KARMA into a tree at top speed and it held up really well. Just broke the propellers, everything else is really not even scratched.
Have had it up it high winds and flew beautifully. Also, it started snowing pretty heavily in the air and it handled that well as well.
Well I have a Mavic (which is already on the way to the repair shop) and for about a week now a Karma.
My first observations are Karma - easy , Mavic amazing but more complex
The GoPro cameras are superior quality to be sure. As I only have a Hero4 Silver so my highest resolution is 2.7K yet it captured much cleaner detail in tiny branches as I panned the horizon in similar ways then Mavic's 4k camera (with and without filters) due to the smaller sensor primarily I presume but quality of optics may also be involved.
The Mavic seems to be far more fragile - I do not like the way the gimbal is secured in the Mavic design - It fails and is probably why my camera will not focus and had to be sent back.
All that said they both Rock man - I will post video shortly
READ:
Ok, so I hate to post this here, but here is why I am returning my Karma system and getting a Mavic.
First of all, I really needed a handheld stabilizer and a drone and the Karma was just such an awesome fit because I wanted a GoPro too. Seemed perfect. First few days of use I loved it, and despite knowing in my heart that the Mavic was a better drone, I decided to stick with my Karma.
Cut to about 15 flights later. Here are my biggest issues.
1. Flight distance - I tried a distance test on multiple occasions with clear conditions and could not get it to go over 2200 feet away. Around 1000 was the max for most flights when it would lose connection and turn back. Also at this point I would get to feed starting to pause and cut out. This was very consistent at about 800 ft and up.
2. Battery - I bought an extra battery. GoPro says 20 minutes ( every company over exaggerates this point) but when I start the drone and controller up it starts at 18:00. If it sits for a minute while I get ready it's down to 17:00. At 3 minutes it starts to return home. If I'm flying at a good rate, that 14 minutes is actually more like 12 of usable time. This was just not enough even with 2 batteries.
3. Horizon tilt - it was a constant issue for me. Even when I landed it and calibrated, it would still tilt, but only once and a while. Meaning every third shot would be noticibly off. I tried doing a reset by calibrating it on the grip but still experienced problems. Mostly if there was any wind.
4. -Drifting. I was doing a lot of flying over water, and while I never had it fall in, it would sometimes drift a few feet around which made me very uneasy when getting shots flying just a few feet over water
5. Size - the Mavic is just so much smaller. I'm a photographer and tried to fit the Karma (without props) in my camera backpack along with my camera and lenses and it just wasn't happening. It is possible, but considering the controller is large and the charger for the batteries etc, it just wasn't possible. This means that if I want to travel with it, I need to bring that backpack (side note the strap on the backpack broke a week into my ownership). Bottom line is that it's an extra bag no matter how you look at it, while the Mavic can fit anywhere.
Ok, so I realize that the Karma comes with the grip, which I loooved. Can't tell you how much I obsessed about gimbals before buying this and reallly enjoyed the grip. But this added piece was still not enough to sway me into keeping it. I really wanted to love the system. It's great, but the Karma drone is just not quite there yet. I got great footage, but I felt limited. When I wanted to get close to some mountains in the distance, it would turn around due to lost signal. I will miss being able to wirelessly download the footage to my iPad and edit right there.
Side note, and issue, the 4K on GoPro does not have the linear option, so if it's in 4K you're gonna have the fisheye effect. I'm sorry if you're excited about the Karma and reading this. It is still a great package for the money. I just felt a little limited with it. Here is a clip of some footage I shot.
Ok, so I hate to post this here, but here is why I am returning my Karma system and getting a Mavic.
First of all, I really needed a handheld stabilizer and a drone and the Karma was just such an awesome fit because I wanted a GoPro too. Seemed perfect. First few days of use I loved it, and despite knowing in my heart that the Mavic was a better drone, I decided to stick with my Karma.
Cut to about 15 flights later. Here are my biggest issues.
1. Flight distance - I tried a distance test on multiple occasions with clear conditions and could not get it to go over 2200 feet away. Around 1000 was the max for most flights when it would lose connection and turn back. Also at this point I would get to feed starting to pause and cut out. This was very consistent at about 800 ft and up.
2. Battery - I bought an extra battery. GoPro says 20 minutes ( every company over exaggerates this point) but when I start the drone and controller up it starts at 18:00. If it sits for a minute while I get ready it's down to 17:00. At 3 minutes it starts to return home. If I'm flying at a good rate, that 14 minutes is actually more like 12 of usable time. This was just not enough even with 2 batteries.
3. Horizon tilt - it was a constant issue for me. Even when I landed it and calibrated, it would still tilt, but only once and a while. Meaning every third shot would be noticibly off. I tried doing a reset by calibrating it on the grip but still experienced problems. Mostly if there was any wind.
4. -Drifting. I was doing a lot of flying over water, and while I never had it fall in, it would sometimes drift a few feet around which made me very uneasy when getting shots flying just a few feet over water
5. Size - the Mavic is just so much smaller. I'm a photographer and tried to fit the Karma (without props) in my camera backpack along with my camera and lenses and it just wasn't happening. It is possible, but considering the controller is large and the charger for the batteries etc, it just wasn't possible. This means that if I want to travel with it, I need to bring that backpack (side note the strap on the backpack broke a week into my ownership). Bottom line is that it's an extra bag no matter how you look at it, while the Mavic can fit anywhere.
Ok, so I realize that the Karma comes with the grip, which I loooved. Can't tell you how much I obsessed about gimbals before buying this and reallly enjoyed the grip. But this added piece was still not enough to sway me into keeping it. I really wanted to love the system. It's great, but the Karma drone is just not quite there yet. I got great footage, but I felt limited. When I wanted to get close to some mountains in the distance, it would turn around due to lost signal. I will miss being able to wirelessly download the footage to my iPad and edit right there.
Side note, and issue, the 4K on GoPro does not have the linear option, so if it's in 4K you're gonna have the fisheye effect. I'm sorry if you're excited about the Karma and reading this. It is still a great package for the money. I just felt a little limited with it. Here is a clip of some footage I shot.
Sounds like we are close to the same opinion actually - both great packages but DJI technology is several iterations ahead of Karma/GoPro - but that may be the best thing about Karma - it is very simple.... As I love Premier Pro and all it's ways to cheat reality I have little concern with the linear thing, I actually have fixed enough in post that I don't even worry about it much anymore... I have never edited on the fly - always go to a workststtion... we all have different workflows... it really is hard to make this a black and white issue. Go fly - that is what I say - anything - it is a blast
Totally agree. Not one perfect system for everyone. Depends on how you use it.
I got the new Karma about two weeks ago at Best Buy. I love it. I have several drones, Phantom 2 & 3, DJI Inspire 1, Blades 250 & 350, a 3DR Solo and a bunch of homebuilts.
Right now the Karma is my favorite photography drone, the controller is the best I've seen so far and the Karma is a complete package.
Everyone talks about the Karma not having collision avoidance. But if you watch the Phantom 4 and Mavic Pro crash compilations they all seem to run into trees. What good is collision avoidance if it cant detect trees which are a drones worst enemy.
