GoPro's flat-folding Karma drone arrives in the skies

They updated the Hero and Sessions cams too to v.5

Price looks good and it's more compact than the DJI Phantoms although has fewer features. I've read to expect an announcement from DJI in the next few weeks regarding their latest models.
 
Looked on the UK site, price seems quite good. The system looks really good. I could not find any info to suggest that the system will lock on and follow you. I am sure that some drones can do that? Also the 20 mins flight time is not the best, unless I read it wrong!

Wayne
 
Such a natural fit for GoPro, if they've got it right, they know who all the potential customers are from the camera warranty information.
 
We will have to wait to somebody actually get's their hand on the new Karma to do a like for like comparison with the DJI, launch date October 23rd.
 
It appears it doesn't have a 'follow me' mode, which would be a deal-breaker, imho- if that's the case, I'd be surprised as many rivals offer it, and it's a very cool feature.
 
Love the idea but not sure if I would ever trust GoPro again. Not cheap and if anything goes wrong you have to throw it away a buy a new one.

Mine fell from less than 1m on dirt soil and since then had a red led on and wouldn't work anymore. Asked customer service in different countries and all said the same, can't and not fixing GoPros. After the 1 year warranty you get nothing.
 
A video of the Phantom 4 which shows that the "Object Avoidance Feature" does not always work as advertised for instance when it is flying backwards with the camera facing to the other side. In addition, if you choose the "Sport" mode when speeds can reach 45 miles per hour the "Object Avoidance Feature" does not work and this is mentioned in the manual.

Flying it in the "Beginner Mode" and the "Regular Mode" the "Object Avoidance Feature" works but not when you fly it backwards as shown in the following article by GIZMODO.

The-dji-phantom-4-is-the-best-drone-i-ve-ever-crashed


and for MastaMax here is what happened after GIZMODO crashed the DJI 4 (DJI does have a repair facility):

What-happened-after-I-destroyed-DJI's-beautiful-new-drone
 
At last something truly awesome:


I think the price is 999usd. Has auto-follow, obstacle avoidance, doesn't require a gopro and so on...
 
It's $1180 for the Pro version- I agree it looks better than the Karma- good find.
 
The deal breaker for many is the auto-follow feature. This was introduced in DJI's Phantom 4. This model appears to use the same technology. Have a search on YouTube of videos testing this feature and it looks very sketchy; at motorcycle speeds it becomes pretty unusable.

Extremely compact and light weight and from a company with a lot of experience in the drone market. I'd get one if I didn't already have the Airdog.
 
I've pre-ordered the Mavic pro direct from DJI, shipping is expected around mid next month, phantomthailand have a pre order going now for these 55k baht for the bundle which comes with back pack, extra set of props, 2 batteries, car charger, will post more on it when it arrives, been after something like this for a while now as all my current rigs are just too big to carry around with all the gear required so have done very little with them lately.
 
Very interested to hear your impressions and see some video- for LOS that's a great (and unexpected) price.

The drone will hit up to 40mph (a bit under 65kph) according to the promo video- there's no way it will keep up with a bike at speed on the road, but off-road would likely work well.
 
At last something truly awesome:


I think the price is 999usd. Has auto-follow, obstacle avoidance, doesn't require a gopro and so on...



now that really is compact with all the bells 'n whistles, what a corker!
 
Very interested to hear your impressions and see some video- for LOS that's a great (and unexpected) price.

The drone will hit up to 40mph (a bit under 65kph) according to the promo video- there's no way it will keep up with a bike at speed on the road, but off-road would likely work well.

I did some dodgy math. Drone v MotoGP bike from Chiang Mai to Pai (forget about the battery for a minute). Drone is having a Cheeseburger at Burger Queen and Valentino Rossi is still 18 minutes out.
 
Look's like the market is heating up on the drone front here is a video of the top 7 for 2017, some interesting options.

 
DJI's Mavic is currently hitting the sweet spot between convenience and quality due to its light weight and small, folding design. Watched a few videos comparing it with DJI's Phantom 4 and there's a deterioration in video quality at 4K. The Mavic footage is acceptable but looks noticeably softer than the Phantom 4 footage.

Update: There seems to be some controversy surrounding the soft footage posted on YouTube. Some vloggers are saying focus was incorrectly set to 'Infinity', others are suggesting the drones with soft footage are bad prototypes.
 
Now that y'all will be getting the latest drones. I'd be interested in any spare Phantom2 batteries if anyone wants to sell? 11.1Volt
 
Karma got horrible terrible reviews... Day and night difference with the DJI Mavic Pro who has the best reviews ever...

 
Perhaps an oops moment here??

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/8/13569730/gopro-karma-drone-recall-announced

21


[h=2]The $799 drone can randomly lose power during operation[/h]by Chris Welch Nov 8, 2016, 6:53pm EST




As most of the world focuses on the US presidential election tonight, GoPro just announced a recall of its first-ever drone, the $799 Karma. Approximately 2,500 Karma units sold since October 23rd (meaning all of them) are impacted. GoPro says "in a very small number of cases, Karma units lost power during operation." Thus far, there have been no reports of injuries or property damage because of the defect.
Recalled Karma drones can be returned to GoPro directly or wherever they were purchased originally for a full refund. For now, the company won't be offering any exchanges for a fixed model; you'll have to wait until shipments resume "as soon as the issue is resolved."
GoPro executives addressed production issues surrounding the Karma during last week's earnings call, but didn't mention any plans for a recall or the power issue at the time. "We are working in close coordination with both the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Aviation Administration," said CEO Nick Woodman in a statement from tonight's press release. "We are very sorry to have inconvenienced our customers and we are taking every step to make the return and refund process as easy as possible."
The recall is a significant setback for GoPro as it attempts to challenge leader DJI in the drone business, and it follows a bruising financial quarter for the action cam maker.




[h=3]MORE FROM THE VERGE[/h]

 
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