Holy Stone recently launched an upgraded version of its popular HS200 quadcopter (See Price). The Holy Stone HS200D (See Price) is the latest drone to include significant upgrades that make it a serious contender for beginners who are looking to have a mid-sized quadcopter. Whether you are looking for the best drones with an HD camera or a simple toy quadcopter to start with. In my Holy Stone HS200D review, I will tell you all about this drone.
Like every shopper, the first thing that comes to your mind is the durability and ease of use. After all, nobody wants to fly a drone that is hard to control, right? Read our Holy Stone HS200D review to find out more. Now, we are going to dive into the details, starting with the design and appearance of this little black quadcopter.
Design and Appearance
One of the main features that sets the Holy Stone HS200D drone apart from its contenders is the design and appearance. The HS200D drone comes in two colors that contrast from each other: black and white. Though, our impression of the way it is designed to be aerodynamic. As you can see, the body is built with a smooth curve that focuses on negating the air drag and maximizing speed.
Furthermore, it is outfitted with landing legs to soften the impact when it lands. Not only they make a great support module, but it also helps keeps the camera protected and away from the ground. Because of these tiny particles can easily get onto the camera lens. The landing pads help prevent that by increasing the height of the drone’s body. Which is why we think it is a smart move on Holy Stone’s part.
The package also comes with propeller guards that you can easily install onto. For the first time flyers and beginners, I highly recommend using the guards. Since you will likely crash on the first few flights before you master the controls. Once you have acquired piloting skills, you can choose to keep or remove the guards.
Lastly, the LED lights are located on the front as well around the motor arms. This is an essential feature meant to provide support for visual positioning during day and night flight operations. It also makes a nice show on the night thanks to a colorful style. Your flight doesn’t have to stop when it gets too dark.
Camera Quality
The Holy Stone HS200D takes advantage of its impressive camera quality. Thanks to the upgrades, the HS200D has received optimized 720p HD that ensures smooth live video feed over great distance using the Wi-Fi signal. This means the FPV Mode is much more reliable and streams the video smoother. Using a 2 million pixels (2MP) camera, the drone can capture stills and videos on 720p High-Definition resolution.
The quality of the camera gives a great opportunity for those who are looking to develop their aerial photography skill. We strongly recommend that everyone who is looking to become an aerial photographer but has no experience with drones to check out affordably priced quadcopters before splurging on a high-end model such as Phantom 4 Pro (See Price), Mavic Air (See Price) or Mavic Pro (See Price).
The camera mounted on the HS200D is adjustable. But it only can be adjusted manually as there is no option to do so remotely. Lastly, the camera lens is wide enough to pick up a lot of objects within a small screen. Which makes it very easy to capture interesting things while recording the videos! However, with that quality, Holy Stone HS200D brings to the table. That puts this little quadcopter in direct contender with more modern and inexpensive drones especially the X12 Drone (See Price) and IN 1802 Drone (See Price).
Performance and Features
In this part of the Holy Stone HS200D review, I will talk about features and performance. Starting with features first, the HS200D drone is packed with a lot of cool stuff! Without using the app on your smartphone, the drone can perform a 360-degree flip. It also comes with headless mode and altitude hold mode. The Headless mode is a beginner-friendly feature that switches the control orientation from drone to the movement of the lever.
The altitude hold function is also another user-friendly feature that helps stabilizes the drone’s height. This allows beginners and first-time flyers to focus more on the movement than worrying about height. There is an option to disable the altitude hold mode if you choose to challenge yourself.
Along with these features, there are 3-speed modes that provide a smooth learning curve. On default, the HS200 drone will fly on the lowest speed setting. Thus, beginners can learn the basics of controls. However, when it comes to flying the drone outdoor. We highly recommend that you fly on a high-speed setting for the best performance against windy weather conditions. A single battery gives you 10 minutes of flight time, which isn’t too bad. With an app on your smartphone, you will gain access to additional features like capture stills, record videos and an advanced tool such as Gravity Sensor mode.
There are at least three ways to fly this drone: Remote Controller, Virtual Controls and Gravity Sensor that lets the pilots choose their favorite flight method. Performance-wise, the HS200D is incredibly stable and flies with grace. Thanks to its built-in 6 axis gyro stabilization system, it ensures precise and smooth flight experience even a first-timer can fly like professional in a matter of hours!
Customer Experience
The Holy Stone HS200D has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 in Amazon, with 77% of which are five-star ratings. Most of the positive reviews commend the drone and consider it one of the best drones for beginner drone pilots. Thanks to its altitude hold feature, you can focus on learning how to navigate the drone through low altitude quads before moving higher. Other favorite features pointed out by the reviewers are the headless mode, WiFi FPV, HD cam, and the battery. Overall if you’re in the lookout of affordable drones best for starter drone pilots, the HS200D is a must in your list.
Final Thoughts on Holy Stone HS200D
Based on our Holy Stone HS200D review, we think this is a great quadcopter. Holy Stone is well known for making exceptional drones like HS150 Bolt Bee (See Price) and HS210 Rogue (See Price). The HS200D is no exception hence it has received much positive feedback from the customers who bought it. With speed, performance, and durability that HS200D brings to the table. It has shown its potential to be an excellent choice for beginners and first-timer. You can grab this little black drone just for under $200.