Amazon.com Attention drone enthusiasts! Holy Stone, a Chinese drone manufacturer recently introduced a brand new product in the town that is worth checking out. Introducing the Holy Stone HS700 Ophelia drone, officially a flagship of the brand and the latest move into the consumer market. So, what is the HS700 Ophelia drone review really about? There is a lot of buzz going on with how amazing this drone is, we decided to research on it.
The purpose of our in-depth Holy Stone HS700 Ophelia drone review is to help new and aspiring drone pilots like you make an informed decision. Through researching the drone’s build details and sifting the feedback. We have gathered all the information in one spot that you can get from our Holy Stone HS700 Ophelia drone review. Sit and read to find out if this action camera drone is the perfect quadcopter for you.
HS700 Ophelia Drone Review
My favorite part about the HS700 Ophelia drone is the review… itself! First and foremost we need to talk about the package that the drone comes with. As all of us want to know what is inside the box. Fortunately, I have made it easy and straightforward that you can know what the HS700 Ophelia drone comes with. Check out the package and see all the parts included in the box below:
- HS700 FPV Ophelia Drone
- Remote Controller
- 1 Intelligent Flight Battery
- Battery Charger
- USB Charger
- Propeller Spanner
- Screwdriver
- A set of propellers
- Mount Holder
- User Manual
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Exceptional Build
On the first impression, the HS700 Ophelia drone brings a completely new design that features improvements. This drone is crafted with thick ABS plastic that makes it incredible resilience and impact resistance. It has a total weight of 3.94 pounds which makes it an incredible drone for outdoor flying activity. But, because it weighs more than 0.55 lbs, it is required that you register this drone with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Brushless Motors
One of the most important design aspects of the Holy Stone HS700 Ophelia drone is the quality of motors. This quadcopter uses powerful 2204 1500KV brushless motors that eliminate friction to achieve higher rotation per minute (RPM) for faster-flying speed and maximum performance. It is slightly more expensive compared to brushed motors, but the quality of brushless motors that the HS700 Ophelia drone uses provides the best flying experience and low maintenance cost.
Not only that makes the drone overall a popular choice for beginners and experienced remote pilots. These brushless motors deliver the performance more effectively at reduced power. Which means more performance and longer flying time. It is the ultimate dream for any drone pilots who want to be able to enjoy flying the drones without having to recharge frequently.
Modularized and Powerful Battery
Let’s not forget the fact that the HS700 Ophelia drone uses an incredibly powerful battery packed with 2800mAh capacity of Li-Po juice inside. Each battery provides approximately 20 minutes of flight time which is amazing because it lets you fly the drone without having to land often, a common issue with toy-grade drones such as the Bolt Bee and Shadow drone.
However, if you do enjoy flying the drone a lot and want to extend the flight sessions. You can order extra batteries here. We recommended you to buy at least two or three additional batteries which should give you at least an hour of flying time. Also, we encourage you to store these batteries at room temperature for the best charging time.
Quick Release Propellers
The Holy Stone HS700 Ophelia drone brings the latest innovative technology featuring quick-release propellers. They are commonly found on more advanced drones such as the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro for instance. But for once, I welcome the change of the quick-release propeller technology on this drone.
This feature makes it easy for you to remove and install the propellers using your hands only. Not just only that, the quick-release technology goes gentle on the motors which are a major advantaged over cheap toy-grade drones. A smart design move from Holy Stone introducing brand new intelligent action camera drone for beginners and kids.
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Flight Performance
One of the major features HS700 Ophelia drone has in the store for beginners and first-time flyers are built-in intelligent flight modes. Thanks to the integration of GPS mode, the drone can detect and use up to 19 satellites for smooth and stable flight movement. Because it uses GPS / GLONASS to maintain its flight position, flying the drone in intelligent mode is possible. You can perform various modes such as Follow Me, WayPoint and even Point of Interest. This allows the remote pilots choices how they want to produce their aerial footage.
However, keep it in your mind that HS700 Ophelia drone doesn’t come with a speed mode feature. Which is a little disappointing because popular drones like Mavic Pro 2 (See Price) and Phantom 4 Pro (See Price) comes with speed modes (aka sports mode). Needless to say, the drone comes with a beginner protection feature which limits to 50 meters radius and 30 meters altitude. But you can disable beginner mode via using a smartphone app once you feel comfortable with the controls.
The HS700 Ophelia drone responds to the controls quickly and with precision. There are not a lot of wrong things with this drone. However, if there were some things that I would change for this drone. It would be the fact that the camera needs to use 3-Axis Gimbal for smooth aerial footage so that it doesn’t tilt with the drone. Secondly, the obstacle avoidance detection system is a must. Since this quadcopter is so advanced, it would be a nice addition to flight navigation safety by installing an obstacle avoidance detection system to this drone. Other than that, it is a superb drone. You can check the HS700 Ophelia drone review video below to see how to assemble and learn all the functions that it is capable performing of.
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Remote Controller
In this next part of the HS700 Ophelia drone review, I will talk about the remote controller and its features. This remote controller comes with a mount holder that you can easily mount your smartphone. Like most of the modern drones such as Potensic T18 (See Price) and X12 Drone (See Price). The remote controller comes with a nice inscription on it that makes it very easy to learn for beginners and first-time flyers.
The HS700 remote controller is ergonomically designed to make you look truly like a professional remote pilot. Even though, it is bulky. But do not be scared by its size because the remote controller is very easy to understand. Plus it uses 5GHz Live video transmission for a smooth and responsive FPV mode. With this remote controller, the drone has a control range up to 3280 feet which is approximately 0.5 miles.
Unlike most of the drones that come with a remote controller. The HS700 Ophelia drone remote controller comes with a built-in battery that lasts for a good few hours. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to use store-bought batteries. With all the intelligent flight modes, features and precise controls on your fingertips. You can rest at ease knowing you will be able to pilot around an advanced quadcopter while looking like a professional remote pilot.
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Camera Quality
The HS700 Ophelia drone review isn’t completed without talking about the camera quality. This advanced GPS drone is equipped with a very powerful camera capable of recording videos at 1080p / 60 FPS. The camera lens has a field of view up to 110-degrees wide that gives the videos and stills a fish-eye appearance.
It is especially very important to note that HS700 Ophelia is equipped with upgraded transmission using 5G for better image quality on your smartphone. Compared to other drones that use 2.4G frequency like IN 1802 Drone and X12 Drone, this lighting fast frequency means you can view the video in the first person without having to rely too much on visual positioning.
Although, it is important to keep it in your mind that this GPS drone doesn’t have a gimbal camera. Which means when you are flying the drone and make a movement that tilts it. The camera will tilt along with the inconvenient drone movement.
Regardless, the HS700 Ophelia is packed with quite an impressive quality action camera. Plus, you can choose to replace the camera with any action camera of your choice. If you have GoPro HERO4 or HERO5, they will work with the HS700 action camera mount bracket.
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Intelligent Flight Modes
Finally, intelligent flight modes are the most important part of the HS700 Ophelia review. As I mentioned previously that this smart camera drone is equipped with a GPS module that enables precise flight controls and stable hovering positioning. The GPS module also gives the HS700 Ophelia the capabilities to fly intelligently independently without having you control the drone.
There are at least three different intelligent flight modes that you can choose from. For travelers and beginners who want to have a drone making videos of your solo journey. You can select intelligent flight mode via app and press Follow Me. From that point, you need to select yourself or a moving object as the subject which will command the drone to follow with a reasonable safe distance.
The second intelligent flight mode is making your custom flight paths. Ever watched videos taken by popular and professional-grade camera drones such as the Mavic Air and Phantom 4 Pro? They use custom waypoint mode to pinpoint the location then have the camera pointed in that direction. It is possible to do with the HS700 Ophelia and especially if you mount a 4K action camera such as the GoPro HERO6.
The third intelligent flight mode is Orbit Mode or commonly called Point of Interest. All you need to do is select an object as you would do for the Follow Me mode. Target that and set a certain distance. Once you are satisfied with the distance, activate the Orbit mode and it will create a 360-degree video of the object that you want to take of. It makes a nice, simple and engaging clips for your content to share with friends and families.
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Customer Experience
Beginner drone enthusiasts surely love the Holy Stone HS700D. In Amazon, it has an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. 70% of its reviewers have given it a 5-star rating. According to one reviewer, the packaging has great images and useful information about the drone. The drone was well packaged. Though it required minor assembly, they were fine with it. Once they flew the drone, they loved how easy it was to pilot and fly, especially for newbie drone fliers. For its price tag, they highly recommended it and weren’t disappointed with their purchase at all.
Final Conclusion of HS700 Ophelia Drone Review
The HS700 Ophelia drone is packed with features and professional appearance. While it weighs 3.94 pounds which is hefty at its price tag. It is highly recommended that you register your drone with the Federal Aviation Administration. Aside from its weight, this is a high-quality drone made for perfect aerial photography and taking clean, sharp 1080p HD footage. Thanks to its built-in weight, it can easily hit a maximum speed of 25 km/h upwind and 60 km/h downwind.
In addition to that, the HS700 Ophelia drone is equipped with the latest features and technology. Most importantly, it uses GPS/GLONASS that makes it incredibly stable and easy to fly for beginners to start with. It incorporates many intelligent flight features like One Key Return home that automatically tells the drone to go up 100 feet and return to the landing point. Thus, removing all the fears about losing your drone.
Overall, I think the HS700 Ophelia drone has to be one of the best flagships that the Holy Stone ever made and a great option for a drone under $300. It does live up to their claim about HS700 being the company’s flagship. This drone is available to buy on several retails, but the best deal you can buy here. Furthermore, you can check out the Alpine White edition of HS700 Ophelia that was launched a few months ago. If you have any inquiries or questions about this drone. Please feel free to drop in a comment below. Have fun and happy flying!
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