Holy Stone HS200 Review – Fantastic Drone For Beginners

Are you looking for a beginner friendly drone? Holy Stone is one of the leaders when it comes to drones that are beginner friendly and in this review of the Holy Stone HS200 you will see just why they have this reputation. When you are looking for a drone to casually fly around, you don’t want something to expensive, but you do want it to have good features, flies well, can withstand the occasional bumps and looks good. The Holy Stone HS200 ticks all those boxes.

Holy Stone HS200 Review

The first thing you will notice about the Holy Stone HS200 is that it is well-designed, it looks like a modern consumer drone and comes in two colours, red and black. I personally prefer the red, but the black version looks cool as well.

The drone isn’t very big and measures 12.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 Inches, it has propeller protectors that will minimise any damage that may occur if you crash it, and if you are a beginner, that that will most likely happen.

It comes with a pair if landing legs that will help when trying to land your drone safely and as the camera is situated on the belly of the drone, the landing legs will also protect the camera from any damage. The HS200 also comes with some cool LED lights that will make it easier to fly during the night and it makes for a nice visual.

The remote control I am not a huge fan of, although the drone looks very modern, the remote control looks like it was pulled out of time and into the modern age, seriously it looks like a 90’s RC. However, its easy to use and the controls are all within reach, however, if you do not like using the remote control, the Holy Stone HS200 can also be controlled via your smartphone.

You just need to download the app from Google Play or the Apple App store and sync it up with your drone and you are ready to go. I actually prefer using the smartphone to control the drone, its much easier and gives you more control.

Holy Stone HS200 Features

Now, you may assume that a drone that comes in under $100 may not have a lot of features, however, the HS200 comes with a lot of advanced features that actually make it a bargain for what you pay for it.

Camera

Like all drone enthusiasts, I always make sure the drone comes with high-quality camera, now because the HS200 is relatively cheap, I wasn’t expecting a camera that would win you photography awards, but the overall quality of the camera did surprise me.

The camera is placed on the belly of the drone, it’s can record HD 720p videos and take still images in 2 MP. The still images were not the great but the video recording was of really high quality. You can also live stream video footage straight to your mobile device, this is one of the beat features of this drone.

This is one of the reasons I am a huge fan of drones as well, you are able to experience the world from above without having to get on a plane or helicopter. Seeing the world from above is really something and the Holy Stone HS200 lets you do this with its camera and FPV capability.

You should be aware that the video transmission range is only 50m, so would have to keep the drone within that distance to stream live video footage.

Altitude Hold

One toughest aspects to flying a drone especially for beginners is keeping it still in mid-air to take images and videos, however, with a feature like altitude hold, it makes it easier to hover. This will allow you to take quality images that have little distortion. Altitude hold can be turned off when you start getting more experienced and feel have the skills to hover without any assistance.

Headless Mode

This is another beginner friendly feature, with headless mode, the pilot will not have to worry about the orientation of drone during flight. Without headless mode, it’s difficult to determine the head and tail of a drone and thus difficult to know which the drone will go during flight, this could be dangerous, especially for beginners.

Gravity Sensor

This only works when you are flying the drone with your smartphone, it’s a really cool feature that allows you to control the drone through the movements of your hand.

Other Features

The drone comes with a one-key return feature, this means that the drone will return to where you are at the push of a button. This is a good feature that will make it less likely to lose your drone in mid-flight, it will also help if you somehow lose control of the drone, you can just push the return button and it will automatically come back.

There are 4 different speed modes, if you are beginner, the lowest setting is the most suitable as it will be easier to control. As you get more confident in flying, you can try the different settings and start to test your skill level.

The drone can also do some cool flips at the push of a button, this is a cool feature that you can impress family and friends with. As with all budget friendly drones, flight time isn’t the greatest, this is one they could all improve on.

The Holy Stone HS200 has a flight time of around 9 minutes, which is never enough time to fly a drone. This is why I always advise people to buy extra batteries when purchasing any kind of drone, it could a budget drone like this one or a more sophisticated drone like the Phantom 4 Pro.

Whatever kind of drone you purchase, the flight times on one battery charge will never be enough. Speaking of batteries, the HS200 comes with 1 3.7V Li-Po battery that takes around an hour to charge. These batteries can be purchased from Amazon and eBay, their costs vary, but they are not very expensive.

Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a beginner friendly drone, the Holy Stone HS200 is a great choice. Its easy to fly, comes with some really neat features and is durable enough to take the occasional bumps. If you want more choices, check out my list of the best drones for beginners.