GoPro Drone "Karma" coming out Monday 9.19.16

[Volffas]

Here is a teaser video released today. It will be interesting to see what this thing has in store.

 

[OCMD]

Guaranteed it will be way overpriced.....

 

[Volffas]

Today was the big day! They also introduced the Hero 5, which honestly looks like the best GoPro yet. I love that it is waterproof without a case, AND has the screen to see what you are taking pictures of or video taping.

The quadcopter is pretty bad ass too, with replaceable arms and landing gear so you don't have to be terrified of crashing.

Hero 5 Black info; http://shop.gopro.com/cameras/hero5-black/CHDHX-501-master.html

GoPro Karma quadcopter; http://shop.gopro.com/karma

 

[Volffas]

Guaranteed it will be way overpriced.....

Surprisingly not too bad at $799. Add a new Hero 5 Black at $399 and you are at $1,200 which is the same as the DJI Phantom 4, but you get a removable 3 axis gimbal and the waterproof camera.

 

[Ronnie]

I'm on the fence about the drone. It's not available until October 23rd and I don't know much about it yet but it is not a true follow me drone like the air dog or lily and doesn't come with a camera. The price with a gp4 or session is $999 and with a gp5 is $1099 according to cnet. For that kind of money I'd pass on the hand held stabilizer and go with a phantom 3 or a new yuncee set up with heli, controller, camera and handheld stabilizer.

 

[ToddW850]

Surprisingly not too bad at $799. Add a new Hero 5 Black at $399 and you are at $1,200 which is the same as the DJI Phantom 4, but you get a removable 3 axis gimbal and the waterproof camera.

WHOA! Certainly way cheaper than I was expecting!

ADDED: Just checked the links out. I'm pretty impressed by both. Very intrigued.

 

[Volffas]

I'm on the fence about the drone. It's not available until October 23rd and I don't know much about it yet but it is lot a true follow me drone like the air dog or lily and doesn't come with a camera. The price with a gp4 or session is $999 and with a gp5 is $1099 according to cnet. For that kind of money I'd pass on the hand held stabilizer and go with a phantom 3 or a new yuncee set up with heli, controller, camera and handheld stabilizer.

I don't know. Having the Hero 5 black and the stabilizer would be awesome for the boat. The only drawbacks to this compared to the Phantom 3 or 4 would be the vision positioning sensors and the lightbridge technology. If this thing had sensors and a 3 mile range, it would kill the Phantom 4. But since the Phantom 3 and 4 cameras are attached to the quad, the removable Hero and stabilizer might make up for the lack of range and position sensors.

Also, I like the GoPro Karma remote with the built in "tv" and the ability to share the picture with friends and let them control the camera from their smartphone. I really like the fact that the camera is in front of the props, keeping the props out of the picture at all times.

 

[Volffas]

Here's a pretty good video showing the finer points of "Karma"

 

[haknslash]

Love the drone being compact and the removable gimbal is huge bonus. Hate the name though. Price is not bad. I'd buy it over a phantom just because of the gimbal setup being removable and I like how it's mounted out front away from the blades getting on camera view.

 

[Julian]

I thought the gimbal on a Phantom was removable.....but guess not?

 

[Big Shasta]

I thought the gimbal on a Phantom was removable.....but guess not?

Not on my phantom 3 pro. Not sure about he 4 but I don't think so.

This is badass. I'm surprised at some of the features for the money. Return to home, built in touch screen handheld gimble....They nailed it with the price.

I NEED one.

 

[Volffas]

I thought the gimbal on a Phantom was removable.....but guess not?

The camera on the DJI Inspire is removable and you can buy a handheld gimbal for it, but the Inspire is $2,000 and the handheld gimbal (called Osmo) is an extra $569.

 

[Ronnie]

Yuncee we offers two similar all inclusive systems with removable cameras and hand held gimbals but dji is limited to the inspire hand held combo which can't be used with the phantom camera but may work with a gopro and/ or smart phone.

If you don't already have a drone or a hand held gimbal the karma is a nice package IMHO. However if you have a drone like a p2v3 or newer it would be less expensive to buy a hand held gimbal especially if you don't already also have a go pro camera.

Feature wise the go pro system isn't offering consumers any new features not already available in other systems. It's nice that new GoPro 5 camera is water resistant without a case but as I understand it the copter itself is still prone to water intrusion and it doesn't float. Couple this with the fact that as far as I know it doesn't have follow me or tracking features and that I'm not in the market for a hand held gimbal keeps this system off of my wish list.

 

[biffdotorg]

The fact that they introduced it at a fair price is admitting a couple things, they were not out to be better than some of the other offerings. And they know folks may be scared to buy a first offering by a non-drone OEM in the past.

So that being said, they are out to grab any of the fence sitters that wanted a drone, but may not have done so. For all those GoPro4 and GoPro5 owners, this is the logical solution as it gives them, the drone, case, gimbal/handle for $799. Heck a handheld gimbal alone is $350-$500. For those without the GoPro, the upgrade price with Session 5 or Hero 5 Black is still shaves $100 off the price of the camera.

For those that have not used a handheld gimbal, it is an amazing tool. And GoPro designed their gimbal to be used with the Gopro mounts so that it can be converted to a wearable gimbal as well. This gives a person the steady shot while backpack or helmet mounted. It's an amazing deal.

So as said, it won't crush the competition already out there, but it will gather market share quickly for those that have yet to purchase. It's a name they know, and it offers very cool things like the handheld gimbal that many have not justified purchasing in the past.

On a similar note, Hero 5 black with voice control is super sweet. Not much for spec changes over the Hero 4 black, but enough to get people to drop cash. And at $399, they will sell like crazy. As I had mentioned in the bargains thread, I just replaced my Hero 3+Black with a new Hero 4 Black at Sams club. Bundled with 2 batteries, external charger, SD card, floaty stick and floaty back door for $379 was an amazing price (before yesterday) I'm happy as it fits in my Zenmuse Gimbal, so let the 1080/120fps and 4k madness begin!!!

 

[Ronnie]

Good analysis @biffdotorg . I was against this at first but just remembered that I get a killer discount off of GoPro products through my job so maybe ....

 

[Big Shasta]

Good analysis @biffdotorg . I was against this at first but just remembered that I get a killer discount off of GoPro products through my job so maybe ....

HaHa...You crack me up with the change of heart....how many drones will this one make in your arsenal? Let us know how it works...

 

[Ronnie]

@Big Shasta , I'm still on the fence. My lily follow me drone is supposed to be delivered in December, if it works as advertised it will be the last drone I buy. Besides, The discount should apply to the hand held gimbal as a stand alone item as well as the karma system but I really don't need any gopro products right now, just thinking of replacing my gp3 with a heavily discounted session because all my batteries are dying and it is no longer worth buying new ones for it. If I buy the karma it would make three flying cameras for me excluding the Lily and a broken p1 I have lying around. In retrospect that is way too many considering the little use any of them have had over the past summer.

Now to retract this. I agree with @biffdotorg . That is if you are just getting into arial photography / videography the karma system may be for you. If you are reluctant because go pro is new to the drone market check out what Yuncee has to offer.

 

[biffdotorg]

Ronnie, I am still having a tough time swallowing that Lilly offering. I still swear to this day, they made those teaser videos just to advertise their technology in hopes of being acquired by Go Pro or DJI for their tech.

And since they first announced pre-orders, both GoPro and DJI have introduced new products and DJI has introduced multiple products with similar technology. I do believe Lilly may be dead. Who knows.

No on the flip side, if all you want the Lilly for is follow me, I would start teaching those kids of yours the art of flying a drone. I keep telling myself that I need a "follow me" drone as well. But I have neighbor kids and my own daughter that I could teach to fly it when "I" am doing the cool stuff. For all the years I have been filming, it has never really been about me, but I wanted it to be. HA!

We may be doomed to be the guys behind the camera.

 

[Ronnie]

I hear you @biffdotorg , on all points. I don't think the lily is dead. They are based near me in sf and I get email updates every few weeks. The last one came with links to tester's videos and a delivery schedule. By Jan. 1st I should have mine which if true would only represent a delay of 6 months from the original ship target date. My son can fly the drone but to date hasn't shown much interest in doing so, especially over the water.

 

[ToddW850]

Several times I had gone to the local Best Buy, or Amazon online, and selected the DJI Phantom, only to put it back down and not buy it. The price was the main reason. But this new GoPro Karma? I like everything about it....with exception to the name. Karma? What tha? Anyway, I would buy one of these in a heartbeat for the price and features.