Holy Stone HS600 2-Axis Gimbal GPS Drones with 4K EIS Camera, Integrated Remote ID, 56-Min Flight Time, 10000FT Transmission, Brushless Motors, Auto Return, Level-6 Wind Resistance, Unavailable in GE

Purchased my HS600 and could not be happier…loaded with features and capabilities. Especially like the fly to point mode, lets me focus on the shot and the drone flies itself! Steady video feed & image capture makes the end product video very useful. Instruction manual is easy to follow, plus the app startup coaches you thru ready for flight step by step. I fly a drone for my department and after much research decided to purchase the Holy Stone for my personal use; plan to use with my Part 107 work.

It is value for money and fun to fly

Just received my HS600 and have completed my first flight! This is my first quadcopter drone, and it is very easy to fly. I read through the instruction booklet (well written and very easy to understand) and watched the intro videos provided by Holy Stone and others on YouTube. I had no problem flying it around the park and taking pictures and videos on my very first flight!

What do you need to get started? No charger is included so you’ll need a USB charger capable of 5V 3.0A (15W). All the charging ports on the batteries and transmitter are USB-C. The kit comes with two short USB-A to USB-C cables. I used a two-port charger (45 W) that provided two USB-C ports and two high quality (5A capable) USB-C to USB-C cables to charge the two batteries (about 4 hours) and then the transmitter (about 2 hours). You’ll also want to get a 128 GB MicroSD card. (The documentation refers to a “TF Card” but that’s just another name for MicroSD. Be sure to get one that is rated at least U1. I’m using a U3 card which is fine. Do not get a card larger than 128 GB as the drone cannot utilize anything larger than that.

I used my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with its Torras case. This is one of the larger phones and it fits into the transmitter’s phone holder without a problem.

This drone is heavy, 557 grams according to my scale, so you’ll need to register it with the FAA before flying. This is done online at faadronezone-access.faa.gov and is very easy to do. You will need the drone’s Remote ID serial number which you’ll find on a sticker on the side of the drone’s body. There’s a $5 charge. Once you have the registration number create a label and affix it to the HS600 body.

The drone is very stable in the air not only because of its excellent GPS and software, but also because it is heavier than other drone “toys”. It is capable of handling wind speeds up to about 25 to 31MPH. Hopefully you’ll never need to test that! But being able to handle such winds will come in handy at the beach or in the mountains. You’ll find that the drone is very stable in the winds and gusts that you’ll typically fly in. An option within the App permits images to be captured at 4000 by 3000 pixels, an advantage as it permits you to crop the captured images afterwards to get exactly the shot you want. Video may be set to 2.7K at 30 fps or 4K at 20fps. The 5x zoom is very useful. The two-axis gimbal helps deliver very smooth and steady cinematic video.

As a beginner I really liked the return-to-home and auto-land features. There are several other automatic features making this a very intelligent camera platform. All around it is a very solid performing drone, very well built, and an excellent beginner’s drone. The only drawback is that this drone does not provide any obstacle avoidance, although it does provide an altitude ceiling and a radius distance fence. Its many advanced features will enable this drone to continue to be a favorite as you advance from novice to advanced piloting.