Hands On With GoPro's Karma Drone

The GoPro Karma drone has been a long time in the making. The company first teased a new line of 'multi-rotor helicopters' outfitted with high-definition cameras two years ago, and hinted that sales would begin in early 2016.

Then the Photokina 2016 unveiling happened. Thus, the world now knows the GoPro Karma is a concrete product.

Of course, it won't go on sale until October 23, which had been last week. At a launch event near Lake Tahoe, California, Nick Woodman, CEO of GoPro, offered some vaguely apologetic explanations for the drone's lengthy development. Based on PCMag's quick hands on, this is a drone that needs no apology.

Besides the fact that it's easy to fly, the GoPro Karma works with the GoPro Hero4, a camera that many outdoor enthusiasts already have in their backpacks. That enables a relatively low US$799 price tag, though pricier bundles with the new GoPro Hero5 Black cameras are also available.

The drone itself won't surprise you. It's a fairly ordinary quad-copter, though it does fold to fit in a backpack and has very bright lights that make it easy to identify against the deep blue Sierra Nevada sky.

Notably, the first thing about the GoPro Karma that makes you raise your eyebrows is the controller. Unlike the DJI Phantom 3, it has a built-in, 720p touch screen display, making for a flying experience that feels a bit like a videogame.

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To engage automatic take-off, you hold down the centre button until a countdown timer appears on the screen. After a few seconds, the rotors roar to life and the drone lifts off. The screen then switches to a livestream from the camera; you can adjust the gimbal using the left and right trigger buttons on the controller.

A nudge on the right joystick will free the GoPro Karma from hover mode and send it skyward at a deliberate pace. Even if you flick the joysticks to the stops, the drone responds slowly. This is good for the gusty mountain winds during the test flight, but might not be optimal for quick maneuvering in calm weather.

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I flew the drone for approximately four minutes, or 20% of its battery life. I never felt like I had to battle the strong winds nor did I have the opportunity to push the drone to its limits or modify the flight controls' responsiveness. During the entire flight, the video feed appeared smooth, with the camera set to record in 1080p at 60fps.

When it is time to land, you can either activate the 'return to home' feature, or manually guide the GoPro Karma to the ground. I opted to do the latter with assistance from an ever-watchful GoPro pilot.

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Incidentally, by the time the GoPro Karma ships, the GoPro Passenger app will be ready for download as well, allowing friends to connect to your GoPro Karma contoller, view the live video from the GoPro camera, and even control the camera's direction by adjusting the gimbal. The app makes a wireless connection directly to the controller, so video should appear as smooth as it is on the controller's screen.

Obviously, the app isn't ready for the test flight.

Interestingly, even as I handed over the controller, my GoPro Karma experience is not yet finished: the US$799 Karma base price includes the GoPro Karma grip, an accessory that I found to be essentially like a mini Steadicam. The fact that GoPro is including it with the drone is a bit puzzling, since it has nothing to do with flying. If you have a spare hand to film, though, it will make your on-the-ground action shots look so much better than if you rely solely on the camera's built-in image stabiliser.

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It would be tempting to have left Lake Tahoe convinced that GoPro Karma will be a worthy DJI competitor—the four-minute flight is nothing short of being very good. However, too much uncertainty remains: GoPro engineers are still putting the finishing touches on the GoPro Passenger app and it's unclear how the drone controller will handle some of the most advanced drone features, like autoflight, landing at a set home location, 4K video, and adjusting flight controls.

Still, it's clear that GoPro means business and at least two features—a palatable price and a household name—will work in the company's favor even if the GoPro Karma can't deliver on its promises.

New GoPro Lineup Appeals to Daredevils and Daytrippers

In the market for an action camera? GoPro has some new options ranging from $500 to just $129.

The company on Monday unveiled the Hero4, its highest-performance camera line ever. The Hero4 comes in two editions: the cream-of-the-crop Black version for $500 and a $400 Silver model, both of which will be available Oct. 5.

The Black edition delivers two times the performance of its predecessor, the two year-old Hero3. It can capture "cinema quality" 4K video at 30 frames per second, 2.7K video at 50fps, and 1080p video at 120fps, "virtually eliminating rolling shutter in most scenarios while allowing for time-bending slow motion effects." The Black Hero4 also features a new audio system that captures high-fidelity sound with twice the dynamic range of previous models.

Other enhancements include improved image quality, low-light performance, highlight moment tagging, and an improved user interface that offers easier access to key features and controls.

Hero4 silverThe silver model (right) features the same image quality as the black version, minus some of the higher performance video capture modes such as 4K30, 2.7K50, and 1080p120. It has a new built-in touch display for easier self-capture.

Meanwhile, if both of those models are a little too expensive, the company also on Monday debuted the Hero for $129. Described as the "perfect entry-level GoPro," the Hero features a rugged, waterproof housing and is capable of capturing 1080p video at 30fps and 720p video at 60fps.

"For the past 12 years, our passion has been to make it easy for people to self-capture jaw dropping, professional quality footage of themselves engaged in their favorite activities," GoPro founder and CEO, Nicholas Woodman, said in a statement. "That passion led us to embark on our most ambitious design and engineering effort ever, and the result is nothing short of the ultimate GoPro — the Hero4 Black. We can't wait to see what the world captures with it."

For more on the Hero4, check out the video below. Also see PCMag's full review of the Hero3 White Edition and 15 Crazy GoPro Stunt Videos You Must Watch.