For our Holy Stone HS-200 review, we purchased the drone ourselves, stripping our opinion of as much bias as possible. We have been impressed with Holy Stone products thus far. Check out our Holy Stone HS-160 review here. We feel they make a durable product and combined it with efficient customer service. Be wary of drone manufacturers when making a purchase; it’s important to buy from a company with a solid reputation like Holy Stone. Who knows what problems you might have with your drone? They do break and they do have issues. When the time comes to resolve them, some makers might not care if your drone is broken; they already made a sale when you bought it. When we compile our reviews we look across the internet to see what users have to say about a product and the company who supplies it. Overall, the feedback on Amazon.com for Holy Stone is very positive, telling us right away that we likely have a solid product in our hands. Enough with the introductions, let’s cover the Holy Stone HS-200.
Design 4.5
Performance 4.5
Reliability 4.0
Affordability 4.5
We gave the Holy Stone HS-200 a respectable 4.4. We found the drones design and added features to be very adequate. The extra contents found with the drone really impressed us. Whether a beginner or intermediate drone pilot, the HS-200 offers quite a nice package for a $99 dollar price tag. As described in the reading below, much of the drone worked great, and overall we recommend the HS-200 purchase when shopping for a hobbyist drone. We, unfortunately, experienced a problem with the connection between the drone and our smartphone after about 30 seconds of recording or use. Had the connectivity of our system worked a bit more reliably, the DroneScore for the HS-200 may have been slightly higher. Based on the reviews from Amazon and other vendors, it’s likely our particular drone had a malfunction and not customary to all HS-200s on the market.
We want to note that we also purchased and recommend the Holy Stone multiple battery charger sold here. It turned out convenient for us because it charges different sized batteries off one main charging hub. It not only helps keep batteries from getting lost while they are attached, having four batteries drastically decreases the time the drone has to wait for a recharge. Not to mention, different drones can be recharged on one charging station.
Below are the contents of the HS-200 package, as well as its basic specs.
The quadcopter seemed fun to fly right out of the packaging. The decals and shape remind us of an RC race car with wings. The drone looks more like a futuristic spaceship then not, and with color options of sleek black or bright red, the HS-200 is sure to attract the attention of anyone close by. The HS-200 is made from ABS plastic, making it a more resilient drone then many of its competitors in the hobbyist drone class. So while there are cheaper drones with many of the same features available, Holy Stone wanted to make this drone survive more hard crashes. We at DroneScores really appreciate the effort, as we manage to wreck a drone from time to time.
While not foldable or very compact, the 8 by 8 inch body of the HS-200 seemed sturdy and lightweight once out of the box. The remote seemed to be adequate for this hobbyist drone providing all the one-touch buttons and adjustments needed for a safe flight. The box also included an extra battery and charging cable. We appreciated the included prop guards which make flying a bit safer, especially indoors. What really impressed us was the little extras Holy Stone threw in on the HS-200. The extra supplies bag was a nice touch, along with a paper stationary binder for notes, as well as the contact information for the various Holy Stone Offices around the world. Holy Stone didn’t stop there either. The most functional addition to the HS-200’s package was the four gig micro SD card, something not found very often in a hobbyist drone package. Also included, a micro SD to USB reader. We at DroneScores really appreciated those little extras. Once the first battery was charged and installed, we didn’t have to search for a micro SD card from one of our other drones. Instead, we simply connected our Android smartphone to the HS-200’s 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network and started recording immediately, what a nice touch! The rest of the contents were handy but also pretty standard on most of drones sold today. The drone also came with removable landing legs. We highly recommend using them. If not properly installed, the drone’s 720p HD camera is the lowest point of the craft, making it susceptible to being damaged during a landing or a crash.
One of the real selling points of this drone is the added additions to its packaging. Which is why, even if it’s a bit more money than comparable drones, the inclusion of an SD card and parts carrying case make it a better buy at a higher price than a drone with items that have to be purchased separately.
The Holy Stone is a great drone for the first time beginner or an intermediate. For under 100 dollars it delivers a tough exterior with some standard features in the hobbyist drone class. We found it to be a little large for most indoor flight, especially compared to Holy Stone’s HS-160, which we reviewed here. Therefore, we recommend the UAS pilot do most HS-200 flying outdoors. As with most hobbyist drones, wind is an enemy at best, and can be a drone destroyer at its worst. Waiting for ideal weather with very little wind is advised. Although a person can fly the HS-200 in a fairly strong wind, it’s risky to the drone and other property as it can become easily lost or damaged.
As with other Holy Stone drones we’ve tested, the HS-200 comes equipped with four features we like to touch on, altitude hold, one key return, multiple speeds, and headless mode. All four can help a drone pilot of any skill level. When used appropriately, these four can help a new pilot safely fly a drone with a lower likelihood of property damage or loss.
Altitude hold or hover-enable is probably the single most important feature added to small drones in the last five years. Without it, a flier must constantly adjust the throttle control stick in an attempt to hold the same attitude and altitude. With the HS-200, that struggle is a thing of the past. As we normally do, DroneScores suggests every drone purchase should include an altitude hold function. It allows for a less experienced or slightly younger UAS pilot to make a complete drone flight successfully.
The one-key return is also nice when the purchaser isn’t all that experienced with flying their new drone. As the name implies, once pressed, the drone will continue to fly backwards in the direction the tail faced when initially paired to the remote control. The pilot must then give an input and the drone will stop its return flight. We don’t find this feature very useful once a drone pilot has a bit of experience, but it’s nice knowing that it can be used if needed, especially if the drone flies out of sight. The HS-200 pilot should also note that the drone doesn’t have any obstacle avoidance. If the return key is pressed while an obstruction is behind the drone, or between it and the remote control, it will crash into said object.
The next option is great for a drone pilot of any experience level. Multiple speeds allows a newbie to start out slow on speed one or two, then use the higher three and four after some learning. The slower speeds are great for indoors where obstacles such as animals and family members are sometimes close by. The faster speeds are great for outdoors, especially when wind is present. Those higher speeds allow the HS-200 to quickly cut through the air, negating much of the effects of light wind.
Headless mode is the last flight feature we’ll focus on. With it enabled, the drone orientates itself to the controller, instead of the drone itself. Simply put, no matter which direction the drone is facing, any directional input will make the drone fly in that direction. No more reverse inputs when the drone is facing the flier. This is great for a new pilot with little drone experience.
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One of the greatest advancements in the hobbyist drone experience are the remote controller upgrades, cell phone pairing, and the use of a smartphone to control the drone. It would have been hard to believe just a few years ago that a hobby drone would have such futuristic control features, usually reserved for drones costing multiple thousands of dollars. Now with only a few seconds of setup, this is all possible on the HS-200.
Smartphone integration, first-person-video, and gravity mode (smartphone gyro control) are all pretty cool when seen on a hobbyist drone under 100 dollars. The HS-200 uses a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network to connect both the included controller and a user’s smartphone to the drone. Having FPV adds so much more fun to the flight experience. Once a link is established, the HS-200 displays a real-time, first person video to the display of a smartphone. This makes not only flying a bit easier because of the first person perspective, it allows the user to take pictures and record video on the drone’s onboard SD card. The smartphone integration also allows the drone pilot to enter headless mode, use emergency stop and pull up a digital controller to be used in place of the remote controller. Furthermore, a smartphone can be calibrated to be used for gravity mode. Gravity mode uses the smartphone like a gyro for the drone. As the phone is moved back and forth, and side to side, the drone responds accordingly. Kids and adults who love their smartphones will also love this feature, if nothing else as a novelty to have fun with. Another fun option is the direction 360 degree flips, popular with kids and adults alike.
It’s pretty amazing to see what Holy Stone has packaged into their apps with all the various controls and modes. This isn’t specific to Holy Stone however, the industry as a whole is continually innovating and fitting even their hobbyist drones with better technology
As great as the advancements have been, we felt there is still room to make improvements to both the app and the controller. Obtaining the app is the first hurdle the purchaser faces. Although not horribly difficult, we find it annoying that each drone Holy Stone model uses a different app, none of which so far, are defined by the drone they serve. Instead, we had to search the app store for names like “Deerc FPV” or “HS_D2” for our last two Holy Stone reviews. Making one app, named something that sounds like a Holy Stone drone, would be much more convenient.
Another thing we hope to see improve is the controller layout of the HS-200. Its overall size and shape are great, and the backlighting makes the controller easy to read. However, quite a few buttons aren’t labeled, notably, the headless mode and emergency stop buttons. Additionally, the emergency stop requires two buttons to be pressed. This can be tragic when a hobbyist, new to the HS-200, wants to enter headless mode, instead they may find themselves accidently hitting other unmarked buttons, like a trim setting. We hope in the near future Holy Stone, and other makers, will use appropriate labels on the face of the controller. It’s not very convenient for a drone pilot to read a manual while the drone is in flight, and we definitely wouldn’t recommend trying that maneuver. Our last suggestion for the controller is an improvement to the phone holder by making it easier to attach and remove.
While overall, we like Holy Stone products and our HS-200. One thing we really didn’t like was the app freezing and crashing while in use, right around the one minute mark. While it didn’t take away from learning to better control the drone, it was annoying enough for us to abandon the smartphone integration all together. The deerc FPV app connected about 50 percent of our attempts. Restarting the drone and smartphone app seemed to help a few times. More often than not, the app froze after a few minutes of use and sometimes it was so frustrating, a pilot may choose to fly without it. Which is unfortunate, seeing through the “eye” of the drone is very helpful for flight maneuvers and can help the pilot find their drone if it goes down out of site. To be fair, we didn’t contact Holy Stone about the issue. We tried multiple Android phones paired to the HS-200 with the same result.
The HS-200 comes equipped with a 720p HD video camera, and is capable of taking 2 MP photos with up to 1280 x 720 resolution. The HS-200 stores content on the user’s smartphone as well as on an onboard micro SD card, if inserted. The external memory card makes it easy to transfer media from the drone to any computer with the included mirco SD to USB card reader. This is the first and only drone under 100 dollars we have tested that included such items, and it’s a really nice addition to the drone package.
Overall, the camera works fairly well. Lighting is very important, and direct light tends to over saturate images and videos. During flight the video seems to shutter. The capture quality isn’t good enough for content creation in our opinion, but it is an inexpensive setup to improve camera skills. Because of its durability, it can be great for learning how smoothly capture shots, a skill that can be used once a more expensive drone purchased at a later time. If a drone pilot wishes to create media for content creation or professional drone work, DroneScores suggests at least a Semi-Pro or Professional drone like our editor’s choice the Mavic Pro.
The 3.7V 650mAh Lithium Polymer batteries provided Holy Stone’s claim of eight or so minutes of flight time, with a recharge time of a little over an hour. These numbers are pretty standard for a hobbyist drone. We have no complaints there. However, we have seen a lot better battery locations and installs. The camera on the HS-200 is attached to the battery cover. We found the door to be precarious to open and the battery exchange to be a little challenging. When we have trouble with a drone, we assume a ten year old child might as well. This is one of the few design flaws we found with the HS-200. We suggest manufacturers go with a design similar to the Holy Stone HS-160, where the battery has no wiring to hookup, but simply slides into position and is held by a push-button lock.
