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We liked
In terms of enabling you to get set up and flying quickly, GoPro has come up with one of the simplest and most portable drones yet. The folding design of the quadcopter and all-in-one controller are superb, and so is the quality of the video you’ll be able to capture with this system.
As we’ve said before, the GoPro Karma’s great strength is its versatility. Aside from the drone that comes in the box, you can split up the parts for a handheld gimbal and a standalone action camera.
We disliked
The Karma Drone is far from perfect, with its little gimbal quirks and less-than-autonomous auto flight path modes. Then there’s the inescapable fact that the DJI Mavic Pro and other quadcopters on the market outpace GoPro’s offering in almost every way.
Final verdict
The GoPro Karma Drone isn’t perfect. But, judging how deeply you’ve already bought into GoPro’s ecosystem, it might be a wise purchase. If you also see yourself only flying a few times a year, the Karma system is more versatile in that you can also use it for handheld footage and as a standalone action camera.
Otherwise, there are better-specced and smarter drones out there for dedicated fliers. The DJI Mavic Pro easily overshadows GoPro’s offering as a better drone with more sensors, intelligent features, longer battery life and a smaller footprint – and it’s a smidgen more affordable to boot.
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Kevin Lee was a former computing reporter at TechRadar. Kevin is now the SEO Updates Editor at IGN based in New York. He handles all of the best of tech buying guides while also dipping his hand in the entertainment and games evergreen content. Kevin has over eight years of experience in the tech and games publications with previous bylines at Polygon, PC World, and more. Outside of work, Kevin is major movie buff of cult and bad films. He also regularly plays flight & space sim and racing games. IRL he's a fan of archery, axe throwing, and board games.