What would you say to a small beginner drone that comes with smart gesture control and voice control functions?
The Holy Stone HS140 RC drone can hear and obey your commands, like a loyal pet.
The flight performance itself is not bad at all, even with the brushed motors. However, do not fly it in the wind.
While Holy Stone makes good quadcopters, they cannot be completely free of downsides. For instance, you have to screw on the landing gear before flying it and again, unscrew them before you can store it. This makes one wonder why they did not make the landing gear a snap-on kind of design.
Another thing you need to be aware of is that there is no SD card slot. For many beginner drones, this is expected.
Away from the negatives, is this aircraft worth buying? Keep reading to see its features.
Holy Stone HS140 Features, Specs and Technical Details
As a beginner drone, you expect the HS140 to come with easy to understand, and to use features. It is also a camera drone, so you can capture aerial footage.
Design, build quality and durability
Measuring 12.2 by 12.2 by 4.3 inches, this quadcopter will feel a bit bulky when traveling with it, especially since it is not foldable.
The weight is a meager 160G, so you will not need to register it with the civil aviation authority of your country.
Another thing that you will notice about the design is that the camera is installed below the nose. That is why it comes with high landing gear so that when you land it, the camera does not touch the ground.
The landing gear is installed using screws (they are included in the package with a screwdriver). There have been complaints that the landing gear feels a bit flimsy, but it gets the job done all the same.
The silver finishing makes the drone look unique from the matte black and gray finishing that we see in most other drones. The two black patches on the back and the black blades compliment the silver color very well.
The drone is made with high quality material, so the electronic parts are well protected.
Camera
One of the reasons for buying a drone is to take aerial footage. Thus, the camera is one of the main considerations for most buyers. So, what do you get with the HS140?
This is a 1920*1080P camera. It takes photos and videos at 1080P resolution. Despite the suspended look of the camera, it is not detachable. It is fully integrated into the drone.
This drone does not have an SD card slot. Thus, you will store all footage in your mobile phone. Some of the owners of this drone say that the footage looks more like 720P rather than 1080P.
Perhaps this can be attributed to the type of smartphone that you are using. In many cases, footage stored in an SD card has better quality than when stored in the app.
The drone supports first person view. Download the app to see what the drone sees as it flies. The overall FPV distance is 100 meters.
The drone has an anti-shake function thanks to the anti-vibration pad. Your footage will be distortion-free. The camera angle is also adjustable by upto 90 degrees.
Batteries
The HS140 sells with 3.7V 1300 mAh Li-Po batteries. On a full charge, one battery can give you a flight time of 17 minutes so collectively you will get 34 minutes.
The batteries come charged. You can get to flying the drone right away. They snap into place easily, they have overcharge protection so they are safe to handle and charge, even for children.
The charging time for one battery is 120 minutes, which is quite fair since it gives you 17 minutes of flight time. It is recommended that you only use the provided charging cable so that you do not damage the battery.
You might want to find out whether the battery gets too hot when inside the drone as there have been complaints.
Remote Controller
The remote controller looks a bit bulky, but it is light in weight. It also has a smartphone holder on the top side. Thus, when flying the drone, you do not have to take your eyes off the screen too long when you are using the trim and throttle sticks.
If you prefer to fly the Holy Stone HS140 blindly, the remote controller has the keys for all the important functions such as the speed modes, photo/video and others.
However, to unlock more functions such as the hands-free trajectory flight, you need to use your smartphone. You also need to download the HS app.
There is no information regarding the types of batteries that this controller uses. They don’t say whether it has a built-in rechargeable battery.
Holy Stone HS140 Drone Functions
Toy drones have flight functions to make them easier to fly. This one comes with the following flight modes:
Voice Control and gesture control
You can use your voice to command the drone to go forward, backward, left or right. On the other hand, you can also use gesture control to take videos or photos.
If you show it the palm sign, it starts to capture videos and if you show it the victory/scissors sign, it starts taking photos.
Speed Control
The HS140 can fly at two speeds. The slower speed is 2 meters per second while the high speed is at 5 meters per second. It is best to start at the low speed and when you have some experience, try the high speed.
Stunts
This drone can perform beautiful 360-degree flips. It can flip over backwards, forwards, left and right. If you would like to stun your friends with this toy drone, engage the flips.
Flight Path
Also called the tap fly mode, you can draw the route that you would like your drone to follow on the map (on the app). When you launch it, it will follow that route, leaving your hands free to concentrate on the footage.
Headless Mode
Fly the drone without worrying about the direction that the nose of the drone faces. It will realign itself automatically when the pilot changes his position.
Altitude Hold Mode
Without having to worry about the vertical flight of the drone, you can concentrate on taking good videos and photos while the drone holds its height.
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
This is my second Holy Stone drone, and to my expectation, it does not disappoint. I would not use the camera for anything other than fun footage. Maureen M.
My 9-year old finds the remote controller too bulky. I guess it is designed for people with big hands. Cleve W.
As a beginner drone, the HS140 is a bit complicated since you have to screw and unscrew the landing gear on. Also, perhaps because of the height of the height, the landing gears seem too weak. Don K.
This is a lightweight toy drone that flies on two speed modes. I think I will use it for some time and then I will upgrade to one with a better camera, say, about 2.7K or 4K. Frank J.
I would have loved for this drone to come with an SD card slot to store footage. As it is right now, my phone storage fills up too fast. Otherwise, you will enjoy a great flight all the time. Tai O.
Holy Stone HS140 Pros
- It has prop guards for extra protection
- Beautiful silver color finishing
- The camera has a nice anti-vibration pad to enhance footage quality
- Two batteries for extra flight time
- Once set up, it is so easy to use
- Good user manual
- It has four bonus propeller blades
Holy Stone HS140 Cons
- Does not come with a storage case/bag
- It is not a foldable drone
- It does not support SD card usage
Who Should Get The Holy Stone HS140 Drone?
Even with toy drones, Holy Stone makes them really good, but obviously every drone has its downsides. But since the HS140 has more pros than cons, it is a good investment for a beginner pilot. This aircraft would also make a good gift for someone that you would like to introduce to the drone hobby. If you have a child, get them the HS140 to get them started on this lovely hobby.
Conclusion and Recommendation
When you get this drone, first, read the user manual so that you can understand how to use different features and how to calibrate it.
Also, remember not to fly the drone in the wind because it can get lost easily. Fly it in an open space where there are no houses or trees to avoid crashes.
Small drones usually have trim problems so if yours goes astray; you want it to be clear of any obstacles.
With good care, the Holy Stone HS140 toy drone should stay intact for a long time.
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