GoPro cameras have truly revolutionized the field of action videos! And now that we are in the drone era, little GoPro cameras seem to be perfect for aerial photography and videography when mounted on a drone!
As a videographer, I often get the chance to use drones. So, after trying a few and conducting extensive research on GoPro drones, I have come up with this guide that lists the best drones for GoPro.
In this article, you’ll learn what is the best drone for GoPro, how to choose a drone, and what happened with the famous GoPro Karma drone.
The Best Drone for GoPro
Having a GoPro mounted on top of this drone allows you to shoot some amazing aerials from multiple points of view (POVs).
DJI, the top brand for consumer drones, makes a lot of reliable drones of this kind. Here’s the detailed review of one of them.
DJI Mavic Air with GoPro Mounted
DJI Mavic Air is a highly reliable quadcopter with its own camera. Many users managed to mount a GoPro camera on it successfully, making it dual camera. This may add some weight on the drone so the battery could drain faster. But it’s definitely a good hack to try out as it provides another point of view and GoPro’s quality during your flights!
What we like: This amazing drone is lightweight and has a compact, foldable design to ensure that you can take it anywhere with you. It has an in-built 12 megapixel camera with a three-axis gimbal which lets you shoot some incredibly smooth and stabilized footage even during high-speed motion. The camera supports 4K HD video at 30 fps and enables you to get up to 32 megapixel sphere panoramas with the ability to stitch 25 photos together in just eight seconds! The drone also has a collision avoidance mechanism to automatically prevent it from colliding with objects.
You can control this drone from as far as 2 kms away. With its Intelligent Flight lithium battery, you get a maximum of 21 minutes of flight time per charge, which is quite impressive! The remote controller that comes with this drone is well-designed. And you can also use your smartphone instead of the controller for a quick flight. To add to all this, the fact that this drone can fly with a GoPro mounted on top of it is a factor that makes this product a must buy for GoPro lovers!
What we don’t like: A slight issue has been encountered with this drone’s signal that connects it with its controller. It seems to get interference often if you are flying it by a city.
Best Drones for GoPro
The drones in this section have a space to accommodate an external camera. Such drones are ideal for you if you are already a GoPro owner.
However, the main drawback of drones without a camera is that you have to configure different devices together in order for them to work seamlessly (drone + camera + video transmitter to remote control, etc.).
Here are the best drones of this type for your GoPro:
Holy Stone HS700E 4K UHD Drone
Holy Stone HS700E 4K UHD Drone is another great quadcopter by the leading drone maker. Compatible with GoPro Hero cameras, this drone is a great choice for professional GoPro photo/videography.
What we like:
The Holy Stone HS700D is a perfect selfie drone for the GoPro, that has a flight range of 1Km and a maximum flight length of 22 minutes. You can really rely on its 2K HD camera when want to make high-quality photographs of people. You can use the app to edit and share your shots on socials, as well as get advantage of its WiFi connection. the flying time is 20 minutes that is more than acceptable for the drone of this price category.
What we don’t like: This quadcopter’s battery’s life can be easily reduced by strong winds and it also charges for ages. We would also prefer better stabilization.
Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone
Compatible with most sports cameras and almost all GoPros, Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone, is a relatively new and well-priced drone for quality aerial footage of your action.
What we like: The ATOM SE drone’s lightweight design (under 249g) and foldable structure make it highly portable, while its 4K EIS camera with a Sony sensor provides excellent image quality, even during fast, smooth flights.
Equipped with four high quality brushless motors that let it reach up to 50km/h speed, this drone’s double 7.4V 2800mAh high capacity batteries provide a whopping 40 minutes of flight time per full charge (2 batteries)! It does come with a camera, but that can easily be replaced with your GoPro.
With built-in GPS, you can be assured of a safe flight and have fun with three flight modes: Route design, follow me and orbit mode. Also, in case the drone has lost signal or has a low battery, it can auto return; so you don’t have to worry about losing your quadcopter. What’s more? You also get a carrying case in the package that is big enough to hold your drone as well as additional accessories.
What we don’t like: When used with a GoPro, the drone may struggle to maintain stability in higher winds due to the additional weight, potentially affecting flight performance and video smoothness.
Force1 F100GP
A great budget quadcopter, the Force1 F100GP is the perfect GoPro aerial photo/videography solution for both experts and beginners. It is compatible with GoPro Hero 3 & 4 cameras.
What we like: This drone comes with an in-built 1080p HD camera in addition to a mount that fits your GoPro. It lets you catch brilliant and crisp birds-eye footage while enjoying a highly responsive and smooth flight. The brushless motor of this quadcopter is super-quiet and provides a smooth trip with great video and photo quality. This drone has a remarkably long flight time of about 15-17 minutes, plus it also comes with a spare battery! Controlling it is extremely simple: it pulls off amazing 360° flips quite easily and you get a choice of high or low speed for optimum flexibility. The 500 metre range that this drone provides is also pretty decent!
What we don’t like: With no GPS, this drone doesn’t return to you automatically unless you fly it back. So, you must not let it get out of sight. Also, when the battery is low, you get just about 5 minutes to bring it back to the ground carefully. If you don’t, it will turn off in the middle of the air and fall!
Potensic ATOM LT GPS Drone
Potensic ATOM LT GPS Drone is another great option for your aerial GoPro shooting needs in HD. It is meant for those who have experience.
What we like: Its lightweight design, under 249g, means no FAA registration is needed, and the foldable feature makes it super easy to carry around. You get up to 40 minutes of flight time and a solid 4KM transmission range, which is perfect for capturing long, uninterrupted shots. The brushless motors handle windy conditions well, so you can keep shooting even when it’s breezy outside.
What we don’t like: This drone is speedy and is meant for professionals. It’s pretty difficult for a beginner to fly, especially in windy conditions.
How To Decide Which Drone To Get
GoPro cameras can be attached to GoPro’s compatible drones through a gimbal or a set mount bracket. Ideally, you need a quadcopter drone to get complete benefit of your GoPro’s prowess in capturing amazing aerial footage of your action like hiking, rock-climbing, surfing and so on…
There are many factors that you need to consider before deciding on what drone you should buy. For this, I’m firstly going to ask you a very simple question:
Are you a Hobbyist or Professional Flyer?
The suitability of a drone for your GoPro depends greatly upon your purpose of shooting. If you’re a photo/videography hobbyist who loves to capture aerial shots of your adventures, the choice of a perfect drone for you would be in stark contrast to those who are professionals in the field. In this article, several drones have been reviewed. For each of these drones, it’s mentioned whether they are suitable for hobbyists or professional flyers.
Here are various other factors that you must consider before making your decision.
If you’re eager to become a professional drone pilot, don’t miss our comprehensive guide on mastering drone flying skills, obtaining certifications, and exploring career opportunities in this exciting field.
Drones With vs Drones Without Integrated Camera
Two types of drones are there in the market: the ones with an integrated camera and the ones without it. Some of the drones with an integrated camera (like DJI drones) can fly with a GoPro mounted on top, while many others can’t.
Drones without an integrated camera, on the other hand, are mostly designed to accommodate an external camera like GoPro.
Price vs Performance
This is one of the most important factors to consider. You must think about the value and features you are getting for the price you’re paying. The drone should be worth its price.
Here are a few important features of drones:
GPS: This one is probably the most important feature for a beginner because it helps keep the drone stable even in windy situations.
Range: A long distance range (control + video transmission) is ideal – you must look for at least 2-3 km.
Battery life: Drones suffer from short battery life. On average, you want to have at least 15 minutes for a good flight. 20 minutes is the average battery life on mid-high end consumer drones.
Check here drones with long battery life!
Price: Anything below $200 is considered as a low end drone. These drones are very basic and often without GPS. But it’s good to start out and practice. For more professional looking, stable and good quality videos, you need to opt for at least a mid range drone. At around $300 and above, you can find these drones with GPS with a tiltable camera or compatible with GoPro cameras. A drone above $1k is considered to be high end, and these are often designed for professionals users. These drones are more reliable and of a better quality, like DJI Mavic Pro 2 and similar.
Check out the best drones with a camera for beginners: 10 Best Drones with Camera for Beginners
GoPro Karma Drone: What Went Wrong?
Karma Drone has been the first and only drone by GoPro. This slim and portable quadcopter drone also had some nice features, similar to DJI drones.
However, the tale of Karma Drone isn’t quite happy! With several complaints about its battery life and its initial battery flaw that led to many of these drones falling down, this product went through a lot of rough patches. It couldn’t compete with the likes of DJI drones which were way more advanced.
Ultimately, the Karma drone had to be discontinued in 2018. It’s no longer available and that’s why we’ve not included it in our list.
Although, you can still read more about it in our article: GoPro Karma Drone: Should you buy it?
And even check out what battery you need in case of having this drone. GoPro Karma Battery: Specs, Flight time, Price [Review ]
What Drone For GoPro Would You Choose?
Since I’m a DJI user and have used several other drones as well, I can say from experience that DJI drones like Mavic Air and Mavic Pro are the best drones for consumers (hobbyist and professionals). I would highly recommend the DJI Mavic Pro drone (with an integrated camera) for you if your intent is to do professional work. If necessary, you can also adapt a GoPro on it for awesome multiple POV footage.
Otherwise, if you want to use a drone for your hobby (for example, during holidays, hikings or adventures) and you already own a GoPro, then I would suggest that you go for a Holy Stone HS700E 4K if it suits your pocket.
Thanks for reading!
I hope this guide helped you learn about The Best Drones for GoPro 🙂
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