Karma Talk
Keen to hear how our community is getting on with the Karma system. Have you ordered one? Shot any cool photos or got tips and tricks? Drop your thoughts below on the product!
Posted Feb 19, 2017, 7:59 AM UTC
7107
I've got about 5 hours of flight time with mine so far and it's been great. I've seen the horizon tilt Issue a couple of times but I check before taking off and if it is tilted I just restart the karma and it's taken care of it. It seems to happen if I'm not taking off from a level Location.
The video quality has been great and it's hard to believe how stable the video is. There are a lot of people complaining about not having some of the avoidance sensors but I really haven't had a need for them. Sure if you are doing auto shot modes it would be nice but I'm typically up high enough it doesn't matter.
Landings can be a little sketchy sometimes, especially if there is some wind. I'll typically hover about 4-5 feet off the ground and catch it so I don't have to worry about a burst of wind and nose diving into the ground (that's what happened with my original karma in November, which caused the gimbal to no longer work).
I'm really liking the backpack. Plenty of protection and works well to take the karma on the go.
I typically fly about 15 minutes or so before coming back to land. I'd rather not push it and have the return to home kick in or just land in place. I've been taking my time for now getting used to the system and making sure I'm not gonna have any issues like the original.
I've been very happy with mine and spent quite a bit of time in the air already. If anyone has questions about something with the karma let me know.
7
When you catch yours, how do you turn off the motors?
1
Just keep pressing down on the controller like you are landing on the ground. They will turn off when it senses it isn't going down any farther.
1
A few friends have encouraged me to start sharing my Karma videos, so I created a channel and am going to start uploading them... here's the first one. Check it: https://youtu.be/E-q6jti096A
7
Hey man, just curious.. What settings do you record with? Got my Karma yesterday and I've only done 1 really short test flight at 1080 - 24 frames (I think that's where I went wrong) but it doesn't look that great... I had to stop after like 2 mins of flight though due to what seemed to be rain approaching (and it was)
2
First, always shoot Karma drone shots in "Linear" mode.
My goto settings are as follows: 2.7k / 60 FPS Linear Mode ProTune: ON White Balance: Auto Color: GoPro Shutter: Auto ISO Limit: 400 EV Comp: 0 (sometimes -0.5, depending on scene) Sharpness: Low
3
This is awesome! I've got the Hero5 Black and just got the karma grip. Now I've seen your video, it's given me the bug to get a drone.
Only thing is, I do worry about losing the drone over the sea or something. I suppose there's always drone insurance...does anyone bother with this?
1
Is the off level seem to be corrected or are you adjusting in post?
1
This one Karma got right first time. There's big calibration improvements coming soon to fix the horizon drift. Heck, it's their first drone 🤷♂️ and pretty damn good one at that if you ask me.
Edit: bah horizon drift :-). Hadn't watched since positing it. It'll get better fo sho.
1
There's a bunch of Karma videos up there now.... here's the channel. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXg-8Np9Ivo1z0xu0Rtr3Sg
1
I love my Karma. I took it out to the mountains the other day and honestly it was amazing. I love the stabilizer and the utility of the hero 5.
5
I bought mine from GoPro on Feb 2nd and it shipped a day later even though I was expecting it at the end of this month. I've only owned 'toy' drones from Amazon before, but my friend had a Karma pre-recall and I got a chance to fly it and absolutely loved it. I have owned a few GoPro products previously. I bought a Karma over a Mavic simply because I'm already invested in the GoPro universe and I wanted a handheld gimbal as well but couldn't justify the cost of both separately. When I first used the Grip, I was seeing a slight tilt but once I did a recalibration, I haven't had an issue since. The Karma has been great and I haven't experienced any gimbal issues. I always place the drone on a level surface before turning it on. I've only had to recalibrate the gyroscope a handful of times after nearly 2 dozen flights so far.
Overall, I'm very happy, and my only gripe is living in the bay area and having so many airports close by, there's limited areas to fly in my immediate area. That and it hasn't rained in 5 years and now it's rained for two weeks straight. Luck of the draw!
4
Here's a few videos I've made since Karma was re-released. I'm a total rookie when comes to Drones, Gopros and editing :
Glastonbury Boat Launch:
Abandoned Psych Hospital on Shoreline:
Rocky Neck Beach Area:
Enjoy and THANKS for watching
4
Look pretty good to me. Good job!
2
My latest GoPro Karma drone shot; Pro Surfer Nat Young surfing Santa Cruz' Steamer Lane. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/3L86QTjzmxE
4
Killer! Good one man.
3
Epic shot
1
Abe Kislevitz (Creative Director at GoPro). Maybe sort of reassuring to know firmware fix is on the way to fix the tilting issues albeit no confirmed date?
4
That's a good question because the tilt seems to be worse or better when looking at youtube vids
2
Hey Guys! Long time no see, but I just wanted to share that I'm getting a Karma, from the US shipped to the Netherlands. Let's hope it works!
4
I just bought a Karma while deployed overseas and my girl just received it. I come home in a couple weeks and I'm real excited to fly it! I'll update when I get my hands on it!
3
I did another flight with my Karma, this time around Four Mile beach north of Santa Cruz. So cool... Enjoy!
3
You like that song eh?
2
Flying my Karma around a beautiful lake in Northern Cal the other day. Enojoy!
3
I guess this is more of a drones in general question, but as a proud Karma owner, I'll ask here. When I fly around in public, I always feel very self conscious about someone having a problem with it. What's the expected rate of people yelling at me for flying around in normal places like parks and beaches?
3
Every time I have flown in a public place, someone had come up to talk to me about it. Mostly just curious people with a handful of "whatchya filmin?". I am usually prepared with the local laws in case anyone has a problem, but so far no issues. It's good to be overly conscious in my opinion to avoid issues.
3
As long as you are not flying directly over people or buzzing your craft too close, you'll have more curious people than angry. Noise, safety, and privacy are most people's concern. If you respect that, you'll be ok.
2
I think it's becoming more and more acceptable. Just be mindful of people and fly away and higher to minimize the noise.
2
Found a really cool spot to fly. Love Nor Cal... https://youtu.be/w6gxLkTUD0Y
Extended version --> https://youtu.be/VF1oQq4jCqo
3
Karma Drone following my friend Kite surfing around Scott's Creek. Sorry it's so long, but there was so much cool stuff. Impressed this thing held-up and performed in 22 knot winds.
3
More kite boarding with Karma: https://youtu.be/qw_gluaSVkQ
3
Got my Karma a couple weeks ago and made my first video using the whole GoPro system, love the way it came out! Used a handheld session4, the Gimbal, and the Drone to get different perspectives and hopefully keep the video interesting. Love that the backpack doubles as a launch and landing zone when you are on questionable terrain, like sand on a beach! Swapping the gimbal from the drone to the grip is super quick and simple. Never once have I ever seen the props in frame like the Phantom which makes 100% of my footage usable. Used dronie and circle auto paths in this video and could not be happier with having those features.
Let me know what you think!
3
Awesome colors in there, and fun edit. What beach is that?
1
Thanks! It was South Florida, Deerfield Beach south of the pier. Cool place, had to let the life guard know I knew the rules before flying.
1
Been flying a Phantom 4 I bought a few months ago non stop so really excited for karma to start shipping down under so I can get my hands on it. I know for sure the Grip will be a necessity once it arrives.
2
0 issues with Grip, had Karma and Grip for 2 weeks
1
It tilts very badly, see my comment and sample video
0
I've not had any persistent issues with mine. Either you have a bad unit or you are mounting it wrong.
2
Two units. Same issue :/
-2
the drone is only sold on select retailers such as best buy or b&h. Amazon still lists it as pre order
2
Two flights with it so far and love it. Coming from a Phantom 2 w/Hero4 Black, there is so much Karma can do that I couldn't before (change settings during flight, shot paths, etc). I especially love that in all of the shots/video I've taken so far, the props are never in the shot. Unless I was flying backward with the Phantom 2, I always had to crop out the props. Photo from the first flight: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQqwtIrFO5U/
I love this picture. Nice work!
I'm hoping to get one for my birthday in a few weeks, Ill be going from a phantom 1, I cant wait to get my hands on the karma
Was not expecting Gold Medal when I opened that photo, very cool shot
Very cool photo, how high up did you take it?
Can't remember. Maybe about 200 feet.