GoPro Introduces $799 Foldable Karma Drone

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GoPro has taken the wraps off its new foldable Karma drone. With a price tag of $799 without a camera, it's a bit steep compared to other quadcopters but, if you are buying the bundle the price isn't bad considering this is GoPro we are talking about.

The whole bundle including a Hero5 will cost $1,099. If you prefer to get it with the new Hero5 Session, it's $999, or bring your own camera and it'll cost $799. During the press event today, Woodman was keen to point out that Karma was a stabilization "system" and not just a drone. The quadcopter is, of course, the heart of Karma, but the handheld grip is mountable with regular accessories, which opens the stabilization features to pretty much anything you can stick a GoPro on (though we're fairly sure it's not fully waterproof!).
 
I wonder if the Best Buy protection plan covers the drones they sell from being shot down? I should ask the next time I go there.
 
I find it funny that GoPro is very much turning into the action cam equivalent of Apple. Leaders at the beginning with a closed ecosystem (making a killing on accessory sales) and then slow to adopt/innovate only to be passed by faster moving companies so all of their new features are present in other products.

All of the Hero5 features have been in cheaper action cams for at least a year. Software image stabilization, touchscreen, 4k30 & 2.7k60, better performance. They literally introduced nothing that isn't already in the marketplace at a cheaper price. I've been following a few rumor mills and I'm curious how the GoPro fanboys will take this release. The rumors/expectations were literally banking on 8k15 and 4k120, despite being told that it wasn't possible from a technical perspective (the data bandwidth required for those resolutions alone is a limiting factor without a high-end SSD). They didn't even get 4k60.

It's also silly when their "bundles" don't include any discount for buying the bundle. The drone will likely sell well based on their brand and the price point at $799. It's surprising they are entering at such a price point compared to their overpriced camera offerings. I'm guessing they're aiming for the make-a-little on the drone and make-a-lot on the proprietary camera setup.
 
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I don't really care about drones but it does look like an interesting package. I like how the drone fits in a backpack.

One thing I don't like is how the gopro is caseless now. Big thing I'd want is a protective cap to keep over the lens. That way if it gets nailed by a rock or something you replace a much cheaper part.
 
I have the Hero 4 session and this may be my first drone...

or I can spend the same money on a 3D printer and print 95% of a drone.... oh the options...
 
you have a hero4?
why not get the 3dr solo with the gimbal package its at amazon for 750

you get the solo, the gimbal package, 4 extra props, and the backpack- free shipping if you have prime.

personally my work has a phantom 3 and it works good for doing our larger topo site work (do not use it often yet- boss is old school survey type, being able to do 13 acres of topo in 10 minutes more precisely than the survey crew is awesome though.(would take the field crew at least a day to do the survey )- we let the processing run overnight.
 
i fly a mobius camera on my drones, better flight form factor and cheap.
 
Uhhh....My DJI 3 Pro does pretty much all of this, came with a camera (4k) and was $750....Try again?
 
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