GoPro just announced its long-awaited (and long-delayed) flying camera platform: Karma. The folding drone comes in a backpack and features a removable stabilizer as well as a simple controller with a built-in display. It all costs $800 and will be available in a month. Nick Woodman, the founder and CEO of GoPro, made a big deal out of the Karma’s portability and versatility at an announcement event on Monday. “It’s so much more than a drone,” Woodman said approximately 3,427 times. He’s not lying either. The Karma itself is actually three devices: a quadcopter, a touchscreen controller, and a stabilizer that can be removed from the drone’s body and used as a steady grip. The stabilizer also attaches to existing GoPro mounts so you could strap it to your chest, go mountain-biking, and walk away with nice stable footage. (Woodman bragged about this functionality about a dozen times as well.) In terms of performance, the Karma boasts a maximum speed of 35 miles-per-hour, a range of one kilometer, and 20 minutes of flight time.

Apparently, the backpack is so light you barely notice you’re wearing it. Looks very boxy, though. What seems most innovative about the Karma, however, is the controller set up. Unlike the popular DJI Phantom, you don’t need a smartphone to operate the Karma. The small-ish, clamshell-shaped controller features a touchscreen that will show you what the camera is seeing and handle all of the settings in one place. (Yuneec’s Typhoon series features a similar touchscreen setup in a much larger package.) GoPro also built something called the Passenger app that effectively lets a second person control the camera while the pilot flies. Anyone who’s ever tried to capture the very best drone video while also trying not to crash the damn thing into a tree will understand how cool it would be to have a dedicated camera operator. GoPro didn’t go into too much detail about the various autonomous flight options, but it looks like they do exist. Pre-programmed options like a Dronie or an Orbit take just a couple of taps on the touchscreen display.

It’s unclear if there’s a Follow Me function—although it would be insane if GoPro didn’t offer this to its adventure-loving customer base.The Karma will work with the new GoPro Hero 5 Black, the Hero 5 Session, as well as the Hero 4 and Hero 3. That $800 price tag only covers the cost of the Karma, controller, and backpack. parrot ar drone not flying straightGoPro is offering an $1,100 option with the Hero 5 Black bundled with the drone or a $1,000 option with the Hero 5 Session. parrot ar drone trackingThat price point makes it a few hundred dollars cheaper than a Phantom 4 and about the same price as the Yuneec Typhoon H, which features six rotors, retractable landing gear, and a 4K camera.parrot ar drone menzil

The stabilizer features a unique boom-style design, unlike competitors like DJI and Yuneec which use pistol grips. It seems obvious that GoPro is hoping that the versatility of the Karma system will make it stand out in the increasingly crowded drone market. parrot ar drone 2 user guideThe portability of a folding drone—DJI is rumored to be releasing its own next week—should play well with the action cam crowd. ar drone where to buy australiaThe built-in stabilizer—Yuneec released a similar product with the launch of the Typoon Q500 two years ago—provides some nice added value. ar drone 2 top speedAnd that controller does look beautifully simple. Of course, whether the Karma lives up to GoPro’s lofty promises remains to be seen.

The drone starts shipping on October 23, and we plan to stress test the hell out of it. If it’s as versatile as it sounds, GoPro might just have a new hit on its hands.The Canon 80D Review: Touchscreen Is Here! Exploring the advantages of having a waterproof camera Preview: The powerful FUJIFILM X-30 compact cameraAmidst the election news last night, GoPro announced through a release on its website that the company will recall its new $799 Karma drone. This is the first drone from the action-cam company, and it has only been on the market since October 23, 2016. GoPro estimates that 2,500 Karma drones have been sold so far, and all of them are subject to this recall. The company decided to issue the recall because a small number of drones reportedly "lost power during operation" for unknown reasons. GoPro did state that no injuries or property damage have been reported as a result of this issue, but it's unknown exactly how many of the 2,500 drones have been affected by this problem.

"Safety is our top priority," GoPro Founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman wrote in the release. "We are working in close coordination with both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Aviation Administration. We are very sorry to have inconvenienced our customers and we are taking every step to make the return and refund process as easy as possible." Despite this setback, the company also stated that it will start selling the Karma again as soon as the problems have been fixed. GoPro undoubtably wants to go after the drone leader DJI, but this recall will pause those plans. It also couldn't have come at a worse time for GoPro, as the company's quarterly earnings show it missed its revenue goal by 23 percent. GoPro set up a website with instructions on how to return Karma drones and frequently asked questions surrounding the recall. or Best Buy, to get a full refund. Taking your GoPro to new heights is what the Karma drone is all about. It folds up, making it one of the most portable ways to capture 4K video with stabilization.

Flight and video are silky smooth Controller display could be brighter Can't automatically follow you Update: On November 11th, GoPro announced that they were recalling all Karma units sold as some units would stop mid-flight and fall out of the sky. As soon as we hear when GoPro plans to start shipping units again, we'll let you know.The GoPro Karma is the action camera company's long-awaited entry into the burgeoning drone category, and it looks like good things come to those video-capturing adrenaline junkies who wait.The Karma is a well-priced drone that provides stabilized video while hovering as high as 3280ft (1,000m) and soaring at a maximum speed of 35mph (15m/s). Its 3-axis camera gimbal keeps everything steady.We didn't crash the Karma and its GoPro Hero 5 Black 'co-pilot' in our first three hours of flying it at the launch event in Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border. And yes, we did put it to the ultimate test – in high wind at the top of a mountain.

In fact, new and experienced pilots we saw aced the inaugural flight. This is helped by the fact that GoPro Karma comes with a gamepad-style clamshell controller. It's familiar, with intuitive buttons.With its integrated 5-inch screen, the controller is unlike that for the DJI Phantom 4 drone – you don't need an iPad to get the GoPro Karma drone in the air and see real-time video from up above.Karma folds up and fits into an included backpack, and that portability fits right into GoPro's outdoorsy, go-anywhere ethos. Its newest mantra involves video stabilization, so it's a bonus that there's a way to take the drone's gimbal, remove it and slide it into a grip for handheld video stabilization.GoPro claims this is way more than a drone – and it's right. But it's also shaping up to be a drone done right. Let's see where it has the most potential, despite its better-late-than-never status.Price and release dateReliable drones aren't cheap, but GoPro Karma comes in at a surprisingly reasonable price considering everything that's including in the package.

It costs $799 (£719, AU$1195) for the drone, Grip handheld mount, display-integrated controller and a backpack case. A battery, charger, six propellers and required mounts are also here.Don't have a newer GoPro Hero camera yet? There are bundles designed just for you. GoPro throws in a Hero5 Black into the drone package for $1099, or a Hero5 Session for $999. UK and Australian pricing is coming soon.The official GoPro Karma drone release date is October 23 in the US, with other markets to follow into January 2017. The Black camera bundle is available right away, while the Session is slated for January.The other, likely worthwhile (we're talking from experience here) expense is "GoPro Care." It costs $149 for a two-year warranty on the drone or $199 for the drone and Hero5 Black. Replacement parts are included and damaged drones have you paying just a $199 deductible.DesignThe Karma drone is different because it's incredibly portable. You can fold it up and stash it in a normal-sized backpack.

Compactness isn't common among premium drones like this.The four propeller arms on top fold inward and the landing gear on the bottom fold upward toward the drone body. You can take the propellers off, just in case you need a smidgen of extra space.It measures 12 in (303mm) x 16.2 in (411mm) x 4.6 in (117mm) at full wingspan, and 14.4in (365mm) x Width: 8.8in (224mm) x 3.5in (90mm) folded up. It can get small for its 35.5oz (1006g) weight.The Karma stabilizer and harness are seated up front in the drone cockpit and have a range of motion of 90 degrees, up and down. Rotating the drone is how to move the camera left and right.The stabilizer can be removed and snapped into the Karma Grip for smooth, handheld video. It's a separate wand-shaped device with its own battery life, but it does come with the drone.The entire drone has black-and-white color scheme, with matte black landing gear legs that are really just two brackets to take on the impact of the ground first.Below each propeller arm are lights, two green ones in the front, and two red ones in the back.

This is to indicate the front and back of the drone, as it can get confusing when starring up at the California sun.Flight performance and controllerTaking off with the Karma drone was a smooth experience, and that's in large part due to the clamshell controller and its 5-inch touchscreen.Pitch and yaw joysticks make this as easy as a video game, and center buttons for landing and taking off can automate everything for drone novices. Shoulder-mounted triggers are dedicated to the camera.Even on a windy mountaintop, we were able to keep the drone in the air and the on-screen video stable. The connection remained steady, which is a major problem for almost all drones we've tested.The Karma Controller lacks an external antenna, which goes with GoPro's whole compactness theme, and yet it stayed connected the entire time.The only issue you have is that the 720p display has 900 nits. That's bright enough for most conditions, but extremely sunny days, like we experienced, made it more difficult in direction sunlight.

We'll have to keep testing it to see if the so-far steady connectivity remains consistent. So far, our aerial footage looks as if it wasn't a windy day thanks to the 3-axis camera gimbal.Handheld stabilizerPopping out the camera's stabilizer and inserting it into the included Karma Grip lets you take the camera gimbal on a handheld adventure.GoPro is basically taking a different product than drone-making rival DJI sells separately and adding it to the Karma bundle with increasing to the cost of the drone package.Locking the camera in one direction means it'll stay trained on that direction without shake, even as you walk and turn about. Pressing the unlock button and twisting the Grip about still gives you a smooth rotation.Battery lifeThe GoPro Karma battery life is supposed to give you a 20-minute flight before it runs out of juice and wanted to return to home. Charging it takes about an hour, according to the company.Of course, multiple batteries can be swapped in and out of the drone, and the case has space for a bunch of them, plus the controller and drone.

The Karma Grip fastens to the side.There are other batteries to be concerned about. The controller is rated for four hours of use and charges back up in 2 and a half hours. The Grip lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes and charges in two hours.Early verdictGoPro Karma is shaping up to be the ultimate drone for on-the-go video thanks to its compact size and it's proven ability to provide consistent video stabilization from as high as 3280ft (1000m).It's priced right considering it comes bundled with a touchscreen controller and handheld stabilizer. The controller makes flying fun and painless and doesn't drain out iPad battery.There's still several dozen more flight tests we'd like to do with the Karma drone, in a variety of different scenic environments. That has to wait for October 23. Check back for an updated review then. What is a hands on review? 'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours.