Holy Stone has become a well-known and well-respected name in the drone community since its creation in 2014. This (possibly German, based on languages in its user manuals) company produces a wide variety of quadcopters. We’re going to take a look at the 700 series, specifically that HS720 drone, in this article. We’ll also briefly refer to the predecessors and compare it to its successor, so you can see how it has progressed over time.
Article Contents
Features of the Holy Stone HS720 Drone
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The main reason (other than the simple fun of flying) to get the HS720 is to take pictures and videos with it. While it may not be in the same category as a DJI Mavic Mini or Phantom 4 Pro drone, you will still get good results from your efforts.
Image Stabilization and Shock Absorption
The camera is a 4K model with Ultra HD (UHD) capabilities. Holy Stone gives you image stabilization and a shock absorption holder to help make your images as clear as can be, even though the weather conditions may be fighting against you.
Image Resolution
You can use the 90-degree adjustable camera lens to shoot high resolution images of 3840 by 2160 pixels. Note that this resolution is only available when you store the images on a memory card (which is not included in your purchase package). When you store them on your phone, the best you can get is 1920 by 1080 pixels. Not that this is a real problem, but you should be aware that you’ll need to make a small additional purchase to get the best pictures possible.
Return Home Feature
Your flight with your HS720 is GPS-assisted. When the battery power gets low or if you lose the signal between your remote control and the drone, the craft will automatically return to home. You can have it do so on command too, by pressing one key that’s setup for this purpose.
3 Flying Modes
Flying modes include Follow Me, tracing a path you draw, and circling a set point. You can use any of these methods to make concentration on your photography easier. You don’t have to worry about the flight pattern itself.
Foldable
One feature that sometimes is overlooked regarding the HS720 is that it is foldable. While this obviously doesn’t impact flight or photography, it is a great feature for all the other times you interact with your drone. Being able to fold in the arms and tuck it into its carrying case is just really handy for storage and transportation.
One Key Take Off and Landing
Additional functions include one-key start and stop, emergency stop, altitude hold, and “electric fence”, all of which are designed to make your flying experience simpler and easier than with many other models of quadcopters.
One Weakness of Holy Stone HS720
The only real downside to the HS720 is the battery recharging time which can take 5 hours or more. Fortunately, Holy Stone includes a second battery, but once the power that one is used up too, you still have to wait for several hours before you can fly again.
Flight Range
You can fly your HS720 as far as 3277 feet from “home”. That’s about 6/10 of a mile. You can use the FPV ability for about half of that distance (up to 1640 feet). This isn’t the widest range available in drones, but it should be suitable for most owners.
The Before and After of the Holy Stone HS720 Drone
The Holy Stone HS720 was preceded by the HS700, which, though you can consider it a parent machine, doesn’t really resemble the HS720 all that much. A much more closely-related model is the HS720E.
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Holy Stone HS720 vs Holy Stone HS720E
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There are just a handful of differences between the HS720 and HS720E, features which we have largely ignored to this point so we could spend a little time pointing them out here.
Image Stabilization
While the HS720 does have basic image stabilization, the HS720E steps this up with electronic image stabilization (EIS). (We assume that this is what the “E” in the model name represents.) Holy Stone doesn’t really give any details about what this upgrade means, but we can guess that it has to do with the internal programming of the drone module. The stabilization on the HS720 is likely more physical in nature.
Field of View
The camera lens on the HS720 model has a field of view (FOV) of 120 degrees. That’s not bad, but the HS720E bumps that figure up to 130 degrees, which, of course, is even better. The more you can see while flying, the better. Anything that can help you avoid hazards is something of which we approve.
Weight
The HS720E is a bit heavier, at 495 grams, than the older model (460g). This is true even though (assuming Holy Stone’s figures are correct) it has smaller overall dimensions. The HS720 measures 336 by 370 by 56 millimeters (unfolded), but the HS720E measures 338 by 241 by 58 millimeters. It’s a little hard to tell from those figures which one is bigger. If you multiply them to get the volume of each machine, you’ll see that the HS720E is only about 2/3 the size of the HS720. This makes all of these figures a little suspect, but it probably won’t matter that much to the average user anyway.
Size
What does matter most is that weight – the 495g, because that causes a corresponding reduction in flight time from 26 minutes for the HS720 to just 23 minutes for the HS720E. Holy Stone likes to advertise that, since you get 2 batteries with your purchase, you actually get 46 minutes of air time with the HS720E. Well, the same can be said of the HS720, and that would give you 52 minutes up in the air.
Video
We mentioned earlier that you get the best video quality when using a (TF) memory card. The largest card you can install in the HS720 is a 32GB card. With the HS720E, you can use anything up to 128GB. This should be enough space to hold all you’d want, even if you were taking pictures throughout your flight while using up both batteries.
Early Version Holy Stone HS720 2K
It’s also worth mentioning here that Holy Stone had an earlier version of the HS720 which only had a 2K (not 4K) camera. This explains why you may see other articles that refer to this earlier camera, even though Holy Stone really only promotes its 4K version today. We would recommend you get the newer 4K camera model.
Conclusion on Who Should Buy Holy Stone HS720 4K?
This is an easy one to size up. This drone is ideal for beginners to advanced users. It has high end features for video and photos, but the features such as one key take off and landing, 3 flying modes and size due to arms folding in make this a drone that will suit everyone. I own the Holy Stone HS700 and plan on buying the this one in the late summer. I feel the HS720E is a bit pricey so I would advise beginner and intermediate levels to hold off on the ‘E’ model for now.
Hal Simmons
When I first started flying drones I was always afraid of damaging my drone. I would always be thinking what if. I questioned myself often and as a result it made me question various aspects of flying drones. In the process I learned a lot. This is why I feel I have a lot of information that will be helpful to beginners and intermediate drone enthusiasts. Of course I still have a lot to learn so join me on this journey and I am sure you will enjoy the adventure ahead of us.Get daily lessons that start with how to choose a drone.