Holy Stone HS510 Review: Best Mini Camera Drone Under $300

Meet Holy Stone HS510, one of the smart camera drones under $300. The Holy Stone HS510 is a recently released foldable camera drone packed with impressive camera capabilities and superior flight time.

Holy Stone is a well-known drone manufacturer company and have been making high-quality drones since the inception of HS170 Predator. Although, the introduction of Holy Stone HS510 looks like the company is making moves to tighten its grip on the consumer-based drones.

With so many popular drones such as Ruko F11 Pro and Potensic D88 that’s available to beginners and recreational remote pilots. Holy Stone is taking a step further by making their quadcopters smarter, compact, and packed with performance at a stunning affordable price.

They have done the same with their flagship drone, Holy Stone HS700D and Holy Stone HS720. But the Holy Stone HS510 is shaping to be an exciting drone that gives us a glimpse of how the future drones will look like.

If you are looking to have your hands on the latest camera drone, we created an in-depth Holy Stone HS510 review to help buyers like you make the best decision. That being said, let’s dive deep and find out if you should buy the Holy Stone HS510 drone.

Holy Stone HS510 Introduction

In our in-depth Holy Stone HS510 review, we will introduce this drone to you. First of all, what is Holy Stone HS510? It is a camera drone with a built-in 4K UHD camera located at the front. It also features foldable motor arms, a design feature that was first introduced in Mavic Pro.

This camera drone can capture stills at mouthwatering 4K resolution which does an awesome job at delivering details packed with vivid color. In addition to that, the Holy Stone HS510 is mounted with a GPS module which eliminates the need for manual controls like shifting stability.

At first glance, the Holy Stone HS510 looks like a high-end camera drone — it is nowhere that close to the monstrous specifications that Phantom 4 Pro, Mavic Mini and Autel EVO 2 has.

The Holy Stone HS510 is actually an entry-level camera drone designed for beginners and recreational remote pilots who want to learn how to fly and mainly for fun. It is also a great flying gadget that teaches you how to capture aerial photography — an essential skill before you move on to one of these premium drones.

Holy Stone HS510: Design and Build Quality

Our initial impression with the Holy Stone HS510 camera drone was very good. This drone features jet white coating that gives out a professional appearance and falls in line with premium brands such as Apple iPhone for instance.

The Holy Stone HS510 drone also features innovative design by making the motor arms foldable. This makes it easy enough for you to fold the motor arms inwards and outwards. You also can store the drone inside your backpack and take with you around the world.

The battery is located at the top middle of the drone’s body framework. To replace the battery, simply push both grips on the sides and remove. Then insert a fresh battery onto the drone and it’s ready to fly once again.

I especially love how colorful the drone’s front LED lights are. It provides a clear visual assistance for flying the drone forward with red LED lights in the back that indicates back. Holy Stone has done a good job at making visual positioning clear and easy to understand.

Holy Stone HS510: Camera Quality

If you are looking for a camera drone that is actually good and delivers quality results. The Holy Stone HS510 comes with an impressive 4K UHD video resolution capabilities that lets it capture at 16 frames per second and at 25 frames per second for 2.7K HD resolution.

Majority of the camera drones in this price range typically provide up to 1080P or 2K HD video resolution capabilities. But Holy Stone HS510 is the first camera drone to break the barrier with its powerful smart camera.

In addition to that, the Holy Stone HS510 is equipped with a shock absorption function where the camera is affixed at. This allows the drone to absorb vibration and minimizes shakiness so it can provide a smooth and steady footage that your audience will truly appreciate.

When it comes to recording videos, it is quite impressive that it can produce 4K UHD footage. But it comes at a cost of fewer frames per second which will strike as slightly choppy and not fluid to some animation-conscious buyers.

Still, the quality of videos and stills that this drone delivers is what you will expect to find on premium drones. Which makes the Holy Stone HS510 one of the best entry-level camera drones for training and learning how to capture aerial photography.

Holy Stone HS510: Flight Time and Range

A drone is completely useless if it doesn’t have good flight time and range. Which is why Holy Stone worked hard to deliver a completely new battery type that provides the HS510 drone a flight time of 16 minutes per single charge.

This is actually quite impressive since camera drones with 4K UHD video resolution capabilities tend to drain battery fast. But with this drone, you will be able to get a real flight time of average 14 minutes with full 4K UHD video on.

Another major upgrade that the Holy Stone HS510 drone has to offer is superior remote control distance. The farthest you can fly with this camera drone is 800 meters. Most of the camera drones in this price range have a maximum remote control distance up to 500 meters.

Combined with 16 minutes of flight time and 800 meters remote control distance, the Holy Stone HS510 is positioning itself as a powerful competitor that beginners and recreational remote pilots will absolutely love.

Holy Stone HS510: Flight Performance

In the next part of our in-depth Holy Stone HS510 review, we will talk about this camera drone’s flight performance. If you are going to buy a drone, the first thing that comes to your mind will be flight performance.

All of us definitely want to know how well this camera drone performs. Luckily, Holy Stone has been making drones for several years, enough to understand how important the drone’s performance is to a successful flight.

The Holy Stone HS510 has a maximum flight speed of 20 miles per hour. It is able to resist up to Wind Speed Level 4 (13 to 18 miles per hour) without any issue. Mainly because of the fact that this drone is equipped with brushless motors.

The brushless motors are much more powerful compared to brushed motors. Since it rotates on a magnetic tip, it doesn’t generate that much friction which allows the drone to achieve faster Rotation Per Minute (RPM) for higher flight speed and smoother controls.

In addition to that, the Holy Stone HS510 is mounted with a GPS module. Which eliminates the need for manual controls and automates the majority of basic commands via its flight control system. Beginners will love how easy and simple it is to fly this camera drone.

Holy Stone HS510: Advanced Features

Believe it or not, the Holy Stone HS510 is literally packed with tons of smart features despite the fact that it is small — around the size of a smartphone. This camera drone is incredibly capable of performing autonomous flight modes.

If you want to command this drone to follow anywhere you go. Select Follow Me Mode and set yourself as the target. Then the drone will automatically follow you as it records the video.

Another cool intelligent flight mode is Orbit Mode that lets the drone create a 360-degree video of interesting objects. It’s a quick way to capture videos of a cruise ship, landmarks, or to provide you with aerial intelligence of things happening down there.

You also can draw a flight path if you want to customize your footage. Simply fly the drone and place a virtual waypoint. When you are ready, tap start to command the drone to begin flying. Furthermore, you can tap on the screen to command the drone to fly there.

Lastly, if you ever lose sight of the Holy Stone HS510 drone, don’t freak out. Because this camera drone is equipped with a Smart Return to Home function. Which means you can tap on the button and the drone will automatically return to home point.

Why Buy Holy Stone HS510

There’s so many drones under $300, but the Holy Stone HS510 is proving itself to be an exception with superior flight time and remote control distance. You might be asking yourself this question, should I buy a Holy Stone HS510 drone?

The Holy Stone HS510 is a lightweight, compact and portable entry-level camera drone packed with 16 minutes of flight time and can be commanded up to 800 meters. It touts as the latest and most advanced camera drone with 4K UHD video resolution capabilities for avid aerial photographers and beginners who want to be able to soar a bird with ease.

The camera can be adjusted remotely, which provides you the flexibility to capture stunning aerial shots. In addition to that, the Holy Stone HS510 drone’s performance is simple, yet easy enough for beginners who want to fly a bird with precise and grace to obtain the best flight experience.

Not to forget to mention, the Holy Stone HS510 is also one of the fewest camera drones under $300 that’s literally packed with tons of features. Intelligent flight modes, return to home, autonomous flight controls and such.

Holy Stone HS510 Review: Final Verdict

To wrap up our in-depth Holy Stone HS510 review, we highly recommend this entry-level camera drone for both beginners and recreational remote pilots. The company has done a great job at delivering 4K UHD camera drones with good flight time and remote control distance.

Although more experienced and professional remote pilots might prefer premium drones to Holy Stone HS510. But at the price tag that Holy Stone HS510 drone is going for, it is definitely a dealbreaker.

We hope you find our in-depth Holy Stone HS510 review both helpful and informative. If you have any questions about this camera drone, feel free to drop a comment in the comments section. Happy flying and stay tuned for more deals at Gears Deals.