GoPro's announcement is big news, especially considering the company's financial performance. Their stock price has been under-performing all year (see chart attached). Initial reaction to the Karma is less than stellar: "...some are undoubtedly concerned that while GoPro markets Karma as 'much more than a drone,' it lacks key several key features for which many drone enthusiasts had hoped."
Pros: It has a low physical profile, including folding propeller arms and landing gear; a game-style joystick with a touchscreen display. It has a stabilizer that can be removed and mounted to a Karma Grip (good) and a handheld stick that can be mounted to the backpack for world-class stabilized video from a first-person point of view.
Cons: Travis Hoium
pointed out in his overview of the "good enough" drone, Karma won't include object avoidance or "follow-me" functionality. Woodman did leave the door open to including follow-me in the future, explaining that GoPro believes the current technology simply isn't up to par with the experience many users demand. For now, Karma includes a feature they call auto shot paths, enabling users to choose from a number of pre-set patterns for semi-antonymous flight.
GOPRO KARMA DRONE BACKPACK. IMAGE SOURCE: GOPRO.
