Last week on another forum I saw someone asking about trading their Spark for a Karma to get better image quality and I've seen interest in it when some places were clearing out of them.
I'd be curious to know how many there are in use out there since I've almost never seen them discussed even around their launch.
I own a Karma. Never had issues with it, mechanically speaking. I flew it pretty regularly for two years, traveling all over the world with it. I haven't flown it it about a year. Last year I purchased a Mavic Air due to size and weight factors.
Many of the issues iPhonedo complained about in his video above were non-issues, or quite frankly inaccurate in my experience. There are many things I actually like better about my Karma drone vs the Air, but overall the Air, even the Spark are undoubtedly superior drones.
Things I liked better about the Karma over my Air:
- Remote with Integrated Video monitor: It always connected automatically, I never had difficulty viewing the monitor in the sun. The same cannot be said for my Air. The phone frequently fails to connect, and I have to manually connect. There are frequently last minute firmware updates for the Air, I didn't have that issue with the Karma. I've forgotten my phone or my phone battery has quickly died, causing me to not be able to fly my drone. I do not have this issue with Karma.
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Karma cameras are interchangeable. It is compatible with the Hero 4-7 Black Cameras. When a new camera came out, you didn't have to upgrade the entire drone, you could just upgrade the camera. I never crashed, but often in a crash, even if someone completely totaled their drone, the Camera was salvageable. It is much cheaper and easier to repair and replace parts on Karma than on an DJI drone. It was built with user repair in mind.
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Waterproof stabilized
Camera. If you are traveling to a national park in the US, your DJI Drone is pretty much a paperweight. If you travel to a location planning to fly, only to find out after hours of flight or driving that the area is in a no-fly zone, or the weather is just not cooperating, again...your DJI drone is a paperweight. With the Karma, you can slip off the Gimbal and Camera, and you can take it with you. Add an extension pole, you can mimmick drone shots. You can use the camera and shoot underwater, on land, or in the air with the drone. You don't need to purchase multiple expensive cameras...one camera to rule them all.
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Color Grading. Whether you are shooting on the ground or in the air...all your footage comes from the same camera. This makes color grading much easier in post. I actually like the footage from my Karma better than the footage from my Air. The footage on the Air naively is just blowout and looses much of the highlights... but that is just a personal preference, and some of these issues can be addressed by tweaking the camera settings and in post.
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Passenger App. The Karma allows you to share control of the Camera with another individual using a phone or tablet. On one flight, I flew my drone, while my brother used my phone to start and stop video recording, and control the gimbal tilt. On another flight, while standing on an exposed cliff, I flew and controlled my drone, while my sister sat in the shade and enjoyed watching the video feed remotely on my phone. Folks that otherwise might be paranoid that a drone is flying in their vicinity can be put to ease when viewing the footage displayed on a tablet. Anyone can download the app for free, and the pilot has control over who can "join" the flight.
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Ease of use. My Karma was faster to set up and fly in comparison to the Air. Open the remote, turn it on. Open the drone, turn it on. I didn't have to fumble with a gimbal lock, I didn't have to fumble with connecting my phone to the controller or paring it for the 100th time to my drone...or waiting for firmware updates...it just worked. The simplicity of the drone, and lack of advanced features in comparison with the Air, just made it a pleasure to fly.
-Price. If you didn't already own an action camera, the price of the Karma Drone + Gimal + action camera was very competitive. For many years, the cost of the entire Karma package was basically the cost of the camera and Karma Grip (gimbal)...with a drone thrown in for free. My Air is just a drone. I need to purchase an action camera separately. I need to purchase a phone or tablet separately. I need to purchase a gimbal or stabilizer separately. There is actually a HUGE price difference when you compare the utility of the Karma drone with that of DJI drones. Yes, DJI have better drones, but you will be paying more..much more, to achieve similar results to what you can achieve with the Karma alone. For example, If you just took your DJI drone to Hawaii, and I just took my Karma (no other cameras), You would get some incredible areal shots, many outside the ability of the Karma, I would also get some nice areal shots, and some snorkeling, diving, surfing, riding bikes, zip-lining, etc. Again...You have to purchase much more equipment to be on parity with what Gopro Karma offered right out of the box.
As I fly my Air, I often think back fondly to the Karma...but not too fondly. As I said above...The Air is still a superior drone.
Things I like about the Air over the Karma:
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Size and weight. I travel. I enjoying hiking and other activities. The Karma is just too large and heavy for many of the activities I enjoy. When I flew, the Karma was an entire carry-on by itself. When I hike, the Karma was it's own backpack. If I wanted snacks, water or other gear, I needed either a larger backpack, or another person with me. The weight isn't that big of a deal for car camping, it isn't that big of a deal for a day trip with minimal walking...but hiking 5+ miles...it is definitely noticeable. To put things in perspective, My Mavic Air and battery are smaller and weigh less than a single Karma Battery. I carried three batteries! When I fly with My Air, I can throw the Air and remote into a small backpack or Carry-on with tons of extra gear and it takes up little of any space. The size means I can carry more batteries with less discomfort. I can throw it in a hiking backpack and hike with it all day without regret. There is an old saying, the camera you take with you is the one you are likely to use. The Air is the "camera" I take with me.
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Hand Launch. The Karma was too big and bulky to risk hand launching and catching, not to mention that it does drift some. While some might risk it, I wasn't so inclined. I have no such concerns with the Air. This allows me to launch and fly from locations that were very much off limits for me with my Karma.
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Flight Time and connection strength. The Air gets slightly better flight time over the Karma. A few extra minutes doesn't sound like much, but it is definitely noticeable in the air, or while flying at an exotic location. While "distance" has never been a concern for me, the strength of connection between the controller and the drone is VERY important. I typically fly in very rural outdoor locations, but I did notice with the Karma that the closer I flew to populated areas, the more noticeable problems I had with connectivity. I have not had similar issues with the Air. With both drones I have flown about as far away as I can fly, while still keeping my drone in LOS, but the Air is superior in regard to connection strength with the remote.
Advanced Features, Flight Sensors, etc. A strength of the Karama is also it's weakness. While I never had the Karma freeze in mid-air due to a phantom obstruction...the addition of Obstacle avoidance systems on the Air can be a big plus. There are many advance camera settings and features, that can complicate operation of the Air, but again, they are great features to have for fine tuning your flight for specific missions. I have limited use for just using my cell phone to fly my drone, but again...I like having the option if needed, and again..there have been some situations where this type of control was preferred. 360 Pano photos and other advanced flight modes simply aren't available on the Karma.
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3rd Party Support and Community. Due to the popularity of DJI Drones, there is a great deal of 3rd party support along with a very vibrant community. The same cannot be said of the Karma. Even in 2017 and at the height of its popularity, There was very little community support for the Karma. I sometimes theorize that one of the reasons, is that flight logs are more open to scrutiny for DJI products vs. the Karma. I suspect that many flyaways on the Karma and Many crashes are due to pilot error, but only GO Pro is actually able to analyze the flight logs. This has allowed rumors about the Karma to linger, and in many respects, I don't believe the poor reputation of the Karma is justified.
I'm fortunately in a position where the cost of most consumer drones or action cameras are not a barrier to entry for me. With that in mind, as much as I like some features of the Karma the size and weight of the Air, along with my ability to purchase other cameras and accessories was a factor in upgrading from the Karma. While there were some things I liked better about the Karma, I'm willing to overlook those areas due to some of the strengths offered by the Air.
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