Can I fly it without a camera?

[venom012]

I want to get this drone at $299 at Best Buy. I will have to wait a bit for the camera. I was wondering can you fly it without a camera? Also are we just limited to gopros for camera options?

 

[Joe Horn]

Welcome to the club!

Yes, you can fly a Solo without a camera IF you don't install the gimbal, but it's nowhere near as fun as when you can see exactly what the drone is seeing through its camera. Once the gimbal is installed, it should only be flown with the camera in it, because flying with an empty gimbal can destroy the gimbal.

Yes, your $299 package is limited to using a GoPro Hero 3+ (sorta works) or Hero 4 (works better). It does NOT work with the Hero 5.

 

[venom012]

thank you. I know it will be better with the camera but I have to act on the Best Buy deal. I have no will power I want to fly it. Looks like the hero 4 is my choice then.

 

[Dan_Solo]

You can at least pull up the map page on your phone/tablet when flying it instead of the video. In the flight screen where normally you would have the video feed, swipe left from the right hand side of the screen and you can pull out the map.

 

[jst1970]

most def! you can also select acrobatic mode and fly the same as you would with an RC helicopter. so many options!

 

[3DRSOLO]

I have one with camera and one with out camera , the one with out camera I did not install the gimbal

 

[gnomad]

most def! you can also select acrobatic mode and fly the same as you would with an RC helicopter. so many options!

ROFLMAO good joke. I defy anyone to do tick tocks, wags, inverted flight, etc. that I can do on my heli's. There is no way in hell that a Solo can do aerobatics.

 

[richnat]

Yes, your $299 package is limited to using a GoPro Hero 3+ (sorta works) or Hero 4 (works better). It does NOT work with the Hero 5.

The Hero 3+ Black is fully functional when in the gimbal. The only functional difference is that you must turn on the camera when you power up the Solo, the Solo will not automatically power on the GP when the Solo is turned on. Another slight difference is that the 3+B will be charged by the Solo when the Solo is powered on, the 4s will not.

Now, that said, the Hero 3 is a different story. It can feed live video but cannot be controlled by the App. To record video on the camera you have to start recording manually at the camera before you take off.

 

[Dan_Solo]

The Hero 4 will not power up automatically either since the last 2 updates, but it is indeed charged while the Solo is powered on.

I had a Hero 3+ before upgrading to the 4, but I was able to control the camera through the app just fine. However the settings could not be changed through the app on the Hero 3+ from what I remember.