I can't properly answer your question, because I don't know for sure if the camera is used by the flight computer, but if I were to guess I would say that it is not. I'd say that there wouldn't - from the drone's perspective - be any disadvantages. Originally I thought that I would be doing the same thing, but so far I've not removed the camera. This is my first drone with a live video feed, and while I'm confident flying it, the camera feed adds a new perspective. For me, it feels like there is more to learn camera-wise than there is to learn flight-wise. Good luck!