So what exactly is the DJI FPV drone other than one of DJI is worst kept secrets.
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Actually wish this had been more of a surprise because it’s an all new drone designed for DJI sort of a hybrid between its camera drones like the maverick Pro, and a ready to fly racing drone But as the name suggests, it’s really about giving you an amazing immersive first person view flying experience and being able to capture it in 4k.
So let’s take a closer look at the FPV and see what it can do.
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Okay, so let’s talk about the design.
Obviously it’s a very different drone from DJI’s folding camera drones.
It’s compact, but you’re not putting this in a jacket pocket.
The arms don’t fold.
They’re fixed and so are the prop blades.
It’s bulkier than your average FPV racing drone too, but a lot of that is the battery design that gets you up to 20 minutes of flight time, which is about double what you can get from a racing drone this size.
It’s kind of reminds me of supersize, Tiny Whoop if you’re familiar with those, but this is no toy.
You can fly it in a full manual mode and take it up to 140 kilometers per hour or about 87 miles per hour.
More about that in a bit but because there is a greater chance of you crashing this, it’s got a stronger build and DGI made it See you can replace the landing gear, the top shell, the props and of course the gamble
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So there is just one camera for sending video to the headset and recording it up to 4K at 60FPS or 1080 120 with a 150 degree field of view.
And that’s pretty much it you’re getting as far as camera control You’re not gonna find drony modes, or active track on this.
The camera is also just on a single axis stabilizer, paired with electronic stabilization.
So that’s what you’re seeing here, controlling shake and vibration, not the typical three axis cam bolt.
This also means that camera isn’t always level because it tilts with the drone.
Now what separates this from other FPV non racing drones is that the headset doesn’t rely on your phone and an app.
These are DJI FPV Goggles version two and they give you a clear cinematic live view at At 10 p at 120 frames per second with a latency at or under 28 milliseconds.
It can also be set to 50 or 60 frames per second too, you can record to both the drone and the headset but with the E is on.
Only the drone video is stabilized with it.
The headset really does immerse you in the experience because it is so clear and smooth.
If you play a lot of FPV games like first person shooters, it’s the same feeling to the point where you end up moving your head and body with the movement of the drone.
And if a friend wants to watch, you can connect a phone to the USB C port on this, and they can watch using the DJI app.
The last piece of the package is the controller which has a strong gaming looking feel to it.
Including the back here where it has some controls specific to this model.
Here on the right, you have your camera controls including a switch that lets you quickly reposition the camera up and down on the gimbal and on the left, there’s an emergency brake and a return to home button So you can stop and hover without thinking about it, even if you’re in manual mode that’ll work.
And next to it is the switch that drops you between normal, sport, and manual modes.
Also, if you want the full manual experience you can open up the controller and loosen the stick tension so they don’t return to center.
Okay, so with the modes you essentially get to choose how much help you want while you’re flying.
Manual is pretty much that, you’re all on your own.
Normal mode is like flying a Maverick.
So it’s great for beginners and it has a top speed of about 30 miles per hour and it has front obstacle detection.
It’ll slow you down as you approach trees and things.
Sport mode takes it up to a top speed of 60 miles per hour, and the drone flies a little more like a racing drone but stays in the air on its own.
The front sensors are off, but there are sensors underneath to detect the ground, so you can just bring it in for a smooth landing.
And one other thing, there’s a find my drone feature in the app and in the headset.
So should you crash and go down, you can use it to help find your drone.
So that’s a basic rundown of what the out of the box experience is like for the FPV.
You get the drone, the headset, and the controller, and one battery.
For $1,299 a fly more kit with two more batteries and a charging hub is going to be available for $299.
Then there’s this.
This is the new motion controller.
Basically everything to control the cameras is on top.
And there’s also controls for takeoffs and landings and the emergency brake and the return to home feature.
Actually moving the drone is done with the trigger in front and tilting your hand left and right, and up and down.
It’s going to be available for $199.
Okay, so that’s a look at the DJI FPV drone.
It’s a lot of fun to fly.
It’s more agile than DJI camera drones, The picture quality in the headset is great and certainly better than trying to squint at a phone display on a sunny day.
If you’re looking for an all in one ready to fly FPV kit with a real headset and not a phone headset.
This would be a good choice for 13 $100 video quality is overall good but the electronic stabilization is noticeable.
So if you’re expecting the silky smooth video that you get with the Mavericks three axis gimbal by a maverick, what do you think?
Let us know in the comments and check out more details on the DJI FPV on cnet.com and thanks for watching.
