DJI FPV Drone | What You Should Know Before You Buy It
More and more videos appear, showing impressive flight maneuvers at high speeds. The drones fly just inches above the ground; they race and track Mountainbikes and parachutes. They dive down the highest waterfalls and pass through the narrowest spaces.
Simply put: FPV flying is cool and more people want to be a part of the fun.
The brand-new DJI FPV Drone targets this growing market like no other model because it enables everyone literally to safely operate a racing fast FPV drone.
Read on to find out about the major pros and cons of this new drone - because we were lucky and took the DJI FPV Drone to the test for you. Watch our full review right here on YouTube.
Ease Of Use
The DJI FPV Drone follows the manufacturer's major secret to success: it's supposed to be a high-end model with tons of capabilities while still user-friendly.
And it's true. The DJI FPV Drone is equipped with a ton of safety features: the drone automatically returns to its take-off position in case of a connection loss. It navigates safely, thanks to the inbuilt GPS and Glonass receiver. It has a multi-angled anti-collision system aboard that does a fantastic job (it reliably prevented crashes when I took it to the test).
Now, the drone is equipped with three flight modes: N, S, and M.
In N-Mode, the drone behaves like any other DJI model: it hovers safely, flies at a limited speed, and the sensors keep the drone safe. Literally, anyone can control the drone in this mode.
S-Mode is a hybrid mode. It enables faster flight while still not allowing the drone to, f.e., tip over. This mode is great for practicing for the final mode.
M-mode is what all pro's out there will love: the drone flies without the help of the safety tools, it can tip over, race up- or downward, it can perform the craziest maneuvres at high speeds.
Fast Flight
Regular drones can hit speeds of around 60 - 70 kilometers per hour. That's fast, but FPV and racing drones can fly much faster. Officially, the DJI FPV Drone even doubles this speed; The manufacturer claims max speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour. During the tests that I performed, the DJI FPV Drone flew faster: 150 kilometers per hour in manual mode.
That's insanely fast and creates spectacular footage.
And a feeling that can only be called crazily intense when wearing the FPV goggles V2. You feel like sitting inside the drone's cockpit. It kind of reminded me of the famous podracing seen in the Star Wars films.
Camera Capabilities
The drone is equipped with a replaceable 4K camera. Its ultra-wide-angle lens allows for a true FPV feeling. Up to 60 frames per second in 4K enable users to create super-smooth or even slow-mo footage.
The camera is one-axis mechanically stabilized. The well-functioning digital image stabilization takes control over the other two leftover axes. And the system does an excellent job.
The footage is nicely detailed, thanks to the 150 mbit/s the camera records with.
You can download original test footage for free right here.
(Additional) Tools
To operate the DJI FPV Drone, you firstly need a remote controller. And, well, there’s not a lot I could tell you about the included one. It does the job nicely but doesn’t have any overwhelming features aboard.
Next, and this is truly important, you need goggles. And DJI provides users with the most excellent FPV goggles I have ever seen (until today). The new DJI FPV Goggles V2 have a super low latency of less than 28 milliseconds. It means that they transfer the footage from the camera to the eyes super fast, which is very important when flying inches from the ground at high speeds).
Also, the fact the goggles transfer the signal digitally is excellent—no more flickering and badly interrupted video. The DJI Goggles V2 are worth their own blog article (you can also hear me talking about and demonstrating them in my review on YouTube).
Last but not least, the manufacturer introduced a new tool—the DJI Motion Controller.
It’s basically a lightweight, one-handed controller that you can move like a joystick. And the drone follows the hand movements.
Final Thoughts
I believe that handing out super fast and powerful FPV drones to the general (and not necessarily trained) public can lead to accidents.
Already with regular drones, some beginners have given drones a lousy reputation by causing unnecessary accidents. True, the number of people who got seriously hurt is still minimal, and the press is not covering themselves with glory by reporting about drones as if they were tiny grenades.
Now, if unskilled folks crash their super fast FPV drones into people or cars, we might finally truly end up with some severe accidents - and the press will love it. And we will end up with even worse restrictions.
On the contrary, if beginners are decent and get started in N-mode and level up using S-mode before they finally start to fly manually, there is not a lot to worry about. In general, if you're flying in wide-open spaces, then you should be safe; Whether you are a beginner or a pro.
Now, if people take it easy and practice before they start to chase for the most spectacular recordings, then the DJI FPV Drone is excellent news. It will finally uplift a niche hobby and make it accessible to the general public. And that, in the end, leads to more innovations, better prices and, yes, more fun.
If you want to check out the DJI FPV Drone's current pricing, click right here. Every purchase supports my work, and I can keep it free and accessible to anyone. Thanks so much.
