DJI FPV Opinions?

[A.O.]

i've been trying my best to get a set

Sign up for an "in stock reminder" and then you better be quick when they tell you they have them

 

[Sayenah]

Being brand new to the hobby and only having the DJI FPV to base my experience on, I struggle a little bit with the descriptors more seasoned quad pilots use to describe it. "Floaty", "Drifty", "Underpowered". "Sluggish" I'm not necessarily disagreeing on any of that, because I wouldn't know at this point. It may be that the only way I will understand those terms is to buy a 5" typical FPV drone (eyes are on the Nazgul 5 HD S6 version with DJI V1 Transmitter).

But until then, would you care to elaborate on those terms a bit to help me understand what they mean in a little more detail? Again, not challenging them at all, just trying to understand better.

Thank you for asking this. Most of these critics are what you may call hobby gatekeepers. A big component of their identity revolves around their hobbies. I have seen this in the BMW community (what’s a REAL “M” car?); in the Porsche community (Boxster is a poor man’s Porsche); in the RC community (TRAXXAS destroyed the hobby by commercializing it!!!) and now the FPV community (h0w d@Re dJi RelEaSe aN fPv dR0nE?!?! So stooopid! Sooo fat sloooww. I’m sticking to my homegrown setup! That’s a real man’s drone!!!)

it is absolutely a silly thing to assume that this drone is not like some “premium” variant of some eMax. It was never meant to be. In fact the DJI FPV drone brings the focus of the FPV hobby back to FPV instead of all the ancillary BS like building, troubleshooting, optimizing blah blah which became more of the focus than FPV itself. Kind of like what TRAXXAS did with the XMaxx; every “purist” hates it on principle, but is THE premium RC to get if you just want to have fun.

try visiting the FPV subreddit on Reddit. You will see exactly what I mean. Everyday you see ten topics discussing how fat, slow, sluggish, and heavy the DJI FPV drone is and the comparisons are always with some home built DIY quad with 4 minute flight time. Insanity.

 

[venomoussvt]

Being brand new to the hobby and only having the DJI FPV to base my experience on, I struggle a little bit with the descriptors more seasoned quad pilots use to describe it. "Floaty", "Drifty", "Underpowered". "Sluggish" I'm not necessarily disagreeing on any of that, because I wouldn't know at this point. It may be that the only way I will understand those terms is to buy a 5" typical FPV drone (eyes are on the Nazgul 5 HD S6 version with DJI V1 Transmitter).

But until then, would you care to elaborate on those terms a bit to help me understand what they mean in a little more detail? Again, not challenging them at all, just trying to understand better.

the best way i can describe it is this... imagine sitting in the floor of your kitchen with a friend. you roll a ball to each other in the floor. You start by being very capable of rolling a soccer ball back and forth. change then from rolling a soccer ball to a 12 lb bowling ball. You are still very capable of rolling the bowling ball and the size of the 2 is very similar. Now, however, there is more effort involved in stopping and starting, or changing the direction of travel for the ball. Its less efficient to move the heavier ball with as much ease. Now take some of these strong man guys and have him roll the bowling ball. He is much much stronger than you or me so offs are its pretty efficient for him to roll the ball around.

not relate that to the drone, being that its pretty heavy it takes more force to start stop and change direction of the quad than a typical racing drone. Factor in the motors had to be balanced to be able to do the job but not destroy battery life, they are obviously not as strong as they could have been (providing battery life meant nothing). Any heavy quad, unless it is overpowered, will be a little floaty merely by physics. Tossing something heavy through the air is harder than tossing something light. But with a motor that is slightly underpowered (which i use lightly with this quad because i feel they did a good job finding a happy medium for battery consumption) to help stop and move this heavy thing you end up with something that when you give stick input doesnt react like something more purpose built would.

now.... with all that being said, i stand behind that this isnt a racing drone. So the need for it to be super snappy is just not there for most consumers. Not to mention, going from sport to full acro is a big step... Even after flying acro here on this quad, to jump into something that weights less than half and had more thrust, is another HUGE step. To have someone jump into that right off the gate would ruin people on the hobby more than anything else as it would cause so much discouragement.

 

[venomoussvt]

Sign up for an "in stock reminder" and then you better be quick when they tell you they have them

i did the day after they were released, havent had a single email from them though

 

[venomoussvt]

Thank you for asking this. Most of these critics are what you may call hobby gatekeepers. A big component of their identity revolves around their hobbies. I have seen this in the BMW community (what’s a REAL “M” car?); in the Porsche community (Boxster is a poor man’s Porsche); in the RC community (TRAXXAS destroyed the hobby by commercializing it!!!) and now the FPV community (h0w d@Re dJi RelEaSe aN fPv dR0nE?!?! So stooopid! Sooo fat sloooww. I’m sticking to my homegrown setup! That’s a real man’s drone!!!)

it is absolutely a silly thing to assume that this drone is not like some “premium” variant of some eMax. It was never meant to be. In fact the DJI FPV drone brings the focus of the FPV hobby back to FPV instead of all the ancillary BS like building, troubleshooting, optimizing blah blah which became more of the focus than FPV itself. Kind of like what TRAXXAS did with the XMaxx; every “purist” hates it on principle, but is THE premium RC to get if you just want to have fun.

try visiting the FPV subreddit on Reddit. You will see exactly what I mean. Everyday you see ten topics discussing how fat, slow, sluggish, and heavy the DJI FPV drone is and the comparisons are always with some home built DIY quad with 4 minute flight time. Insanity.

im hoping my posts dont sound like I am sticking up for the negative nancy's in the "FPV" crowd because i am definitely not. I love my DJI FPV, even though it isnt nearly as capable as my hawk 5 is... for me this is a cruiser. I dont care too much from tossing my $1500 investment inverted over a tree to pull of of the fall and duck under it. But I got out of "freestyle" FPV flying about as fast as I got into it. It looks cool for sure and some people live for it. I legitimately just love flying around, being one with the quad, and exploring as if I was up there over the trees (or through them down low)

 

[A.O.]

i did the day after they were released, havent had a single email from them though

I've had two, first one by the time I got there they were gone, second one I jumped on it and got a set ordered... BEFORE I even ordered the drone!!

Still waiting for an instock reminder for the goggles battery though..

 

[A.O.]

im hoping my posts dont sound like I am sticking up for the negative nancy's in the "FPV" crowd because i am definitely not. I love my DJI FPV, even though it isnt nearly as capable as my hawk 5 is... for me this is a cruiser. I dont care too much from tossing my $1500 investment inverted over a tree to pull of of the fall and duck under it. But I got out of "freestyle" FPV flying about as fast as I got into it. It looks cool for sure and some people live for it. I legitimately just love flying around, being one with the quad, and exploring as if I was up there over the trees (or through them down low)

That is me as well..

 

[Sayenah]

the best way i can describe it is this... imagine sitting in the floor of your kitchen with a friend. you roll a ball to each other in the floor. You start by being very capable of rolling a soccer ball back and forth. change then from rolling a soccer ball to a 12 lb bowling ball. You are still very capable of rolling the bowling ball and the size of the 2 is very similar. Now, however, there is more effort involved in stopping and starting, or changing the direction of travel for the ball. Its less efficient to move the heavier ball with as much ease. Now take some of these strong man guys and have him roll the bowling ball. He is much much stronger than you or me so offs are its pretty efficient for him to roll the ball around.

not relate that to the drone, being that its pretty heavy it takes more force to start stop and change direction of the quad than a typical racing drone. Factor in the motors had to be balanced to be able to do the job but not destroy battery life, they are obviously not as strong as they could have been (providing battery life meant nothing). Any heavy quad, unless it is overpowered, will be a little floaty merely by physics. Tossing something heavy through the air is harder than tossing something light. But with a motor that is slightly underpowered (which i use lightly with this quad because i feel they did a good job finding a happy medium for battery consumption) to help stop and move this heavy thing you end up with something that when you give stick input doesnt react like something more purpose built would.

now.... with all that being said, i stand behind that this isnt a racing drone. So the need for it to be super snappy is just not there for most consumers. Not to mention, going from sport to full acro is a big step... Even after flying acro here on this quad, to jump into something that weights less than half and had more thrust, is another HUGE step. To have someone jump into that right off the gate would ruin people on the hobby more than anything else as it would cause so much discouragement.

I absolutely understand; however understand that you also conflate racing drones with FPV. Racing drones and FPV go hand in hand, but one isn’t synonymous with the other.

consider this a sports car, not a racing car. The new 991 Turbo S does 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, yet it isn’t a “racing car”, it is a sports car. Same for this drone. So you have a bunch of folks who are used to high maintenance, DIY, racing quads trying to leverage their opinion on a performance oriented FPV drone whose primary purpose is... FPV with a side of topsy-turvies.

even in your write up, you kept on trying to justify whether it is, or isn’t, a “racing drone”. That’s me trying to gauge how my purpose built race car compares with my performance focused sports car. Makes no sense. They cater to different needs.

however, you know what I loved about your later comment, you just love to fly... and I absolutely cannot argue with that so cheers! And enjoy!

 

[venomoussvt]

I absolutely understand; however understand that you also conflate racing drones with FPV. Racing drones and FPV go hand in hand, but one isn’t synonymous with the other.

consider this a sports car, not a racing car. The new 991 Turbo S does 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, yet it isn’t a “racing car”, it is a sports car. Same for this drone. So you have a bunch of folks who are used to high maintenance, DIY, racing quads trying to leverage their opinion on a performance oriented FPV drone whose primary purpose is... FPV with a side of topsy-turvies.

even in your write up, you kept on trying to justify whether it is, or isn’t, a “racing drone”. That’s me trying to gauge how my purpose built race car compares with my performance focused sports car. Makes no sense. They cater to different needs.

however, you know what I loved about your later comment, you just love to fly... and I absolutely cannot argue with that so cheers! And enjoy!

maybe what im trying to say and what i am actually saying is just being lost in translation... im 100% on the same page as you from what I can tell. I do think that the FPV community tries to compare this to a racing drone (because thats typically what has been the most common form of FPV available to the masses). This is very much an FPV unit (obviously..LOL) but regardless of racing drones being FPV like this is, they are not comparable much more than on a very basic level.

 

[Sayenah]

maybe what im trying to say and what i am actually saying is just being lost in translation... im 100% on the same page as you from what I can tell. I do think that the FPV community tries to compare this to a racing drone (because thats typically what has been the most common form of FPV available to the masses). This is very much an FPV unit (obviously..LOL) but regardless of racing drones being FPV like this is, they are not comparable much more than on a very basic level.

Ah, exactly! Cheers! I am typing in between meetings and I should have read your message properly!

 

[m3sgal]

I own the both the DJI Mini 2 and DJI FPV. I held off on building my own quad waiting for this one, because I imagined that DJI is going to make a manual one that is more targeted towards cinematography, and didn't mind the steep cost considering that it will be an all-in-one package with extra safety features. However, I feel that DJI intentionally made some design flaws/restrictions on this one just to increase profit and attachment.
First, durability. Being a fast manual drone, that means it will increase crashing chances. Instead of designing with that in mind, they actually made it so that you have to send it back to them for repairs. This is evident when they decided to send two drones to all reviewers, even seasoned FPV pilots. They claimed it has a modular design, but this is not true for the arms, which is the first thing to break on a crash.
Second, camera. Instead of adding their known-for-three-axis gimbal, they decided to go with a single-axis one, that cannot even tilt all the way to the bottom. The camera has no proper protection. The props are showing in the view without editing. The photo capture quality is terrible. The setup was so bad, that people are considering mounting a GoPro on it!
Lastly, battery. The promised 15-20 minutes of flight is only when you are flying it in normal mode, and as soon as you switch to manual you can barely get 10 minutes. The pricing on battery is expensive, so it is difficult to invest in multiple batteries. Of course, you cannot use third-party batteries.
Having said all this, I still love this drone, it is just that I expected better from DJI. What I hope now that I've already invested on this one, and have its goggles and remote controller, is that once they release the new air unit that it will be compatible with both, so I can justify building my own quad.

 

[Sayenah]

I own the both the DJI Mini 2 and DJI FPV. I held off on building my own quad waiting for this one, because I imagined that DJI is going to make a manual one that is more targeted towards cinematography, and didn't mind the steep cost considering that it will be an all-in-one package with extra safety features. However, I feel that DJI intentionally made some design flaws/restrictions on this one just to increase profit and attachment.
First, durability. Being a fast manual drone, that means it will increase crashing chances. Instead of designing with that in mind, they actually made it so that you have to send it back to them for repairs. This is evident when they decided to send two drones to all reviewers, even seasoned FPV pilots. They claimed it has a modular design, but this is not true for the arms, which is the first thing to break on a crash.
Second, camera. Instead of adding their known-for-three-axis gimbal, they decided to go with a single-axis one, that cannot even tilt all the way to the bottom. The camera has no proper protection. The props are showing in the view without editing. The photo capture quality is terrible. The setup was so bad, that people are considering mounting a GoPro on it!
Lastly, battery. The promised 15-20 minutes of flight is only when you are flying it in normal mode, and as soon as you switch to manual you can barely get 10 minutes. The pricing on battery is expensive, so it is difficult to invest in multiple batteries. Of course, you cannot use third-party batteries.
Having said all this, I still love this drone, it is just that I expected better from DJI. What I hope now that I've already invested on this one, and have its goggles and remote controller, is that once they release the new air unit that it will be compatible with both, so I can justify building my own quad.

Oh man, I wish they had a better camera on it hah. I would have gladly paid more for a more awesome cam... but then I think would I ever take pictures with this fireball? No. I’d rather use a Mavic for that.

also, by reading your observations, I do think that the drone which you are looking for is launching at the end of the month it certainly isn’t this one.

 

[thetechnobear]

durability/modularity - unfortunately, I think dji just followed thier existing (service) model - partly because the target market is not DIY - its a complete service model.

what I find odd, is the replacable camera gimbal, that kind of shows a bit of indecision...
its not a trivial plug n' play repair - but they are offering it...
it feels like, they are testing the waters... offering only something which could be done without soldering.

I cannot see dji ever allowing repairs which require soldering, as it'd be too easy for someone to screw it up, and then expect DJI to fix it...
I think its possible DJI tried a plug connection for motors to ESC, to allow for replacable arms ... but they didnt work out for some technical/economic reason.


3 axis gimbal - is not really required for the fpv side - would it wobble about all over the place when being thrashed around at high speeds , rolls and flips?
i think the single axis was a smart move, because in manual mode it gives an adjustable in flight camera tilt, which is unique.

also , I actually think the better direction is software ! follow the go-pro route, and record gyro which then can be used to stabalise the image in post production.
however, this will never be a great camera drone... the issue is exposure has to be set so that we can fly, but this exposure is not ideal for the final video that we edit in post production.


Batteries - yeah, I agree they are excessively expensive...
flight time, is just what it is ... and marketing will always 'stretch the flight time', the reason its so noticable on the dji fpv, is the flight time alters dramatically depending on how you fly. you can get 16 mins in N mode crusing (which is not far off their 20mins), but it can be 5min in M mode gunning it.

however, probably my biggest concern about buying an acro quad, is battery maintenance... you dont have to search far on the internet to see lipo batteries catching fire (*) - Id seriously be happy to pay $60, and know they were 100% safe.
obviously for DJI looking for mainstream markets - this was totally unacceptable (and a legal risk), regardless of extra weight or cost.

geofencing is another typical complaint - unfortunately, theres been a lot of irresponsibly by some drone flyers, to the point where many governments would be quite happy to regulate the drone hobby to death.
DJI is the biggest manurfacturing voice - so defacto, they are having to work with governments to find an acceptable compromise. of course, DJI are doing this for thier own interest... they want to see consumer drones.

... its seems pretty naive to me to believe we can build/fly drones with the freedom we used to, as always blame the idiots that abused that freedom - in the EU/UK, we are going to see more manufactures have to fall in line, otherwise they won't get thier drones classified. (C0-C4) ... and non-classified drones are going to be severely limited in usage



--------
before someone says.. yes, I know... follow instructions/recommendations, take precautions, 'its never happened to me' - sure, for most its a non-issue, but there are some pro flyers out there that have done this, and still had them catch fire...
only 2 days I saw an a video of a very experienced flyer - whos lipo gave out, and only didn't cause serious damage as he happened to be in the workshop at the time.
unfortunately its seems its one of those things where , it never happens to you - until it does!

 

[m3sgal]

Oh man, I wish they had a better camera on it hah. I would have gladly paid more for a more awesome cam... but then I think would I ever take pictures with this fireball? No. I’d rather use a Mavic for that.

also, by reading your observations, I do think that the drone which you are looking for is launching at the end of the month it certainly isn’t this one.

Judging from their business model, I don't see them making that one compatible with the goggles or motion controller, and manual is impossible of course. I'm quite happy with what the Mini 2 is capable of achieving considering its portability. I just wanted something that is more manual to cover what it was missing, and lets say that the FPV didn't bridge this gap. Also, DJI should start making their own controllers and accessories compatible with each other.

 

[m3sgal]

durability/modularity - unfortunately, I think dji just followed thier existing (service) model - partly because the target market is not DIY - its a complete service model.

what I find odd, is the replacable camera gimbal, that kind of shows a bit of indecision...
its not a trivial plug n' play repair - but they are offering it...
it feels like, they are testing the waters... offering only something which could be done without soldering.

I cannot see dji ever allowing repairs which require soldering, as it'd be too easy for someone to screw it up, and then expect DJI to fix it...
I think its possible DJI tried a plug connection for motors to ESC, to allow for replacable arms ... but they didnt work out for some technical/economic reason.


3 axis gimbal - is not really required for the fpv side - would it wobble about all over the place when being thrashed around at high speeds , rolls and flips?
i think the single axis was a smart move, because in manual mode it gives an adjustable in flight camera tilt, which is unique.

also , I actually think the better direction is software ! follow the go-pro route, and record gyro which then can be used to stabalise the image in post production.
however, this will never be a great camera drone... the issue is exposure has to be set so that we can fly, but this exposure is not ideal for the final video that we edit in post production.


Batteries - yeah, I agree they are excessively expensive...
flight time, is just what it is ... and marketing will always 'stretch the flight time', the reason its so noticable on the dji fpv, is the flight time alters dramatically depending on how you fly. you can get 16 mins in N mode crusing (which is not far off their 20mins), but it can be 5min in M mode gunning it.

however, probably my biggest concern about buying an acro quad, is battery maintenance... you dont have to search far on the internet to see lipo batteries catching fire (*) - Id seriously be happy to pay $60, and know they were 100% safe.
obviously for DJI looking for mainstream markets - this was totally unacceptable (and a legal risk), regardless of extra weight or cost.

geofencing is another typical complaint - unfortunately, theres been a lot of irresponsibly by some drone flyers, to the point where many governments would be quite happy to regulate the drone hobby to death.
DJI is the biggest manurfacturing voice - so defacto, they are having to work with governments to find an acceptable compromise. of course, DJI are doing this for thier own interest... they want to see consumer drones.

... its seems pretty naive to me to believe we can build/fly drones with the freedom we used to, as always blame the idiots that abused that freedom - in the EU/UK, we are going to see more manufactures have to fall in line, otherwise they won't get thier drones classified. (C0-C4) ... and non-classified drones are going to be severely limited in usage



--------
before someone says.. yes, I know... follow instructions/recommendations, take precautions, 'its never happened to me' - sure, for most its a non-issue, but there are some pro flyers out there that have done this, and still had them catch fire...
only 2 days I saw an a video of a very experienced flyer - whos lipo gave out, and only didn't cause serious damage as he happened to be in the workshop at the time.
unfortunately its seems its one of those things where , it never happens to you - until it does!

I think making the arm modular was possible for a company as specialized as DJI, but doing it will render their care service useless. I believe making the other parts modular is just a way to market the drone as such.

A better software stabilisations and an option to trim the props is something I would have loved to see them incoprate on this one from the start. But it seem currently that this one is neither a racing drone nor a cinematic one. It is like a pigeon trying to imitate a falcon, it didn't succeed in being either in the end.

Sure smart batteries are safer than generic LiPo, but these batteries costs £140, while a pack of two (and then some more) costs £260

I don't really mind geofencing, in fact I consider it a feature despite the restrictions it puts me in. The only issue I understand other having with it, is when the drone unexplainably decide to land by itself or not return home because of it.

The motion controller is an innovation in itself, but anyone who tried it will realize that it is not utilizing the FPV acro capabilities, but rather simulating it by changing altitude + camera angle and banking. This motion controller could've been used with any of their other drones to get similar feel with a firmware update. Instead of making it compatible with their other drones, they decided it is only a novelty with the FPV one. But this could be my opinion

 

[Sayenah]

I think making the arm modular was possible for a company as specialized as DJI, but doing it will render their care service useless. I believe making the other parts modular is just a way to market the drone as such.

A better software stabilisations and an option to trim the props is something I would have loved to see them incoprate on this one from the start. But it seem currently that this one is neither a racing drone nor a cinematic one. It is like a pigeon trying to imitate a falcon, it didn't succeed in being either in the end.

Sure smart batteries are safer than generic LiPo, but these batteries costs £140, while a pack of two (and then some more) costs £260

I don't really mind geofencing, in fact I consider it a feature despite the restrictions it puts me in. The only issue I understand other having with it, is when the drone unexplainably decide to land by itself or not return home because of it.

The motion controller is an innovation in itself, but anyone who tried it will realize that it is not utilizing the FPV acro capabilities, but rather simulating it by changing altitude + camera angle and banking. This motion controller could've been used with any of their other drones to get similar feel with a firmware update. Instead of making it compatible with their other drones, they decided it is only a novelty with the FPV one. But this could be my opinion

It is plenty “cinematic” for an FPV drone. Primary purpose is to give you access to a video feed from your drone’s “eyes” and allow you to record that video.

What is your expectation of cinematic? Is it that it can’t do cinematic still photography as well as drones specialized for still photography?

secondly, since when did FPV become synonymous with “racing” or “acro” capabilities? Again, a sports car is not a racing car.

I don’t understand these criticisms; please don’t mind me using automobile analogies to death but when I read these criticisms they sound more like people who bought a quarter million dollar 911 Turbo S and they are disappointed that it has a worse lap time than a dirt box built-in-a-shed racing car (which is absolutely possible haha!)

I do, however, agree with your concerns regarding modularity and lack thereof.

On a related note: one thing I would recommend you folks is to charge these huge 6S batteries in a case like the “batsafe”. I just feel that LiPOs are too unpredictable, especially LiPOs which get tossed around to be charged out in the open.

 

[thetechnobear]

battery sales... yup, I totally agree they are too expensive - I guess, around 100 euro,id be ok for them, but 160 is just way to much...you end up limiting yourself to 3, when really you might want (e.g.) 6 of them...

we don't really know about arm modularity... we can only guess.. sure everyone wants it, but doesn't mean its viable.
(are there any ESC that have pluggable motor connections? if not why not... you could make diy drones required no soldering, which would increase the market!)

personally, I think the number of repairs is going to end up a pretty irritating distraction for DJI repair centres
there are reports of repairs being around $70, including shipping ... there are easier ways for dji to make money than that (like battery/accessory sales )

also I seee dji care refresh as too expensive on this drone - but, if everyone ends up crashing and getting 2 replacement drones from dji, Im not sure that is great for them either!
(I think for sure, 1 replacement is still good money for dji)

I could see how all this pans out for the repair centres, really driving the modularity/repairability of the dji fpv v2.

alll that said... we are seeing spare parts becoming available for the dji fpv from china now...
this means two things:

a) DIY repair - the parts are pretty cheap, order a few spare arms, fix it yourself - its a only a small amount of soldering... not much different from diy quad.
b) 3rd party repairs - if there is a big market for repairing dji fpv, and spare available - small repair shops will happily pick up the buisiness - hopefully meaning you can get repairs done cheaper and quicker.



software stabalisation - you can already remove props in shot... just turn on image correction.

also lets remember this is firmware 1.0.1 of a brand new product , in a new category - the impeteus will have been to get this released as soon as possible.
in modern software dev, that means we release the key features ... only whats necessary - you add bells n' whistles later

assuming this drone is successful (which it appears to have been ) - I think we will see a raft of improvements in firmware (goggles and drone) over the coming months.
dji have done this with other drones... so see no reason why the dji fpv will be different!.

of course, we have no idea where dji believe these improvements need to be - so no idea if it'll be in the hud, flight characteristics, camera - we can only hope

 

[m3sgal]

It is plenty “cinematic” for an FPV drone. Primary purpose is to give you access to a video feed from your drone’s “eyes” and allow you to record that video.

What is your expectation of cinematic? Is it that it can’t do cinematic still photography as well as drones specialized for still photography?

secondly, since when did FPV become synonymous with “racing” or “acro” capabilities? Again, a sports car is not a racing car.

I don’t understand these criticisms; please don’t mind me using automobile analogies to death but when I read these criticisms they sound more like people who bought a quarter million dollar 911 Turbo S and they are disappointed that it has a worse lap time than a dirt box built-in-a-shed racing car (which is absolutely possible haha!)

I do, however, agree with your concerns regarding modularity and lack thereof.

On a related note: one thing I would recommend you folks is to charge these huge 6S batteries in a case like the “batsafe”. I just feel that LiPOs are too unpredictable, especially LiPOs which get tossed around to be charged out in the open.

Image stabilization for video is still not good enough. Also considering the price and the company behind it, why not have good still photos, and other features from their other drones while at it? Afterall, it has all the required sensors and more. I'm wondering if it is because they don't want to harm the Mavic series sales.

I don't mind the automobile analogies, this drone is actually faster than many other quads, but this is not the reason I got it for, nor to do extreme acro and freestyle either. I got it to be able to flow it smoothly around subjects while being able to do cinematic maneuvers that only an FPV drone can do.

My point is that the drone is currently lacking when it come to stablization, something that DJI excels at. It is not really modular and is expensive to repair, even though it is expected to have accidents. Also, the batteries are unjustifiably over priced. DJI had all what it takes to overcome all these drawbacks, but I feel they chose not to.

Now don't get me wrong. The goggles is amazing, even the FPV community will admit that. The controller is amazing. The fact the drone can hold altitude, return home, emergency brake, and have a home pointer are all amazing things about it. The motion controller is an innovation in itself, and I do hope that they could add a way to lock and pivot around a point or do quick flicks, or fly backwards, as I'd love seeing it replacing the conventional controller. All these things are things you would expect from DJI and for a drone on this price range.

 

[m3sgal]

battery sales... yup, I totally agree they are too expensive - I guess, around 100 euro,id be ok for them, but 160 is just way to much...you end up limiting yourself to 3, when really you might want (e.g.) 6 of them...

we don't really know about arm modularity... we can only guess.. sure everyone wants it, but doesn't mean its viable.
(are there any ESC that have pluggable motor connections? if not why not... you could make diy drones required no soldering, which would increase the market!)

personally, I think the number of repairs is going to end up a pretty irritating distraction for DJI repair centres
there are reports of repairs being around $70, including shipping ... there are easier ways for dji to make money than that (like battery/accessory sales )

also I seee dji care refresh as too expensive on this drone - but, if everyone ends up crashing and getting 2 replacement drones from dji, Im not sure that is great for them either!
(I think for sure, 1 replacement is still good money for dji)

I could see how all this pans out for the repair centres, really driving the modularity/repairability of the dji fpv v2.

alll that said... we are seeing spare parts becoming available for the dji fpv from china now...
this means two things:

a) DIY repair - the parts are pretty cheap, order a few spare arms, fix it yourself - its a only a small amount of soldering... not much different from diy quad.
b) 3rd party repairs - if there is a big market for repairing dji fpv, and spare available - small repair shops will happily pick up the buisiness - hopefully meaning you can get repairs done cheaper and quicker.



software stabalisation - you can already remove props in shot... just turn on image correction.

also lets remember this is firmware 1.0.1 of a brand new product , in a new category - the impeteus will have been to get this released as soon as possible.
in modern software dev, that means we release the key features ... only whats necessary - you add bells n' whistles later

assuming this drone is successful (which it appears to have been ) - I think we will see a raft of improvements in firmware (goggles and drone) over the coming months.
dji have done this with other drones... so see no reason why the dji fpv will be different!.

of course, we have no idea where dji believe these improvements need to be - so no idea if it'll be in the hud, flight characteristics, camera - we can only hope

The care service is never expensive for them, they will either fix or give you a refurbished one. You have to keep in mind that the drone itself costs them less than the listed price you see, and that not everyone will end up crashing, and even if they do they are still making profit from repairs.

Even when they decide to release the arms and motors, it will still be a challenge to replace them, even for those who are used to soldering. You should see a tear down to understand why. It is more difficult to replace the arms, when compared to an own built quad.

The reason I'm criticizing the issues it has, is because I do hope to see them being addressed in a future firmware. But sometimes I feel DJI make a product incomplete to push their loyal customers to get the next iteration next year.

 

[Noobnoobnoob]

I think its fantastic, Ive really been enjoying it... loads of flights.


however, now having crashed it... (about an hour ago , still sad!) , I will say the critcism on fragility/non-repairability is valid.

I was just practicising, low level manual flight, at really low speeds, probably < 10 k/mh (not checked logs yet), I think i caught the ground, which through it upside down into the ground.(unfortunately, not a soft space to land) ... and cracked the front right arm on the plastic - nothing else damaged, but it obviously twisted and cracked the plastic.
its kind of infuriating, as its wasn't a dramatic crash - just a simple clipping of the ground and it flipping. (*)

Im asking them to just repair the arm, but the 'annoying thing' is , I could easily do this myself IF there were parts available, and for < 20 euros.
but now it has to go all the way to the Netherlands to be repaired, which Im guessing if Im lucky is going to take 2-2.5 weeks - that I cannot fly.

... of course, its all my fault - but it goes to show, its pretty easy for it to happen, even if you are being reasonably cautious.
(Ive actually done something like 60 flight on the FPV, and Id say probably 40 of those have been manual mode)


anyway, back to original post - its a fantastic drone, really fun flying and filming, really immersive. (just becareful)



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(*) also, Ive been waiting for the Arm Bracers to come back in stock, which I think probably saved this one!

I beleive there are armas an motora and arms with motors now available, I saw a post about this on YT, where I don't know but f I remember correctly it was on the DJI site