DJI is going to announce (March 2) its new FPV (First Point View) drone. The drone has leaked already, reveals one of a kind innovation and uniqueness regarding FPV technology. DJI’s goal is to expand the accessibility for FPV to hobbyists, which is a brave move since the FPV market is focused on professionals who know how to build and fly these powerful toys. Anyway, let’s have a glimpse at one of DJI’s most ambitious projects.
Cinema FPV is booming
The utilization of FPV (First Point View) technology and capabilities for (very) unique content creation, is a new and hot discussion among filmmakers. We wrote a decent amount of articles regarding the use of FPV drones in high-end productions, lifting cinema cameras, shooting epic ultra-dynamic scenes, like car chasing, and more. We truly think that FPV drones for cinema applications are the next trend.
Nevertheless, FPV drone is a niche that demands knowledge of how to build the drone and flying it. Indeed, flying an FPV drone is significantly more challenging than flying a regular drone. DJI is well known as the pioneer of simplifying the expertise needed to fly those drones (remember the Phantom?). Now, DJI wants to take over the market of the FPV with its new (not released yet) drone. Here the technical (leaked) details below:
Important: These are all speculations based on leaks. However, the accuracy is high. All this info was accumulated thanks t the DJI FPV Drone FB group managed by FB user Jasper Ellens.
DJI FPV COMBO (components)
The FJI FPV COMBO is composed of the DJI FPV Drone, DJI FPV Remote Controller 2, DJI FPV Goggles V2 (antennas, a battery, USB-C power cable, head strap), battery, propellers, gimbal protector, and top shell.
Video capabilities: Up to 4K at 60 FPS
There are two types of videos. The one that is seen by the Goggles, and the other that is recorded. The camera has a wide 142° view. HD Digital FPV provides a real-time view with almost zero latency. The DJI FPV Goggles V2 receives an HD video transmission up to 810P at 60FPS in high-quality mode. The DJI FPV drone utilizes a 12MP 1 / 2.3 CMOS sensor that records 4K at 60FPS. Max bitrate is 15MB/s on H.264 or H.265 codecs. There’s an option for Full HD 1080p / 120fps as well. It’s important to emphasize that 4K recording on an FPV drone is quite an impressive capability, excluding the high-end cinema FPV drone. In the DJI FPV Drone, that camera is built-in.
Flight Control
There’s a “Normal” mode, which is a GPS-based mode that facilitates controlling the drone (max speed of 50 km/h). Also, there’s a “Sport” mode for an elevated FPV experience that increases the maximum flight speed to 90 km/h and double the ascent and descent speeds. You can also disable the flight limitation for a complete “Manual” mode, but that’s for experienced pilots for a real FPV experience. Furthermore, a new device named Motion Controller (not included at this COMBO) is supposed to allow an improved user-friendly alternative to the traditional two-stick control. Think of it like the Wii remote of the Nintendo.
Safety
Safety is the key regarding FPV drones since those are dangerous pieces of gear due to their speed and control sensitivity. DJI tries to address that by implementing safety features like lighting, smart return-to-home, low battery return-to-home, and both forward- and downward facing obstacle avoidance sensors. Even there’s a “Panic button” that when activated, the drone goes into full stabilization mode and hover statically.
Estimated price
The leaked price for the DJI FPV COMBO is $1,300. If so, that’s a very good price point. Let’s note that when building an FPV from scratch, the components will cost you around $400, plus remote ($250) and Goggles ($500). That would reach about $900 to build your own drone, without the camera (GoPro session for instance). Now you do the math to notice the same price as DJI’s FPV drone. We’d expect a price range of $1,500-$2,000. That’s why $1,300 would be a bargain for what you’re getting.
Summary
As explained, DJI is taking a brave step, by expanding the accessibility of the FPV world to junior pilots. Nevertheless, the consumers are even braver by purchasing the DJI’ FPV Drone, since it’s gonna crash a lot! Please, take our gold advice, and practice, practice, practice on an FPV simulator, before considering buying that drone. Anyway, we’ll report on the announcement on Tuesday, so stay tuned.
