There is a mode switch with ‘N’ (Normal), S (Fast, but still self-levelling) and M (Custom) and – once you’ve enabled ‘M’ in the menu – then all the options (rates) that are available for setting up a properly aggressive flying style. That might not sound quite ‘real’ enough to committed FPV enthusiasts, but the hover, return-to-home, and all the other features can be disabled. That’s the big difference by default the DJI FPV has all the same sensors you’d associate with a flying camera style drone turned on – GPS, altitude, attitude, etc – so that when you power up then let go of the controller the drone will just hover. It’s clear from the front that we’re looking at something different the DJI FPV has a pretty loud fan, because recording all the high res video (and avoiding all those collisions) is processor intensive. Despite that, DJI have stuck with a fairly old-school plug which feels much more robust that on most flying cameras, though is easy to forget to plug in at the same time as the battery. The DJI FPV quad has instead made the battery the centre of the fuselage, inserted from behind, so it acts as a kind of back-foot (there are no feet on the back legs). The vast majority of DIY quad designs are for racing and acro (acrobatics), flight styles which eat through batteries quickly hence the common solution of velcro straps and a simple but reliable plug soldered to the board.

(Image credit: Adam Juniper/Digital Camera World) (opens in new tab) The DJI FPV’s insectoid styling next to a typical FPV quadcopter they have a lot in common though swapping components on a whim is only really practical with one of the two. Together with the main camera lens (which can record at 4K/60fps or 1080p/120fps), mounted on a recessed motorized gimbal, there is no doubting that the designer wanted to give the impression of an insectoid alien. The drone definitely looks like an FPV drone, with rigid tri-blade propellers which project far enough forward that they’ll absorb the brunt of any head-on collision, and a very firm frame equipped with cool multi-colored LED lighting.Ĭloser inspection, however, reveals some divergence from the typical self-constructed device there are an array of collision sensors (two forward-facing, two downward-facing, and two infra-red altitude sensing). The new drone is being sold as the DJI FPV Combo - which gets you both the headset, standard controller and the drone, for an RRP of $1299 / £1249 / AU$2,099. The one thing which is apparent from the start here is that DJI are sticking to the higher end of the FPV market similar goggles and camera to their previous high-end low-latency system are joined by a new controller (and an optional motion controller).

Dji fpv backpack