DJI Announces New DJI FPV Drone
This morning, DJI officially announced its new FPV drone. This was key for a few reasons; the first is that this product is new and not simply an iteration of a prior development. DJI has worked with headsets in the past but they haven’t focused on a complete solution in-house.Â
The “smart features†are really important for this release. First Person View drones (FPV) can be tough to navigate without an experienced drone pilot at the controls. The approach is different than it is for a third-person view from the ground where obstacles and a wider picture can be easily seen. DJI incorporates the latest smart features built into other recent product lines and made it easier for a wider market to use the technology.
Why Is FPV So Important?
FPV allows drone pilots to have a true sense of the experience of flying their aircraft. As with a heads-up display cockpit view, pilots can view the key metrics while enjoying a front row seat as the drone maneuvers.
There’s a commercial application for FPV flying too. Flying without route programing, smart follows, or navigation can be tricky. Flying FPV can help to capture video that relates to the viewer better. It captures the truest sense of flight when the pilot is looking through FPV Goggles from the aircraft’s FPV camera rather than looking down at footage on an iPad or smartphone.Â
What Are The Key Features and Benefits?
There are many reasons to love this DJI FPV Drone. Here are some of my favorites:
- 4k video at 60 FPS, 1080p at 120 FPS
- Small and lightweight (comparable to a DJI mini)
- Fast – 87 MPH (not enough for Drone racing but very fast)
- Complete integrated product
- Image stabilization
- Smart features
- Affordable
The photography specifications were just a shade under what we’d hoped they’d be. Some smartphones have moved to 8k video already.
However, smart features are the key to this product and its success. Flying FPV makes it hard to orbit an object, avoid obstacles, and hovering can be difficult. DJI overcame those challenges, removing some of the last barriers for not using an FPV drone.
Where, When, and How to Buy
The entire package: FPV Drone, remote control, goggles, and accessories is $1,399.Â
That’s a bargain when compared with buying the components separately for equipment that does not share the same advanced features.
Retailers will have them soon, but right now buyers can pick up their own at dji.com. We are looking forward to making an unboxing video for my youtube channel… once that next stimulus check arrives.Â
In the meantime, be sure to check out our drone reviews here.
Author: Kyle Stewart is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly, CBoardingGroup.com and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers “Travel Personalized.” He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter.
Photo credits: DJI