Add me to the DJI Goggles are "meh" group...

[MavicMo]

My wife got me these as a present. Was pretty excited as I also fly FPV Drones and use Fatshark HD3s. Figured it would be pretty awesome as I'm usually very impressed with DJI products.

But after just a few flights I'm not all that thrilled with them. Actually they are a bit of a disappointment, but its probably because I had higher expectations of them. DJI has set the bar pretty high when they release stuff so I expected the same "wow" factor.

What I don't care for;

• The "View" - I thought having a huge screen in front of my eyes would be cool, fill my vision. But it is like sitting at the front or near the front of a theater. I find I have to "scan" the screen to take in the image/view. I'd rather be sitting a few rows further back where I can see everything without moving my eyes around the screen
• I don't get a good sense of "size" - For whatever reason, I can't get a sense of size with these or how close I really am to objects. Meaning with my Fatsharks I can thread a needle with my drone, I have a good sense just how close to objects I am, but with these I can't seem to be able to judge distance to objects like trees, houses, and other obstacles
• Not that immersive - My expectations, with them coming from DJI would have been more of a VR experience, but they aren't. It is truly as some people have said, just holding your tablet/smart device closer to your face.
• If you need reading glasses they are a pain - I wish they did something like Fatshark with regard to selling lenses if you wear glasses. Makes it very easy as when you switch from having the goggles on to taking them off you don't need to fuss with your readers
• They fog up easily if you wear glasses - My readers are fogging up. They need a stronger fan or an option to vary the speed of the fan for those that wear glasses. Its not like they didn't take glasses into consideration cause if you look at the rubber mask piece there are cut-outs for the arms of glasses
• Really Big - These things are huge. I don't know why they had to make them as large as they did. They are even bigger than most VR goggles. Why couldn't they have gone with something smaller like the Fatsharks.
• Head band doesn't work for me - Apparently I don't have the right head shape cause no matter how I put them on and flip the actual goggles up it feels like the unit is going to fall off my head. I've tried all kinds of positions and none feels secure on my head with the goggles flipped up. I wind up having to completely take them off my head so I don't accidentally drop them
• Touch Screen is okay - Wish they would have included a "cursor" or something like that. I've unintentionally pushed a button I didn't want and had to back out.. Not a huge deal but it would have been nice.

I tried them with my Spark and it had too much lag. To the point I don't consider it useable. I don't know if there some additional setting changes you need to make when you use a cable. But I bought the goggles to use with my Mavic and Phantom 4 (I know it uses the cable too)

So what do I like about them? Well they work very seamlessly with the Mavic.

At this point I'd still rather fly using my Ipad for the FPV image when needed. I don't plan on selling them. I'll use them for my wife and friends that want to see what the Mavic sees. Where I think they would be useful is if you are doing something like a "Search and Rescue" effort or you are needed to look for something or at something and study it.

Just my .02

 

[SteveNunez]

I'm with you on this, not fully impressed as I would have hoped.......they should have put a diopter adjustment to allow for different levels of vision need. They don't fit me well as my head seems too small and they wobble around and lack side adjustability.
I think DJI did a good job for a 1st gen product but there are clearly improvements to be had.
I suggest the following;
1. Diopter adjustment (or at the very least, include different magnifiers for varying user vision)
2. Full head adjustability- (side to side) not just fore/aft (or include different neoprene bands)
3. Find a way to keep the clarity high when the user opts for video rates above 1080p/30
4. Try to reduce the overall size
5. Add a forward facing camera that allows user a local area view w/o needing to lift visor via button

I've received them today and am thinking of returning them tomorrow......sorta bummed as I expected a better product. This was a gift from the wife for my birthday and underwhelmed.....may return and get a Spark instead.

Note: For the guys with larger heads and perfect vision these may be great- so I think results will vary with user and expectation.

Cheers guys~~

 

[drickbrinkman]

I''m totally with you. There is no way I can secure them properly, let alone comfortably. And even if I come close, as soon as a flip them up I need to use a hand to make sure they don't fall off my head.

I read that I would need to double my reading glasses to see the screen clearly. Very tacky. But even worse when I flip the unit up, it also knocks my glasses of my face. So I am totally discombobulated.

With the non-fit issue, I can go no further with the Goggles. Done deal. As MavicMo said, they would be good to give to someone else while you are flying. I just have to decide if that's worth $449 to me.

 

[Robbyg]

I think the video from them is excellent. I have learned how to live with the awful headband fit but I agree that the method of keeping these on your head is a let down.

My biggest gripe by far is the focus issue. Yes it can be overcome with glasses but it makes sharing the goggles with other people really problematic. I would bet that if you had 10 friends with you that 9 of them would find the screen too blurry to use. Spare glasses works to an extent but it just makes others less likely to want to use the goggles.

DJI claim of 8ft viewing distance is bunk and even the 11" that people have suggested is wrong. It's more like having a screen 3" from your eyes. I have tried looking at my phone screen from 3" and it pretty much blurres the same as the goggles.

Overall for videography I can let all of these problems slide but the overall experience is a far cry from their advertisements.

Rob

 

[mig25]

My wife got me these as a present. Was pretty excited as I also fly FPV Drones and use Fatshark HD3s. Figured it would be pretty awesome as I'm usually very impressed with DJI products.

But after just a few flights I'm not all that thrilled with them. Actually they are a bit of a disappointment, but its probably because I had higher expectations of them. DJI has set the bar pretty high when they release stuff so I expected the same "wow" factor.

What I don't care for;

• The "View" - I thought having a huge screen in front of my eyes would be cool, fill my vision. But it is like sitting at the front or near the front of a theater. I find I have to "scan" the screen to take in the image/view. I'd rather be sitting a few rows further back where I can see everything without moving my eyes around the screen
• I don't get a good sense of "size" - For whatever reason, I can't get a sense of size with these or how close I really am to objects. Meaning with my Fatsharks I can thread a needle with my drone, I have a good sense just how close to objects I am, but with these I can't seem to be able to judge distance to objects like trees, houses, and other obstacles
• Not that immersive - My expectations, with them coming from DJI would have been more of a VR experience, but they aren't. It is truly as some people have said, just holding your tablet/smart device closer to your face.
• If you need reading glasses they are a pain - I wish they did something like Fatshark with regard to selling lenses if you wear glasses. Makes it very easy as when you switch from having the goggles on to taking them off you don't need to fuss with your readers
• They fog up easily if you wear glasses - My readers are fogging up. They need a stronger fan or an option to vary the speed of the fan for those that wear glasses. Its not like they didn't take glasses into consideration cause if you look at the rubber mask piece there are cut-outs for the arms of glasses
• Really Big - These things are huge. I don't know why they had to make them as large as they did. They are even bigger than most VR goggles. Why couldn't they have gone with something smaller like the Fatsharks.
• Head band doesn't work for me - Apparently I don't have the right head shape cause no matter how I put them on and flip the actual goggles up it feels like the unit is going to fall off my head. I've tried all kinds of positions and none feels secure on my head with the goggles flipped up. I wind up having to completely take them off my head so I don't accidentally drop them
• Touch Screen is okay - Wish they would have included a "cursor" or something like that. I've unintentionally pushed a button I didn't want and had to back out.. Not a huge deal but it would have been nice.

I tried them with my Spark and it had too much lag. To the point I don't consider it useable. I don't know if there some additional setting changes you need to make when you use a cable. But I bought the goggles to use with my Mavic and Phantom 4 (I know it uses the cable too)

So what do I like about them? Well they work very seamlessly with the Mavic.

At this point I'd still rather fly using my Ipad for the FPV image when needed. I don't plan on selling them. I'll use them for my wife and friends that want to see what the Mavic sees. Where I think they would be useful is if you are doing something like a "Search and Rescue" effort or you are needed to look for something or at something and study it.

Just my .02

Im not so impressed. If you watch the built in videos in the goggles its not what i see live. Mushy video of grass and homes at 1080 p/30. Also i get disconnects at 800 feet or 15 feet landing with 10 feet altitude Not good to try and land visual and just using reading glasses.
I have had to use 3.25 glasses when i normally use 1.25. I am using firmware 900.
Best thing i like is gimble tracking. I may return them as i have 30 days to do so with amazon

 

[drickbrinkman]

I think the video from them is excellent. I have learned how to live with the awful headband fit but I agree that the method of keeping these on your head is a let down.

My biggest gripe by far is the focus issue. Yes it can be overcome with glasses but it makes sharing the goggles with other people really problematic. I would bet that if you had 10 friends with you that 9 of them would find the screen too blurry to use. Spare glasses works to an extent but it just makes others less likely to want to use the goggles.

DJI claim of 8ft viewing distance is bunk and even the 11" that people have suggested is wrong. It's more like having a screen 3" from your eyes. I have tried looking at my phone screen from 3" and it pretty much blurres the same as the goggles.

Overall for videography I can let all of these problems slide but the overall experience is a far cry from their advertisements.

Rob

How have you learned to live with the "awful headband fit"? Did you do something to make it tolerable or just accepted that it sucks?
Having headwear is so standard. I got an $8 hard hat at home depot and the plastic head band insert fits and holds the helmet in place. DJI didn't have to invent something, just use what works in their design.

I completely agree about the screen thing. I usually wear 2.5 readers. If I compensate with stronger ones then when I flip up the goggles and look at my screen on the controller I won't be able to see it and then if I remove the glasses I still won't be able to see it, unless I switch to different set of glasses. Crazy.

 

[Robbyg]

How have you learned to live with the "awful headband fit"? Did you do something to make it tolerable or just accepted that it sucks?
Having headwear is so standard. I got an $8 hard hat at home depot and the plastic head band insert fits and holds the helmet in place. DJI didn't have to invent something, just use what works in their design.

I completely agree about the screen thing. I usually wear 2.5 readers. If I compensate with stronger ones then when I flip up the goggles and look at my screen on the controller I won't be able to see it and then if I remove the glasses I still won't be able to see it, unless I switch to different set of glasses. Crazy.

I live with the headband issue by just not moving my head around much and if it shifts slightly I just no longer try to straighten it. I use to stop every minute or so and keep fixing it which was driving me nuts so now I just adopt a policy that if Its slightly off, I ignore it. Yes it's not the best solution but until some third party company makes a better one I am done fiddling around with it.

I also have the same issue as you, I flip up the goggles and my iphone screen is a blurry mess.

Rob

 

[Robbyg]

Im not so impressed. If you watch the built in videos in the goggles its not what i see live. Mushy video of grass and homes at 1080 p/30. Also i get disconnects at 800 feet or 15 feet landing with 10 feet altitude Not good to try and land visual and just using reading glasses.
I have had to use 3.25 glasses when i normally use 1.25. I am using firmware 900.
Best thing i like is gimble tracking. I may return them as i have 30 days to do so with amazon

Ehh!! I made a post about mine disconnecting at 20ft up and asked if anybody else had the problem. I thought I was alone!
Are you running .400 firmware on the craft?

Rob

 

[MavicMo]

Since i can't trust them to stay on my head with the goggles flipped up, I just wind up taking them off my head and putting them in their case when I need to land or just need to fly without them...

 

[mig25]

Ehh!! I made a post about mine disconnecting at 20ft up and asked if anybody else had the problem. I thought I was alone!
Are you running .400 firmware on the craft?

Rob

I am using 900. No problem with anything. Never calibrated anything and have about 26 hours in the air. The goggles go black and white...freeze the screen and the connection shows black and white. So trying to see if its yellow or red wont happen. I get this about every three flights. The goggles are well charged and always over 50%. The drone could be 800 feet out at 200 altitude or on top of the land ing pad. I don't get it. It drops out for about a few seconds. Knowing that i don't panic anymore. I just hover and wait for a reconnect. Looking over airdata i don't see any red flags either as to signal loss. How often do you see this problem?

 

[mig25]

I am using 900. No problem with anything. Never calibrated anything and have about 26 hours in the air. The goggles go black and white...freeze the screen and the connection shows black and white. So trying to see if its yellow or red wont happen. I get this about every three flights. The goggles are well charged and always over 50%. The drone could be 800 feet out at 200 altitude or on top of the land ing pad. I don't get it. It drops out for about a few seconds. Knowing that i don't panic anymore. I just hover and wait for a reconnect. Looking over airdata i don't see any red flags either as to signal loss. How often do you see this problem?

Just looked up my data in airdata. I did indeed have a signal loss and look what the response was.

Mode changed to Confirm_Landing
N 19m 46s 1.0 ft 1 ft Warning Obstacle Avoidance will be disabled in landing.
O 19m 47s 0.3 ft 1 ft Tip Tips__Image transmission format under this resolution will be switched to 720P.

Notice I'm almost on the landing pad. Had a one second signal loss.

 

[Wetdog]

How have you learned to live with the "awful headband fit"? Did you do something to make it tolerable or just accepted that it sucks?
Having headwear is so standard. I got an $8 hard hat at home depot and the plastic head band insert fits and holds the helmet in place. DJI didn't have to invent something, just use what works in their design.

I completely agree about the screen thing. I usually wear 2.5 readers. If I compensate with stronger ones then when I flip up the goggles and look at my screen on the controller I won't be able to see it and then if I remove the glasses I still won't be able to see it, unless I switch to different set of glasses. Crazy.

You can velcro some cushioning material on the sides so they are more oval in shape. I used some old dividers from various photography gear backpacks - not exactly sleek in appearance but then again I look so absolutely dorky in the things that it makes little difference. The trick is to make them thick enough to take the weight off the front and back of band.

I think the designers tried to be 'elegant' rather than functional.

 

[SteveNunez]

For the guys having "fit" problems (like me) I suggest wearing a baseball cap or similar- wearing it backwards helps keep it secure.......I know its not ideal but in my case it worked perfectly.

It turns out I'm sorta "forced" into keeping them as the Amazon retailer (Camrise) has a 20% restocking fee and does not pay for return shipping meaning I'd be out over $100 if I returned them. I paid $479 as no one else had them in stock at the time and paid the $30 over list premium.....but to be honest I don't think I'll use them much.
Lesson learned- read the return policy of Amazon retailers as some have tricky wording and expensive restocking fees!

 

[drickbrinkman]

You can velcro some cushioning material on the sides so they are more oval in shape. I used some old dividers from various photography gear backpacks - not exactly sleek in appearance but then again I look so absolutely dorky in the things that it makes little difference. The trick is to make them thick enough to take the weight off the front and back of band.

I think the designers tried to be 'elegant' rather than functional.

hahahaha, I commend you on your commitment to be willing to be dorky to capture the special aerial moment.
You deserve the Mavic Flying Cross.

I love the creativity here, but I am amazed that we have to come up with so much creative jury rigging to make a $449 product work properly from a company that is supposed to be the Apple of drones in their attention to details.

In the initial brainstorm meeting at DJI, how did "fit" and "focus" not come up on the whiteboard as top level criteria? ;-)

 

[John Shaw]

They felt insecure when I first tried them. I found I was wearing them to high on my head. I loosen the head band, get the googles positioned on my face, pull the back of the head band down below the break in the curve between the skull and the neck - and then tighten the head band. I find it very comfortable and it firmly holds position.

 

[Robbyg]

They felt insecure when I first tried them. I found I was wearing them to high on my head. I loosen the head band, get the googles positioned on my face, pull the back of the head band down below the break in the curve between the skull and the neck - and then tighten the head band. I find it very comfortable and it firmly holds position.

I think we all tried this!
The further down you put them towards your neck certainly makes them more secure on your face because the angle is that much lower. The problem that I found and I bet everyone else found is that the lower you put it down is the easier it is for the goggles to drop off your head when you lift them up and then try to look up for a landing. I was loving mine set low down until I tried landing and suddenly that very tight fitting low band was actually pulling the goggles off my head! I luckily caught them before they hit the ground.

Rob

 

[drickbrinkman]

I think we all tried this!
The further down you put them towards your neck certainly makes them more secure on your face because the angle is that much lower. The problem that I found and I bet everyone else found is that the lower you put it down is the easier it is for the goggles to drop off your head when you lift them up and then try to look up for a landing. I was loving mine set low down until I tried landing and suddenly that very tight fitting low band was actually pulling the goggles off my head! I luckily caught them before they hit the ground.

Rob

I, have long curly hair which prevents the band from ever firmly connecting under my occipital ridge. It immediately slides right off.

So, I used JTUS's suggestion again yesterday of wearing a hat. I tried a baseball cap and a wool stocking cap. Yes, I went out yesterday in Portland, Oregon's 104 degrees wearing a wool hat.

It was a bit more secure with either hat, although the wool hat much more comfortable, but the Goggles still popped right off after a second flip up.

I would love for them to work, but I have crossed a line as a customer in what I am willing to accept especially from a company like DJI that seems to care about the details.

I have enjoyed all the creative brilliance on this forum, but jury rigging the basics of fit and focus is too much for a company to ask of me. Some basic details sure got missed on this product.

Whereas with the the MAVIC, it seems highly thought out with attention to the smallest detail. I have had zero issues with it and only joy.

I have initiated a return to Amazon and will definitely re-visit the Goggles in a future incarnation.

 

[wayy510]

My wife got me these as a present. Was pretty excited as I also fly FPV Drones and use Fatshark HD3s. Figured it would be pretty awesome as I'm usually very impressed with DJI products.

But after just a few flights I'm not all that thrilled with them. Actually they are a bit of a disappointment, but its probably because I had higher expectations of them. DJI has set the bar pretty high when they release stuff so I expected the same "wow" factor.

What I don't care for;

• The "View" - I thought having a huge screen in front of my eyes would be cool, fill my vision. But it is like sitting at the front or near the front of a theater. I find I have to "scan" the screen to take in the image/view. I'd rather be sitting a few rows further back where I can see everything without moving my eyes around the screen
• I don't get a good sense of "size" - For whatever reason, I can't get a sense of size with these or how close I really am to objects. Meaning with my Fatsharks I can thread a needle with my drone, I have a good sense just how close to objects I am, but with these I can't seem to be able to judge distance to objects like trees, houses, and other obstacles
• Not that immersive - My expectations, with them coming from DJI would have been more of a VR experience, but they aren't. It is truly as some people have said, just holding your tablet/smart device closer to your face.
• If you need reading glasses they are a pain - I wish they did something like Fatshark with regard to selling lenses if you wear glasses. Makes it very easy as when you switch from having the goggles on to taking them off you don't need to fuss with your readers
• They fog up easily if you wear glasses - My readers are fogging up. They need a stronger fan or an option to vary the speed of the fan for those that wear glasses. Its not like they didn't take glasses into consideration cause if you look at the rubber mask piece there are cut-outs for the arms of glasses
• Really Big - These things are huge. I don't know why they had to make them as large as they did. They are even bigger than most VR goggles. Why couldn't they have gone with something smaller like the Fatsharks.
• Head band doesn't work for me - Apparently I don't have the right head shape cause no matter how I put them on and flip the actual goggles up it feels like the unit is going to fall off my head. I've tried all kinds of positions and none feels secure on my head with the goggles flipped up. I wind up having to completely take them off my head so I don't accidentally drop them
• Touch Screen is okay - Wish they would have included a "cursor" or something like that. I've unintentionally pushed a button I didn't want and had to back out.. Not a huge deal but it would have been nice.

I tried them with my Spark and it had too much lag. To the point I don't consider it useable. I don't know if there some additional setting changes you need to make when you use a cable. But I bought the goggles to use with my Mavic and Phantom 4 (I know it uses the cable too)

So what do I like about them? Well they work very seamlessly with the Mavic.

At this point I'd still rather fly using my Ipad for the FPV image when needed. I don't plan on selling them. I'll use them for my wife and friends that want to see what the Mavic sees. Where I think they would be useful is if you are doing something like a "Search and Rescue" effort or you are needed to look for something or at something and study it.

Just my .02

What fan? These things just fog up quickly with no glasses and I haven't seen a built in fan that helps with the fogging up.

 

[mavicn00b]

I've been wanting to buy one but reading these comments, makes me think I should try them instead. Is there anywhere you can try them out? Perhaps just in store, pop in a SD card with some pre-recorded drone flights and test?

 

[MavicMo]

Wish there was such a place. I don't live too far from the Colorado-based DJI store. The unfortunate thing is "most" of the drones and expensive stuff they have on their sales floor are just empty shells, no guts, or real cameras. So they don't work.

For those that wear glasses I just saw this on youtube. focus-fixers

I just ordered a couple different strengths. It looks like a great product, we'll see how it works. No if they can solve the "fogging" problem, then the head-band for those with non-standard craniums!

I've been wanting to buy one but reading these comments, makes me think I should try them instead. Is there anywhere you can try them out? Perhaps just in store, pop in a SD card with some pre-recorded drone flights and test?