MA2 w/ SC and Moverio 35e or DJI FPV

[jinglestheelf]

Team,
Been researching my first drone for FOREVER. My use case: recreational, scenic, but all about FPV. Want to be able to drive somewhere beautiful, slap on goggles and dig the scene. I don't need a lot of footage to bring home and show my dogs. As a newb, I will rely on obstacle avoidance and could care less about speed and maneuverability. Occasionally I'll use it to follow whilst I esk8.

Was preparing to pull the trigger on a MA2, Smart Controller and Moverio 35e. Though pricey, seems responsible (can see the drone whilst wearing the goggles) and good FPV. Good Ocusync connectivity for longer distances. Nice shooting modes. All good.

Now, the DJI FPV is coming. Do you folks feel this new model is ultimately for racing (and/or building up to racing) and not for my use case? And for one person out in the field, seems irresponsible, at least for a bloke like me w/out experience?

Thoughts please. I appreciate your consideration. REALLY hoping to not regret this purchase.

 

[lannes]

I think you'll have to wait until the DJI Flash is released before making up your mind.
It will be interesting to see if the Flash can perform like a MA2 as a camera platform as well as fly aerobatics, in that sense it will be the better deal. So far I've notice that battery life will only be around 20 minutes, so range might be limited unless it can fly faster than a MA2 in sport mode.

 

[jinglestheelf]

Great advice. Been waiting over a year to buy so methinks another coupla weeks won't hurt.

In general, though, the MA2 SC Moverio combo make sense for my use case, right? See any problems with that path forward?

 

[lannes]

Great advice. Been waiting over a year to buy so methinks another coupla weeks won't hurt.

In general, though, the MA2 SC Moverio combo make sense for my use case, right? See any problems with that path forward?

Yes the combo of the MA2 and the SC is fine, I'd hold off on the BT35e as there are new models just released in the BT-40 range but they haven't been fully tested with the SC just yet. The yet to be released standalone BT-40s (64bit android controller) will allow you use it by itself without the SC, but it hasn't been tested with DJI Fly as yet.

 

[Scubadiver1944]

Great advice. Been waiting over a year to buy so methinks another coupla weeks won't hurt.

In general, though, the MA2 SC Moverio combo make sense for my use case, right? See any problems with that path forward?

I currently fly the original Mavic Pro with a standard RC, plus a pair of Moverio BT-300 glasses. For the purposes that you require I would suggest you go down the route of your own suggestion of the MA2+SC+Moverio combo. The thrill of a very high speed FPV system isn't one that would tempt me, as I've witnessed far too many crashes by such systems by fellow flyers at my local drone club already.
Do a search on Facebook for several groups of Moverio users and if you're prepared to be patient as a newbie, look into the possibilities of the Moverio BT-40 or BT-40s to see if their higher specifications and compatibility with drones is viable once group members can get their hands on them to test them out, it may give you further food for thought.
For myself I've never regretted going down the Moverio route and wouldn't revert to using a cell phone or tablet again. In the future I myself might upgrade to a Mavic3 Pro+SC+Moverio BT-40, perhaps when others have ironed out any bugs, but when that might be, who knows?
In the meantime my advice? Stick to a system that's recently been tested out, MA2+SC+Moverio and once you've gone through the learning curve, take it easy and enjoy the experience!

 

[jinglestheelf]

I currently fly the original Mavic Pro with a standard RC, plus a pair of Moverio BT-300 glasses. For the purposes that you require I would suggest you go down the route of your own suggestion of the MA2+SC+Moverio combo. The thrill of a very high speed FPV system isn't one that would tempt me, as I've witnessed far too many crashes by such systems by fellow flyers at my local drone club already.
Do a search on Facebook for several groups of Moverio users and if you're prepared to be patient as a newbie, look into the possibilities of the Moverio BT-40 or BT-40s to see if their higher specifications and compatibility with drones is viable once group members can get their hands on them to test them out, it may give you further food for thought.
For myself I've never regretted going down the Moverio route and wouldn't revert to using a cell phone or tablet again. In the future I myself might upgrade to a Mavic3 Pro+SC+Moverio BT-40, perhaps when others have ironed out any bugs, but when that might be, who knows?
In the meantime my advice? Stick to a system that's recently been tested out, MA2+SC+Moverio and once you've gone through the learning curve, take it easy and enjoy the experience!

Scuba,
I'm not sure how I missed your reply, but I do appreciate it and I'm going to take your advice. After seeing and being very impressed with the new FPV, I do not want to give up the hands off follow modes for recording esk8 rides and family fun.

Does anyone have an idea of when the 40 and 40S are being released? Seems vague.

Thanks again.

 

[lannes]

Scuba,
I'm not sure how I missed your reply, but I do appreciate it and I'm going to take your advice. After seeing and being very impressed with the new FPV, I do not want to give up the hands off follow modes for recording esk8 rides and family fun.

Does anyone have an idea of when the 40 and 40S are being released? Seems vague.

Thanks again.

If your based in Europe the BT-40 has been released, the 40-S has been released in Japan so it will be very soon.

You've got a bit of a decision to make, but wait until the solutions have been tested.
I suspect number 2 will be cheaper.

1) MA2, SC and BT-40

or

2) MA2 and BT-40s

 

[Scubadiver1944]

Scuba,
I'm not sure how I missed your reply, but I do appreciate it and I'm going to take your advice. After seeing and being very impressed with the new FPV, I do not want to give up the hands off follow modes for recording esk8 rides and family fun.

Does anyone have an idea of when the 40 and 40S are being released? Seems vague.

Thanks again.

As "Iannes" has stated in post #7, the new Moverios seem interesting, even more highly specified than their immediate predecessors and a search on YouTube will come up with some reviews of the BT-40 but are all in Chinese or Japanese, neither of which I'm familiar with! In "Epson Moverio Tips/Tricks/Support" page on Facebook a recent post quotes an Epson press release that the latest variations of the Moverios should be available from "Q2", so I take that to mean April 1st onwards and quotes prices in US dollars, which could also mean the BT-35e may be available at a discount not too soon afterwards from some suppliers.
If you are still chomping at the bit to get in the air asap and don't want to await evaluation of the BT-40 or BT-40s, then by all means take the rout "Iannes" and myself have already charted.