Interesting read.
It’s no surprise but still a shame to see the usual issue of people being unable or unwilling to step outside of the view of their own use cases and interests and allow that others will be totally satisfied with an experience that would not suit them.
I can appreciate both sides of the argument to some extent.
I’ve been flying a long time, manned aircraft both fixed wing and rotary wing which sadly I can no longer pass medical endorsement for and radio controlled for over 30 years again fixed wing and heli as a display pilot and instructor as well as just for fun. I greatly enjoyed it in it’s day but these days the urge to fly on the bleeding edge with my heart in my mouth has mostly passed and I get enough stimulation flying as a commercial remote pilot.
So, about 8 months ago I bought a
DJI FPV setup with two flymore kits (it was cheaper here in Australia to buy an extra flymore than just buy the extra two batteries, you figure) along with the motion controller and all the trimmings. So far I have exactly zero regrets. I put the lack of regrets down to knowing exactly what I was going into before I bought it and as
@Chaosrider seems to be in the same situation then I say “lay on McDuff”.
Many people seem to feel that the terms “acro” and “fpv” are synonymous for the same thing and really they are not. “FPV” is exactly that, first person view and when I stick the white
DJI goggles on the head of the site co-ordinator so he can ride along while I fly the
Phantom 4 around the work site that’s just what he gets. A first person view. An acro or 3d quad is a different kettle of fish again and if that’s what you want then it’s best that is what you buy. A
DJI FPV drone is not going to suit you. In short there are acro fpv drones and cinematic fpv drones, be sure what you want and make sure you buy it.
That’s not to say you can’t “brew your own” cinermatic fpv drone or buy some fairly comprehensive bind and fly units but that’s not for everyone. People like to remain in the ecosystem they are familiar with and don’t like to tinker extensively, there’s a whole host of reasons. It’s their life, their money so why not?
Let’s be totally honest here. It’s not like you can absolutely never ever fly your DJI drone acro. If you have the skill set and then depth of pocket for repairs when it goes pear shaped then have at it. There are some talented pilots who do some amazing stuff with the
DJI FPV drone, check out Ken “originaldobo” on YouTube for some examples. He’s broken several as good as he is but accepts the realities and flys without fear for best result. I’ve flown mine acro a few times but I admit that it was at over 200 feet. No flying the gap or diving the tower for me. If I was going to do that I’d be flying something much more like what
@slup is flying.
Also be aware, the reports are correct. The camera on the
DJI FPV is not without it’s faults. That’s not to say it’s awful but it’s dynamic range is somewhat limited if flying in low light. It’s more on a par with the original Mavic Pro than say a
Mavic 2 Pro but it’s still good enough for some great footage if you know how to use it to it’s best potential and if it still doesn’t meet your needs then mount a GoPro on it like most FPV pilots do anyway. It’s heavy but it doesn’t lack for power to carry the payload.
Addressing the fragility side of it, I think that’s mostly misconception. It’s not that fragile compared to the average fpv quad nor are the materials that sub par
in real world terms. What I mean by that is that in an equal impact it’s not much more likely to break than anything else but you must keep in mind that a 2lb
DJI FPV drone hitting an object at 5mph is probably undergoing the same forces as a 100g fpv quad does when it hits something at 50mph (I’m sure someone else will happily do the math for us here
). So that “equal impact” is achieved at a much lower speed. I’ve fitted the optional arm braces to mine but I’m still well aware that if I pile it into a solid object at the 60mph available in sport mode that the only reason for me to go and pick up the pieces is for reasons of environmental responsibility lol.
I wanted something plug and play that was easy to fly and able to do close terrain proximity flying at speed to add that perspective as well as bank while turning perspective to my work and social media videos. I also wanted GPS, RTH and emergency stop stop and hold functions. I’m time poor and I didn’t want to build it myself and I didn’t want to mix and match off the shelf. I just wanted to buy it and fly it. I’m yet to prang it because I don’t kid myself it’s an acro drone.
I researched my subject and bought as I felt. I’m yet to regret it other than the knowledge that the resale value is pants and that the next one will be better but isn’t that always the way?
We need to accept that people should follow their own path and that while our own path may be better for us personally it is not always doing someone a favour to convince others that our path is the only path.
Regards
Ari
Edit Sorry for the wall of words *wince*
LOL ... yeah, why not just buy the 
the black "funky" DJI controller ... even though I never will be able to use the one I got for anything else even if I wanted too
