Speaker 1: The DJI Avada is the most fun I have had flying a drone, even when I crashed it. The DGI Avada is the latest flying machine from the dominant drone maker and improves on its predecessor by being smaller, lighter, and safer. Thanks to these new enclosed propellers.
Speaker 1: [00:00:30] So what the hell is FPV? Well, it stands for first person view. And if you've been on TikTok or Instagram recently, when you've probably seen those exhilarating videos of drones flying through impossibly small spaces like bowling alleys or factories to achieve those kind of incredible aerial maneuvers, FPV drone pilots, where goggles, just like these ones that let them see through the eyes of the drone. [00:01:00] So that means they can navigate around obstacles or through tiny gaps at high speed almost as though they're up there controlling it themselves. And that is exactly how you will fly the Ava like the previous DJI FPV drone. This one over here, the DJI Avada comes with FPV goggles. If it put you up in the air, seeing the environment through the eyes of the camera of the drone. Now I've been flying drones for some years [00:01:30] now. In fact, it was since DGI I's first Phantom one launched back in 2013, but the first person perspective is very, very different, very, very exciting.
Speaker 1: It's the nearest you can actually get to feeling like you are flying short of putting on one of those wing suits and jumping off the top of a mountain, which I really don't wanna do. Pretty sure I just die. So what is new with the Avada? While the design has seen quite a big shift with a much smaller body, [00:02:00] the previous model was much bulkier and it had these quite long sticking out rotor arms, which made it quite difficult to squash into a backpack. But by comparison, the Ava diminutive size is much easier to take on a Trek with you to find a cool spot to fly. And then there's the new protective cage around the propellers, which not only keeps people safe from the drone, but also allows the drone to gently bump into walls or trees or [00:02:30] other obstacles without those propellers getting all jammed up and this thing falling to the ground.
Speaker 1: Well, in theory, cuz it doesn't fully protect it. And while I found I could send it through some patches of leaves, without it being too badly affected a couple of occasions, it did hit some bigger branches and it fully took the drone down and yes, one time it went down quite a distance from where I was standing and yes, that was inside a big forest of Fern that [00:03:00] I then had to spend hours hiking through to try and recover it. Now of course I can't really blame the drone for that. That was my error as a pilot. But my point is is that this isn't necessarily a foolproof solution. You do still have to be reasonably careful with how you're flying it, but it's not just the drone itself. That's smaller. The actual FPV goggles are as well compared to the previous model. They are a lot smaller and lighter as well, which makes them much more comfortable to wear for extended [00:03:30] periods that said, if you are prone to motion sickness, then you will still find that there is some nausea caused by using first person goggles.
Speaker 1: For me, I found I could only manage maybe about 10 minutes at a time without having to take a break and let my eyes readjust. That's not a specific criticism of the Avada, just the nature of what it is like to use. These kinds of headsets. I had exactly the same experience using VR headsets. And if you've ever struggled with that kind of motion [00:04:00] sickness yourself, then it's worth keeping in mind when you're flying something like this. The goggles have updated O led displays, which are sharp enough to give a crystal clear view of whatever your drone is seeing. And there's almost zero latency. So you don't need to worry that your drone has crashed before. You've actually seen it happen in the goggles, of course, with your own vision obscured by the goggles. You may well need to have a spotter physically standing next to you just to keep an eye on your environment, depending on [00:04:30] what your local laws allow, wherever you are flying.
Speaker 1: Always make sure that you are flying safely and within your local regulations, the camera on the front can shoot 4k video, add up to 60 frames per second. And the footage from it looks great. It's smoothly stabilized and it handles high dynamic scenes. Well with bright skies being kept under control and without the ground being too dark and shadowy, there's plenty of detail too. And there's enough resolution that will allow you to do those vertical crops down the middle. If [00:05:00] you're wanting to put your footage on TikTok, which of course you are because no, it does not have a portrait orientation video mode. The quality takes a bit of a dive if you're flying in lower light areas. So keep that in mind. If you are hoping to stand one around your dark local bowling alley in its sport mode, it'll fly it up to 14 meters per second, but I'm told there was actually a manual mode which will almost double that already pretty NiPy top speed.
Speaker 1: Even in sport mode, I found it was really easy to [00:05:30] handle, especially using the DJA motion controller rather than use more typical dual joystick controllers. Like you'd find on D DJ's Mavi line. The motion controller is a single hand grip style controller that moves the drone around in the air. Just based on your hand movements, you'll see a little crosshair in your view when you've got the goggles on and as you move the controller around, you'll see that's crosshair move around the screen, wherever the crosshair goes, the drone goes. So it's pretty much [00:06:00] just point and shoot. It's a very easy way of flying and it makes it simple to do more advanced maneuvers like pointing the drone towards the small gap and sending it straight through it. Well, it's easy in theory, it was my first time using the motion controller. And to be honest, even only after about 10 minutes, I felt that I pretty much got the hang of it and was already starting to try more advanced maneuvers.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I only crashed twice. So I'm considering that a win DGI reckons [00:06:30] you'll get about 18 minutes of hovering time from a fully charged battery. So of course, if you are hammering the throttle, sending it careening through all kinds of obstacles, then you will get much less out of that battery. There is a fly more combo that comes with extra batteries. So that is worth keeping in mind. If you are planning on taking it on location and shooting for any length of time. So is this a drone you should go and buy? Well, if you want a more typical cinematic aerial experience, [00:07:00] maybe it's for drone gently going across the top of forest or tracking you as you are walking up and downhill. Then this probably isn't the drone for you. Instead look towards DGI. I's Maverick three, which can capture stunning footage, thanks to its larger camera setup.
Speaker 1: But if you want an exhilarating flying experience that genuinely almost feels like you are up there actually flying around yourself. Then this is the drone to go for. I've had so much fun sending this thing [00:07:30] hurtling around the forest. And even when I crushed it twice, it's still absolutely fine. And while the footage probably isn't going to make its way into a Hollywood film, it's great for TikTok or Instagram. If you want to get that first person view in your videos, there are cheaper drones on the market, but this thing is a hell of a lot of fun to fly. But what do you think to the DGI Avada is the first person view experience one for you or are you more after a more gentle flying [00:08:00] approach? Do of course leave your thoughts in the comments below and make sure to check this video's description for a lot more information.
