Caddx Walnut: The ultimate Session replacement for drone pilots?

[@shaneintegra]

My God! That place looks like heaven. So much green and well kept

[@Rcschim]

This is an epic spot indeed. Even tho I know almost every tree up there by now, still one of my most flown places. It looks a bit more like autumn now of course ;)

[@robsycko]

I personally think you're the best reviewer on KZbin

[@Rcschim]

Thanks alot!

[@enjoy_and_fly]

finde ich auch. Man merkt einfach, dass Mario seine Reviews mit technischem Verständnis angeht.

[@bugsy742]

I absolutely agree mate 🤝👍

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic flying and review, Mario! Really nice camera! 😃 For coincidence or not, when I started watching it my father got out of bed and watched with me. 😂 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@Rcschim]

Hey, that's nice to hear. I've waited way to long to publish this video. Looking forward to the next flights with this cam! greets, Mario

[@bugsy742]

Maybe now he’s seen it he might get you one for Christmas mate 😃🤗👍

[@MCsCreations]

@@bugsy742 Well, to tell the truth it's more possible to be the other way around! 😂

[@bugsy742]

@@MCsCreations 😅 fair enough mate 👍

[@HermyH66]

Very good review! And thanks for the raw sample footage, luckily the blocky artifacts when flying low over the gras were a youtube glitch.

[@Rcschim]

It's the lack of bitrate. If you use nd filter and the fast moving details get blurred, you get better results, but it is still demanding a lot...

[@neilfpv]

The place is so extremely beautiful!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍 Question, is there a setting in the Walnut to reduce sharpening like setting it to LOW? Thank you for the review!

[@mjodr]

Nice review! I actually watched this after getting mine to see if I could learn a few tricks and I did. Thx

[@LookingForEntertainment112]

Great video, you convinced me to get an Action 2 since they're so cheap now.

[@Rcschim]

Action2 is great value for money now, I agree. I kinda love the cam - but somehow I dont use it that often... And if you use the various magnetic ND Filters: they DO pop off on each landing - make sure to not forget them on the landing spot. I search for ND filters a few times now. Lucky: on the video you see exactly where you landed and where the filter was gone ;)

[@LookingForEntertainment112]

@@Rcschim Thanks for the advice on the filters. I'm going to see if I can 3D print a TPU solution to stop the filters from poping off.

[@ryanmette8522]

Great footage. It's still very green, where are you?

[@Rcschim]

That was last September, got the cam early but they didn't want me to post it for long... It's Austria and middle of autumn now already.

[@Drone-Pilot]

Thanks for the video Mario, it’s me Elias (Drone Pilot) the motorbike rider in Australia, just changed the name on KZbin to follow my business, any way thanks for the video, it was a good over view and explanation of what it is like and what to expect.

[@Rcschim]

Hi Elias, nice to see you here. Maybe you have time to visit my stream today 6pm CET? greets, Mario

[@shotbyarian]

hi, were you able to get your hands on the new DJI Air Unit O3? if yes, can we expect a video from you? love your reviews, hope you can include some range information with different antennas etc. - ps: i saw you are able to just pull on the upper antennas of the goggles 2 and change them, maybe the helicals guy can make a new version

[@Rcschim]

Hi, working on it. First video will show difference Vista vs o3 Range looks like max at 24km according to some Russian pilot ;) I don't have the g2 but rather the gv2. They are enough I think... Later I will test if range can be even better with directional Antennas, but since they use 265 now, you get more image quality out of less bitrate!

[@shotbyarian]

@@Rcschim wow, that is insane! looking forward to the video! would also love a comparison regarding range between g2 and gv2 if you might get your hands on one, but unterstand if you will stick with the gv2 :) also i wrote you a while back regarding meeting up for flying - what would be the best way to get in touch with you? will drive from graz to vienna on sunday or monday, maybe you have time and are willing to go flying together?

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

Excellent video

[@p_fpv]

Great review! You have a new subscriber!

[@Rcschim]

Thanks and welcome!

[@rfly-fpv]

With ND filters Walnut seems to do a bit better but overall when compared to GoPro IMHO it is not good at all, but... when you take into consideration that the price is over two times less expensive it's a good pick for freestyle when you can smash the camera pretty easily ;) As always great video - I like watching this channel! One small thing - in metric system symbol for gram is just "g" not "gr" - this is killing my eyes for some weird reason :D

[@Rcschim]

Gopro has no real alternative in this size. The Gopro11mini is a joke. It's not mini ;) isnt it 130gr (i meant g). In FPV it's often the question of "good enough" cam? this year most of my flights (with wings) were with the Caddx peanut - which is definitly good enough - and super convenient to use... It can be the same here with the Walnut. If the stabilization works, if the cam doesn't freeze up or forget to record - it can be a good enough option for most freestyle pilots. Some guys will geek out on gear and risk expensive cams to get the best possible video quality - but I'm the guy who cant fly really if the gear is too expensive ;) Will try to remember to use g instead of gr (don't know why I have this... :)

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim I’ve got two peanuts and was very excited about the GP11 mimi but man what a WASTED opportunity 😩 it’s still too heavy! Why no removable battery? Fantastic vid Schimmy mate 🤝

[@rp479]

Im loving the dji action 2 currently, looks like theyre about to release an update to allow the gyro data for gryoflow, but rocksteady honestly works really well too.

[@lomtikster]

Hi, thanks for the review! How do you typically TX videos from this cam, app, backplate, USB or SD? I want to quickly backup the video before the next flight but the wireless transfer is super slow. I'll try your tip about connecting the backplate 5 sec after powering the cam. SD/USB are not ideal because that requires unscrewing the cam.

[@WX4CB]

only thing i do not like is that MASSIVE lense flare... i'm assuming that's because the of the way the filters fit.. I wonder if that goes away when you remove everything from the front of the camera ?

[@Rcschim]

It's not only lensflare but more the reflections of the lens cover / nd filter if you fly against the sun. It's very visible (like a halo) if you use the most wideangle setting (2.7k60 4:3) - but it almost dissapears if you apply gyroflow and zoom in anyways. Didn't try it without the lens cover....

[@GhostBranchFPV]

Thank you for the great review! One question though: In the part where you tested WDR and EIS, was the metering still set to spot/center weighted metering or was it set to average metering? Because if that was the average metering with WDR on, the exposure algorithm of the cam is really not very impressive. The ground is okay-ish, but the sky is way too blown out.

[@Rcschim]

Sorry - dont remember it's been way too long since I did these tests (had to keep this video hidden). It probbably was in average metering mode. But also at this stage (end of sept) the firmware wasnt final and they had some bugs. Chances are - they changed this. I need to get the new firmware and see if it is better now...

[@GhostBranchFPV]

@@Rcschim Thank you for the quick answer! Would be interesting to see if anything has changed since then. I wouldn't bet on it though...

[@Rcschim]

as soon as I get the new firmware I will test - well that is: if I have some daylight or hopefully flyable weather on the weekends...

[@GhostBranchFPV]

@@Rcschim I feel you man, I'm from Cologne and the past few days have all been gray and cold - and it's only getting grayer and colder until April or May... :D

[@SirCrashaLot]

Session5 excelled at not dying and had decent footage still, but mainly it took walls, metal etc and lived. I wonder how would this work for racing. 2.7 60fps superview would do just fine there.

[@Rcschim]

It feels quite sturdy! I agree - 2.7k60 in 4:3 + SV is prolly the better setting for this cam. 4k30 somehow doesnt feel smooth (and it crops more).

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim what is SV mate please?

[@Rcschim]

@@bugsy742 I guess I meant Superview mode here ;)

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim oh I see 👍😅 my bad 🤝

[@alexruka]

Hi, so between Walnut & Session 5.. Which is the best in your opinion?

[@Rcschim]

I never had the Session5 myself. But I would go with the Walnut. More options, more recent and almost invinite battery life with the magnetic thingy ;) Of course the old session still would have some more of that magic gopro sauce built in ;)

[@alexruka]

@@Rcschim why do you never had the session 5? Haha. I’m really confused either to get session 5 or walnut. But all of my friends asks me to get the Walnut!

[@Rcschim]

@@alexruka at the time the session 5 came out, I found it to be overprised and I had so many other DICE form factor cams (Runcam3,5, Foxeer Box1,2) which had similar performance (and I got them for review). Gopro of course never sent me stuff to review ;) You will hardly get a session5 anyways. if the quality is not most important, take a look at the Peanut as well - it's so small - and I love it's stabilization (Insta Studio or gyroflow). if stabilization isnt that important, consider the DJI Action2 (when the price is around 250$ - not currently where they want 400+). The A2 looks bad in my video here - but it's a decent cam with lots of options and a really good UI. (check a few videos back to see my Action2 vs. Peanut video...) greets, Mario

[@chrisbee5481]

Hey Mario 👋, wie würdet du das bild mit der DJI O3 stabilisierten aufnahme vergleichen ? Lohnt sich da eine walnut mit der O3 schon drin?

[@Rcschim]

Das wird wahrscheinlich knapp. Die Walnut hat gefühlt vielleicht noch eine bessere Belichtung (die ist bei der O3 oft wirklich ein wenig zu dunkel). Sonst zahlt sich der Aufwand einer extra Cam mit Extra Gewicht fast nicht aus. Vielleicht passt's bald mal und ich kann einen vergleich machen.

[@ClareFPV]

Thanks for the review. Camera looks good. Maybe an alternative to the long gone session 5.

[@Rcschim]

Yep, it's a good alternative!

[@MircoBonfiglio]

I recently bought a Caddx Walnut and I kindly ask for technical clarifications. Inside the package I found 2 circular black stickers but where can be purchased? The black sticker is used to solve the problem that light a ring-shaped light (glow) is reflected... thanks

[@Rcschim]

Sorry I don't know. Didn't even know they add stickers now to prevent the reflections.

[@davidebianchi1281]

Ciao la cam ha una buona stabilizzazione interna o bisogna usare solo Giroflow ??

[@Rcschim]

Ciao, la stabilizzazione interna è sufficiente per i voli normali, ma l'acro / freestyle non sta più bene con esso - Gyroflow è meglio qui! (se il "mio" italiano è cattivo: dai la colpa a google ;)

[@davidebianchi1281]

@@Rcschim prima cosa ti ringrazio per la tua immediatezza nel rispondere !! L italiano è perfetto ,ok a me interessa per voli cinematici tipo in angle per voli a sfioro ,anche in 4 k è sufficiente la stabilizzazione ? ( Scusami se ti scrivo in italiano ...non so come si fa la traduzione )

[@davidebianchi1281]

@@Rcschim su di un 5 pollici voli normali ( no acro ) solo Cruise la stabilizzazione è sufficiente e l effetto gello ??

[@Rcschim]

@@davidebianchi1281 Sì, direi che per i voli normali la stabilizzazione interna è buona. Gyroflow è gratuito e non così complicato come sembra. Puoi usarlo per realizzare video ancora più belli in seguito!

[@lomtikster]

Does the cam really last 28min for you? Which resolution? At 4x3 4k and no eis, I get 1-2x 4 min flights with a new camera

[@florianperrin8424]

Hello, following this great extensive review, that showed the good image quality of the Walnut, I got one in order to install it on a glider... But, I am surprised by the charging time with such a small battery (600mAh); after 2 hours the red light is still on ! And the battery wasn't fully depleted... Am I missing something ? Also, could someone post here some gyroflow settings for 2.7K 60fps in 4:3 or 16:9 ? something to start with... Because, all of the settings I tried, the video is still shaky (handeld video test by foot). The internal stabilisation works... up to a certain point where it "jumps" because the system cannot cope with big angles or moves ;-) Many thanks in advance....

[@Rcschim]

Hi, charging: see if you have another USB powersupply maybe the one your trying is too weak? Don't charge over the magnetic USB thingy, but directly over the USB port in the cam... I can't remember that long charge times. I think 1.5hrs should be max time it can take. Gyroflow: see if you have the same issues that I had (on some videos, not on all): the "offset" of gyrodata to video was too large for the default setting in gyroflow - so it never found a good way to sync it up. If it's too much offset - increase the timeframe gyroflow can look at (forgot the name of this but it's in the topright corner). let me know if you still have troubles after this and I can take a closer look. It's a nice cam, should produce decent footage for you!

[@florianperrin8424]

@@Rcschim Hello, thanks for your answer and the very good advice on Gyroflow setup, because this was a deception, even if I'm a real beginner in that field ! If I understand well, the two file's data are out of sync and if I increase the time window, the software is able to find the "sweet spot" by itself without having to hunt blindly for the right delay ? As for the charge, because the magnetic port is much more accessible, I used this one by default for the two last charges. So I'll try again with the "native" port, to see if it makes a difference ;-) As for the power supply, I used different ones in my stock, that are all 1A, I hope it is sufficient, because my more powerful ones are "fast charging", so there's no improvement if you stay at 5V because the device is not supporting "fast charging". Not that I want to charge faster, but for such a small battery, it should take 1h/1.5hrs at most in my opinion... But then, if the "magnetic" port is current-limited, does it work well when you use the supplied BEC on a quad, for example ? Thank you again !

[@Rcschim]

@@florianperrin8424 Gyroflow: correct - increase the time window. Also check to make enough manual syncpoints and you should see improvements in the stabilization. Charging: on other device I even had a problem caused by an USB cable. I have at least one cable (now labelled) that "charges very slow". Don't know the cause... I think I remember that the BEC -> magneto USB was just about strong enough to keep the charge during a flight - but you shouldnt expect the cam to be fully charged after a flight...

[@florianperrin8424]

​@@Rcschim OK, I'll look deeper on how to make manual syncpoints ;-) It seems that today, using a different USB PS + cable on the normal USB port is faster, but I don't know what was the charge level... took 1h+ for the red light to go away. Another question; when the cam is active (image) the aluminum back gets pretty hot, I can barely touch it... seems like the 64C you shown; is it usual for any 4K action cam ? First I bought 3 weeks ago a used Runcam2 4K, vey well made for FPV but really too shaky, I definitely needed some stabilization.... Then I bought the Walnut on sale in France at 150€ last week, to give it a try.... As for the image clarity, resolution, color, it is good enough for me, but... I wonder if the horizon levelling will be sufficient with a glider on a slope... How does it compares with the Session 5 in terms of stabilization ? I can get used gopros in good condition for around 100€ here... No 4K60 but I'll stop at 2.7K60 because the files become really large at 4K60. And it seems to be more rugged, waterproof, with a longer battery life, for 12gr more...

[@Rcschim]

@@florianperrin8424 About charge again: maybe the "abort" condition for the charger is crappy (the red light goes out far too late...) I have an 8 port USB charger on my workbench, it shows me the AMPs on each port while charging - this way you see how much power goes into an USB device while charging. (normally 1.5amps or so - slowing down to 0.1 amps when nearly full). This charger wasnt expensive, handy tool! Yes, the walnut get's really hot. But also for example the new DJI o3 airunit. 4k60 is quite challenging for those tiny chips - they need cooling. No problem when you fly tho... DJI Action2 also get's really hot. Session 5 doesnt have hypersmooth as far as I recall. Gopro7 started with hypersmooth. This is really good. Can you use Gopro session5 + reelsteady go? I think this is what many pro's use(d). Now also the Dji A2 hast Gyroflow support ;) Maybe Gopro 11 mini would be the best small cam with perfect stabilization (but also expensive). Walnut or also the Caddx Peanut are quite good for stabilization. Peanut maybe a bit better at stabilization (it's insta360 hardware) - but resolution is not as good. Sorry, I guess now you have more questions than answers ;)

[@onclefly8450]

Hi Mario, not good lens view angle, compare it. Bad fov 👍 The Runcam Pro change the lens and better fov.

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

Mario I think you need some more camera's! 👍

[@Rcschim]

You can never have enough cameras ;) One little side-bag of my FPV backpack is dedicated to just have cameras (very handy!).

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

@@Rcschim Yes I agree!

[@dcwagstaff9002]

Can you see the recording on your mobile phone?

[@Rcschim]

yes, the app is not bad. you can also maybe take out the sd card and insert it in a phone (better performance) I'm using the walnut now on my ARWing Pro flying wing and it looks amazing. with gyroflow and the quality you get a lot for the money and weight.

[@bugsy742]

Hey brother I can’t find an SD card that will record with this camera for more than a few minutes 😢 Please can you tell me what kind of card you use? I’m not getting much help from Caddx OR my retailer! 😩 This is my second unit- 1st one got sent back because it was faulty!

[@Rcschim]

Hi, what's the reason for the short recording? Overheat? SD Write errors (card too slow`?) I remember that this Walnut got pretty hot. Try test-recording with a fan cooling the cam so you can rule out the overheating thing. I'd get one of the better Sandisc Extreme proSD cards bit.ly/3q8eRyc if I was concerned my sd cards are too slow... hope this helps, br, Mario

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim l will try the Extreme pro that you suggested Mario 👍 Thanks so much for helping me, I have been quite frustrated by it all, I did have the over heating thing with my initial unit but I remove my SD card now to offload footage and take off as soon as I hit record 👍 Hopefully the new SD card will save the day, thanks again buddy I cant tell you how much I appreciate it 🤝🤝🤝

[@Rcschim]

@@bugsy742 SD cards are weird sometimes. I have quite good ones, they always worked - but lately I have "sd card slow" errors on my DJI goggles (but I doubt that recording DVR would exceed the writespeed...)

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim 🙄 I hope it’s not the start of a trend

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim hey I just noticed that my windows 11 computer is Exfat not FAT32, it won’t let me convert my sd to fat32 I’m at a real loss here 😔

[@twp3029]

dji is so heavy on contrast. i really liked the walnut!

[@Rcschim]

yep, didn't do it on purpose, but DJI a2 looks worse than it should. the conditions were changing quickly here. the one thing that's worse on DJI for sure is the light handling. and also the rocksteady stabilization is good, but sometimes looks weird in freestyle moves. And you have no chance to use Gyroflow on DJIA2...

[@rolliseventeen]

Gleich mal auf die Waage, hier bin ich richtig. hehehe.

[@BaldmanFPV]

🤔🤔🤔

[@jukkapekkaylitalo]

Walnut seems nice footage seems decent. price seems ok. Go pro is still top of the line but to justify 500€ price. It is not worth it. Large diminishing return. And footage seemed better than dji action 2. That is also twice the price. I hope that caddyx manage to tweak it's firmware and hardware bugs. If id had to price action cams i would not pay for go pro 11 more than 300 max. dji action would also be about 200 just because larger bat life and other extras.

[@Rcschim]

You can get dji a2 for around 240$

[@jukkapekkaylitalo]

​@@Rcschim depends where y live. y may be able to buy it in eu in coutry that has like 11% alv for electronics like 300€ but here in Finland alv is 24% for electronics. Y might get one purchased from USA and hope it get trough customs. So y don't have to pay import tax aka vat aka alv.

[@jukkapekkaylitalo]

Here in eu we have cheap heathcare but Alv eats our purchasing power.

[@Rcschim]

we have 20% tax in Austria, and yet - on the DJI store sales event a few weeks ago it was down to 240€ for the DJI a2 + power bundle (or even the 2nd screen). but WOW - now it's really up to 399€ for the stock power bundle. Which is way overpriced. So wait for the next black friday or whatever and try to get it while on sale... conclusion: a decent HD cam should be around 200€ imho, maybe a gopro10/11 is worth a bit more like 300-400.... sometimes you can be lucky with amazon warehouse deals (I got my Gopro10 for 360€)

[@jukkapekkaylitalo]

@@Rcschim y timig is everything sometimes prices in here finland lag behind. usually prices are cheapest in january. Sometimes best deals seems to be manufacturers back to school deals.

[@spitfeueranna]

$180... huckthat might as well buy a DJI air unit vtx with onboard dvr and cam for same price

[@Rcschim]

it's about priorities in life.... ;) sure - first you need a decent video downlink. not so long and you will have the choice to buy a new O3 Airunit with probbably really good stabilized onboard recording - and this will render additional HD cams unneccesary, or will it?

[@bugsy742]

For EVERY quad? 😱😅 😂

[@Rcschim]

on qudas it might be not so practical, but for planes I also made a little "vista pod" - you can velcro it on every plane, feed power thru balance plug and even see flight pack volts in the OSD (I used an old little FC to get volts - sad that DJI cannot display volts by it self...)

[@bugsy742]

@@Rcschim that’s awesome I can’t wait to one day have a plane or wing, man fpv is awesome, it’s has so much dynamism to it 😎😍

[@KOrnhOliO1]

If you have the DJI FPV system, in a few weeks, you'll be able to buy the 03 air unit! If you've seen the fantastic video coming from the DJI Avata you know how great it looks. For around $100 more than the price of a Nebula Pro equipped Vista, you'll be able to pretty much eliminate the need for a heavy GoPro or this Caddx Walnut, with the 03 air unit mounted in your drone! Save a ton of weight and MONEY! :)

[@Rcschim]

Sounds good, there is always something new to buy. Capitalism isn't always bad ;)

[@KOrnhOliO1]

@@Rcschim Right! I get a kick out of these guys that are soooo afraid of DJI stopping producing the V2 system with the Vista and Link. If they already have it, and DJI moves on to their new tech (like ALL manufacturers eventually do) those V2 goggle and those Vistas are still gonna work just fine - probably for the next 5 or 10 years, they are so reliable! Buy some extra Vista/Links! Why is that so bad that tech moved on? You can still fly just fine with your V2's! Nothing has changed for you! They act like their V2 system is now defunct and no longer good! lol No way, nothing has changed! You still get crystal clear FPV video! And, it's not just DJI that moves on to their new tech, IT'S EVERY SINGLE MANUFACTURER! Sheesh! 🤣🤷‍♂

[@Rcschim]

@@KOrnhOliO1 Yep - fully agree! I'm really happy with Vistas/Airunits. Have collected lots of them - and they will work for quite some more seasons. At which point I will be tempted to try a new o3 airunit (supposedly with a 1kg PC fan installed? - MadsTech ;) I dont know yet - but probbably too soon ;) O3: will the live footage also be stabilized? would make fixedwing flights more comfortable ;)

[@bugsy742]

@@KOrnhOliO1 absolutely spot on mate! lotta crying going on at the moment 😅👍

[@HayBeseret]

Thanks for the great review, big like on supplying the raw file with gyro data 🦾🦾

[@Rcschim]

You're welcome. The gyroflow compatibility is quite good, sometimes the data is a bit too much away from video - and it doesnt always stay the same latency. Insta go2 seems to be more consistent (around 9ms)