DJI FPV Combo: Thoughts from someone who is new to FPV to flying full manual in 1 week

[@irishlostboy]

Let me start by saying my intention is not to bash DJI or you. I just want to share some thoughts I had while watching your video. What you have here is "I dunno about a thing, I bought a thing, here are my ideas on the thing", and that is a good starting point, but maybe some other people who might be looking to make a similar purchase might like some other perspectives, presented (hopefully) in a non-aggressive way, just to add some info to their thought process. My only hope is that people make the most educated choices, have the best experiences, and don't throw good money after bad. 1. Freestyle and racing are different things, their is some transition between them, but the quads in general do different things. 2. Weight is not what holds your DJI drone back from acro. Power is. Many freestyle quads weigh in at similar marks to the DJI drone. Weight can only be judged in the triangle of weight/power/flight time. 3. Flight time. A beefy freestyle quad, being ripped hard pulls a LOT of current, and so, will have flight times of on average 3-5 minutes. That same quad, being flown sedately will have 4-7 minutes flight time. Depending on the way you configure your build, a traditional FPV quad can have flight times of over 40 minutes of mountain surfing. (a 7", lightweight build with 18650 battery pack) 4. Battery. Traditional FPV set-ups use a basic battery. No computery things on the battery. We keep all that junk in the charger. This saves weight, and gives you relative affordability, as the battery will eventually degrade or get damaged through use. the DJI battery puts too much tech into the battery which is only your friend in very limited situations. Charging a basic LiPo is a bit more tricky than plug in and walk away, but it is good knowledge which translates into all areas of battery use. 5. Camera. The DJI drone is not a cinematic drone. No matter how you slice it. The camera is poor quality, it's very limited movement gimbal is really kinda pointless, and the camera position means you have the props in view. Fine for flying. Not good for making good video. The shape of the quad limits your options for mounting other camera options in positions where the props are out of view. The way the quad is tuned makes getting smooth cinematic footage harder. 6. Soldering. There are a lot of options for buy and fly traditional quads. Pretty much any vendor will happily build a quad for you, ready to go out of the box, for a small labour cost. Soldering takes minimal space, minimal specialist equipment, and minimal skills acquisition. You don't need a "work station" in your house. We have them because once we learn to solder, it is great fun, and we start making all kinds of things. All the kit can be kept in a shoebox. Anyone who can learn to edit a video, or how to work a camera, can learn to solder, and pretty much anyone already in FPV would be happy to help you learn. 7. Compatibility. The goggles are the only part of this kit that you will use in 3 months after purchase. If you don't crash the DJI drone, you will grow out of it quickly. It does not have the cinematic utility of a Mavic, and it has none of the flying characteristics you will want once you have even the smallest clue of FPV. If you think about it, you are spending 2k to get 0.5k worth of hardware you will use. 1.5k will be used just deciding if this hobby is for you. 8. Time Vs Money. This metric is wrong. First-off, the time you "save" here is spent learning things, both skills and use-knowledge which run counter to the larger world of FPV. And I am not just talking hobby pilots. The commercial pilots also use the same FPV gear, so if you think you are getting the easy way into an industry, that is probably incorrect. The money doesn't buy you time. It buys you the illusion of hand-holding. In reality, it is a trap, because you will either walk away completely from FPV, or you will have to eventually learn all about the scary betaflight etc. You will have to learn to just disarm and let a tough quad drop instead of hitting the magic hover button. The hand-holding has to end. Training wheels on a kids bike get taken off. Don't spend 1.5k on training wheels maybe? My take-home. The existing FPV community missed a beat by not providing a solid entry level option. Nearly everything DJI has provided here could have been provided by one of the existing main vendors, but they chose to ignore the beginner market. That was stupid. DJI could have built the same functionality into something with more durability and used more open architecture to allow more of their product to have a life 3 months after purchase. But, here we are. My hope is: this DJI quad is used safely, and is not dropped on people's heads by people who overly trust the safety features. That the prospective pilots do their due diligence and educate themselves about their options before spending their hard earned cash. That the FPV community and industry use this product to stimulate self reflection, and bring out a solid beginner friendly system which maintains good integration into the wider FPV world. Welcome to FPV. Enjoy your stay. Always remember, it's only flying that matters.