🛩️ Walksnail Avatar HD Pro - FPV Camera That Can SEE IN THE DARK!

[@13FPV]

I'm glad I jumped the Walksnail boat after 9 years of analog!

[@gizfpv]

Literally exactly the same here. This year is my 10 year anniversary of flying fpv, and I've spent 9 of those on analog before moving to Walksnail :)

[@swissfreek]

It's about time this has come out. I have been scratching my head wondering how Caddx couldn't stick the Polar camera onto the Walksnail system. It's the only camera I use with DJI, the ability to go for a dusk flight and be able to see, just fine, in HD and color, at night, is mind blowing. This actually looks like it might be even better.

[@Dynamic_Aerial_Adventures]

All good things come in time ! ITs now here and we can buy and enjoy it

[@AerialWaviator]

Looking at Caddx Pro specs (website), they list 0.00001Lux. For the Polar Starlight (Vista edition) they list 0.00003Lux. For the new v2 HD Avatar camera, no Lux, nor ISO specs are listed. With system kit specs (v1?), camera listed are 0.001Lux. Caddx is a bit inconsistent is how they list specs.

[@gizfpv]

Caddx sent me a spec sheet a while back regarding the Avatar HD Pro cam, and on that the minimum illumination is listed as 0.0001 lux. Dunno if that's accurate or not though, seems a bit of a low number Edit: Just seen on Caddx's website the Avatar HD Pro is now listed as having 0.00001Lux. Yeah seems you're right about them being a bit inconsistent with how they list specs lol

[@erlandfpv]

Your content drag me faster than i think to walksnail.. i do like LR with heewing t1, and probably love to use it with monitor with vrx, ❤

[@CADDXFPV]

Your content always impresses us ! Thanks for sharing this great review featuring our product!

[@gizfpv]

Thankyou for letting me have the camera early for review :)

[@austntexan]

Thank you guys for pushing the envelope for us DIY FPVers. This really feels like the early days of FPV again, but with HD this time.

[@austntexan]

I was going back and forth on DJI or WS. I ultimately picked WS (& HDZero to keep 1 foot in analogue w/a module) and I'm glad I did when I see videos like this. It appears that WS is continuing to develop their ecosystem and it seems like they're really do have the DIY crowd in mind. Great commentary and video. Well done.

[@PhillyDroneLife]

Yahooooooooooo Gizzzzz. Your killing it mate! I freaking want this camera! Stunning at night! Mikey

[@gizfpv]

Haha thanks man

[@bugsy742]

This is incredible and thanks for your phone footage for reference buddy 🤝🤝🤝

[@ApappieK]

Thanks for showing us. Very impressive. Last week I had to land 20 minutes after sunset on an overcast day with my cam on Night Mode. Now I have to buy this Pro cam, also because it appears that the Night Mode setting doesn't work anymore in the new software...

[@gizfpv]

Does night mode not work at all on the new firmware? Even with the old camera? That's not good, the night mode was really impressive. Wonder if that's a bug or they've deliberately disabled it? 😕

[@ApappieK]

@@gizfpv Oeps, sorry, I think I misunderstood things.... There is new FW on the Caddx site. I will test the new cam to all it's limits soon :) Really good all old and new components are compatible and I can buy just a Pro cam and still use my V1 VTX. 👍

[@PhilBrindley]

Great video. I've ordered mine and can't wait to give it a try at night. Thanks for all you do to get this info out there and help others. 🔥🤙

[@JustFPV-net]

about the lagging osd ... its the written time codes in the OSD files! both osd tools struggle with that and it turns up in long flights mostly after 9min ;) ... so the written files should be the problem and perhaps a newer firmware will easy on that.

[@gizfpv]

Hmm that's interesting to know. So it is a bug in the walksnail software then, not a bug with the OSD tool 🤔

[@JustFPV-net]

@@gizfpv thats what it looks like so far! I've compared it with both tools and they do the same. Having discussed it with one of the developers he discovered the same. I'm unsure if my framegrabber does the same mistake ... (which the would be my goggle for that sake) but I will look at it to confirm. How good is the pro cam at daylight btw? And yes ... I will have to get a bunch of those soon

[@afterburnerrc6333]

Approx how long is it lagging?

[@JustFPV-net]

@@afterburnerrc6333 Hard to tell but it’s gets noticeable after about 9min

[@Camilookb]

I hope hdzero comes out with a starlight camera. I already have hdzero on my T1 and taking all apart again would be a pain.

[@JimmmmyC]

Nice, would be cool to see a caddx polar comparison if you have access to that. Is it an all new antenna design? Or same as the old ones?

[@gizfpv]

I'll see if I can find someone who has a Caddx Polar cam so I can do a direct comparison. Would be cool to see

[@Mindauxx]

Man, its amazing! I love night flying (with analogue systems). How did you record OSD? Is this made by goggles? The video inside the plane's SD card (in FPV transmitter) would have a stabilized video? Your channel and content is great!!!! Keep up! I am picking up Walsksnail goggles with Avatar HD Pro tomorrow. Your video convinced me.

[@Stubbsyfpv]

FairPlay. Also watched your vid a fortnight ago Giz and thought that was good. That’s next level totally

[@gizfpv]

Haha, looking back at that night flight a few weeks back, it seems a bit pathetic now. Was nowhere near as good as this flight lol

[@dronepilot260rc]

This nice man! I haven’t thought about flying at night but now I’m thinking about it haha 😂

[@gizfpv]

Haha do it, it's great fun. Something new to try too

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic flying and review, dude! Thanks!!! 😃 It really looks nice! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@gizfpv]

Cheers man! And same to you too :)

[@AerialWaviator]

Very impressive. Initially thought this was going to be a 15-20 minute flight after sunset (ie: twilight). What a pleasant surprise seeing this on spring equinox and observing as your phone video went dark. Will be interesting to see how well the same camera performs in daylight, but seems the camera could easily be swapped out between flights if that was an issue. Could be fun and very practical to fly pre-dawn while winds are very light. Looking forward to seeing a nice flight under moon light sky, or if you every get a night with northern lights. For landing, parking with headlights into wind, will make landing easier, as the plane will cast a shadow to help judge height. FYI: GepRC has a nice light-weight lightstrip that ships with the CineBot, but can be purchased as spare part. It requires a BEC (12v?) which is also available. (~$10 for both). Alternatively there are thin LED strips. Both can be trimmed to length. Having on a switch could be a nice fallback option, should you ever need to do a LOS landing.

[@gizfpv]

Tbf I also expected this to be a 15-20 minute flight after sunset, was very (pleasantly) surprised that I was able to fly right past twilight into the darkness :) Will defo be doing a daytime test as soon as the weather allows, and love the idea of doing a flight on a moon lit sky! As for LED's, i'm probably going to get some Flytron strobes - apparently they're approved by the CAA and are visible up to 3 miles! Will have to see how expensive they are though, if they're too much i'll check out some light strips like you suggested :)

[@EnglishTurbines]

The 32gb of onboard memory is most welcome....Great video m8, it really looked very dark in your field there. Although everywhere else was lit up like a Christmas tree...😏..The other big plus is saving Giroflow data of course....How does it perform in bright sunny conditions though is the most obvious question now...? 🤔🤔😳😏😏😏🇬🇧

[@gizfpv]

Haha, I thought the bigger memory would make you happy. Was so tempted to tell you about it the other day when you were speculating if it might have bigger capacity, but chose to be good and keep the secret lol. Yeah I can't really stress enough how dark it was when I was doing this flight. The cam just makes it look so bright, it's deceptive. Next flight i'll be testing in daylight, and will also test the gyroflow. Just need the weather to improve!!

[@EnglishTurbines]

@@gizfpv Agreed, keen to see how the camera mounted giro does with Giroflow...Im assuming they will sell this black edition VTX on its own at some point if this camera is no good in Sunlight?....🤔😳😳😏.

[@vovsen123]

I'm very impressed, and the review was very good as well. which flightcontroller software do you use to get colour icons on the OSD?

[@swissfreek]

Looks like you beat everyone else to the punch :P

[@gizfpv]

Apparently tho. Although I asked this morning what time to upload and was very specifically told 1pm 🤷‍♂️ lol

[@kermets]

try it out in the country......those style on cameras need back ground light to work star-moon or street lights.....8 years ago i tried on my quad with IR lights and was had to fly

[@gizfpv]

Yeah at the end of the day, all camera's need some light to see. I've got no doubt that if I tried to fly in a field miles from anywhere I'd probably see nothing but black in the goggles lol. But this camera's ability to take a very limited amount of light and make a usable image is impressive

[@gregorydahl]

My 1s came with a long usb . I have an OTG CABLE THAT CONNECTS TYPE C output on a phone to big usb end of the walksnail vtx cable . After i upgraded the goggles with sd card i made with the walksnail upgrade file and " file to sd card " app . , I thought i lost the vtx cable . 😯But sometimes you slide the drawer out of the walksnail box upside down and stuff falls out onto the table . Whew . I never tried using the phone to upgrade the walksnail vtx . But the goggle upgrade unlocked nano channels and 700mW and other settings . I do not need the vtx drawing any more power on my small quad yet . I'll let you know if i can upgrade with android for anyone wants to but has no computer . Quads = no computer. Easy math

[@Maceyee1]

The osd isnt lagging its ahead of the video!?

[@DavidTaghehchian]

Thanks for sharing. Would you recommend swapping to Walksnail Avatar for HD flying? I am still flying the old V1 DJI goggles and VTx. I am hesitant to buy the new DJI Goggles 2 for many reasons. But I don't know if Walksnail Avatar is the answer/an improvement on DJI V1 I currently have.

[@gizfpv]

Well, I waited several years before moving to HD FPV as I don't like the DJI system. The DJI stuff works very well, don't get me wrong, but I don't like the way the company operates (forcing users register their gear, forcing firmware updates, locking out features, deliberately making old gear obsolete, poor customer communication etc). I waited until a viable alternative hit the market, and that ended up being Walksnail. I have very little experience with the DJI HD system, but from what I can tell, the Walksnail system is just as good, arguably better. So yeah, I'd recommend it. I've only been using it a few months but I'm very happy with how it works :)

[@DavidTaghehchian]

@@gizfpv well said. I hate DJI for all the reasons you listed and more. I was in awe of how good the change to DJI HD made FPV, but I can't forgive them for their poor treatment of customers and forced obsolescence on such a short timeframe. I definitely won't be buying the O3 system. I'll give the Walksnail Avatar system a good look now; it seems to be the right move.

[@teurisleonardo8229]

Hello friend, how much volt do I feed the vtx with?

[@iRoNiiC_H3R0]

Nice video mate, this is wanted from the beginning when the walksnail unit came out. Do you know if this new camera can work with the V1 vtx? Been on a long haitus from the hobby and now have to catch up to all the new stuff again 🙄. This hobby moves way too fast.

[@gizfpv]

As far as I know yes, you can buy just the new camera and plug it into the old VTX, you don't need to buy the whole kit :)

[@dennisradoor]

thanks for the video, looks nice

[@dracoxruiz2563]

Hi, what setup on the heewing are you runing? (Battery, motors, esc,...) have you seen they are now selling a new t1 pro version, with new motors and esc, can you comment on that??

[@gizfpv]

I've got a build video that shows my setup, but long story short I'm using the stock electronics. For battery I'm using a 3000mah 4s li-ion pack. Yes I've seen HeeWing now sell a pro version. Theyve actually sent me the upgraded electronics (to convert my T1 to a Pro) but in all honesty I haven't installed any of it yet and I dont feel any need. My T1 fly's great as it is 😊

[@dracoxruiz2563]

@@gizfpv nice, thanks for the answer, what battery is that, custom made (in that case what batteries did you use?), and if it was purchased, could you please send the link? Because I have been talking to hewing and they told me the plane should not weight more than 650g on takeoff, and you have a huge battery and also an hd system, fc, gps, ... how much does yours weight with the battery? And you think a build like yours is easy to fly? thanks dude! love your videos!

[@bg563195]

If you were in a country that allows long range fpv, what range would you typically get from the HD system your using?

[@CDRaff]

Unfortunately Wes Varty has taken down his videos(troubles with CASA), but he took Walksnail out to 30km on a wing with the video remaining mostly usable. IIRC there was a glitch at 12-15km where the video dropped out for several seconds, but it was nothing a wing pilot with a strong will couldn't fly through.

[@13FPV]

Giz, what custom OSD Font are you using? I got, what it looks like, the same one as yours (the latest version from Sneaky), but my home arrow gives me weird random characters.

[@gizfpv]

On your goggles, in the display menu, have you set the custom OSD to inav?

[@13FPV]

@@gizfpv I did. When I switch to the "original"' INAV font, it does show the home arrow like it should. Everyting in the custom font works, except for the home arrow. Was on different firmwares of WS and INAV as well. Now on the latest 32.37.10 and INAV 6.0.

[@gizfpv]

@@13FPV Oh wait, have you loaded the sneaky fpv font to your actual goggles? So you see the sneaky font during flight?

[@13FPV]

@@gizfpv Yes. Did the "Update Font" thing and selected the "Custom Font" option and chose "INAV". Tried the 3 different fonts from Sneaky, all looked different, but all the same home arrow problem. Only the "'original" INAV font gives me a home arrow, the custom ones gives me random characters. Looks like I did it all good...

[@gizfpv]

@@13FPV I see. I'm using the stock font on my goggles, only using the sneaky fpv font for the DVR when editing videos for KZbins. There's a note included with the sneaky fpv fonts that says they're not fully supported yet. Maybe the glitching home arrow is one of the things that aren't working? 🤷

[@MadDragon75]

Just curious if you used the gyroflow editing or is this WYSIWYG?

[@MadDragon75]

Just got mine and waiting for the vrx in the mail. The night flight is what sold me on the HD PRO too. I hope that it's still working out for you.

[@gizfpv]

This footage wasn't stabilized, it's straight out of camera. Although the Pro camera does support gyroflow, the VTX onboard recording isn't working properly yet, which means I haven't been able to record any useable footage to put in gyroflow yet. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon. The Pro camera is amazing though and continues to impress, it's ability to see in the dark is awesome

[@MadDragon75]

@@gizfpv Agreed!

[@mauror79]

nice video friend! just a question . what version of fonts do you use? I have errors in my osd with Inav.

[@gizfpv]

I'm just using Sneaky_FPV's Inav fonts (version 2.1). Seems to work very well

[@mauror79]

@@gizfpv I use the same one and I have errors in the arrow indicating home

[@gizfpv]

@@mauror79 On your goggles, have you specifically selected the inav OSD?

[@mauror79]

@@gizfpv yes I use Inav , the select Inav in menu Vrx .

[@jas-FPV]

Is the OSD native or reapplied in post ?

[@gizfpv]

With Walksnail the OSD isn't recorded with the dvr footage, so you have to reapply it in post edit. Bit annoying but it works........sorta lol

[@Aspir3]

Comment for the algorithm gods :)

[@gizfpv]

I appreciate it! 😅

[@maxun1]

Love it.

[@aram_Ak]

waau tosi hieno video, kyllä näkyy tosi hyviin vaikka on siellä yö ja pimea hyvä töitä bro👍

[@THEMADFLYER]

nice

[@Dynamic_Aerial_Adventures]

do us FPV drone pilots a favor and turn that sucker on and walk through a dark spot on the ground that comes into light so i can see the transition from light to nothing back to light. would really appreciate you

[@gizfpv]

I'll see what I can do. Do you follow me on instagram? If I do that test I'll probably post it on there

[@k1ortia]

Nothing better then, old military tech being passed down to the consumer to play with...😉

[@gizfpv]

Damm right! Can't wait till we get to play with cloaking tech. I know they've got it 🤣

[@k1ortia]

@@gizfpv Of course they have, and a lot more. That's image sure did look impressive in low light, fair play. I haven't taken the plunge yet, still rocking Analogue...😞

[@brendendas]

Found you on Instagram, subbed.