The new FPV Cinewhoop Drone DJI Avata offers a tiltable camera with up to 4K 60fps or 2.7K 120fps video recording with D-Cinelike.
The drone is smaller and more lightweight than the DJI FPV and the propellers are guarded for more safety and ruggedness. Avata offers flight time of up to 18 minutes and multiple flight modes for all skill levels. The new DJI Goggles 2 are more compact and lightweight with DJI O3+ connection and adjustable diopters. The DJI Avata is available now starting at $629.
Undoubtedly, DJI has been dominating the traditional consumer and prosumer drone market for the last few years. With the increasing popularity of FPV drone flying among filmmakers, the Chinese tech giant understandably wants to conquer a large chunk of this market as well.
For FPV pilots who fly digital systems, DJI Goggles have been the go-to piece of equipment for years. The company has been supplying its FPV wireless system to other manufacturers for a long time, but it took until March 2021, that DJI launched its first FPV drone system including the aircraft itself – called simply DJI FPV. Today, the company announced the second generation FPV drone which improves on the DJI FPV in many ways while being much smaller, lighter, and more rugged.
DJI Avata – smaller ducted Cinewhoop
DJI Avata is a much smaller drone than DJI FPV and its shape resembles smaller Cinewhoop quads from other manufacturers such as iFlight or GEPRC. The drone body only weighs 410 grams and the propellers are now guarded (you can use the term “ducted” although these are not real ducts) so the drone can withstand slight bumps into objects and is safer to fly around people, etc.
Unlike existing FPV drones, Avata can also hover in one place like a traditional drone and has many safety features – more on those later. If the drone lands upside down, it can be flipped back remotely and be ready for take-off again using the so-called turtle mode.
Flight time is an impressive 18 minutes. This might not sound like much compared to traditional foldable DJI drones, but it is a lot in the FPV world where the traditional LiPo battery packs usually last somewhere between 3 and 6 minutes. Additionally, DJI battery packs are much easier to handle than standard LiPo batteries for FPV drones which must be carefully stored with storage voltage, etc.
Three flight modes
Just like with the original DJI FPV, the new DJI Avata also offers three different flight modes depending on the skill of the pilot:
- Normal (N) Mode: During N mode operation, DJI Avata operates similarly to other DJI drones, hovering in place with the use of satellite navigation and/or visual positioning systems (VPS) on the bottom of the drone.
- Manual (M) Mode (only with the DJI FPV Remote Controller 2): M mode provides complete control and the full FPV immersive flight experience with customizable flight parameters.
- Sport (S) Mode: A hybrid blend of M and N mode, S mode offers some of the dynamic movement capabilities that come with M mode along with some of the key safety features of N mode.
Just like every DJI drone lately, the Avata is controlled with the DJI Fly app which includes detailed tutorials on how to operate the drone. For users who want to practice FPV flying skills, the DJI Virtual Flight App is a free simulator app that allows pilots to fly DJI Avata virtually in various settings using the dedicated controller.
Price and availability
As always with DJI drones, there are several packages available depending on the included gear:
- A standalone version of DJI Avata will retail for $629 (in Europe around €579). This does not include any remote controller, motion controller, or goggles so it is suitable for DJI FPV owners for instance.
- DJI Avata pro-view combo retails for $1,388 (in Europe around €1,429) and it includes the drone, DJI Goggles 2, and the DJI Motion controller.
- DJI Avata fly smart combo costs $1,168 (in Europe around €1,149) and includes the drone, DJI FPV Goggles V2, and the DJI Motion Controller.
- DJI Avata Fly More Kit retails for $279 (in Europe around €249) and includes two DJI Avata Intelligent Flight Batteries and one battery charging hub.
