The DJI Avata is something special. I knew it the first time I flew.
I pressed three power buttons, placed the drone on a table, put the goggles over my eyes, and grabbed the gun-like wand. A double tap and long press of a cherry red button sent the bird flying into the air. And then, with a squeeze of my index finger and a literal flick of the wrist, I was a bird, an airplane, Superman soaring into the sky, descending to the Earth below, passing through a field of grass so close enough that he could almost taste it, leaning into a turn so smooth and level it felt like a car being expertly maneuvered around a corner.
I couldn’t wait to go back. And I didn’t have to – there was plenty of battery left.
DJI Avata kits include FPV goggles and a motion controller.
Today, DJI announces the Avata, its first cinewhoop-style drone. It’s unlike any flying camera DJI has made before. Instead of folding arms like a Mavic or Mini, it’s factory-equipped with a full propeller guard, four fixed down-push rotors, and built-in feet just barely tall enough to keep those propellers out of trouble. Instead of a three-axis gimbal and collision avoidance sensors that let it fly and film in any direction, the expectation is that you’ll fly this drone forward like an airplane and get a first-person view of where it is going through its 1/1.7 inch camera, 4K / 60fps or up to 2.7K / 120fps. The only sensors you get are a pair of downward-facing cameras and infrared sensors, which do an amazing job of maintaining a constant altitude while zooming just above the ground.
But if it’s a cinewhoop, it’s not your average cinewhoop either. You get 18 minutes of battery life, several times what you’d normally see with the kind of aerobatic drone you might fly around a bowling alley. And it’s not exceptionally light or small: it’s about the size of a Mini 2 with arms outstretched, but weighs almost twice as much at 410 grams, meaning you might need to register and tag your drone, and it’ll hit harder strong in a crash . Also, it doesn’t have any exposed propellers or arms to break off like the original DJI FPV.
The 48-megapixel f/2.8 fixed-focus camera has a 155-degree field of view. You can shoot in “Normal”, “Wide” or “Ultra Wide” FOV using distortion correction. Sensors facing down. You get two extra propellers and a hex key to remove them.
The biggest difference, however, is that the Avata isn’t primarily meant to be paired with the traditional joystick-based controller that lets you fly a drone sideways or backwards or go around and around. DJI won’t sell you a kit with one and couldn’t get one to us in time for testing. When we tested the one that came with the $1,299 DJI FPV, which DJI advertises as being able to push the Avata into full aerobatic mode capable of flying 60 miles per hour (27 meters per second), we couldn’t get it to . to stay reliably paired.
DJI Unlock Price
Item Price Item Price DJI Avata $629 DJI Avata Pro-View Combo (DJI Goggles 2, Motion Controller) $1,388 DJI Avata Fly Smart Combo (DJI FPV V2 Goggles, Motion Controller) $1,168 DJI Kit Avata Fly More (2 extra batteries, 3 batteries) charging hub) $279 DJI Motion Controller (included in combos) $199 DJI FPV Remote Controller 2 (not included in any combo) $199 DJI Avata Intelligent Flight Battery (1 extra battery ) $129 DJI Avata Battery Charging Hub $59 DJI Avata Propellers (Full Set of Four) $9 DJI Avata Upper Frame $19 DJI Avata Propeller Guard $29 DJI Avata ND Filters Set (ND8/16/32) $79
It is also a bit expensive. Today, DJI is putting the Avata on sale in three different configurations: $629 for the drone itself, $1,168 with a pair of FPV goggles and the motion controller, and $1,388 with that controller and the new DJI Goggles 2 The latter include a 1080p micro. OLED display that streams footage from the drone at up to 100 fps, with as little as 30 milliseconds latency over DJI’s wireless streaming system, and those are the ones I used.
The proprietary cable comes down to a power pack. Diopters can allow you to dial in your prescription. The glasses can record independently to SD. No, you cannot use this Type-C port to power the glasses.
I briefly owned the original DJI Goggles and an original Mavic Pro in 2017, and damn technology has come a long way. Back then, I really needed to fly the Mavic slow and careful, because the 1080p30 or 720p60 image wasn’t as clear and responsive, and the bulky PlayStation VR-sized headset kept pressing on my nose. The new Goggles 2 aren’t perfect: I saw some distortion at the edges, and the 51-degree field of view still means you’re looking at a virtual TV screen rather than being fully immersed in something akin to VR . But they are very comfortable, relatively sharp, small and light, extremely easy to adjust diopters to mark things for your sight and even a built-in, unfortunately audible fan that has kept me from getting my glasses wet Bye now.
My colleague Vjeran Pavic, who you may know from our drone reviews and many excellent photos and videos, is not so sure about the new glasses, however. Here, I’ll let him talk a little:
This may seem like a very specific problem for me, but it’s worth noting: I’m a person who is nearsighted in my right eye and farsighted in my left eye. Also, I have very minor, almost negligible, astigmatism. I’m noticing that my left eye is struggling to adjust to the screen. I’m having issues with washed out whites, out of focus center and very blurry corners. I even reduced the edges of the screen to 70 percent (for context, I had my DJI Goggles 2 set to 90 percent), but despite the new micro OLED panel, the interpupillary distance (56-72 mm ) and dioptre adjustments (+2 to -8), I’m still struggling to see clearly.
But there are other improvements to the headset. The head strap is smaller and feels sturdier. DJI FPV Goggles V2 now has two foldable built-in antennas; no longer need to screw four separate ones. The fat joystick is now replaced by a touch panel, which seems very responsive and easy to learn. And there is also a small plastic cover for the lenses, which I really appreciate. You don’t want to leave them out in the sun for too long.
Also, this is a shout that can be held in place quite reliably.
When I pair these glasses with the included motion controller, it allows me to do things that I would never normally do on my first try with a drone, like fly into a treetop to see a bird or under a volleyball net. It helps that you can see a real-time reticle inside the goggles that shows where the motion controller is pointing, and that the drone automatically and smoothly brakes when you release the trigger.
The Avata comes with a battery; extras are $129, as usual, and a Fly More kit with two is $279. The propeller guard is $29 if you break it and the top frame is $19.
So forgive me if this particular hands-on post doesn’t go into detail about camera quality, wireless range or survivability, or if its speed will be limiting. (It’s usually half the speed of the larger DJI FPV.)
Or… the fact that DJI has some of the most annoying USB-C ports I’ve ever used. The controllers refuse to charge with a CaC cable, DJI doesn’t ship a CaA cable or a single charger in the box, the FPV goggles use a proprietary cable, the drone buries its port under a propeller. – I can continue.
Bottom Line: The DJI Avata made me feel like I was flying and we can save the rest for a future review.
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