Similarly, all the modes are a little slower than its predecessor, with 'Normal' mode only offering 8m/s and sport mode 14m/s. And, climbing is capped at just 6m/s irrespective of mode, where the FPV had no limit on climb rate in manual mode and 15m/s in Sport. When using the standard DJI Motion Controller in one of the combos, you can perform motion control on the aircraft. That is, you can turn your wrist to control the direction of flight, and the aircraft will fly wherever you point to. You can also press the accelerator to control the speed of flying forward, or release the accelerator to let the aircraft hover in place. The control is intuitive and easy-to-learn.

This feature was handy on one of our flying days when the wind was gusty. Without HorizonSteady active, the video was at a severe angle even when flying in a straight line. Both these features can be disabled, but for serious cinematographers aiming to save time in post-production, they’re invaluable. The design of the Avata is a radical departure from the original DJI FPV, as this design has no folding elements, placing its blades inside protective rings. While we haven't been able to test it to destruction, the Avata looks like it was designed to handle a few obstruction encounters without rapid and unexpected disassembly. DJI Avata only supports downward obstacle sensing when used with DJI FPV Remote Controller 2, or DJI RC Motion 2/DJI Motion Controller in N Mode and S Mode. The firm's engineering teams deserve an incredible amount of credit for making a small, high-speed drone that's very easy to unbox and fly. The Avata hovers in place when your hand is off the throttle, moves through the air effortlessly, and is extremely responsive to controls (enough so that 30mph flights through complex environments are possible). Racing pros can swap to a manual controller for 60mph flight too, though I wasn't brave enough to try this mode—I don't have the skills for flying quadcopters without autopilot assists.DJI Goggles 2 does not support astigmatism correction. If you have specific vision requirements, please consult your doctor before use.

The sensor here is a significant upgrade over what came before with a 1/1.7in sensor compared to the 1/2.3in on the DJI FPV. The use of inches is somewhat confusing for sensor sizes, but the Avata camera has almost 64% more surface area to capture light, with a 43mm-squared area compared to 28.46mm-squared. If we compare these numbers to the DJI Mavic 3, the Avata is a little faster, but not by a dramatic amount. The takeaway from these numbers is that the Avata is built more for fun and cinematography, rather than chasing racing cars or birds of prey. The main difference between these Goggles and the ones you might use with a standard FPV are that DJI's ones have a cut-down version of the DJI Fly app, which means you can fly the drone without a mobile phone or tablet attached. Tested in an outdoor open environment without interference. The video transmission latency varies with different goggles. DJI FPV Goggles V2 can achieve video transmission of up to 810p. When you use DJI FPV Goggles V2 with the 810p/120fps video transmission, the lowest video transmission latency is less than 28 ms.

One issue that the DJI FPV suffered from was that, in certain maneuvers, it was possible to see the blade tips in your videos. On the Avata, this is still an issue, but only when the wide-angle modes are being used and the camera is pointing downwards. This not only allows for greater sensitivity in lower light conditions but also provides greater dynamic range when grading the footage in post-production. I had similar safety concerns around the DJI FPV Combo, though it at least includes forward-facing obstacle sensors that allow for safer use around people. The Avata has downward-facing ToF IR sensors to make high-speed, ground-hugging flights possible, but don’t offer protection in other directions. The sensors also improve stability when flying indoors without a GPS assist—the drone is smart enough to slow down when it's flying in tight confines, a plus if you're trying to recreate the Tesla Gigafactory Cinewhoop tour video for fun or profit, or if you simply want to see if you can fly through your house without damaging anything. The through-the-camera view shows a sharp, smooth perspective, with low enough lag to make high-speed flight possible. DJI doesn't specify a latency in milliseconds, but the 1080p/100fps feed feels real-time to me. For the most part, the video feed is clear and sharp, but I did note some garbling and resolution loss when the transmission signal weakened. If you opt for the kit with the older FPV Goggles V2, you're limited to 810p resolution.