The DJI Avata is a nimble cinewhoop drone for FPV novices

The extra sharpness and small size are nice, but you cant wear glasses underneath the Goggles 2. Instead, they have built in diopters to correct your eyesight. If you have astigmatism, DJI includes lens mountings that you can send back to have your prescription made.

Samuel wasnt crazy about the diopter. While they gave him a clear view, he often had to remove the headset to see the drone, which meant he needed to put his glasses back on. He found the Goggles V2 easier as he can wear his glasses underneath.

The Goggles 2 let you fly the Avata with no mobile phone, as they have a mini-version of the DJI Fly app built-in. If you want to let others have a view, you can connect a smartphone via USB-C port on the side, though. The Goggles 2 control the Avata via DJIs Ocusync O3, providing a 50Mbps video feed from up to 6.2 miles away. However, we noticed that the Goggles V2 provide a stronger feed over a longer distance, probably because of the larger antennas.

Performance

Steve Dent/Engadget

The Avata is a blast to fly, but its not as fast as some FPV drones. It tops out at 60 MPH in manual mode, well under the 87 MPH of DJIs FPV. And thats in manual mode sport and normal modes are considerably slower at 31 MPH and 18 MPH, respectively.

It has awesome maneuverability though, letting you fly in places youd never take another drone. We took it around handball players during a practice, between our legs, through the small gap in a sign, around a castle rooftop and indoors with people and fragile things around. Its also tough. We had a number of crashes that would have killed an open-prop drone. It can also bounce off a person without doing them any harm.

Considering that the Avata might be the first FPV drone for many people, selling it with the Motion Controller is a good idea but not as the only option. DJI should also sell a bundle with the FPV Controller 2, which offers more precise control for advanced users. As it stands now, you have to pay an extra $199 to get it.

The Motion Controller is easy to use you simply point it where you want to fly and pull the trigger to speed up. To climb, tilt the controller upward and apply power, and reverse that for descents. A large button on top brings it to a hover, and the red button lets you take off and land.

Steve Dent/Engadget

It has some limitations, though. You cant transition vertically or fly backwards with the Motion Controller, so you have to use a button to land. It also lacks precision, especially indoors. In fact, we found that without a GPS lock inside, the Avata was sometimes unflyable with the Motion Controller.

If you have some experience, the FPV Controller 2 is a better option. It allows you to engage manual mode to cruise faster, fly low to the ground and zag between trees or rooftops. Inside, you can fly precisely between rooms, objects and people, just like you may have seen in some of those cool cinewhoop FPV videos.

Manual mode also opens up flips, dives, climbs, hairpin turns, rolls and other tricks. Just bear in mind that there are no sensor safeguards. While Avata drone is tough, its not unbreakable and could really hurt someone at 60 MPH. Its also more unstable, so flying it requires serious skill. It is a ton of fun, though, with the speed and lack of safeguards providing a real adrenaline rush that you dont get from other drones.

Video quality

Most so-called Cinewhoop FPV drones use external cameras like the GoPro Hero Bones (or just regular stripped-down GoPros), but the Avata has one built in. It uses the same size 1/1.7-inch sensor as the new Action 3 camera, with 64 percent more area than the FPV.

Like the Action 3, it has normal, wide and ultra-wide options with up to a 155 degree field of view. And on top of the built-in gimbal and RockSteady smoothing, it has the HorizonView option to keep things level, even if the drone is tilting heavily.

The gimbal and RockSteady stabilization keep video smooth despite wind or abrupt maneuvers. And the HorizonView option worked as advertised, keeping things level for even when we were slaloming between trees.

It supports 4K video at up to 60 fps or 1080p and 2.7K at 120 fps with the Goggles V2, but only 100 fps with the Goggles 2. Its not ideal that it has slower speeds than the headset its sold with, but its apparently due to the higher resolution. The sensor has 48 megapixels for shooting photos, if you ever want to do that.

Considering the cameras small size, image quality is solid. Video is sharp and colors are accurate, though they can be a bit oversaturated. If you need a bit more dynamic range, it has DJIs D-Cinelike mode.

Its not bad in low light for shooting cityscapes or well-lit interiors, with an ISO range up to 12800 in expanded mode. You still need a decent amount of light, though, or video will get blocky and grainy in a hurry. If it gets too bad, its unfixable in post, so make sure to have enough light if shooting indoors.

Overall, its a very solid camera, though not up to, say, GoPros standards. The camera is part of a holistic package though combined with the Avatas small size and maneuverability, it gets shots no other off-the-shelf drones can.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent/Engadget

In sum, the Avata is a fun, rugged and maneuverable little drone that produces great footage, but it does have some weird flaws and limitations. The Goggles 2 limit the slow-motion and arent ideal if you wear glasses. Plus the Motion Controller doesn't allow for precise FPV flying, and the microSD slot and USB-C port are poorly positioned.

Its also fairly costly. Though the base drone is $629, its $1,388 with the Goggles 2 and Motion Controller, plus another $279 with the Fly-More kit. If you add the FPV Remote Controller 2, thats another $199. By comparison, the FPV bundled with the Goggles V2 and older Motion Controller costs $1,300.

Still, there arent many other ready-to-fly drones that can do what it does. If you want a highly maneuverable and relatively safe Cinewhoop-style drone without building one yourself, its really in a class by itself.