What is a FPV Drone, and Why Should I Choose it Over a Cinematic Drone?
Drones continue to become more popular every year. With manufacturers now making affordable consumer ready cinematic and FPV drones, access to them is easier than ever. What are the differences between the two types of drones, what are the draw backs, how hard are they to fly, and what type of footage will fit my project? Let’s dive in to discussing these two types of aerial imaging!
FPV stands for First Person View and is a type of drone that originated with drone racing. These drones usually have serious aerial maneuverability that allow them to go upside down and make extremely tight turns at rapid speeds. The pilot wears FPV goggles to operate. FPV flying is more difficult to learn than cinematic drones. FPV pilots will often practice on specialized software to learn the feel of the controller, how to maneuver without crashing, and understand where it can fit into before they ever go out into the field.
In years past, FPV drones were hard to come by from the average consumers point of view. Most FPV pilots would simply build their own FPV drones. Only in recent years have FPV ready drone packages become available for the masses.
FPV drones usually carry a wide angle camera, which often mounts in the form of a GoPro. Due to this focal length, the footage makes you feel as though you are flying. The wide angle captures everything around you, the ground, obstacles, and other objects making them seem closer than they really are. The wide angle also slightly stretches the frame, blurring the edges, providing a rushing effect across the footage. FPV drones are usually very small, and because of this they can be flown into tight areas while threading through obstacles. To fly them effectively though, you have to maintain fast speeds. These drones are not stable, and are not meant to hover and move carefully. Built as racing drones, these are pedal to the metal toys.
Due to the high speeds, tight maneuvering, and in general decreased stability, these drones are MUCH easier to crash. Drone operators of this kind more or less expect to crash, and quite frequently do so. While they expect this to happen, most of them built their own FPV drones, so originally FPV drone pilots were totally comfortable fixing and repairing their drones when they crashed. Unfortunately, now that FPV drone packages have become more readily available, the ability for the average consumer in the industry to fix his or her own drone is unlikely. This means that although an FPV may seem cheaper from the start and cooler to fly, it will likely cost you more money in the long run unless you are willing to invest the time it takes to learn how to repair it. Between greater mechanic costs, a steeper learning curve, and more difficult footage to edit, the reality of FPV is much different than how platforms like Instagram makes it seem.
FPV has its appeal though. The footage you get is much more action packed. For this reason it can appeal to certain clients. If you are making a travel video, FPV will make it come alive! Especially if the location is an adventure spot. FPV drones will often be seen making hair pin turns in mid air as they follow a BMX biker or professional skier off of a jump. FPV can also do well if you are looking to fly indoors. Due to the small nature of the drones, they can fit in places that other cinematic types may not fit. The ability to run the camera from outside to inside in an action packed style through a window is a pretty cool trick and one that is gaining ground in todays drone market.
In the next article we will consider some of the facts about Cinematic Drones and why that may be the option for you instead of FPV.
