If you aren't familiar with FPV (First Person View) goggles for remote control helicopters, planes, boats, or cars, consider this a free lesson. FPV goggles are awesome in that they let you feel like you are in the vehicle you are controlling remotely. In my case it is strapped on to a DJI S800 Hexacopter. This is as close as a human will get to dream state flying without actually leaving the ground. Imagine flying with the birds, high above the tree tops. That is all possible with FPV wireless goggles like the Fatshark Predator V2 I am about to review for you. Read on for details.
The FatShark Predator V2 review initially started off very positive. The camera and transmitter were small enough and connected up to my hexacopters LiPo battery without too much effort. The goggles felt solid and comfortable when worn. The video, when in range, is pretty clear and feels as natural as you can expect.
The video range was pretty good, not great but good enough for a few hundred meters line of sight. This range drops significantly when buildings and trees are in the mix. They sell aftermarket antennas that extend the range by a large amount.
The nicest thing about flying in FPV mode is that I tend to do much better at not losing my orientation. I can tell which way is home much easier. The tough part is depth perception. It is hard to tell if you are 50-feet off of the ground of 200-feet. I guess and OSD system with telemetry would help!
The Predator V2 goggles are powered by a small 1000 mAh battery which gives you plenty of flight time. About one month in the first battery failed. Not a problem, things happen. I didn't bother with the warranty route and just bought a new battery. Fast forward 2 more months and the new FatShark battery failed as well. I tried going to the FatShark website and it is down. Down hard, see the image below. In my opinion Fat Shark has a problem with the batteries they are using. Hopefully they pay attention to what folks, like me, are writing about them and do the "right thing". I am not willing to invest in anymore faulty batteries at this time.
Quite a brief review, I would have liked to have seen additional information regarding image quality, the dynamic range of the LCDs within the goggles, and the dynamic range of the camera itself. Were there any issues with the lack of IPD adjustment? How much adjustment is present, brightness? Contrast? Are they intuitive/easy to use?