Dji Avata 360 Drone Review: 360 Video Hits New Highs

After achieving action camera success, Insta360 invaded DJI’s turf pinch nan first mass-market panoramic drone, nan Antigravity A1. It had instant entreaty for drone pilots, offering 8K 360 video and features for illustration taxable tracking, obstacle discovery and FPV flying.

Though beaten to nan punch, DJI has responded quickly pinch nan Avata 360, aided by its drone acquisition and camera tech from nan caller Osmo 360 action cam. It has a batch successful communal pinch its rival, but it’s safer to alert astir group and offers azygous camera 4K footage connected apical of 8K 360 video.

To find retired really nan Avata 360 stacks up against nan A1, I tested it some indoors and out, astir group and moreover “stunt” horses. The Avata 360 isn’t perfect, but it is acold much polished than its rival. As pinch different DJI drones of late, though, US readiness remains unclear.

How nan Avata 360 works

The 360 camera makes nan Avata 360 different from immoderate different DJI drone. It features 2 ultrawide cameras pinch f/1.9 lenses and 1.1-inch 64-megapixel sensors, pinch 1 pointing up and nan different down for unobstructed 200-degree views. Those are past stitched together by package to create 360 grade video astatine up to 8K 60 fps.

This setup fundamentally changes nan measurement you aviator a drone and seizure video. Since nan 360 camera records everything astir it, you tin attraction connected flying and reframe shots later successful DJI’s Studio app. That 360 position is besides useful erstwhile piloting successful FPV mode. With nan caput search connected DJI’s Goggles N3, you tin look each astir you simply by turning your head.

Unlike nan Antigravity A1 that only shoots 360 video, nan Avata 360 supports regular single-camera shooting arsenic well. When you move to that mode, nan camera rotates guardant and shoots 4K video astatine up to 60 fps pinch a 28mm section of view. DJI’s drone besides useful pinch a regular controller, which isn’t an action connected nan A1. You person to usage nan Insta360’s goggles astatine each times.

Design

Because of nan chunky 360 camera, nan Avata 360 is somewhat bigger than nan Avata 2. It’s besides rather a spot heavier astatine 455 grams (one pound) and so, dissimilar nan 249-gram Antigravity A1, you’ll request a licence to alert 1 successful astir regions.

The Avata 360’s propellers are shielded to protect nan drone and support it safe indoors aliases astir people, dissimilar nan open-prop A1. For further protection it has 2 omni obstacle sensors connected nan side, a Lidar sensor up front, landing sensors connected nan bottommost and, of course, a camera that points successful each directions. To support nan lenses disconnected of bare ground, it comes pinch a foldable 18x18-inch landing mat.

DJI’s Goggles N3 (available pinch nan RC Motion 3 controller arsenic an option) are comfortable and let you to deterioration eyeglasses. Unlike nan Goggles 3, though, there’s nary outer camera to spot outside. If you’d alternatively aviator conventionally, you tin get nan Avata 360 bundled pinch DJI’s RC 2 surface controller successful different kit.

Performance and features

As an FPV drone, nan Avata 360 is accelerated and agile. It tin deed speeds up to 40 MPH successful athletics mode (without obstacle avoidance) aliases 35 MPH successful normal mode. When utilized pinch nan optional FPV Remote Controller 3, you tin do flips, rolls and different “cinewhoop” style maneuvers. Once you get utilized to flying it that way, it’s incredibly fun.

The 38.7Wh batteries person 26 percent much capacity than nan Avata 2’s cells, but rated endurance is astir nan aforesaid astatine 24 minutes. I ne'er sewage much than astir 18 minutes successful real-world flying though, truthful it’s a bully thought to bargain nan Fly More kit pinch 3 batteries and a accelerated charger that tin replenish them each successful astir 100 minutes.

Part of my testing of nan Avata 360 was capturing “trick riding” horses, truthful it was important that nan drone sound didn’t spook them. At 81db nan Avata 360 is louder than nan Mini 4 Pro (67 db) and little banshee-like than nan Neo 2 owed to nan larger propellers, truthful nan horses weren’t alarmed.

Video is transmitted to nan Goggles N3 and RC Motion 3 controller (or nan RC surface controller) astatine 1080p 60 fps via DJI’s OcuSync 4.0+ system. The maximum flying scope is 20 km (12.4 miles), double that of nan Avata 2. This is an awesome region for an FPV drone.

The 45GB of soul retention (42GB usable) tin capable up quickly erstwhile you’re shooting 8K video, but nan drone besides has a microSD slot. To get your footage onto a PC aliases smartphone, you tin transportation it via nan USB-C larboard aliases complete Wi-Fi utilizing DJI’s Fly app.

The Avata 360 has DJI’s accustomed search and obstacle discovery features, but they’re disposable only pinch nan RC 2 controller and not nan Goggles N3. To travel a subject, simply tie a container astir them connected nan controller to alteration Focus Track and its 3 modes: Spotlight, Point of Interest and ActiveTrack. The second tracks a taxable automatically and lets you power nan drone’s position via an on-screen “steering wheel.”

To trial that, I biked successful a constrictive forested lane and walked astir a bamboo-covered obstacle course. When utilizing Focus Track, nan drone dodged astir obstacles and was only confused by mini leaves and branches. If it did interaction 1 of those, it sailed correct done without crashing acknowledgment to nan propeller guards.

Subject search useful successful some 360 and azygous camera modes, but erstwhile utilizing nan latter, The Avata 360 can’t spot and debar obstacles down it. It contacted branches respective times during my testing, but fortunately nan prop guards prevented crashes. Other automatic features see Dronie, Rocket and Quickshot modes that fto you seizure clips for societal media.

Video

The Avata 360 prioritizes FPV state and elasticity complete axenic video quality. Though nan specs committedness 8K, that only applies to nan afloat 360 grade video — your final, level video will really beryllium 4K aliases little aft processing. And nan 360 camera zooms digitally (not optically), which further reduces resolution. On apical of that, you tin often spot a “seam” successful nan video wherever stitching occurs, and dewarping (used to output level video) tin create softness astatine nan edges. With each that, video is little crisp than DJI’s regular Mini, Air and Mavic drones.

Because nan camera is fixed erstwhile shooting 360 video, nan Avata 360’s gimbal can’t soft retired jolts aliases correct for roll. Instead, it uses action cam-style physics stabilization. What’s more, that type of smoothing causes mobility blur and artifacts successful debased ray owed to nan little shutter speeds — thing I besides noticed pinch nan Osmo 360.

With that said, video value was arsenic crisp and color-accurate arsenic nan Osmo 360, and a touch amended than nan Antigravity A1 erstwhile filming successful daylight. For tricky, contrasty conditions for illustration a shaded way connected a sunny day, nan D-LogM action boosted move range, helping maine bring retired protector item and reside down overly-bright highlights. However, nan cityscape I changeable astatine nighttime was soft and occasionally blurry owed to nan aforementioned stabilization issues.

In speech for this little video quality, nan 360 camera provides unthinkable flexibility. For a vlog style search shot, for instance, I usually request to movie doubly to show nan guardant and backward directions. With nan Avata 360, though, I was capable to get some POVs from nan aforesaid changeable and output an overhead position excessively for bully measure.

DJI Studio is wherever you spell to prime your desired framing and output nan level video. It’s not rather arsenic versatile arsenic Insta360’s app, but it allows you to reframe shots and create soft transitions betwixt camera angles. And to prevention time, you tin usage nan Intelligent Tracking characteristic to halfway your subject. The app besides offers colour correction and different features, but I recovered it easier to export nan last shots to DaVinci Resolve for immoderate further work.

Flat video a mixed bag. Sharpness is mildly amended than nan 360 video, but nan deficiency of a gimbal rotation axis intends that nan camera can’t level itself erstwhile nan drone banks into nan wind. As a result, astir of my footage was tilted and often unusable.

Wrap-up

With nan Avata 360, DJI has a amazingly blase drone that offers amended video value and much features than its only rival, Insta360’s Antigravity A1. It tin do everything you’d expect from a DJI FPV drone for illustration tracking, obstacle avoidance and acrobatics, while operating safely astir group (or horses).

DJI besides managed to undercut Insta360 connected price, pinch nan Avata 360 starting astatine 459 euros (approx. $530), aliases 939 euros ($1,089) successful a kit pinch a surface controller, 3 batteries and a charger. It’s besides disposable pinch nan other batteries and charger, DJI’s FPV Goggles N3 and nan RC Motion 3 controller for 939 euros ($1,089). As mentioned, there’s nary connection yet connected US pricing, but nan Avata 360 has been approved by nan FCC truthful it could look successful nan US soon.

Like 360 action cams though, this is simply a niche product. If you’re a vlogger, utmost action shooter, FPV aviator aliases solo filmmaker who wants velocity and flexibility, nan Avata 360 is simply a awesome choice. If it’s pixel cleanable image value you want, however, you’re amended disconnected pinch DJI’s Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S aliases Avata 4 Pro drone.