Forget James Cameron, this is the DJI Avata

DJI has introduced their latest drone, the DJI Avata. Beyond just the interesting name, it’s actually a pretty impressive looking FPV drone that should interest both entry-level drone users as well as the biggest drone enthusiasts.

DJI Avata Malaysia pricing and availability

The DJI Avata FPV drone is available for purchase from now onwards on their official store on Shopee and Lazada as well as any DJI retail stores nationwide. Here’s how much it costs:

• DJI Avata standalone (without goggles, remote and motion controller) – RM2,499
• DJI Avata Fly Smart Combo – RM4,899
• DJI Avata Pro-View Combo – RM5,899

You can choose to get the DJI Avata alone, which won’t include a remote controller, motion controller or goggles; if you already have compatible accessories, this is what you should go for. The DJI Avata Pro-View combo meanwhile includes the drone itself, DJI Goggles 2 and the DJI Motion Controller. As for the DJI Avata Fly Smart Combo, it gets you the drone with the DJI FPV Goggles V2 and the DJI Motion Controller. There’s also the option for a DJI Avata Fly More kit, which retails for RM999 and comes with two DJI Avata Intelligent Flight batteries and a DJI Avata battery hub.

DJI Avata specs

The actual drone itself weighs in at 410g, with a top ascent and descent speed of 6m/s and a top speed of 27m/s. It has a maximum flight time of approximately 18 minutes, with a maximum flight distance of 11.6km. The DJI Avata measures 180mm by 180mm and is 80mm thick, and powering it is a 2,420mAh battery. It comes with 20GB of internal storage, but you’re much better off using a microSD card with up to 256GB external storage supported.

DJI is also showing off the DJI Avata’s ease of use and rugged design, perhaps best displayed with its cool ‘Turtle Mode’ trick. Basically, if it ever falls down, you can activate ‘Turtle Mode’ and the DJI Avata will simply flip itself back upright and it’ll be ready to fly once again.

It’s not actually DJI’s first FPV drone of course, but while the DJI FPV was more of a ‘racing’ style drone, the DJI Avata uses a cinewhoop design and has propeller guards surrounding its four propellers. Being a cinewhoop, it should feature close to the speed of racing drones while also having the stabilisation to make it easier to use for capturing footage.

As an FPV drone, you’ll also want to use one of their goggle accessories to really get that ‘first person view’. DJI has introduced their new DJI Goggles 2 along with it, with the notable upgrades here being a better 0.49-inch, FHD micro-OLED display that also has an adjustable diopter to better fit the user. If you already have the older DJI FPV Goggles V2 though, you’ll still be able to use it with this.

As for the camera on it, it’s a 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor capable of an effective 48MP, a f/2.8 aperture with a 155° ultra wide lens on it. It shoots at up to 4K 60fps, or 120fps at a lower 2.7k resolution. However, the latter is only possible with the DJI FPV Goggles V2; if you’re using the regular DJI Goggles 2 you’ll only be able to get 100fps max. There’s of course also RockSteady and HorizonSteady electronic stabilisation onboard. You can also shoot using their D-Cinelike colour mode if you plan to colour grade it later.

For more information on the DJI Avata FPV drone, you can check out its product page on the DJI website.