Which googles?

[S7ewie]

Looking to buy my first pair of FPV goggles and looking for some advice.

I'm quite tempted to just bite the bullet and go straight for the Fatshark HDO 2. I'd rather get the best now, than get something half as good for half the price and then end up buying something better for twice the price later. As in the long run, I'd have spent a lot more.

But is there something better or just as good for less? Are they the best things out there at the moment? Why are they better than the HDOs for example? and do they hold their value?

Thanks

Stuart

[ched]

If you are starting out and only intending to fly 5" size quads I would be look at the dji system. OK it's not cheap but it gives an amazing picture. Not sure but I think you can still wear small glasses inside the dji goggles. Currently the vtx/camera doesn't really fit much below 5" but that could change?

If you want to save a bit and get some goggles that are almost as good, maybe better in some respects look at the SkyZone03O (OLED versions) they have great screens, good dvr, great menu and have built in module. You can now also get an external module bay if you decide on flying bandos (abandoned concrete buildings) in future. The inbuilt vrx is fairly good. Only thing that stopped me was I need glasses, so I would have had to add the cost of diopters or custom diopters to get perfect image. HDO have diopter adjustment built in, although it's only + or - no astigmatism correction should you need it.

Another thing that FatShark have in their favor is the warranty. It's 2 years and I think they will even support their first goggles that are about 8 years old if you pay for the repair and they don't seem to take the mickey on repair costs should you need them after warranty.

Not sure on DJI support but I guess it's good while in warranty, I would expect their to be paid repairs outside warranty as dji are a huge company.

[murpia]

The 'original' HDO (not HDO 2) seem to be discounted at the moment and would be my choice for an analogue goggle. A lot will depend on your preference for field of view. If you can, find an opportunity to look through some goggles to decide what you like.

I have HD3s and find those slightly too large. HDO (original) are slightly smaller, DJI and HDO2 are even bigger. You need to decide what you like...

[S7ewie]

Thanks, I did look at the DJI ones but i got the feeling you were a bit limited on options for the VTX and camera, do you have to use their one?

I like the sound of fatshark warranty.

Yeah I wish I knew some people around me that did it, I'd love to try a few out. Unfortunately I don't.

[ched]

The DJI digital system is a little restricted at moment. There is only the original DJI system with built in 1080 dvr or the Caddx Vista HD system with out on board dvr. The caddx one is a little smaller and lighter but doesn't do the dvr!!!!
I do like my HDO2 but be aware the dvr isn't great, it's OK but you wouldn't want to post the footage on youtube  The second one is a bit funny, they now come with 2 thicknesses of foam. The reason is that depending on your prescription the lenses might be close enough to your eyes and your eyelashes touch the lens. That's not a big issue other than they can leave marks on the lenses  The supplied thicker foam mainly solves the issue unless you are really short sighted with long lashes  Then you might need some NewBeeDrone foam 

Other than that I love my HDO2 just hate teh weather we have had last 6 weeks....

[S7ewie]

Luckily for me, my eyesight is fine so that shouldn't be an issue haha.

Yeah the weather has been horrific. I've just been practicing in the simulator, I swapped over to velocidrone with some settings recommended by Mr Steele and It feels a lot more comfortable.

I might just go for it and get the HDO2 if I can find a decent price. Looks like they hold their value fairly well, particuarly the newer stuff. Then just need to sort out the RX and antennas and hopefully that's one of the biggest expenses out the way with haha.

[S7ewie]

Went for it, ordered the HDO2 and it arrives yesterday, looks great quality, fits my face really well.

I need to get some batteries and a charger, struggling to find a good charger that isn't extortionately priced.

Is there anything I can do with it before I get an VRX and drone? Can I power it up and hook it up to anything to get the lenses set up for example?

[ched]

Went for it, ordered the HDO2 and it arrives yesterday, looks great quality, fits my face really well.

I need to get some batteries and a charger, struggling to find a good charger that isn't extortionately priced.

Is there anything I can do with it before I get an VRX and drone? Can I power it up and hook it up to anything to get the lenses set up for example?

If your pc/laptop has hdmi and you have cable you can play sims and use goggles

[S7ewie]

If your pc/laptop has hdmi and you have cable you can play sims and use goggles

Really!? Totally doing that! Haha

[ched]

Really!? Totally doing that! Haha

Yes no problem.
You can't plug goggles into a freeview/sky/dvd box etc as they require some authorisation handshaking which is missing from FatShark goggles (it's a licence issue and FatShark didn't think anyone would use them that way!).
What you can do is plug them into a laptop/pc no problem at all. I get a good image from a laptop, you can surf or even read documents etc.
You can also plug them into a raspberry Pi running Kodi and watch your content or youtube etc. As Kodi doesn't do the authorisation handshake. I have been told that some hdmi splitters also remove the handshaking requirement but I have not found this to be the case. My splitters didn't allow me to see freeview etc.

Oh and when I tested on Kodi and my laptop the headphone socket works fine 

[S7ewie]

That's awesome thanks!! Can't wait to give that a go! 😁