So the Avada 2 has been out for about six or seven weeks now and in today's video I want to talk about my experience using this as a travel drone and share the things I like and don't like and whether or not I think this is worth buying if you're brand new or a professional drone pilot. And when it comes to specs and features and all of that I will leave my in-depth review down in the description below which covers every part of this drone. So this video is going to be more based on the actual experience I had with this drone and if it's worth $1200 for the fly more combo which is what I would recommend because one battery is just not enough when it comes to flying these drones.
Now one of the problems we had with the previous model, the Avada 1, was the prop wash and at some point it was so annoying and people kind of lost the interest in flying it, including myself, because we couldn't really fly. as we wanted or do normal turns without getting this prop wash. But of course this got heavily improved with a later firmware update which we got and yeah it really helped a lot but it felt like DJI was just putting a bandaid on the Avada one which I'm okay with because at the end it solved most of my issues.
But basically the only way to fly properly and as you wanted was to change the motors and replace the propellers and a lot of people didn't know how to do that, including myself. And when you buy something like that you don't really want to spend the extra money on modifying it because one, it will end your or ruin your warranty and two, the drone itself was pretty expensive and three, you would need to know how to solder. But with the Avada 2 now, I don't seem to have any issues other than the ones that I'm creating myself by putting the Action 4 on top of it. And I think the reason or what is happening is that the weight and the additional height which is put on the Avada is forcing the drone to lean more towards one side when you turn.
And is therefore, you know, pushing the drone above its limits and the Avada goes into failsafe. But please correct me if I'm wrong. But without having anything mounted on the Avada, this thing flies like a champ. And compared to the first Avada, which went into prop wash and dropped in the drink on my third flight, the Avada 2 is a huge improvement. And with the 4K D-Log M10 bit, you don't really have to have a camera mounted on top of this anyway, because the image quality coming from this looks outstanding.
But there is one thing. Let's talk about the transmission signal here in Europe. So when I first perceived the Avada 2 I was heading straight to the Maldives and because this is far away from Europe in the middle of the Indian Ocean I didn't have any issues with the range or signal loss when I was flying.
So the experience I had when traveling with this drone was completely solid. It was perfect and the low noise level of 81 decibels compared to the previous model made it even better. better.
But now flying here in Europe, for me that loves to hike and get as close to where I want to film as possible, I have no issues with range and the transmission. But I did some testing here to see how far I could go before I started seeing some grainy feed. And I mean, it's not really that far is it, given that the range is or is supposed to be 10 kilometers here in Europe.
But this is stated on DJI's website though. So for strong interferences like urban landscape, you will have 1.5 to 4 kilometers. For medium interferences like suburban landscape, you will have 4 to 10 kilometers.
And with low interferences like a seaside, for example, you will have 10 to 13 kilometers. So 10 in Europe and 13 in the US. So where I was flying, I would probably put this as suburban landscape or something like that.
But like I said, for me, this is not a huge issue or a con because I prefer to get to the location I want to film rather than fly there. And this will also give me more flight time, which I can't get enough of when I fly FPV because it's so much fun. But I think it's important to know the limitations of how far you can reach with the Awara 2 here in Europe.
And of course, in the US, the signal penetration would... be much better because of the restrictions and limitations that we have here in Europe. And I've also been flying a lot with the FPV controller 3 now in manual mode. The good thing about this compared to the RC motion controller is that you can also fly in normal and sports mode with this. So I basically have the option to choose which mode I want to fly in.
I want to fly in. And I can also change this whenever I want, even though I'm going full speed. And I think this is one fantastic feature which has been there for years, but I use it every single time I'm out flying. So when I'm done with my flight in manual mode, for example, I just fly back to where I took off or where I want to land. and then just switch over to normal mode and the drone will automatically hover in place, which means I can take off the goggles and land safely.
I also think the FPV Controller 3 is a whole lot better than what the Motion Controller 3 is. Even though the Motion Controller is by far the easiest to start with as a beginner, I actually recommend getting into the FPV Controller right away and just practice in normal mode before going into sports mode and then later you can decide whether or not you want to go into manual mode. Because flying in normal mode with the FPV controller is exactly the same as flying with the motion controller, but in some way I do feel that I have more control and it's easier to fly using the... FPV controller. But regardless of which controller you use, whether you use the FPV controller or the motion controller, you're still going to have that immersive flight experience when flying the Avada 2 with the Goggles 3. Now, when it comes to pros and cons, the Avada 2 has 4K D-Log M 10-bit, which is probably the biggest upgrade of them all.
This allows me to color match the clips coming from the different cameras in a much more convenient way. So let's say I'm out shooting with the Pucky 3 and the Action 4, for example, and fly the Avada 2. All of these are used using the Log M 10 bit, that means I can easily add the same correction to all clips and then just throw one of my signature lights on top of that to add that extra spice to my travel videos. Another thing is also the low noise levels of 81 decibels. The reason I mean this is a huge improvement is that it makes the overall flight experience better because you don't have this screaming wasp flying all over the place like we had with the Avada 1. So with the Avada 2 I feel like I can relax in a better way, if I can say like that. And the best example I have is when I was flying this in the Maldives, where people come to relax and enjoy a luxury getaway, I guess.
And surprisingly, I didn't get one single complaint, even though I was pushing this to full speed. So the whole travel experience with the Avada 2 is much better than any of the other two FPV drones sold by DJI. Now, we also have these minor pros like the SD card and USB-C.
port placement here. Improved battery life, easy acro and also goggles defog just to mention a few and as of battery life I'm still getting around 23 to 24 minutes on average depending on how I fly. So if I fly in circles in my backyard for example I will get more than if I was flying in the open with high winds. Now when it comes to cons it's mainly going to be the transmission range here in Europe. To be honest I was expecting a whole lot more.
But for me, like I said earlier, it is a minor con because I always prefer to get as close as possible to the area I want to film. And I usually combine this with a hike or something, which means I can film my way up or down and have some additional footage for, let's say, a travel video or something like that. And the biggest advantage with getting as close as possible to where you want to film comes back to battery life.
So the closer you get to the spot where you want to fly, the more battery life and airtime you'll have because the travel distance will be shorter and you don't have to waste battery just to get to the spot. Which is why my average battery life might be higher than most others. Now other than that I don't really think there is any other mentionable cons to be honest. It's a fantastic drone and a huge upgrade over the previous model if you ask me.
So this is well worth getting if you want to take the step into the FPV world and later when you have mastered manual mode for example you can move over to a custom FPV for example where you have endless options when it comes to manual customizations and settings I guess. I'm not really into the custom FPV because personally for my use and my needs this you know does everything that I need and it does the job in a safe. So after flying the Avada 2 now for over a month, this is something I can highly recommend if you're just starting out or if you're looking to upgrade your FPV drone.
This is one amazing drone and the low noise level really do help. I also have my full in-depth review down in the description below if you wanna learn more about the Avada 2 and how I've been using this as a travel drone. So make sure to check out that video and yeah. There you have my months later pros and cons with the Avada 2. Let me know your thoughts and your pros and cons if you already have this drone down in the comments below.
And with that said, until next time, take care. Bye bye.