Insta360 Go 2 FPV drone – cinematic FPV drone for beginners

If you want a cinematic FPV drone for beginners, here are the three things that you need to look for in a drone. I also discuss two beginner-friendly FPV drones, including an Insta360 Go 2 FPV drone combination.

FPV videos have become more popular than ever.  A recent FPV video in a bowling alley called, “Right up our alley” gained 1.7 million views in YouTube alone, in just one week.

To create cinematic FPV videos like that, you need to look for three features in an FPV drone:

1. Small size.  Smaller drones can fly through smaller spaces.  Look for FPV drones with 3 inch props or smaller, with a distance between the two farthest motors of 160mm or less.

2. Thick prop guards.  Cinematic FPV drones often have to fly near people and pets.  To ensure their safety, make sure your FPV drone has thick prop guards (padded if possible).

3. Decent video quality with stabilization.  Finally, you need decent video quality.  Unfortunately, the video quality from the cameras of most FPV drones is marginal because they are optimized for low latency rather than video quality.  Even FPV drones that have a second camera just for video use cameras with small sensors.

Until recently, if you wanted good video quality in a cinewhoop drone, you needed to use a GoPro stripped to its barebones (a “naked” GoPro) mounted on a small FPV drone.   Now, it is easier than ever to get similar quality.  Here are two beginner-friendly options that happen to be significantly less than 250 grams.

Beta85X v2 with Insta360 Go 2 – This is a 2-inch 3S / 4S quad that is very light yet powerful.  It can easily carry the Insta360 Go 2, which has a 1/2.3 inch sensor like Gopro Hero cameras, yet is still only 30 grams.   Go 2 also features a replaceable lens cover to protect it from damage in case of a crash.

I haven’t found a mount for the Go 2 yet because it’s so new.  Instead, I used the included adhesive stand and attached it to the battery.  The Go 2 will not be completely flat against the battery so I recommend using Pro Video mode to enable you to adjust the roll manually.

Beta95X v3 with Insta360 SMO 4K – Beta95X is slightly larger than Beta85X.  It is a 2.5 inch 4S quad that has a built-in connector for the Insta360 SMO 4K, which has the same 1/2.3 inch sensor as the Insta360 One R 4k mod.

With the Beta95X’s built-in connector, that means you’ll be able to use the Insta360 SMO 4K without soldering.  Remarkably, the total weight of the Beta95X with Insta360 SMO and a battery (e.g. 520mah 4S) is only 187 grams, just 12 grams more than Beta85X with an Insta360 Go 2.

Both Beta85X and Beta95X are BNF (bind and fly) which means that there’s nothing to assemble.  You only need to pair the quad with your goggles and your controller (both sold separately), and provide the battery.