This is where you decide which goggles and video system you want to use. On the front of an FPV drone is a small camera which sends the video feed from the camera, in almost real time (a few milliseconds latency), through the video transmitter to the goggles you wear on your head. This is how you see where you’re flying. The goggles need to match with the video transmitter (VTX) so you will need to get the correct VTX depending on which goggles you choose.

There are basically 2 different systems – analog and digital. Analog looks like something you’d see on a super old box tv with lots of static, noise and breakup, however it is much cheaper than digital and has better latency. Digital is much better quality being HD, however comes at a steeper price tag.

I use digital so that’s what I’ll recommend. There are 3 main digital systems at the moment – DJI, Walksnail & HDZero. I use DJI with the DJI FPV Goggles V2 with a Lumenier AXII HD 2 Patch & Stubby Antenna Combo. They are awesome – they fit great, have good sized lenses/screens, and you can fly out for kilometres and they have great signal penetration through various objects like trees and buildings. You can even fly analog drones if you get some adapters.

However, DJI also have newer versions compared to what I use. They have the DJI Goggles Integra, DJI Goggles 2, DJI Goggles 3, DJI Goggles N3 – these are newer versions of the now discontinued DJI FPV Goggles V2 that I use, and most are lighter, smaller and provide even better video quality with high quality recording. If I was starting out now, I would most likely choose one of the newer options over the older goggles especially as the older goggles are no longer in stock anywhere. It all depends on how much you want to spend on your goggles. With DJI you need to do some research and check which DJI goggles are compatible with which DJI VTX and camera system because some newer versions aren’t compatible with some older versions. DJI seem to like to lock people out of their systems by making newer products not compatible with older products so you have to upgrade everything and spend more money, this could be a good reason to choose Walksnail over DJI. Whichever DJI goggles and VTX/camera you choose I would advise you to stick to it and if you get multiple drones in the future make sure they all have the same VTX/camera.

Just like the transmitter and receiver, you need to get goggles and video transmitters (VTX) that are compatible with each other. If you’re buying a BNF or are building the drone yourself you need to get the right video system for the goggles you have, for example DJI FPV Goggles V2 with Caddx Vista, or DJI Goggles 2 with DJI 03 Air Unit, or DJI Goggles 3 with DJI 04 Air Unit Pro.

If you don’t want DJI then Walksnail could be a good choice over DJI as the image quality isn’t far behind DJI and the price of Walksnail gear is less than DJI. They also have smaller and lighter VTX/Camera options than DJI so better suited for micro drones (although DJI do have the 04 Air Unit (Lite)).

The other digital option is HDZero, I would say HDZero is good for people who want to do drone racing and have as little latency as possible and want the better image quality compared to analog however HDZero image quality isn’t as good as the other digital FPV systems.

There’s one last option that shouldn’t be overlooked and that is analog. Analog was used for many years before digital came out and some people still CHOOSE to use it over digital. It has the benefits of being much much cheaper, smaller, lighter, better latency, and some people still prefer it for long range FPV as it is much easier to predict when the video feed is going to drop out and therefore you can change your flight path before it happens to avoid it, if you do lose video reception, analog comes back instantly when you regain connection instead of a 2-3 second delay with digital, which could be the difference between losing your quad in the mountains or not, but as a beginner this isn’t something you should be thinking about yet.

I use the DJI FPV Goggles V2 with the Caddx Vistas with DJI Camera/Nebula Pro Camera/Nebula Pro Nano Camera, however if you choose the newer versions of the goggles such as the DJI Goggles 2 or 3 then also get the newer versions of the VTX/camera such as the DJI 03 or 04 Air Unit.