Finding the best set of FPV Goggles can be difficult, especially if you're starting out. The right set of goggles will make your whole FPV experience that much better. Critical factors like field of view, IPD and resolution and how they effect your vision are really helpful to know before you get into it all.

Field of View

The field of view (FOV) is pretty much what it sounds like, how much of the field can we see. A higher FOV will allow you to see a wider image whilst a narrower FOV will limit the view to only what is in front of you. Typical FOVs for FPV goggles range between 25° to 45°

IPD

IPD stands for inter-pupilary distance and is basically the distance between your eyes. The average IPD is around 64mm and most FPV goggles accomidate for a range of IPDs between 55-73mm. If you're IPD is not adjusted correctly, you'll end up with either blurry edges or a totally blurry screen.

Resolution

Obviously resolution is a major factor when it comes to flying. The higher the resolution, the more detail you'll have in your video feed to be able to see small twigs and ghost branches

 

There are a few factors you need to decide on before you consider buying a set of FPV goggles. These include:

  • Comfort
  • Budget
  • Analog or Digital
  • Performance

In this article, we'll cover everything you want to know about FPV goggles to help you out before you upgrade or buy your first set.

Comfort

For the best FPV experience, you want to be as immersed as possible, and that won't happen if you're screen is blurry, out of focus or digging into your face. The first thing you want to check is the IPD. Premium brands like the FatShark HDO2s have an IPD range of 54-74mm where as cheaper goggles like the FatShark Attitude V5s only have an IPD of 59-69mm, limiting the user range. FPV box goggles don't have this issue.  

If you're a person who wears glasses, the shape of the goggles is going to severly impact how they sit on your face and the comfort level. The FatShark Scout goggles accomidate for glasses with cutouts on both sides of the goggles for the arms of the glasses. This is the best option if you want to retain your glasses whilst fly, but if you want the option to replace the lenses within the goggles, the FatShark range of goggles are the best for this. FatShark themselves produce a diopter lens set to remove your glasses completely if you use -2, -4 or -6 lenses.

Additional comfort can also be found through foam goggle pads that third-party vendors make. This makes them 100x more comfortable and reduces light leakage inside the goggles. The NewBeeDrone foam pad is the best pad currently for the HDO2s and the stock DJI foam pad is the best for their model of FPV goggles at the moment as well. 

Budget 

The budget if you're starting out or wanting to upgrade is probably the biggest input into your goggle purchase decision. The price of a set of goggles typically determines the quality and performance. The cheaper sets of goggles tend to use a single large display and usually have a large, boxy shape to them. They also lack some nice features which takes a set of goggles up a notch, including on-board DVR recording, a diversity receiver and a replaceable battery. The VR01 goggles by BetaFPV defies all these stereotypes of cheap goggles and goes a step further to make them one of the most budget-friendly goggles on the market today! If you're looking to start out with goggles that can compete with the best goggles for features, these are the ones we suggest!

If you're after something that stands up above the rest and don't mind paying for it, you can't go past the FatShark HDO2s. It has two large 1280x960 OLED screens for the best possible analog image and first of its kind power button in the FatShark range of goggles. The only downside of the HDO2s is the additional cost of a receiever and antennas on top of the already hefty price of the goggles. That being said, pairing the goggles with a receiever like the TBS Fusion will pay off in the long run with the increased range and image quality due to the image stitching algorithms used inside the Fusion module.  

Analog or Digital

This is the question we are hearing more and more and the answer is 'It is totally up to you'. We can tell you all of the features of both analog and digital but in the end it is your decision. The DJI FPV goggles have the best video quality I've ever seen in a set of FPV goggles, but it comes at a cost of almost $280AUD per digital video transmitter or quad and is three times larger than its analog counterpart. Whilst this will probably come down over time, the price will still be significantly bigger than analog video transmitters. 

There is also argument for digital video as a premium set of goggles such as the HDOs, the current gold standard, a TBS Fusion module and a quality set of fpv antennas, will still cost you around $1000AUD. This price is similar to a DJI headset and a digital video transmitter so the initial outlay of money is similar between the two. 

Performance

The final consideration that you'll need to decide upon is the type of flying you want to do. Analog goggles like the HDO2s feature an external receiver module bay so you can choose the receiver of choice. This is ideal for people wanting to experiment with long range flying where they want to experiment with lower frequency video like 2.4GHz or 1.3GHz. DJI video transmission is still in its infantcy when compared to analog video and it lacks any sort of range performance when compared to 5.8GHz video. The video feed begins to fall behind in terms of latency and quality when you start flying beyong line of sight so this is something you want to think about before you buy.

 

Hopefully this guide has helped inform you about the various things to consider when buying a set of FPV goggles. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to shoot us an email at hello@phaserfpv.com.au or jump on the Live Chat and we'll try and get back to you ASAP.