Hi All,

Relatively new here. I'm looking to get into FPV, and am coming from a background in RC coaxial helis and GPS camera drones. The TinyGo 4k RTF kit has caught my eye as it ticks a fair few boxes for me:

• Under 250g AUW
  
• Semi decent flight footage. It's 4k, but it's not going to be gopro beating, for sure!
  
• Should be able to cope with outdoor flight and a bit of wind
  

There are a few youtube reviews of the kit which highlight the good and bad points of it, but they all seem to date from 2021 or so. It looks like the TinyGo had a few updates in 2022 and 2023, with the notable ones being:

• ELRS TX/RX (previously was GR8)
  
• Onboard blackbox with 16mb memory - previously didn't have one
  
• VTX max power increased to 400mW (previously 200mW)
  

Anyone here got one? What are your thoughts? Do the 2022/2023 updates make it a much better drone? What is a realistic number for flight duration (GEPRC say 6min, but I suspect that's the very best it'll do). Also, what is a realistic range for both the video feed and controller?

I have not flown the TinyGo, but it is relatively heavy for its tiny prop size. Throttle management will be more difficult especially if you are flying in tight spaces and suspect shorter flight times. If you are not looking for a RTF kit, there are plenty of other BNF options that maybe better for a beginner. They will involve a few extra steps of setup/pairing to your radio, but give you more flexibility.

Tiny4k comes with the Caddx Loris camera which is pretty dated and I thought was already EOL. The recorded footage seems to be ok, and with blackbox you can record gyro data and stabilize it using Gyroflow if you wanted, but with these split type recording cameras, the FPV image is usually a compromise and pretty mediocre. You should check out some online reviews to see if that is the image you want to be looking at.

There are better options for recorded footage depending on what you want. If you have a bigger budget you might consider a Walksnail setup, it is digital so cost is higher, but FPV feed and the 1080p onboard recording will be way better than the Loris. Otherwise just a regular analog camera and a Thumb Pro 4k action camera will also provide much better image. It will be an extra item to fiddle with, but you can also detach it for lighter, better, and longer flights when you don't need to record. Otherwise if you are just looking to have video for fun, maybe the lower quality DVR recording from the goggles will suffice.

As for the receiver protocol, ELRS is definitely a plus. A strong reliable RX link that has range beyond the video, although setup can take a little learning.

Same Advice I give dozens of people..

1. Unless you are exclusively flying 65mm whoop indoors, ducts are useless.

2. Get 3" toothpick. Like Crux3. 5" is dangerous or expensive. Below 3" much less efficient and shorter flights.

Thanks for the replies and a few new perspectives on things. I had wondered about the Loris... nobody seems to have any stock but it is one of the few 4k onboard DVR options that's not a bespoke recording camera. Hadn't appreciated it has only mediocre FPV feed as I was focusing on the recorded footage which seems reasonable for what it costs.

I'm now wondering if I might be better served with a "long range" 3in or 4in quad. Without prop guard/ducts. If skimming over grass and thru fine branches do the ducts help much in protecting the props? My experience so far is even a slight whack into something more solid than air and it is enough to knock the drone out of the air. I'm unlikely to be flying indoors much but would probably be cruising around parks/open spaces and maybe a bit of shooting gaps, though nothing too tight. The main thing that puts me off toothpick style quads like the suggested crux3 is the fact that props invariably get in the footage.

If you're intending to make use of the FPV camera for HD footage rather than a separate HD camera on mounted on top of the quad (which you would be able to angle to get the props out of view) then look for a "deadcat" style frame where the front arms are swept out and back more compared to the rear arms which keeps the props out of view of the FPV camera. Alternatively look for a bus style frame where the front part that the camera is mounted to sticks out past the centre line of the two front motors.

A 3"-4" drone (non-ultralight) should be able to endure some prop strikes with grass or very light branches, but if its thick or dense then it will take the drone down. However a setup with ducts will do better brushing up and bouncing off branches as well as turtling out of grass. And actually can be quite fun, depending on what you plan to do with your drone. However Its not going to fly as well or be as efficient as an open prop, so if you don't intend to do tree weaving or fly in large open spaces and not near soft targets then an open prop maybe more suitable.

Just had a session in the backyard with two very similar 2" drones (similar motors/camera). One was in a whoop frame and the other was in an open prop carbon frame. Hands down the open frame flew so much better and longer flight times, but the whoop had no problems weaving/bumping into trees/branches and turtling back. The open prop, had to be retrieved by foot several times after being taken down by ghost branches.