The DJI O4 Lite Air Unit has rather a lot going for it—light-weight, compact, and ultimate for sub-250g micro builds. However for those who’ve flown it in tight areas or tried to make use of picture stabilization, you’ve most likely seen the quite slender FOV (area of view). That’s the place Flywoo steps in with a intelligent answer: a easy wide-angle lens that considerably improves the O4 digicam’s FOV—no want to change the digicam or glue on dangerous DIY optics. On this overview, I’ll share my hands-on expertise with the Flywoo wide-angle lens, the way it performs, what to anticipate, and what to be careful for.
Study extra in regards to the DJI O4 Lite and the very best settings in our tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/how-to-setup-dji-o4-lite/
The place to Purchase
You should buy the Flywoo Huge-Angle Lens equipment from these distributors:
Why the Huge-Angle Lens Issues
The DJI O4 is incredible for micro FPV drones, however the slender FOV makes proximity flying really feel much less pure and restricted. Issues get even worse while you apply picture stabilization like RockSteady or Gyroflow, which crop into the footage additional and make it really feel even much less watchable.
Flywoo’s wide-angle lens goals to repair this, and in some ways, it succeeds. This accent is simple to put in, and bumps the O4 digicam’s FOV from round 117° to 155°, almost matching the dearer O4 Professional digicam. All with out modifying or risking harm to your delicate DJI O4 digicam.
Testing – How It Performs
On the bench, I instantly seen the rise in FOV. The broader view was apparent, however so have been the sides of the lens in each the goggles and uncooked video.
The sides have been seen when setting the digicam to 4:3 side ratio and Huge FOV which supplies you the widest FOV. Fortunately, for those who’re utilizing Gyroflow or DJI’s built-in RockSteady stabilization, it crops in and removes these edges within the remaining video.
Not solely does the broader FOV make the footage look extra cinematic and immersive, it additionally improves your flying expertise. With extra of the atmosphere in view, it turns into simpler to evaluate distance and timing, making proximity flying and freestyle maneuvers really feel far more pure. I discovered myself flying extra confidently and with better precision.
There’s a slight drop in picture readability—some softness and a gentle colour shift—however nothing dramatic. You’ll solely discover it for those who zoom into the footage or examine it side-by-side with footage shot with out the lens. The lens flare can be a bit extra pronounced when flying towards vivid daylight, doubtless attributable to inside reflections from the additional glass lenses. Nonetheless, these minor drawbacks don’t outweigh the advantages in my view.
Bonus Function – ND Filter Holder
The Flywoo Huge-Angle Lens comes with a detachable UV filter that doubles as a lens protector.
The UV filter may be swapped for ND filters (obtainable individually from Flywoo). ND filters are important for controlling publicity and sustaining correct movement blur in vivid lighting circumstances, particularly when taking pictures cinematic movies. You may find out about using ND filters on this tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/nd-filter-fpv/
Buy Flywoo’s ND Filters Set right here (contains UV filter, ND8, ND16 and ND32 filters): https://oscarliang.com/product-d00b
3 Completely different Variations
The Flywoo Huge-Angle Lens additionally serves as a mounting adapter, and selecting the proper model means that you can match the DJI O4 Lite digicam into frames that assist completely different cameras. This makes the O4 Lite Air Unit far more versatile and accessible for a greater diversity of drone builds.
Plug & Play Model for Flywoo O4 Builds
Also called the “Cam Shell” model.
This model doesn’t have any mounting holes of its personal. As a substitute, it requires using the Flywoo O4 Digital camera Shell adapter from Flywoo, which should be bought individually. The digicam shell turns the O4 Lite right into a 14x14mm kind issue, like a typical nano FPV digicam. As soon as the shell is put in, you’ll be able to merely clip the wide-angle lens onto it.
You should buy the O4 Digital camera Shell adapter right here: https://s.click on.aliexpress.com/e/_oonV9l8
Specs:
- Measurement: 16.8mm × 21mm × 18mm
- Added Weight: 3.7g (plus 1.3g from the digicam shell, complete 5g)
O3 Mounting Model
This model turns your DJI O4 Lite digicam into the identical dimension and mounting sample because the DJI O3 digicam, making it appropriate with a variety of O3-compatible frames obtainable at the moment.
It’s arguably essentially the most versatile choice, however take note: for those who’re mounting the O4 Lite like an O3 digicam inside a full-size quad (reminiscent of a 5-inch construct), you could want an extended digicam cable—the one designed for the O4 Professional ought to work.
Specs:
- Measurement: 21mm × 23.5mm × 22.3mm
- Weight: 7.5g
O4 Professional Mounting Model
This model turns the O4 Lite digicam into the identical kind issue and mounting because the DJI O4 Professional, ultimate for brand new frames which might be designed for this new digicam mounting.
Similar to the O3 model, utilizing it in bigger frames could require an extended digicam cable, such because the one used for the O4 Professional.
Specs:
- Measurement: 21mm × 23.5mm × 20.5mm
- Weight: 7.5g
Which Model Ought to You Get?
It relies upon largely in your body’s digicam mount dimension:
- In case your body helps DJI O3 or O4 Professional mounting, go together with a type of variations for safer fitment.
- In case your body makes use of nano-sized 14x14mm mounts, select the Plug & Play Cam Shell model.
A Nearer Have a look at the Design
The lens housing is 3D-printed in TPU. It’s versatile, matches snugly, and is general properly made.
Including this wide-angle lens introduces 5 to 7.5 grams of additional weight to your construct. On 2″ quads or smaller, this weight may be noticeable and will barely have an effect on efficiency. Nevertheless, on 3″ or bigger drones, the added weight is negligible and shouldn’t pose any points.
Drawbacks and Quirks
Extra Weight
The lens provides round 5g to 7.5g, which may very well be an excessive amount of for 1S tiny whoops. Nevertheless, on open-prop micro quads, even 1S-powered ones, the additional weight is normally manageable. On something 2.5″ or bigger, it’s unlikely to be a problem.
Slight Picture Softening & Glare
Because of the extra glasses, the picture could seem barely softer. That is solely actually noticeable when zooming in, so it’s not a dealbreaker for most individuals. You may also expertise elevated lens flare when going through towards the solar, attributable to reflections between the added lens components. Moreover, with extra glass surfaces, mud is extra more likely to construct up, so you could want to scrub it extra continuously.
Lens Seen in View
Within the goggles, you may even see the sides of the wide-angle lens, particularly when utilizing 4:3 side ratio and Huge FOV settings. Nevertheless, this may be eliminated within the air unit recording utilizing picture stabilization instruments like Gyroflow or the built-in RockSteady on the DJI system. In Gyroflow, you may need to cut back FOV to one thing like 0.9 to fully eradicate the lens edges. In case you are new to Gyroflow, try my newbie’s tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/gyroflow/
Lens Motion in Crashes
As a result of the plug and play model of the lens is a friction match, a tough crash can shift it ahead barely, giving a fisheye “skate video” look till get the drone again and manually push it again. The O3 and O4 professional variations gained’t have this difficulty.
Ultimate Ideas: Is It Price It?
Completely.
The Flywoo Huge-Angle Lens is a game-changer for anybody flying with the DJI O4 Lite digicam. It considerably improves the flying expertise by providing a a lot wider and extra immersive area of view. Extra importantly, it makes stabilized footage (through Rocksteady or Gyroflow) really watchable, addressing one of many key shortcomings of the O4 digicam.
Whereas it’s not excellent—because of the added weight, lens edges in view, and slight picture sharpness and glare compromises—it solves an actual downside that DJI left unaddressed. And for builds the place area and weight enable, this can be a extremely really helpful improve. Simply make certain to select the appropriate model based mostly in your digicam and body.
You should buy the Flywoo Huge-Angle Lens equipment from these distributors:
For the plug&play model, don’t overlook to get the cam shell adapter: https://s.click on.aliexpress.com/e/_oonV9l8
And get the ND filters set as properly for extra cinematic footage: https://oscarliang.com/product-d00b