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I’ve examined many cinewhoops up to now few years, and the GEPRC CineBot25 is maybe my present favourite 2.5″ cinewhoop. A lot thought has gone into its design, and the eye to element is solely wonderful. Whereas it’s not excellent and has a number of annoying points, as you’ll uncover on this evaluation, these quirks don’t detract from its spectacular efficiency.
Find out about Cinewhoops: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/
The place to Purchase?
You may get the GEPRC CineBot25 from these distributors:
There are two variations: Customary (non-S) and Sport (S). The S model options bigger 1505 4300KV motors, that are an improve from the 1404 motors in the usual model, delivering extra energy and stability.
Batteries are usually not included, my suggestions are the Lava 4S 850mAh:
Get some spare propellers should you plan to crash 🙂
Specs
- Body: GEP-CT25 Gray
- Wheelbase: 115mm
- Flight Controller (FC): TAKER G4 45A AIO
- MCU: STM32G473CEU6
- Gyro: ICM 42688-P
- Firmware: TAKERG4AIO
- Motor: SPEEDX2 1505 4300KV
- ESC: BLHeli 32-bit 45A
- Propellers: HQProp DT63mm x4
- Connector: XT30
- Official Weight:
- Customary PNP Model: 138g ±1g
- Sport PNP Model: 145g ±1g
- Really helpful Battery: 4S 650mAh – 850mAh LiPo
Nearer Have a look at the Construct High quality
The GEPRC CineBot25 S stands out with a strong, modern design. The digicam, motor, and flight controller are mounted on the highest plate, which is produced from smooth-layered carbon fiber, providing a light-weight but sturdy really feel.
Under the highest plate is a detachable plastic housing for the VTX and receiver. The digital elements are nicely protected, however the enclosed design would possibly compromise cooling in sizzling environments.
The FPV digicam is mounted inside a devoted soft-mounted cover that limits excessive digicam angles however presents ample safety.
An exterior HD digicam will be hard-mounted utilizing the offered adapter, nevertheless it’s finest to keep away from including further weight like a unadorned GoPro. Whereas it might work for gradual and regular indoor pictures, it compromises outside agility and pace. The DJI O3 system already supplies glorious picture high quality anyway.
Two battery straps of various lengths are included: an extended one for 4S 750mAh and 850mAh batteries, and a shorter one for smaller 4S 650mAh batteries. The drone weighs round 153 grams with out the battery, digicam, and VTX, which is sort of 10 grams heavier than the BetaFPV Pavo25 V2. Nevertheless, this added weight is comprehensible given the additional plastic used for defense.
With the DJI O3 system put in and a 4S 850mAh LiPo, the full weight is round 290 grams.
Listed here are some aspect by aspect comparisons to the BetaFPV Pavo25 V2:
Discover the Cinebot25 has “ft” on the underside that may maintain the propellers away from the grass and puddles while you take off and land. Most cinewhoops on the market ignored this function.
DJI O3 Setup
Though the CineBot25 helps numerous FPV methods, together with analog and Runcam Hyperlink/Wasp, the soft-mounted digicam platform is a transparent indication that it’s particularly designed for the DJI O3 system. Different FPV cameras aren’t as inclined to jello and vibration because the O3, making further smooth mounting mandatory. I actually like GEPRC’s implementation utilizing silicone balls as it really works exceptionally nicely.
Nevertheless, the digicam cover can simply pop off throughout crashes, and it’s difficult to reattach as a result of how tiny and smooth these silicone balls are. They’re additionally fairly fragile, steel instruments can simply pierce by means of them. Whereas GEPRC supplies some instruments to assist with this, it’s a trouble remembering to carry them alongside. Zip ties can safe them however will cut back the effectiveness of the smooth mounting.
Consumer Pleasant Design
The most effective design features of the CineBot25 is how simple it’s to entry the flight controller and DJI O3 USB port. There’s a USB-C port on the rear of the drone, linked to the flight controller by way of an extension board.
You’ll be able to entry the DJI O3’s SD card slot and USB-C port by means of a cutout within the plastic housing, and when not in use, you’ll be able to put the rubber cowl again on to guard it from dust and water.
There’s no have to disassemble the drone or use an adapter to entry these USB ports, making it extremely handy. You’ll be able to inform how a lot thought has gone into the design.
Nevertheless, one small situation is that I couldn’t join or flash the ESC by way of the USB port on the FC extension board. I had to make use of the precise USB port on the FC, which requires disassembling the drone. They may have used a USB-C extension cable like Speedybee did within the Bee35 to keep up compatibility. But it surely’s not a giant deal because you don’t sometimes have to flash your ESC.
Dissembling the drone for restore is simple too.
Right here’s an in depth up shot of the flight controller.
Flight Efficiency
The CineBot25 S is solely probably the greatest flying 2.5-inch cinewhoops I’ve examined—very secure, well-tuned, and with loads of energy for freestyle.
It’s additionally very environment friendly. I examined mine with LAVA 4S 850mAh LiHV batteries from BetaFPV and acquired round 5 to six minutes of flight time (a mixture of aggressive flying and cruising), which may be very spectacular. I examined this battery right here, it’s fairly good: https://oscarliang.com/whoop-toothpick-lipo-battery/#4S-LiPOLiHV
The DJI O3 VTX system, paired with a soft-mounted digicam, supplies crisp FPV footage with none jello.
One other situation I seen is with the video sign and vary – the bitrate drops noticeably extra rapidly as I fly additional away, presumably as a result of UFL extension cables for the O3 antenna. One answer is to keep away from utilizing these extension cables and go for an extended antenna, such because the Flyfish Osprey: https://oscarliang.com/fpv-antenna-swr/#FlyfishRC-Osprey-Twin-band-140mm. You merely want to chop the plastic tube shorter.
The best way to Setup
Though initially I used to be impressed by the CineBot25’s design, the setup course of took a bit extra time and effort than anticipated.
O3 Set up
Very first thing is to put in the DJI O3 system contained in the plastic housing. Sadly, there’s no instruction offered, so that you’ll want to make use of your creativeness. I need to admit it wasn’t simple in any respect as I spent over an hour looking for one of the best ways to mount the O3. Finally I made a decision to not use the offered heatsink and simply mounted the O3 immediately contained in the plastic housing.
Additionally, not like BetaFPV’s cinewhoops, GEPRC doesn’t present any cable for the O3, however you should utilize the unique cable, so it’s not an enormous situation should you nonetheless have it. Additionally there’s no screws offered for mounting the digicam within the cover – you will have M2 3mm.
Lastly, ensure to tape the UFL extension to keep away from electrical shorts! It they touches the uncovered battery solder pads may fry your O3!
Binding Receiver
Right here I encountered one other situation – the receiver doesn’t get energy from the USB port, you should plug in a battery.
I used to be going to flash the newest ExpressLRS firmware to the receiver together with my binding phrase, so I wanted to search out out what goal it makes use of. That was achieved by going into WiFi mode (by plugging in battery and wait 60 seconds) and checking on the Net UI .
Receiver goal is: Generic ESP8285 PA 2.4Ghz RX, it comes with 3.3.1 firmware.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t discover this goal within the newest ExpressLRS Configurator, so I didn’t replace the firmware however set the binding phrase within the Net UI.
Betaflight Configuration
Establishing Betaflight for maiden flight was simple.
The CineBot25 comes with Betaflight 4.5.0. The flight controller goal is TAKERG4AIO. You’ll find the unique CLI diff right here: https://intofpv.com/t-cli-dump-for-the-geprc-cinebot25-s.
- In Preset tab, apply ExpressLRS Preset based mostly on the packet charge of your selection.
- In PID Tuning tab, set your individual charges.
- In Modes tab, assign change for arming.
- In OSD tab, configure OSD parts. Though HD was chosen, the canvas was caught in analog dimension. I needed to de-select and choose HD once more to get the bigger HD OSD canvas.
Conclusion
I’m blown away by the GEPRC CineBot25 S—it has probably the greatest design in the marketplace, and the flight efficiency is great! Whereas there are a number of hurdles to beat throughout setup, these are usually not deal breakers. When you’re in search of a 2.5-inch cinewhoop for the DJI O3 system, that is the one I’d advocate proper now.
Get the GepRC Cinebot25 from these distributors:
Get some Lava 4S 850mAh batteries:
Get some spare propellers:
Nevertheless, this drone isn’t designed for sub-250 grams in thoughts. You would most likely push it underneath 250 grams by going analog or utilizing a smaller battery, however you’d be higher off with a 2-inch quad as an alternative (try the Pavo20). I additionally don’t advocate utilizing a GoPro on the CineBot25; it kills its flight efficiency and flight time. If you wish to use a GoPro, go for a 3-inch or 3.5-inch quad.
For cinematic FPV flying and dynamic pictures utilizing the O3, the CineBot25 S presents unbelievable design and efficiency at a good value level. With its highly effective motors and DJI O3 compatibility, it stands out as a robust contender within the cinewhoop market.
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