The DJI FPV drone is DJI’s first inroad into FPV drone racing. For those familiar with DJI drones, you’ll expect all of the fancy automated software and flight features that DJI is known for. However, the DJI FPV is not focused on photography, making it a very different beast.
The DJI FPV drone does not have a tracking mode, follow mode, or DJI’s ActiveTrack. The official response from DJI states that there is no confirmation on whether it will be added at a later date. If you want a drone with active track features, there are plenty in the DJI range to choose from.
This article will go through the other options for DJI drones with tracking mode and the important features you should know about the DJI FPV, including its flight modes.
Does DJI FPV have tracking mode?
No, the DJI FPV does not have an active track, follow mode or any other smart flight modes that DJI is well-known for.
Many of the people on the DJI forum are asking this very question and the official response from DJI is as follows:
Official response from DJI
Currently, the DJI FPV doesn’t support ActiveTrack function and there’s no confirmation yet whether this can be added later but we’ll forward this feedback to our developers. After the evaluation of the engineers, significant suggestions or requests will be implemented via the firmware update, app update, etc. For any updates, please stay tuned to the latest news on our DJI official website at www.dji.com or by checking the Release Notes specific for the DJI FPV.
Flight modes of the DJI FPV
Even though DJI FPV doesn’t have a tracking mode or any other smart flight function, it has three modes that you can choose to change how the drone flies to suit your experience level.
Normal mode
In normal mode, the DJI FPV uses GPS and the full vision system to locate itself on a map and stabilise against environmental factors such as wind and obstacles.
When the downward vision system is enabled and the lighting conditions are sufficient, the maximum flight angle is 25°, and the top flight speed is 15 m/s.
Most people will use normal mode when flying the DJI drone because it will help keep them safe with its advanced array of sensors.
If you want to know more about the obstacle avoidance system of the DJI FPV drone, I recommend you check out my other article – which will give you the obstacle avoidance full guide and warnings of this drone.
Sport Mode
In sport mode, the drone is optimised for agility and speed – making it much more responsive to joystick movements.
The maximum flight speed is 27 m/s, the top ascent speed is increased to 15 m/s, and the maximum descent speed is 10 m/s.
Sport mode is a hybrid mode between normal and manual mode.
This mode can be perfect for people who want to dip their toes into the world of FPV racing without fully giving up the comforts of sensing and automatic obstacle avoidance.
It’s important to note that the maximum speed and braking distance is increased significantly in sport mode. A minimum braking distance of 30 m is required in windless conditions – take care.
The next mode can be very scary!
Manual Mode
this mode is a classic FPV control mode which offers the highest manoeuvrability and can be used for racing and Freestyle flying.
In manual mode, all of the flight assistance functions (such as automatic stabilisation) are disabled, and you will fully control the drone.
It is very scary if you are a beginner and must fly your drone in this mode.
Here are some top tips if you want to fly in this mode:
- Only experienced pilots should use manual mode and you should familiarise yourself with the mode using DJI virtual flight.
- Manual mode is disabled by default. Set the switch to manual mode in the goggles before switching to manual mode on the aircraft.
- It is recommended to adjust the screw on the rear of the throttle stick so that the stick does not re-centre – the remote stick directly controls the throttle and attitude of the aircraft.
- When using manual mode for the first time the maximum attitude of the aircraft will be limited. You can turn this off once you have got comfortable by going to:
- Settings > Control > Remote Control > RC Exp > and then M Mode Attitude Limit
As you can see from the above modes, the DJI FPV is optimised for manual flying and sport flying. It does not have the advanced automatic flight features that you would expect from a camera drone such as the DJI Air 2S.
If you are in the market for a drone with tracking modes, here are some of the best drones that you should consider.
Which DJI drones have Follow Me mode?
Follow modes are fantastic for content creators who want to make life as easy as possible.
Solo content creators who wish to follow their own movements or track a subject whilst worrying about the cinematic qualities rather than the piloting aspect will benefit the most from these features.
DJI is known for producing excellent follow modes and here are the drones in their current line-up that have this feature.
| Drone | Intelligent flight modes |
|---|---|
| Mavic 3 | Focus track includes Spotlight 2.0, point of interest 3.0, and active track 5.0. |
| Mavic Air 2 | Focus track includes Spotlight 2.0, active track 3.0, and point of interest 3.0. |
| Mavic Air 2S | Focus track includes Spotlight 2.0, active track 4.0, and point of interest 3.0. |
| Mini 2 | Includes quick shots: dronie, rocket, circle, helix, boomerang. (NO TRUE FOLLOW MODE) |
| Mini 3 Pro | Includes active track 4.0 and point of interest 3.0 |
| Phantom 4 Pro (V2.0) | Includes Tap Fly, active track, trace, spotlight, profile, draw mode, gesture mode, tripod mode. |
Wrapping up
The DJI FPV drone does not have a tracking feature. However, there are three modes that you can use to fly your drone depending on your level of expertise. DJI have stated that they are unlikely to include a follow mode to their DJI FPV drone in the near future.
However, there are plenty of other options in the DJI range which will allow you to have a follow mode.
