Entry #7 - I won't buy goggles until I can fly and I know I'll really get into the hobby

"I won't buy goggles until I can fly and know I'll really get into the hobby. And maybe get a chance to look through some other people's goggles to see the real work difference between 640x480 and 800x600 in a goggle."

That's what I told myself.
But there was (I thought) no harm in doing research.
And indeed look at the Banggood debacle - research is good.
The only real harm in research is...
Well I might not conform with my strict promise to myself not to buy goggles until I know that I can fly and that I will really stay in the hobby.

Preamble out the way, here's my research for YOU to benefit from.
That isn't transparent at all is it?


First off, some bad news.
If you find a bargain e.g. Fatshark HD2s going out $150 cheaper than the HD3s that are replacing them overseas, you may not be able to get them here. Some vendors use shipping services that will not transport the batteries. I just had this experience with HobbyKing. They also will not remove the battery and ship the goggles, which in retrospect is reasonable as it introduces doubt as to where any damage occurred if damage occurred or if a part was missing - did it happen at the factory, when Hobby King removed the battery, or in shipping.
I assume they must use a different shipping company for battery imports to their Au warehouse.
And off course they don't stock Fatsharks at the Au warehouse.
This will presumably apply to a number of over seas shippers for products that contain LiPos.
The wording of the Customer Service rep was "Australian airlines will not carry the battery", which I suspect is true, I think IATA allows the carriage of the batteries.

With that over....

OK - for those who:

• like the status quo
• are not adventurous
• like safe and main stream 
• are brand/marketing susceptible

Well, there are Fat Sharks.
If you meet the above criteria you can choose your model and that's about it.
Your brand is locked in. Fat Sharks are the safe, dominant player in the market.
In the old days in tech there was a saying "No one ever got sacked for buying IBM."
I think Fat Sharks are like that. Despite the fact that everyone who talks about them seems to dislike *something* about them, most people still think Fat Shark is the way to go.

For more open/adventurous people there are also Skyzones to consider.

For the more open minded and a lot wealthier there may also be some Zeiss goggles that can be made to serve. And will undoubtedly have magical optics and coatings.

The Fat Sharks are confusing.

It's taken me about a week to work out how there range is structured.
And this page is mainly aimed at me laying that out for myself to help me decide what goggle I might be interseted if I were to buy a goggle.

With the Fat Sharks, in addition to the model name, there are versions for each model e.g. V2, V3. Each version is an improved version of the previous one, which I think they stop manufacturing when a new version comes out.

And the two higher end models are both called Dominators. The high end are Dominators and the top of the range are Dominator HDs.
And  to make it worse, right now, in Jan 2017, there is  a 6th model  that is either high mid, or low high depending on how you look at it, called the Dominator SEs (Special Editions).

The story behind the SEs is apparently a supplier found a limited supply of large but no longer made 640x480 screens which Fat Shark snapped up and turned into SEs.
They have most of the high end features of the Dominators in a mixed up way but the resolution of the current mid range Attitudes. The also lack HDMI which other current Dominators have.
The way I see them is as Mid range, with high end FOV and screen size, but mid range resolution.

So all that said here are the Fat Shark and Skyzone ranges described generically using the current gen specs.

I'll list specifics below, including some of the variations for prev gen versions.
Feature wise the Fat Sharks and Skyzones range go something like this.

Fat Sharks

Entry level - Teleporters V5

FOV: 25
Aspect ratio 4:3
Resolution 320x240.
No DVR.
No HDMI.
Come with RX, TX, camera, antennas (one for RX, one for TX) and camera and head tracker.
Transceiver and head tracker are fixed.

Mid Range - Attitude V3s

FOV: 32
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Resolution: 640x480
No DVR
No HDMI
Fan
Come with modular RX, antennae and modular head tracker.

High Mid/Low High - Dominator SEs

FOV 50
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Resolution: 640x 480
DVR
HDMI
Fan
Ship with modular TX, head tracker and antennae.

High End -  Dominators V3

FOV: 30
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Resolution: 800 x 480 plain Dominators.
DVR
HDMI.
Fan
They don't ship with head tracker, RX, TX or antennae.

Top End - Dominator HDs V3

FOV: 42 (V2s are widest ever at 50).
Resolution: 800x600
There's two variations based mainly on aspect ratios 16:9 variation and a 4:3 variation.
The HDs are the very top end and have 4:3 aspect ratio and  wider diagonal FOV.
Resolution: 800x600 HDs, 800 x 480 plain Dominators.
DVR
HDMI.
Fan
They don't ship with head tracker, RX, TX or antennae.


One thing re the Fat Sharks as I write this (Jan 2017) it appears that Fat Shark are pretty much in the process of discontinuing the recent generation and replacing them with a relatively new gen.
So at the moment a lot of vendors are listing the different version of the same model so you really need to be careful when comparing to understand exactly which model you're getting AND which version.

Skyzones

With the Skyzones the basic  feature (FOV, Resolution and Aspect Ratio) set is fairly static.
Skyzone also use versioning.
Resolution: 854x480
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Skyzones ship with built in (can't be removed) diversity RX, and head tracking.
HDMI (prev versions may not have)
DVR (prev versions may not have)
No Fan (The AOMWAY variant DOES have a fan).


Skyzones have two really cool features .

1. Since they have diversity they can receive 2 different signals.
   So they have a kit/bundle that includes a 2 lens/sensor camera.
   Using that 2 lens/sensor they can  transmit 2 images per frame, one from each camera and display the different for each images in each sid of the google and give you real 3D.
2. They have a small adequate quality camera built into the front of the goggle that allows you to see out of the goggle while wearing it.

This allows you to walk around to some extent, see things on controller in your hand, etc without removing the goggles.

Skyzone Rebrands

In addition to Skyzones there are some other brands, that have the same resolution, features and general appearance to Skyzones that I believe are just re-packaged Skyzones.
I don't have any hard evidence, but the specs, packaging and feature set all point in that directions.
e.g.

Aomway Commander v1, Hiees and Rafeals(?).
Some of the rebrands have been advertised as having a fan.

If you consider these brands try to establish exactly which generation of Skyzones the brand you are looking at is selling. Some are being advertised as MUCH less expensive than the current gen Skyzones so maybe old parts re-packaged. Then again they may just be brands trying to break into the market at a low price. Chinese brands are very adept at this, and appear to be willing to wear  much lower margins when getting established.


Now to choose a model,  you need to balance it's characteristics.
The characteristics I am looking at are value, function and practicality.
In addition I really want a fan. I live in a very hot region. In summer it hits 45C sometimes for weeks on end and to make it worse I sweat a lot.
So much so that without a fan I suspect any goggles I wore on hot days would end up with moisture damage.
So for me at the moment, that probably means Fat Sharks.

My measure for value is going to be pixels per dollar.
In addition I want 4:3 aspect ratio.
So I'm looking at Attitude V3s Dominator SEs or Dominator HD2 or HD3s.
Right now with the pricing of old stock HD V2s I'm thinking HD V2s if I can get them.

I was really attracted to the idea of the Dominator SEs (and the sexeh orange colour) but now I have created a the pixels per dollar metric I reckon the HD V2s maybe better value.

Then again, you get RX an antenne with the SE's so the value proposition is actually a higher than it appears. If you are going to use the TX and antennae they ship with. I may try and price those components and re-calc the SE value proposition.
Swings and Roundabouts.

And poor impulse control -  part of me just wants to throw caution to the wind and go HD V3s your mine.

I guess I better stew about it more.
Love to hear thoughts from other people throughout Jan/Feb 2017.

Specifics

Here's the specs, features and prices for the current and recent Fat Shark and Skyzone models.
As of Jan 2017 the prices are approximately correct if you shop around.
The specs are intended as a guideline only. It's hard to get the specs for a given model all in one place - even manuals and spec sheets, so sources vary as does the accuracy below.
YMMV - do your own research and confirm or deny my rambling for yourself.

I suggest people use this info as a way to work out where in the range they should spend their time researching.

Model	FOV	Width	Height	Total Pixels	Aspect ratio	HDMI	FAN	DVR	Include Rx	Include head sensor	Price AUD	Pixels per $	Comment	URL
Teleporter V5	25	320	240	76800	4:3	n	n	n	y	y			Include camera and TX
Attitude v3	32	640	480	307200	4:3	n	y	y	y	y	397	774
Dominator SE	50	640	480	307200	4:3	n	y	y	y	y	539	570		link
Dominator v2	32	640	480	307200	16:9	y	y	y	n	n	463	663		link
Dominator V3 1063	30	800	480	384000	16:9	y	y	y	n	n	462	831		link
Dominator HD2	50	800	600	480000	4:3	y	y	y	n	n	596	805	Glass optics	link
Dominator HD3	42	800	600	480000	4:3	y	y	y	n	n	661	726	Can play 16:9	link
Skyzone S02S V3	30	854	480	409920	16:9	y		y	Diversity Fixed	y	521	787	Sharper. build it work/walk camera. 3 D capable.	link
Skyzone V2	30	854	480	409920	16:9	n		n	Diversity Fixed	y	457	897	Sharper. build it work/walk camera. 3 D capable.
Aomway Commander?v1											488			link
FLYKEY RAFALE V1 5.8G											403			link
Hiee											337			link

Update: