As somebody keen about FPV drones, I used to be excited to get my palms on GEPRC’s newest Cinelog30 V3 cinewhoop, which is particularly designed to help DJI’s cutting-edge O4 Professional Air Unit. After intensive testing, right here’s every part you have to know from my expertise—and whether or not that is the proper drone for you.
New to FPV? Take a look at our Cinewhoop Purchaser’s Information to get began: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/
The place to Purchase?
Get your Cinelog30 V2 from these distributors:
Proper out of the field, the Cinelog30 V3 comes neatly packaged with a ton of extras that FPV pilots will recognize:
- 1 x Spare Body
- 2 x HQprop DT76mmx3 V2 Propellers (set of 4)
- 3 x Digicam Canopies
- 1 x 15*150mm Battery Strap
- 1 x L-shaped Screwdriver 1.5mm
- 1 x Spare Screw Pack
- 1 x Battery Anti-slip Pad
- 1 x Damping Ball Set up Instrument
- 1 x Pin for DJI O4 Professional Bind Button
Specs
- Body: GEP-CL30 V3 with 2.5mm carbon fibre plate
- FC/ESC AIO Board: TAKER F722 45A 32-bit AIO
- Motor: SPEEDX2 1404 3850KV
- VTX & Digicam: DJI O4 Air Unit Professional
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Weight (claimed): 187g
- Weight (measured): 192g
Design
The GEPRC Cinelog30 V3 isn’t simply one other cinewhoop with a modified digicam mount. It’s clear that GEPRC designed this quad from the bottom up for DJI O4 Professional Air Unit, with particular consideration to conserving it below the 250g weight restrict—a threshold in lots of nations that helps pilots keep away from registration and different authorized hurdles.
In comparison with the V2, the propeller guards have been noticeably strengthened, enhancing crash resilience. They’re nonetheless fairly a flimsy design, undoubtedly not the strongest on the market, nevertheless it retains the load down so the sturdiness trade-off feels worthwhile.
There’s built-in LEDs contained in the ducts, and they are often toggled by way of a swap (CH8), already arrange within the Modes tab by default.
The O4 digicam is soft-mounted utilizing 4 silicone dampers, which successfully eliminates jello in flight footage. Nevertheless, if you happen to crash, the mount could come free—and getting these silicone balls again into place is a ache, even with the supplied device.
You’ll be able to entry the O4’s SD card slot and USB-C port simply by eradicating the rubber cowl—very user-friendly.
Contained in the body, there’s a intelligent “6-in-1” enlargement board that neatly connects the receiver, LED controller, buzzer, XT30, and FC USB port—all with out further litter. This makes an especially clear construct.
Battery mounting is safe and versatile, accommodating numerous LiPo sizes. I examined 4S 550mAh, 650mAh, 850mAh, and even 1500mAh, all match properly. GEPRC consists of two completely different straps lengths relying on the battery measurement, which is a considerate contact.
The Cinelog30 V3 weighed 192g with out battery, with a 4S 550mAh LiPo, brings the load to 249g. Any bigger batteries like an 850mAh pushed the load over the restrict (286g) however supplied considerably longer flight instances.
If weight isn’t a difficulty, I like to recommend 4S 850mAh because it gives an excellent stability between flight time and efficiency. I can comfortably get 7 to 7:half-hour of flight time. In any other case if you wish to keep sub-250, it’s best to get a battery that’s lower than 58g.
Flight Efficiency
The GEPRC Cinelog30 V3 excels at easy, cinematic flying. It delivers jello-free, stabilized footage—good for capturing cinematic photographs.
Whereas it’s nimble sufficient to zip round indoor areas or tight gaps, it’s not a freestyle beast. Push it exhausting by sharp corners or dives and also you’ll discover prop wash and minor instability, which is typical of cinewhoops. It’s additionally not very steady in windy situations.
Nevertheless, it’s surprisingly quiet, making it ultimate when you must fly round folks or in busy environments the place you don’t wish to draw an excessive amount of consideration.
GEPRC did an excellent job with the PID tune, most individuals can be very proud of the way it flies out of the field. The drone felt highly effective, hovered round 23% throttle when utilizing a 4S 850mAh LiPo. GEPRC claims as much as 8 minutes of flight with 4S 720mAh batteries, however my real-world exams confirmed shorter instances, usually round 7:half-hour with an 850mAh battery.
I attempted utilizing a 4S 1500mAh which is usually thought of too huge for such small drone, the Cinelog dealt with it with ease, hovered at solely 33% throttle. Nevertheless it didn’t appear to supply for much longer flight time as anticipated – solely 11 minutes, presumably because of the further weight and effectivity loss.
And if you wish to meet the 250g weight requirement, you’ll have to use a smaller battery reminiscent of 4S 550mAh, and it ought to offer you 4 to five minutes of flight time which remains to be very respectable and it must also enhance dealing with, agility and energy for freestyle strikes too.
Concerns and Limitations
The Cinelog30 V3 isn’t designed for newbie follow flights or informal crashing. Its mild weight body is optimized for effectivity and cinematic flying, and capturing professional-quality footage, not hard-core freestyle bashing. Nevertheless, it’s additionally extraordinarily environment friendly for a cinewhoop. With the proper battery, it may simply hit 10+ minutes of flight time, which is uncommon for ducted quads.
The digicam tender mounting is very efficient, and the DJI O4 digicam footage is gorgeous. For informal pilots, there’s no want to make use of a GoPro anymore in my view—the O4 Professional delivers 4K60, glorious stabilization, and D-Log M for coloration grading. I like to recommend recording in 4:3 mode for max stabilization and subject of view. Be sure to make use of ND filters although if you wish to get the very best footage: https://oscarliang.com/nd-filter-fpv/
Though the Cinelog30 has sufficient energy to hold a GoPro, I don’t advocate it until completely needed—the little enhancements in picture high quality doesn’t justify the additional weight and compromises flight time and dealing with.
This drone additionally exhibits nice potential for long-range flights due to its effectivity. Nevertheless, it lacks a GPS module out of the field. That’s probably a design selection since most cinewhoop flying is completed indoors or at quick vary. Nonetheless, if you happen to plan to fly far or in difficult out of doors environments, I extremely advocate including a GPS and enabling Rescue Mode: https://oscarliang.com/setup-gps-rescue-mode-betaflight/
Lastly, I’m fairly disillusioned that GEPRC is transport the ESC with BLHeli_32 firmware, which is not being up to date: https://oscarliang.com/end-of-blheli_32/. Much more regarding, it’s a check model, not an official launch. In my testing, the ESC labored effective, nevertheless it’s one thing to concentrate on if you happen to’re planning to replace or troubleshoot sooner or later.
Easy methods to Setup
Earlier than the primary flight, I did the next:
- Eliminated all labels on the drone.
- Put in the 2 O4 antennas within the antenna mount.
- Eliminated the protecting movie from the digicam lens.
- Set up the digicam cover – select your favorite coloration, all 3 protectors are an identical.
- Positioned the battery pad on the highest plate.
- Plug in a smoke stopper, and join a battery and check the drone and see if it powers up accurately. You must hear the ESC/motor initiation beeps.
Firmware
- The flight controller (FC) board goal is GEPRC_F722_AIO, and it comes preloaded with Betaflight firmware model 4.5.1. For inventory CLI Diff, see right here.
- ESC Firmware: BLHeli_32 Proto: 31.9.2 (24KHz)
- ELRS Receiver Firmware Goal: GEPRC Nano 2.4GHz PA100 RX, firmware 3.4.2
Betaflight Setup
Ultimate Ideas
The GEPRC Cinelog30 has all the time been a well-designed and well-liked line, and the V3 continues to boost the bar—now with full DJI O4 Professional help.
This isn’t a freestyle basher. Its comparatively fragile prop guards make it much less ultimate for learners or those that crash incessantly. However as a professional-grade cinewhoop, the GEPRC Cinelog30 V3 is excellent—good for filmmakers, content material creators, and pilots centered on easy cinematic flying in tight areas. The primary concern can be the check model of BLHeli_32 firmware it’s utilizing, although it’s working simply effective in my testing, it’s one thing to bear in mind.
In order for you a sub-250 cinewhoop with DJI O4 Professional for cinematic flying, that’s highly effective, environment friendly, quiet, and superbly tuned proper out of the field—this might be my best choice.